Facing increasing pressure on pupil recruitment, Canford School partnered with Zuant 3D to create an immersive virtual tour of its new Sixth Form College. The result: a high-quality digital experience that has already driven significant engagement from prospective parents and boosted Admissions enquiries.
Following the introduction of VAT on school fees in January 2025, the Independent Schools Council (ISC) reported a significant drop in pupil numbers, with some sources citing a decline of 25,000 pupils since Labour came to power-far higher than government projections. In this changing landscape, independent schools have been pushed to think more creatively about how they attract and engage prospective families.
Canford School in Dorset responded by adopting game-changing technology from Zuant 3D to create an immersive virtual tour of its new Sixth Form College. Using a detailed 3D scan of the building, Zuant 3D generated a full ‘digital twin’ – transforming a traditional open day into an always-on virtual experience, ideal for reaching overseas families or parents unable to visit in person. Within the first month of launch, more than 100 prospective parents explored the virtual Sixth Form College.
Pete Gillett, CEO of Zuant, explains,
“Zuant 3D has a great advantage over traditional interactions, as it can either be an entirely exclusive experience for a parent or pupil to self-navigate alone, or a guided tour with dual controls for schools to use to provide accompanied tours of their facilities. Schools can also enrich the tour with added content, such as video presentations from key staff or subject leads. This new technology positions Canford School at the leading edge from a marketing perspective.”
Philippa Scudds, Director of Marketing and Communications at Canford School, adds,
“Our new Sixth Form College is a unique, sector-leading facility among independent schools and we wanted to showcase it in the most engaging way possible. The Zuant 3D product is taking immersive, interactive tours to a new level—both in terms of film quality and available features—and the team are great to work with as experts in their field. We have already seen significant uplift in visitors to relevant pages on our website and Admissions enquiries about the Sixth Form at Canford as a result.”
Take a tour of the Sixth Form College here:
https://3d.zuant.com/experience/canford/z5dDoBthEfCiZnW2quhAwg%3D%3D/
