Recruiting around the world

As part of our ongoing efforts to increase the international mix of students at Woodstock, I took part in a five-week recruitment tour in October-November visiting schools, alumni, and others in a number of different countries around the world.

For the first part of my trip I was accompanied by the Principal, Dr. Laurenson. We visited Russia, Germany and England. There was an encouraging level of interest amongst those we met with in Moscow. In England we visited two boarding schools similar to Woodstock in size, age and ethos. One of our main aims in visiting these schools was to promote the new Woodstock Gap Semester Programme. We encountered a very positive response to this. We also met with members of the WOSA-Europe council and other alumni in London. It was useful to discuss our goals with them for increasing the international mix in our student body, and I appreciated their desire to engage with and help us.

After the European leg I continued the tour on to North America. I was able to cover a fair amount of ground during my time here, from a meeting with the Education Officer at the US State Department in Washington DC, to numerous meetings with former staff, students and parents, as well as prospective parents, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, New England, Philadelphia, New York City and Minneapolis. I was particularly touched by the generosity of the former staff, students and parents in opening their homes to me, driving me around, helping to set up meetings with prospective parents and schools and generally engaging in our drive to recruit more students from their areas. It was a testament to the strong bond so many have with Woodstock, and how Woodstock has helped to shape and impact the lives of so many.

Kirsten Bradby - Director of Admissions