February Advisory Board

A big thank you to Dulwich College for hosting our recent Advisory Board meeting. A varied programme as well as  some fascinating insights from guest speaker, Eugene Strange, an experienced film location agent with Salt Ltd, gave attendees plenty to talk about over a networking lunch.

Matchmaking

In the first 6 weeks of the year, Beautiful Schools placed just under £100k of business with schools in our collection.  Currently sitting at 30 schools and growing rapidly, Beautiful Schools has considered the benefits of group buying power and advertising. Being part of a large collection allows us to approach organisations offering multiple options across the UK. This has been particularly handy when communicating with sporting organisations such as the ECB, Badminton UK and Sport England. It has also proven useful in the charity sector as well as with private and corporate events. As part of our collection schools can pass on enquiries they are unable to accommodate, allowing for a shared benefit across our schools and helping the enquirer to fulfill their brief.

Research:

Beautiful Schools has sourced an exciting opportunity to work alongside UKCAMS (UK conference and meetings sector) producing a survey that will lead to a better understanding of where schools stand in the conferencing world in comparison to conferencing venues in their area as well as other schools. This piece of research has been tailored by Beautiful Schools with guidance from our members to provide the most valuable information. The research will made available to our members following the survey which will be rolled out in March this year.

Filming:

We all love a good film and it would be dreamy to host a production at our school, or would it? We welcomed Eugene Strange, a film location expert, who gave a short speech on what it meant to be an attractive and efficient film location as well as how to position your school to be considered if various types of filming and productions. He also gave us great advice on where to register to be a film location and attract the right sort of agents. He was followed by a brilliant presentation from Lauren and Carly, Harrow School, who gave us the low down on the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to hosting film locations. Harrow have provided back drops for some of the most iconic scenes including Harrow Potter and The Crown. This allowed our schools to get a good sense of the advantages and disadvantages of hosting film and production companies.

Networking:

Whilst we pride ourselves in being able to offer informative and resourceful meetings, we know that one of the most valuable factors of these meetings is the ability for schools to network with like minded people. Our members vary from Enterprise Departments who have been running an events team for 25 years to single bursars who have just started on their enterprising ventures. The knowledge sharing and ability to exchange ideas and best practice is something our members find invaluable. Dulwich provided a delicious lunch in their impressive new science block as well as a fascinating and informative tour of the historic college.

If you would be interested in attending the next meeting and becoming a member, please get in touch with us via email ([email protected]) or visit our website.