St Peter’s School

St Peter’s School

St Peter’s School in York is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for students aged 3-18. Founded in 627 AD, the school is renowned for its rich heritage, outstanding academic achievement and its junior schools Clifton and St. Olave’s.

We were asked to take a leading role in evolving the school’s brand identity – creating a new look and feel for both internal and external audiences.

At the project’s core was the drive to make the school more relevant and contemporary for an evolving audience.

Our Approach

In order to understand where the brand should go, we set ourselves the task of understanding where it’s been. This research involved delving into the school’s long and fascinating history, and talking at length to school staff.

It became clear that our work would need to centre around a contemporary re-imagining of St. Peter’s heritage. Drawing attention to its traditions, while emphasising its modernity.

We began by re-styling the school’s iconic crossed keys emblem and re-defining its coat of arms.

We then defined a new serif and sans serif typography style with sub-sets for the main school and junior schools that were age specific – and relevant to their different audiences. The confident, strong typeface melds old and new while looking fresh and energetic.

Finally, we refined the colour palette, introduced metallics and added several design elements such as the gold seal, and playful imagery for younger audiences.

The rollout of the brand has been extensive and the brand management has been key in giving the school a new lease of life. The visuals hold their own in a very competitive market where parents have many options to choose from on an international scale.