Chocolate buns and chips are the latest weapons in pupil recruitment, as private schools battle to attract children.
Parents now allow children more choice than ever before over deciding which school they go to - and schools are starting targeted marketing drives.
A conference of private school heads in Brighton last week was told that pupils are playing an increasing role in school choice, particularly at 16-plus.
But schools are also targeting younger children. Matthew Jones, a teacher at William Hulme’s grammar school in Manchester, said refreshments laid on for youngsters at open days had captured the imagination of potential pupils.
“Instead of giving them Penguin biscuits, we laid on chocolate buns,” he said. “They really captured the children’s attention, and improved recruitment.”
Meanwhile, one parent recalls that the grand Marlborough College public school, in Wiltshire, provided chicken and chips in a basket rather than an intimidating formal meal for its prospective pupils.
Websites are another increasingly popular tool for use in pupil marketing. Westonbirt school, in Gloucestershire, is leading the way with a virtual pupil, Katie, taking girls on a tour of the grounds.
Adrian Underwood of the Boarding Schools Association said: “Websites have become much more pupil-centred. If a school’s site is all aimed at parents, a 10-year-old will think there is nothing there for them.”
He said visiting children are now likely to be shown around a school by a pupil while their parents are accompanied by a teacher. “Beware a school where you only meet adults if you are a child,” he said.
