Education copywriting

Every school is different. You wouldn’t always know it from the prospectus.

Apparently, every school is committed to excellence, every college offers a supportive learning environment and every university helps students achieve their full potential.

Which makes choosing between them rather difficult.

Education is an important decision. For parents, students and adult learners, it can involve years of commitment, considerable expense and hopes for the future.

They deserve something more useful than a collection of reassuring adjectives.

Good education copywriting explains what makes an institution distinctive, communicates what it offers and helps people decide whether it’s right for them.

I’ve been writing professionally for 30 years, including work for schools, colleges, universities and educational organisations.

My projects have included prospectuses and student guides for Tower Hamlets College, alongside examination information and other educational communications.

I help education providers explain their strengths without making everybody sound as though they’ve attended the same marketing seminar.

A prospectus should answer more than one question

A prospectus isn’t simply a catalogue of courses, facilities and photographs of smiling students.

It’s often somebody’s introduction to an institution they’re seriously considering.

They want to understand what studying there might be like, what they’ll learn, how they’ll be supported and where the experience could take them.

Parents may have different questions from prospective students. Someone returning to education after twenty years may have different concerns again.

Good prospectus copywriting brings those priorities together.

It combines the character of the institution with accurate, accessible information, working alongside photography, design and course details.

And because several departments may contribute, somebody needs to make sure the finished prospectus sounds as though it came from one organisation.

Not fourteen committees.

Schools need to show what makes them different

Primary schools, secondary schools, independent schools, academies and specialist education providers have different priorities.

Some need to attract pupils. Others want to communicate their ethos, engage parents, explain changes or build stronger relationships with their communities.

A school website needs to reflect its character while making practical information easy to find.

That means explaining its approach to teaching, pastoral care, facilities, activities and opportunities without falling back on the usual claims about nurturing environments and academic excellence.

Those things may be entirely true.

But they’re considerably more convincing when supported by examples.

A course description needs to earn its place

Universities, colleges and training providers offer an enormous range of courses.

The challenge is helping prospective students understand what each involves and why they might choose it.

What will they study? How will they learn? What qualifications will they gain? What are the entry requirements? Where might the course lead?

A good course description answers those questions clearly while communicating the opportunities and experience on offer.

I’ll work with academic staff, course leaders and marketing teams to establish what matters.

Technical detail and academic accuracy remain important.

But there’s no particular benefit in making somebody read the same sentence three times to understand a qualification.

Education doesn’t stop at graduation

Apprenticeships, adult education, professional development and online learning serve people with very different ambitions.

Some want to change careers. Others need a qualification, new skills or training that fits around work and family responsibilities.

EdTech businesses face another challenge: explaining how their products help teachers, students and institutions.

Features matter, but so do practical benefits, usability, implementation and evidence of effectiveness.

I’ll adapt the writing to the audience, whether that’s a prospective learner, teacher, employer or education procurement team.

Because a learning platform isn’t necessarily improved by describing it as revolutionary.

Particularly if nobody can work out what it does.

Education copywriting services

I provide copywriting and editorial support for schools, colleges, universities, academy trusts, training providers, educational publishers and EdTech businesses. Projects include:

• School, college and university website copy
• Prospectuses and student recruitment brochures
• University course and programme descriptions
• Education advertising and enrolment campaigns
• School and academy trust communications
• Student guides and admissions information
• Apprenticeship and adult learning content
• EdTech websites and product descriptions
• Student, alumni and staff profiles
• Research stories, articles and case studies
• Annual reports and institutional publications
• Email campaigns and stakeholder communications

I can work directly with your institution or alongside academics, teachers, marketing teams, designers and education specialists.

Finding the interesting part

My background in journalism, government speechwriting and commercial copywriting has taught me to research unfamiliar subjects, interview specialists and recognise what matters to different audiences.

That’s useful in education, where the people closest to a subject don’t always recognise which details will interest somebody encountering it for the first time.

I’ll ask questions, find the relevant evidence and help communicate what makes your institution, course or product worth considering.

Sometimes it’s an unusual teaching approach. Sometimes it’s a student’s experience, a research project or a practical opportunity that competitors can’t offer.

The important thing is finding something worth saying.

Rather than another way of saying you’re committed to excellence.

Something worth teaching people about?

Perhaps you’re rewriting a school website, preparing a prospectus, promoting a course or launching an educational product.

Tell me what you’re working on, who you’re trying to reach and what you want them to understand.

I’ll help you find the right words.

No homework required.