The Stonar Way 27.09.24

As you might imagine, I often find myself telling people about Stonar, a topic that never feels anything other than interesting to me. In fact, I am off today to a Senior Schools’ Fair at Walhampton Prep School in Hampshire. On these occasions, I try to avoid the usual prospectus style catchphrases, but how do you explain the essence of a school? The wonderful landscape that we enjoy can certainly have an impact on the way a place feels and how we feel within it. Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian singer-songwriter, said, “You just get the vibes from your surroundings and it rubs off on you.”

We faced this challenge of summing up the School recently, to try to capture its ‘vibes’, as we sought to launch a new marketing campaign. Previously, our marketing has focused on explaining the School. I think people know who we are now; indeed, I think we know who we are, and, having earned the right to shed any lingering institutional lack of self-confidence, we wanted to talk to the world in tones that were neither apologetic nor clichéd.

In a fractious period of time where – very sadly – any and all independent schools are lumped into the same category of ‘flash and posh’, we proudly hold true to a nature of unpretentious normality. We are a close, calm, warm, welcoming, and endearingly informal environment, but not lacking the teeth of achievement or a clear set of values. Our relationships find their strength in their willingness to be interdependent rather than hierarchical; promoting an atmosphere that is less rigid and reaps the benefits as a result.

In promoting the Stonar brand, we wanted to ensure that we struck the right balance between happiness and achievement, between the present, future and our past. With all these things in mind, we landed upon a concept defined by three simple words, ‘Achieve with joy’.

Turning this concept into a video has taken several months, which included a week with a film crew in School last term. After several iterations and lots of debate about the detail, look and feel, we were proud to launch the film this week.

Some of you may have seen it on our social media, but if not, here it is:

Stonar School: Three Simple Words

I hope that you enjoy it and that it resonates with you.