The rise of school groups.

The independent schools market is changing. Most school brands are struggling to keep up.

In October 2024, independent schools felt the single steepest fall of enrolling pupils in a decade. 10,000 pupils less—the market is genuinely contracting. And this decline has come hand-in-hand with a flight of customers towards quality and excellence.

The pressure, in part thanks to the introduction of VAT on fees, means that smaller schools are closing or being absorbed, and parents are becoming more discerning about where their money goes. Loyalty, family history, tradition are unreliable markers of enrollment through this period of financial turbulence. The scrutiny of cost and future-proofing is significantly influencing parent decisions.

Through this decade-defining seismic shift, we are seeing that most schools are totally unequipped with how to express their unique qualities in a sharp, compelling way. Most present the same copy-and-paste promises. Even the most prestigious schools are struggling to step into their uniqueness and gain a competitive edge.

Put simply: the world is changing, but school brands aren’t adapting fast enough. The winners will be the schools—and newly emerging groups—that can go past copy-paste complacency and into a coherent, unique brand narrative.

The rise of school groups and their brand architecture models.

School groups have existed for a long time, but today we’re seeing a marked rise. Mergers and acquisitions are disrupting the sector, and still more consolidations are coming.

• Caterham have announced the joining of Copthorne and Hawthorns.
• Rugby School are expanding locally—through Aysgarth, and internationally to Japan, Nigeria and Thailand.
• Mill Hill Education Group, too, have expanded out to Thailand with Mill Hill International.
• Prep School Trust have joined the Radley family.

Why this rise in groups? As we began to outline in Section 1., VAT and the loss of brand loyalty is putting immense pressure on independent schools. Put simply, schools are looking for ways to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. We’ll investigate some of the opportunities that exist for these groups in Section 3.

Consciously or subconsciously, these new school groups (whether for-profit or not-for-profit) are using something most commercial companies have long leveraged—’brand architecture’ models.

Let’s explain what ‘brand architecture’ is through the lens of some school groups.

Alleyn’s have acquired and are rebadging North Bridge House’s Regent’s Park and Hampstead sites as Alleyn’s in 2026. They’ll be keeping one unified name and identity, which will make their brand architecture model a ‘Branded House’.

That’s when an entire company is known as a single brand, and all products/services are marketed under that umbrella. Think Apple or Google.

It offers efficiencies in marketing for brand building. But the risk here is that one ‘bad apple’ can affect the reputation of all the other sites.

The Girls’ Day School Trust has schools that keep their own name and brand identity, but GDST make themselves quite visible in the visual mix. They’re following the ‘Endorsed’ model. Intel and their ‘Intel inside’ stickers are the perfect commercial analog.

Distinct individual brands benefit from the reputation of a ‘parent brand’, but get to keep their own identity. This can add real brand value if there is clarity on what the parent brand is offering. That takes money, time and effort.

Mill Hill Education Group holds Mill Hill School, of course, as well as Cobham, Abbot’s Hill, and others. Beyond a small attribution logo at the footer of each page, MHEG is relatively invisible in the branding of these individual schools. Just as Unilever is largely invisible in the experience of buying Cif, Dove or Ben & Jerry's.

In a ‘House of Brands’ model, a company operates a portfolio of independent brands, each with its own identity and market positioning. It means greater flexibility in targeting different customer segments and exploring various product categories. But the power of the group is not immediately visible, and either fades into the background or has to be justified through other means.

All brand architecture models have their pros and cons, which means there’s no one single right answer. Each will be dependent on what you’re trying to achieve, and the brand architecture model you adopt should be a conscious choice that enables your commercial vision.

What’s possible? For both business and brand…

There is much good to be said about being part of a school group. Our previous articles touched on the new market dynamics and the subsequent rise of groups. Today we’ll discuss some of the opportunities that exist here.

The business benefits are of course clear:

• Financial resilience
• Shared resources (Knowledge, teaching methods and shared teams).
• Buying power
• Stronger marketing (Depending on your brand architecture model).
• More influence (Lobbying with more authority).
• A connected journey for pupils (Nursery / prep / junior / senior / sixth form)
• International connection (if relevant, can open up to cultural exchanges, teacher sabbaticals, etc.)

All of the above will, in theory, add up into a stronger experience for students and parents. But these aren’t yet enough to give you, as a group, a competitive edge. As groups continue to form, all these features will start to become commonplace.

There is only one way to truly stand out and future-proof your school group:

By consciously creating a compelling ‘brand’.
And branding affects the entire ecosystem.

Parents and prospects
Parents soon won’t be able to see or understand what differentiates one school group from the next. They will be searching for distinct messaging that can cut through the noise.

Schools being acquired
Eventually, many groups will be vying for the same independent schools. Therefore, the governors of these schools will be seeking strong narratives that they can buy into, and then later use to rationalise their decision to their own stakeholders.

International boarders
International students are some of the highest fee payers for a boarding school. Locality and size will not be relevant enough to tempt them. As brand-sensitive customers, they will respond best to clear, compelling messaging. Brand reputation is and will continue to be a key buying criteria for these international audiences.

As the world becomes more competitive—your USP, value proposition, and messaging won’t just matter—they’ll become the single most deciding factor.

Strong branding will be an imperative to win.

If you’re serious about building a compelling brand narrative for your school group, the real work starts with honest self-evaluation.

Every school group should start here; not rushing to buy ads, or jumping straight to marketing. The questions that follow will help you to start identifying and leveraging your own unique narrative.

1. High level strategy.

• What is your group’s purpose: beyond cost savings or operational resilience?
• What unites your group?
• What is truly unique about your group?
• What does your group brand make prospective families feel?
• What components of your strategy provide the answers to the questions above?

2. Brand and comms evaluation

• What is the clear idea that runs through all your schools?
• Are all your customer touchpoints (prospectus, website, social media) unified in what they say and how they say it?
• Can all senior staff (within the group portfolio) consistently and clearly explain the group USP?
• Do your marketing and communication materials feel distinct from other groups?
• Do you have a clear pitch for prospective schools you are aiming to acquire?

3. Detailed brand development

• What is your commercial vision for the group?
• Where will the group be in the context of a more competitive landscape—in 5, 10, 25 years?
• What value does the group add to each school’s story, not just their operations?
• What brand architecture model are you using and why?
• Why should parents choose you over another group that offers the same outcomes?
• How are you ensuring one group culture across sites?

4. Measuring success

• What does success look like, and how will you prove it?
• What outcomes matter most to your stakeholders?

To truly land on a compelling narrative, you have to answer these questions with rigour. Be honest. Challenge yourself.

If you do it right, you’ll have something in your hands that is as sharp as it is distinct from all your competitors.