Saint Paul's Academy

Background

Saint Paul's Academy was formerly known as Saint Paul's Catholic School. Today, it is a 11-16 secondary school based in Greenwich in south-east London, established through the DfES Academies Programme. The new Academy has recently moved to a new state-of-the-art building - and to a brand new website, of course.

Brief

The last time Saint Paul's Academy needed a new web-site, in 2006, they came to Raspberry Frog. They were full of praise about the work we delivered, so no wonder they came back for seconds when the time came to do another re-vamp four years later.

With the move to a new, state-of-the-art school building, the school felt it was time to update to a website which could promote the achievements and successes the school deserves - as well as show off the brand new building, of course. The new website was to have a specific goal: successfully promote the school to a variety of audiences. A prominent school such as Saint Paul's Academy has a long list of potential target groups, including its current students, and staff, prospective pupils, the parents, and the official bodies such as the HMI and OFSTED. A new site was to cater to all these audiences.

Solution

We were already familiar with Saint Paul's Academy, of course, but the updated website brought new challenges. To fully appreciate the requirements for the site, we conducted a series of client interviews and held focus groups. We also spent some time clarifying what the audiences were, and what they all expected from the school's website.

The next step was to create a solid web and content strategy, in addition to a 360 degree virtual tour. The new-look, new-content site offers a much richer experience than the old site, and it has received a heartfelt welcome by students, parents, and school staff alike.

As all our websites, the school's website is accessible to the majority of web users, including those with disabilities. The accessible nature of the sites we create for all our users - and especially for Saint Pauls - has many benefits. Not only does the academy fulfil its legal obligations, but they rank better in search engines, and the new site helps further galvanise its image in the local community and beyond.

Results

One of the major improvements with the current site is that by using a state-of-the-art Content Management System, staff can update the site themselves, with the latest news, school events, and last-minute notices.

The last website we built for Saint Paul's received a glowing mention in an OFSTED report - and this one is even better! The time spent initially to map out what the expectations were for the new site has paid off. Feedback from the school staff and pupils has been very good indeed.

Visit Saint Paul's Academy website