A BRADFORD video production company has been helping schools across the UK with recruitment drives during the Covid pandemic.

With schools unable to hold traditional open days over the past year, Manningham-based Envisuals has been helping them to engage with prospective pupils and their parents by producing videos that can be accessed online.

Envisuals director Jon King says some schools have reported impressive results from virtual open days, with one school revealing that recruitment for Year 7 had more than doubled as a direct result of the videos produced by the company.

Schools are able to assess how many people have viewed the videos, and how they have interacted with them, enabling them to gather statistics to help understand their effectiveness.

Sam Ellis, Deputy Sixth Form Director at Heckmondwike Grammar School said: “What stood out for us was the care Envisuals had for us as an institution, it was a really effective working relationship. Some students were quite nervous to participate, but once in the room with the team, Envisuals were exceptional at putting them at ease.

“It’s been a really effective way of delivering our message when the competition for students and staff is so high.”

Envisuals Director Jon King added: “It’s great that we’ve been able to help schools adapt during the pandemic, and create a way for pupils and parents to virtually “visit” the school even when they can’t attend a proper open evening.

“It has been inspiring to work with school staff who have worked really hard to make the experience for pupils and staff as effective as possible. We’re really pleased with the results the schools have experienced, and can’t wait to do further videos in the future.”

The videos feature interviews with students and teachers, often with tours of schools’ facilities, or footage taken from lessons.

There is, says Jon, no one size fits all: “Each video aims to bring out the individual personality of the school. With the high numbers many schools have enjoyed, maybe we can expect yet another thing to remain online, in a bid to connect to a wider audience in a time flexible way.”

Envisuals, based at Carlisle Business Centre in Manningham, is an established video production company, which creates video and animation content for all sectors. It has produced videos - including film, animation and tech demos - for clients worldwide and works with small start-ups right through to leading brands such as the National Media Museum, Lexmark and the NHS.

In the coming year, Envisuals plans to expand its services by offering live streaming to meet current demand to take more events online.

* Visit envisuals.co.uk or its school video production website schoolmarketingvideos.co.uk