Scarborough Sixth Form — The Gateway to What's Next
About the Project
Scarborough Sixth Form College is the area's main provider of A levels, BTECs, and GCSEs — a gateway to higher education and apprenticeships for young people across the region. They needed a website that could do far more than just sit there: a platform that worked as an informational portal for staff and students, a marketing tool to attract new enrolments, and a credible digital presence that could strengthen partnerships and position the college as a serious choice for further education.
20% increase
in pages per session
Multi-audience
students, parents & staff
Virtual prospectus
with easy course search
Key problems:
S6F had outgrown its existing website, and the platform wasn't keeping up with the demands of a modern educational establishment:
- The site needed to serve multiple audiences simultaneously — prospective students, parents, existing students, and staff — each with very different needs and journeys.
- Course information was difficult to find and navigate, making it harder for students to explore what was on offer and follow through to application.
- There was no clear online path from discovering a course to applying and enrolling, meaning potential students dropped off before completing the process.
- The design needed to be refreshable — capable of being reinvented at least once a year to stay current and connected to the evolving S6F brand.
- Integration with the college's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and email systems was essential, giving students and tutors quick access to everyday tools.
- The site had to perform seamlessly across a wide range of devices, reflecting how students and staff actually work — on phones, tablets, and laptops throughout the day.
Our Solution
We built S6F a website that balances marketing appeal with everyday functionality:
- Designed a responsive, modern site that puts the student journey front and centre — from first visit through to course application and enrolment, with clear pathways at every stage.
- Created a virtual prospectus with alphabetical subject listings and qualification types, making it simple for students and parents to browse the full range of courses without feeling overwhelmed.
- Built an intuitive course search tool and streamlined the online application process, removing friction so prospective students can move from interest to action quickly.
- Structured content for multiple audiences: admissions information for prospective students and parents, finance and travel details, evening course promotion, vacancy listings, and facility hire for the local community.
- Integrated the site with the college's VLE and email systems, providing easy access points so staff and students can get to their everyday tools without fuss.
- Ensured the design system was flexible enough to be refreshed regularly, keeping the site visually connected to the S6F brand as it evolves year on year.
- Built secure data collection processes that meet the legal requirements essential for educational institutions, while also feeding insights that help improve the student experience over time.
The result is a site that works as hard as the college itself — attracting new students, supporting existing ones, and giving staff the tools they need without getting in the way.
The Results (First 6 Months)
The Results
(First 6 Months)
- 20% increase in pages per session: visitors are exploring more of the site, browsing courses, and engaging with content rather than bouncing after a single page.
- Strong performance across key metrics: the new site delivered an uptick in users and new visitors, bringing more prospective students and parents through the door.
- Improved content quality scores: independent analysis showed marked improvements in image optimisation, heading structure, and content freshness — the foundations that keep the site performing well in search.
- Clearer student journey: the streamlined path from course discovery to application means fewer drop-offs and a smoother experience for students and parents navigating their options.
Final Thoughts
This wasn't just about building a college website — it was about creating a platform that supports one of the most important decisions young people make: what to do next. When a seventeen-year-old in Scarborough is trying to figure out their future, they need to find the right course quickly, understand what's involved, and feel confident enough to apply. When their parents are researching options, they need reassurance that this is a credible, well-run institution. And when staff arrive on a Monday morning, they need their VLE and email two clicks away, not buried behind a confusing homepage. S6F serves all of those people at once, every single day. The website needed to do the same.