What kind of school are you?
Every school has a character, a bit like a person. Answer eighteen questions about your school, and see the character you describe next to the one you imagine your families would.
Someone shared their school’s result with you. Take the quiz to see your own.
You’ll probably see your school in more than one answer. Pick the one that feels most true, most of the time.
The quiz needs JavaScript. The eighteen questions are below, to think through on paper.
- Open day is over. What message do you most hope families take home?
- Your school is proudest of…
- Your homepage has room for one photo. Which one goes up?
- Your traditions are there to…
- Your newsletter has room for one big story. Which one leads?
- Learning at your school starts with…
- An unexpected grant comes through. What does it pay for first?
- Your graduates learn to care for…
- Ten years on, which graduate’s story would you tell first?
- If you asked a few families why they chose your school, what would they say?
- At your school, families see themselves as…
- What do new families notice in their first few weeks?
- Families tend to choose you more for…
- What do your parents brag about to their friends?
- Families trust you because you’re…
- At graduation, what do parents thank you for?
- More than anything, families want their child to know…
- Families on a tour ask one question more than any other. Which is it?
Open day is over. What message do you most hope families take home?
I’ve been to a lot of open days. Which message would you hate for a family to miss?
Your school is proudest of…
Two good things to be proud of. Which one leads?
Your homepage has room for one photo. Which one goes up?
Only one? Don’t worry, the rest can go in the gallery.
Your traditions are there to…
It’s a close call, I know! Lean one way if you can.
Your newsletter has room for one big story. Which one leads?
No pressure. The rest can run next time.
Learning at your school starts with…
Pick a side! You can do it.
An unexpected grant comes through. What does it pay for first?
Lucky you! You’d fund all four, but what’s the priority?
Your graduates learn to care for…
Both, of course. But which do they learn first?
Ten years on, which graduate’s story would you tell first?
Proud of all five? Same. Which one makes the end of year speech?
If you asked a few families why they chose your school, what would they say?
Over to your families now. Imagine how they might answer these.
At your school, families see themselves as…
Which would your families say more often?
What do new families notice in their first few weeks?
They’ll notice it all in the end of course. So what do they spot first?
Families tend to choose you more for…
Answer like a parent here. Which way would they lean?
What do your parents brag about to their friends?
Parents love a good brag. Which one do you hear most?
Families trust you because you’re…
Tricky one! Lean the way your families would.
At graduation, what do parents thank you for?
Ooh, thank-you cards. What do they say most?
More than anything, families want their child to know…
Both are good things to know. Which would your families pick?
Families on a tour ask one question more than any other. Which is it?
Last one! They’ll ask plenty. Which do you hear most?
See your full result
Your two profiles, side by side: what you say you are, and how your families relate to you. We’ll show them here and send you a copy.
Talk it through with Jacob
Thirty minutes on what your two profiles might mean for how you tell your school’s story.
Meet all seven.
Seven characters schools tend to hold. None outranks another: each is a good school being clearly itself. Pick one to read its profile.
Read all seven in full
Add your email to open every character’s profile. We’ll send you your result too, so you can come back to it.
Questions about the School Character Framework™
Is this a brand archetype quiz?
It’s inspired by brand archetypes. The seven characters were made for schools, not borrowed from consumer brands, and they describe the main ways schools present themselves to families. The quiz gives you a head start, not a diagnosis.
What if we’re more than one character?
Almost certainly. At different times, your school will show something of every one of the seven characters. What helps is knowing which one or two you tend to orient yourself around, or are known for. That’s useful to know, even when, on any given day, your school is showing a different side of itself.
What if our school doesn’t fit any of the seven?
Some schools sit outside the seven on purpose: specialist and inclusive schools, and formats like virtual schools and micro-schools. If you’re a mainstream school and none of these feel right, it may help to ask a few families what they’d say about you, then look at the seven again. And if your school is outside the seven, we’d still like to hear about it. Tell us about your school
Can a school change its character?
A character comes from what your school already does and how families relate to you, so it tends to change slowly. What can change faster is how clearly your school shows it.
What happens to our answers?
They stay in your browser while you answer. When you ask for your full result, we use your email address to send it to you. Our privacy policy explains how we look after it.
