GORDONSTOUN SCHOOL - Learning to Listen: What Brexit Has Not Taught Us

Throughout the Brexit campaign discourse in the UK reached an all time low. However Gordonstoun, an independent school  in the Highlands of Scotland wanted to intervene. So pupils from state and independent schools across Britain came together at Gordonstoun for a Learning to Listen Symposium to understand how to resolve conflict through dialogue, showcasing the school as a leader in innovative, character based education and importantly, equipping the next generation with communication skills for life. Our campaign resulted in UK wide coverage.

Gordonstoun Cmyk
What we did

Strategy: As an independent school the perception can be elitist and not egalitarian which is the opposite of Gordonstoun's ethos. In advance of our character education and learning to listen campaign we worked with children who received scholarships to create case studies on their school experience showcasing their diverse backgrounds and large percentage of children benefiting from scholarships to the media.

Execution: We carefully monitored our social listening platform for weeks to wait for the opportune moment to launch the campaign during a spike in the Brexit debate.

    • Media pack to UK wide news desks and regional newspaper also education correspondents announcing the Learning to Listen Symposium
    • Called news reporters at BBC, STV, C4 and ITV to offer principal of Gordonstoun for interview, which resulted in two interviews
    • Ensured Press Associated featured the story ASAP to ensure majority pick up across newspapers on and offline
    • Education and regional media attended the symposium
    • Issued media pack with images and quotes from a pupil from Govan High School talking about the importance of learning to listen
    Results

    We had 150 pieces of on and offline coverage with 1.75B online readership as well as featured on ITV, STV and BBC Scotland news.

    The story was picked up by almost every national news publication in the country as well as several regional exceeding client expectations.

    Over 95% coverage covered as news, not education stories meeting objectives.

    Key messages included in 100% of coverage.

    All coverage positive in sentiment.

    Services

    Public Relations

    Public Relations