500 Years of History

Absolute have recently launched a new website for QEGS, a co-educational school based in Blackburn, Lancashire. The school is set in a lovely period building and is believed to have been founded as a chantry school around 1509 by Thomas Stanley, second Earl of Derby. From September 2014, QEGS became a free school, but still continues to educate pupils to the highest academic standards.

When QEGS approached us their existing site was very outdated. However, the shift into becoming a free school had prompted a review, and that’s where we came in. After working together on a collaborative brief for the new site, we realised that QEGS had never quite managed to shake off its ‘all-boys’ persona. Admissions for girls were always notably lower than the boys, and this was a negative we addressed when designing the new website.

Although it is now a free school, QEGS wanted to assure everyone that their standards in teaching would remain. We opted to use the banners on the homepage to address any preconceived ideas people may have about the school, while also using them to highlight the unique selling points of attending QEGS. We also wanted to make the photography much more engaging and natural, capturing moments that happen rather than stage them too much. We then used the photography against flat coloured backgrounds to give it a fresher, more contemporary look and feel. We also used a Mobile First design approach for the fully responsive website to ensure that a consistent experience was offered across all devices.

The site officially launched on the 1st September, take a look here.