WINTER TERM 2012 - Aiglon College

Strategic Planning Updateby Mark Elliott, Chairman of the BoardDuring the 2011-12 schoolyear the Governing Boardis working to developa Strategic Plan forAiglon College. StrategicPlanning is not new toAiglon. I was involvedin one of the fi rstformal attempts when,in 1998, Chairman SirToby Coghill assembled a group of 40 people, including governors,staff, parents and alumni, to “brainstorm” the major issuesfacing the school at that time. The group event was facilitated byeducational consultant Peter Aitken from Boston, Massachusetts,and the fi nal report was summarised in a booklet entitled ‘AiglonCollege - the Strategic Plan’. Many of the strategies in this planwere implemented, including the major emphasis on InformationCommunication Technology (ICT) and the increased focus on modernlanguages.In 2006 Head MasterJonathan Long led anexercise to preparea Strategic Plan thatfocused on fi ve goals:Extend, Enhance, Enrich,Transform, Perform.The plan was entitled‘New Frontiers – AiglonCollege Strategic Plan2006-11’ and includedsome strategies thathave since beenachieved such as thenew Sports Centre.The 2011-12 StrategicPlanning process issimilar to that of 1998.It has identifi ed some of the same issues as those in previous plans;but this time we are taking matters much further. We have createdfi ve project teams, each headed by a Board member. Each teamhas recruited parents, staff, students, alumni and, in some cases,outside experts to develop the plans.The teams have now largely completed their Phase 1 work andare now in Phase 2. This phase involves the development ofrecommendations and an implementation plan, a summary ofprogress is outlined below.These projects may mean signifi cant changes in the future directionof the school. Given how rapidly international education is evolving,we need to be at the forefront as we plan the future for ourstudents.If you have any comments on Strategic Planning please email:chairman@aiglon.chBranding by Egon Vorfeld (’85)The Branding Strategy Work Group has completed Phase 1 (‘who weare’ study) and has progressed well with Phase 2 (communications).Most of the research and conclusions were discussed during threewell-attended group meetings and various emails/phone calls. AllAiglon College stakeholders were very well represented: parents,students, alumni, governors and staff, including the Head Master.The team benefitted greatly, amongst other things, from all therecent work undertaken for the re-accreditation process, includingparent, staff and student surveys. We believe a multitude of voiceshave been heard and initial feedback on our findings, amongst awider community, has been very supportive.We have defined the ‘core essence’ of the Aiglon Collegebrand using professional marketing tools. These detailed brandcharacterizations will be indispensable to our communicationsconsultant. The ‘strap line’ accentuating the ‘core essence’ is infact a former one adopted for a 1990s campaign “Reaching NewHeights”. We believe it embodies Aiglon College and its guidingprinciples very well. Both were formally approved by the Board ofGovernors in February.We are currently finalising a ‘brand book’ to ensure consistentuse of the school’s crest, logo, colours, signage and other visualrepresentation and most elements have already been approvedby the Board. The branding guidelines will then be communicatedto the wider school community to ensure full compliance goingforward.The general conclusion is to favour digital and social media totraditional hard copy and to appoint a ‘digital marketing expert’as a ‘prepping’ consultant, prior to engaging an agency to help informulating a clear communications strategy; including re-designingthe school website and competitive tenders will be sought. The nextstage is to establish the potential costs of agency consultation forestablishing brand communications. Any significant budgets anddecisions will be approved by the Board of Governors.Financial stability and growththrough fundraisingby Sue Stevenson (P’08,’13)Since our last report the Fundraising Strategic Planning Work Grouphas focused on the structure and finance needed to put a worldclass Development Office in place and commissioned a review ofour existing Development Programme as a check and balance to thework done by the group. The report has been received, supports ourfindings and has helped to highlight additional areas where we canimprove on our existing processes.The school also commenced a search and recruitment process tofind a Director of Advancement to develop and execute Aiglon’sambitious fundraising plans for future institutional strength. Thegroup has also considered how we can better market ourselves.Further research will be conducted in the next phase on identifyingthe philanthropic potential of Aiglon’s current and futureconstituencies.6 sharing news with the wider college communityAiglonToday