The Wycombe Abbey Brand

The Wycombe Abbey Brand guidelines provide a foundation for clear and consistent communication for the School’s identity in all print and digital communications. Layout, tone, colour and typography are orchestrated to impart a unified signature and are among the most valuable marketing and communications tools we have. When used properly, these elements support a carefully designed identity system. They allow us to speak with one voice and are designed to help you apply the Wycombe Abbey brand correctly and consistently across all communications.

This webpage outlines those guidelines in order to protect the Wycombe Abbey identity and reputation. A consistent use of these guidelines will reflect what is unique and special about our School. They enable us to visibly and verbally distinguish and strengthen the equity, and hence the value, of our brand.

The below will help everyone involved in the production of our communications, internally and externally. They provide a balance between guidance/direction and provide the tools to create. Adhering to these guidelines doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice creativity or originality; we should all feel free to use these rules and our different personalities to add colour and depth to the School identity.

Please take time to read and understand them.

Thank you

Everything we do should reflect this statement:

Wycombe Abbey is World Class

This is the School’s core message — it is the heart and soul of the brand. It explains why we exist and why our market will remain loyal.

Everything we promise should reflect this statement:

Wycombe Abbey is a prestigious brand with a modern outlook and approach. We aim to be at the forefront of girls’ boarding education and recognised globally as a world class school. We inspire every pupil to strive for ambitious goals and to recognise that they can make a positive difference in the world, now and in the future.

This is the School’s vision — it reinforces what has been achieved, but more importantly it is what we at Wycombe Abbey will continue to do.

Our School Values:

Trust | Encouragement | Mutual Respect | Excellence | Balance | Dynamism | Innovation | Service

Three important messages support our core message of Wycombe Abbey as world class. These aims help us to communicate the main points we want our audiences to hear and remember:

  1. Wycombe Abbey is a place where pupils can be children for longer and are encouraged to discover, explore and participate in almost anything their heart desires.
  2. In addition to achieving outstanding results, the School encourages pupils to love learning and aims to instil good habits that enable them to live fulfilling, creative lives.
  3. Wycombe Abbey is well located. Set within 170 acres of conservation listed grounds, the School is on one secure site that is safe, protected and an oasis of calm.
  1. An exceptional boarding School which produces exceptional pupils.
  2. A place where academic excellence, empathy and integrity thrive.
  3. Boarding is the key to our continued success.
  4. An ethos of peer encouragement and support.
  5. A wonderful world where all pupils flourish.
  6. Nurturing a globalised and entrepreneurial world view.

Brands help people make a choice — between boarding or day school, private or public school, London, High Wycombe or Hong Kong.

The purpose of our branding is to ensure that Wycombe Abbey is the preferred choice in the minds of our audiences (whether parents, pupils, or prospective employees).

Brands that resonate strongly with their audience are typically motivated by the desire to exceed expectations. Living up to our word builds brand loyalty and word-of-mouth recommendation.

Our core message and vision statement establish the benchmark against which our brand can be measured time and again to ensure consistency in purpose, vision and outcome.

A consistently communicated vision will help us to hold our edge in a constantly shifting international market.

Brands are not static. They live and breath.

Visual Identity

The following guidelines have been prepared to help individuals apply the School’s visual identity correctly and consistently across a wide range of communications.

Our logo is the key building block of our identity and the primary visual element that identifies us. Therefore, it is important that it is reproduced and displayed in the correct manner so as not to dilute the School brand.

Wycombe Abbey has two types of logo: Lozenge and Logotype.

The lozenge (crest) is the most commonly used logo format for the School.

The logotype should be used only where it is deemed necessary to show the School’s name, especially for new audiences or instances where only a logo is shown without supporting information about the School.

There are three logotype formats available. Use the format that works best for your project.

DOWNLOAD LOGO PACKAGE

 

Please ensure you follow the guidelines below for correct use.

Always ensure there is enough clear space around the logos wherever possible. As a guide for the minimum amount we would recommend using the logo as a measure as shown.

 

The lozenge must never be produced smaller than 15mm or 150 pixels in height to avoid loss of detail and legibility.

 

 

The logos should always be grey coloured and placed on a navy background (see Colours section for exact values). For instances where this may not be possible or appropriate, a navy coloured crest can be used.. Such instances include all internal communications, School stationery and legal documents for example.

 

 

Never use other colours or alter the lozenge shape in any way.

 

Only use the Horizontal Stacked logo (pic 1) for non-centred layouts and align left or right of page margin.

Never centre the Horizontal Stacked logo on a page with a centred layout (pic 2).

Use the Vertical Stacked logo or Lozenge for centred layouts (pic 3).

Consistent use of the correct typefaces and weights, in the right places, ensures that the Wycombe Abbey communications are instantly recognisable and the integrity of the brand is maintained.

Gill Sans Nova Light is our main typeface used for all communications (both digital and print), for example all letters, written documents, captions on film etc. It should be used for everything including headings, titles, subheads and body copy.

Please note: Gill Sans MT Std Light and Gill Sans MT Std Medium are our alternative fonts if the above cannot be found on devices of programmes such as Adobe.

Please keep the text size above 11, anything less is too small to read.

Gill Sans Noval Light bold weight can be used to highlight words or sentences but should be used sparingly.

Arial is our secondary font and should only be used when Gill Sans Nova Light or Gills Sans MT Std Light is not available.

Always ensure there is adequate spacing between the letters. As a general rule, we would advise setting the tracking for all text, from headings to body copy,  to 20 (/1000 em).

Apply a generous amount of line spacing, but not too much that it becomes a distraction.

Please note:

  • Bold should only be used when highlighting words or phrases.
  • Italics should only be used for naming of items such as books, plays, music etc.
  • Please refrain from using full capitals, underlining, italics or a different colour to highlight words or phrases. Bold is much easier to read and less aggressive.

Creative font arrangements when creating bespoke items such as posters and programmes are permitted and the Communications Manager will be able to advise on whether the document is suitable.

Consistent use of the School colours will help ensure that this palette becomes recognised as belonging to Wycombe Abbey.

Dark Navy is the School’s primary colour. Select the colour values that are relevant to the medium you are using.

Warm Grey is the School’s accent colour, which should be used for the crest/logotype and typography when placed on a dark navy background.

 

WA Brand Primary Colour

 

For text and logos which are placed on a white background, use a slightly lighter version of navy to counter the optical shift. Select the colour values that are relevant to the medium you are using.

 

 

Each of the School’s Houses have a colour assigned to them for their exclusive use. These House colours also form the secondary colour palette for the School’s visual identity.

Wycombe Abbey House Colours

 

For digital and web-based projects. The following colours must be adhered to.

The School’s ever-growing image library must stay fresh and relevant. It must also remain visually consistent.

The following guidelines and examples must be adhered to when a photographer is commissioned.

 

The use of the Dove as a standalone icon is reserved for Pastoral communications only.

Examples of Pastoral communications might include House blogs, social media, stationery, posters, invitations etc that are used within and belong to a House.

The Dove should only appear in white or a House colour; on either the blue background or House colour background.

Please contact the Communications Office for the icon: [email protected]

 

 

The creation of a subsidiary logo may be required from time to time. The following guidelines have been established to help facilitate the creation of a subsidiary logo.

Subsidiary logos may include Model United Nations, Seniors, Foundation, Pension Trustees Ltd etc.

Below you will find a selection of document templates to use with InDesign. If you require a different template eg a larger booklet or Word document, please contact the Communications Manager.

 

4pp A5 Multi-Purpose Template

The School regularly produces 4pp printed documents for a wide range of purposes such as programmes, invitations, announcements, results and general information. This 4pp InDesign template is suitable for most purposes. If you require an A4 template or more pages, please contact the Communications Manager.

DOWNLOAD 4PP INDESIGN TEMPLATE

 

 

2pp A5 Invitation Template

This 2pp InDesign template is ideal for event invitations and programmes.

DOWNLOAD 2PP INDESIGN TEMPLATE

 

 

1pp A5 Invitation Template

This 1pp InDesign template is ideal for event invitations.

DOWNLOAD 1PP INDESIGN TEMPLATE

 

 

PowerPoint Template

A general all purpose PowerPoint template with a range of title page images to choose from.

WA Powerpoint Templates

Download PowerPoint Template - Standard

Download PowerPoint Template - Widescreen

 

 

Poster Templates

All posters displayed around the School should include the universal footer, which contains the School’s branding and key information. This will ensure some degree of uniformity while allowing creativity to express the subject.

DOWNLOAD POSTER TEMPLATES

 

Verbal Identity

Verbal identity is about adding personality to communications so that our audiences can connect with a human voice, not a faceless institution. Every word attached to our brand — whether it is a website, video content, newsletter, prospectus, or social media post — is part of our verbal identity. Our name, the messages we choose and the tonal decisions we make are all part of how people perceive the School.

All communication must attract and appeal to an aspirational audience. It should exude the pioneering and ambitious sisterhood spirit of the School.

Wycombe Abbey is a place where creative and intellectually curious individuals flourish. The brand’s tone of voice needs to reflect this by being:

Empowering

Aspirational

Passionate

All written, verbal and visual brand expressions must be warm and welcoming but with a meticulous tone. Wycombe Abbey will always celebrate and embrace its achievements but it must do so with modesty.

Like its pupils, the Wycombe Abbey voice is inquisitive and open-minded, honest, adaptable and conscientious — the type of person you can rely on.

This Brand Lexicon is a companion to the Brand Guidelines. It includes the unique characteristics expressed in the personality of the School’s tone of voice and brand language. The aim is to provide guidance to reduce confusion of preferred conventions as well as to achieve language consistency and clarity. It is a living lexicon and may, from time to time, be updated by the Communications and Marketing Department.

The Wycombe Abbey Brand Lexicon, or House Style, aims to provide a guide to writing and formatting documents written on behalf of the School. It is part of Wycombe Abbey’s brand strategy which enables the School’s formal and informal documentation to be presented consistently across all communications.

General Rules
If there is more than one correct way of writing something, choose whichever uses the least space and least ink. For instance: close up spaces and don’t use full stops in abbreviations (eg Mr); use lower case wherever possible; only write out numbers up to ten and use figures for 11 onwards.

Avoid jargon. Write in plain English.

Be engaging. Make your writing reflect the passion and intellect you share with your readers for the subject matter.

Be lucid with simple sentences. Keep complicated constructions to a minimum.

State your meaning precisely. (Vague: slightly behind schedule/Precise: One day late).

Tell readers what they need to know, not just what you want to say. Give them the exact information they need, along with opportunities to learn more. And keep in mind what your reader does not know. Examine everything from the reader’s point of view.

Write so that you cannot be misunderstood.

Write to catch the attention of the reader.

 

Abbreviations, Contractions and Acronyms
Abbreviations can be very confusing and are often best avoided in plain English. If they are used, it should only be in supplementary information on a page, for example in tables.

Don’t use full stops after any abbreviations, contractions or acronyms (unless it is the end of a sentence) and close up space between letters. For example: Mr, Dr, BBC, PDF.

When using an acronym that may be unfamiliar to your readers, spell it out in full the first time it is mentioned, with the acronym following in brackets; thereafter, use the acronym alone. eg Independent Schools Council (ISC). If the short version is more familiar than the full one like FAQs, GCSEs or BBC, you do not need to write it out.

Ampersands (&) should only be used if they are part of the name of a company as it appears on the Companies House Register. Otherwise, spell out ‘and’. The exception is in social media posts.

When it comes to social media where content space is short – abbreviations are recommended.

Do not use sprinklings of abbreviations and acronyms; you will end up irritating rather than informing your reader.

A*, A*s. Use the symbol * not the word ‘star’. No apostrophe in the plural (this is also the case for GCSEs).

 

Bold
Should be used for emphasis in documents and to highlight certain headings.

Use bold instead of underlining.

 

Calendar Entries and Event Titles
If you are entering dates into the SOCS calendar please use the following format: Year group(s)/House + event + location if not at School in brackets.

If the location is at School – please add this to the location section in SOCS.

Examples:
UIII – UVI Careers Spotlight: Civil Service
UIV – LVI Oxford Schools Debate, Regional Round
LVI – UVI Classics trip: ‘Troy: Myth and Reality’ Exhibition (British Museum)
LVI Butler Afternoon Tea

 

Capital Letters
Do not use capitals for large amounts of text. It is hard to read, overwhelming and can come across as aggressive. If you need to highlight something, use bold. The general rule is use as few capital letters as possible. If in doubt, use lower case unless it looks nonsensical, however certain words or groups of words require them:

A level (not A-level or A Level)
IGCSE/GCSE
Bursary
the Chapel
Closed Weekends
Daws Hill
Executive Leadership Team
Governing Council
Short Leave/Long Leave
Head of School/Head of House
Headmistress
Housemistress / Deputy Housemistress
House / Boarding House when used to describe a particular House. boarding house when used generally.
House names (Airlie, Barry)
Locations (LAC, Library, Dining Room etc)
Names of academic subjects (History, English eg In History, Charlotte is working well (but Charlotte is an excellent historian…))
PreU
Scholarships and Exhibition Awards
School capitalisation: Wycombe Abbey is a prestigious school…at the heart of the School’s success… Capital ‘S’ used when referring to Wycombe Abbey.
Year Groups: Sixth Form, Lower Fourth, UIII etc (not VI Form, L4th, U3)
Staff job titles
Summer Term/Autumn Term/Spring Term
Line Manager
School Diary

 

Do not put in capitals:

boarding
individual sports (unless it is a subject)
prefect
names of meals (breakfast, lunch, tea and supper)
seasons (summer holidays, the autumn)
skills or topics within subject areas
teacher
university (unless referring to a specific institution ie University of Bath)
Email addresses. Write email addresses in full, in lower case and as active links. Do not have any other words in the link. (Email: [email protected])

 

Date and Time
The following formats should be used:

4 June 2021 or Wednesday 4 June 2021
Do not use 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. Should be just 1, 2, 3
Academic years: 2020/2021 (not just 2021)

9:00am / 9:30am or 3:00pm / 3:30pm
Use 12:00noon for midday
Event times: 9:00am – 10:30am / 2:00pm – 3:00pm

 

Email (including School Post)

Please sign all emails with your full name and job title (including emails to parents using SchoolPost). You should use the Wycombe Abbey email signature on all Outlook correspondence.

Emails should be personalised where possible. All SchoolPost emails should be personalised using the merge tag function. For example, Dear Parents should not be used.

SchoolPost emails should be sent either in the Friday Bundle (preferred) or at 5:00pm on a weekday. Please refrain from sending emails at other times, unless it is very important.

When emailing pupils, copy in another member of staff, preferably the Housemistress.

 

Grammar
Care should be taken to conform to traditional rules of grammar and in the construction of your sentences and paragraphs. Please give particular attention to the following:

Apostrophes:
the pupils (more than one, no possession)
the pupil’s (belongs to one)
the pupils’ (belongs to more than one, plural ending in s)
UIIIs (not UIII’s)
GCSEs (not GCSE’s)

Brackets:
If a whole sentence is within brackets, put the full stop inside. Square brackets should be used for interpolations in direct quotations: ‘Let them [the poor] eat cake.’ To use ordinary brackets implies that the words inside them were part of the original text from which you are quoting.

Bullet points:
If the text of your bullet point is a complete sentence (or multiple sentences), use capital letters and punctuation. If your points are not structured as proper sentences, you don’t need to end with punctuation.

For a list of short items, there is no need to punctuate each point. A colon should be used to introduce the list, and the first letter of each point should be in upper case. Don’t punctuate the end of bullet points which are a list of items.

For a list of longer items or sentences, which follow on from an introductory sentence, each item should end with a semi-colon and the final item should end with a full stop. Ensure that the tense and structure of each item work with the introductory sentence. The first letter of each point should not be in upper case (unless it is a proper noun).

Commas:
Use commas as an aid to understanding. Too many in one sentence can be confusing. Do not put commas after question-marks.

Dashes:
Use dashes to introduce an explanation, amplification, paraphrase. The dash symbol is different to the hyphen symbol, for a dash, press ‘space hyphen space’ (to get this: –, whereas a hyphen is this: -).

Exclamation marks:
Use sparingly. Double or triple should never occur.

Hyphens:
There is no firm rule established. Generally speaking, hyphens are used with compound adjectives (eg she is a well-organised girl) but not otherwise (eg her planner is well organised)).

Quotation marks:
Please use single quotation marks for quotes: ‘…’ If there is a quote within a quote, double quotation marks should be used for the enclosed quotation.

To be used when italics is not available for names of books, plays, pieces of music etc. For example on social media.

 

Italics
Should only be used for names of books, plays, pieces of music etc, eg The Tempest.

 

Names
Full pupil names should never appear in published documents (including captions in recorded/live content); instead, use first name and year: Lucy (UVI). Initials on social media is ok if you are short of space. Full names are only to be used for formal documentation. If two or more pupils are listed and they are in the same year group, the year can be written once after all of the names: The play was directed by Charlotte and Georgia (UIII).

When referring to staff in text, salutation and surname should be used, eg Mrs Duncan welcomed the new pupils. First name can be used informally.

Authors of articles in publications:
Pupil name in bold with year group: Harriet, UIII.
Staff name in bold, position title on next line not in bold:
Mrs Vicky Fawkes
Deputy Head (Pastoral)

When referring to Seniors (alumnae) in text, the following style should be observed: first name surname (maiden name, C…, House, Year Left): Harriet Dearden (Atkinson, C283, Airlie, 1986) for the first mention, when a name appears in an article a second time, use first name.
NB C… refers to Circle number. Please ensure that there is no space or full stop between C and the number.

 

Numbers
Write out numbers in full if the number is between one and ten; use digits if it is higher than this.

If a sentence begins with a number, write out in full.

Numerals should be used for examinations eg ABRSM Grade 6 Violin examination.

Numbers greater than 1,000 have a comma to separate the thousands unit.

Numbers greater than 1,000,000 have two commas to separate the millions and thousands units. Most of the time, however, if numbers are seven figures or more, they should be abbreviated: £1.2 million,
5 billion.

Telephone numbers: standard format of (+44) (0) 1494 520381.

 

Sentence Length
Do not use overly long sentences

Check sentences over 25 words to see if you can split them to make them clearer.

 

Spelling
Please see Wycombe Abbey Words for preferred spellings of School specific words.

Use British English rather than American English.

Take care to use the correct forms of practice (noun) / practise (verb). Ella should practise using the imperfect tense… During examination practice, Ella performed well…

Where ‘z’ or ’s’ can be used for verbs use ’s’ (organised not organized).

Where a single or double ’s’ or ’t’ can be used for verbs, use a single ’s’ or ’t’ (focused not focussed).

 

Spaces
Please put only one space after a full stop.

 

Symbols
We use common symbols and currency signs.

We avoid ampersands (&) unless they are already part of an existing name. The exception is on social media posts where there is a character limit.

The @ symbol should not be used in sentences – only in email addresses and for Flourishing@Wycombe and Listening@Wycombe.

 

Underline
Please refrain from underlining words – it can look messy and out of place with our brand. Please use bold instead.

Use a larger font size for titles instead of underlining.

Only to be used for a hyperlink in documents.

Boarders (not boarding students)

Day boarders (not day pupils or girls)

Pupils (not students)

Daughter should be used in correspondence with parents, use pupil in other situations

Wycombe Abbey (not Wycombe Abbey School, Wycombe, WAS or W.A.S.)

Big School (Assembly Hall/Assembly)

Dining Room (cafeteria/canteen)

Mufti (casual clothes/non-uniform)

Seniors (alumnae) (not Wycombe Seniors)

Tutor group

Year Groups: UIII (Year 7), LIV (Year 8), UVI (Year 9), LV (Year 10), UV (Year 11), LVI (Year 12), UVI (Year 13)

Year Groups plural: UIIIs not UIII’s

Year Groups written longhand: UVI = Upper Sixth not Upper VI or VI Form

Job titles should be written with brackets rather than a colon: Deputy Head (Academic)

Extra-curricular refers to additional activities that relate to curriculum subjects (Drama, Music, Sport)

Co-curricular refers to additional activities that are not related to curriculum (Exploration Society, Leadership, Careers, Environment etc)

Headmistress, not Head (except for policies which need to be gender neutral and when discussing Deputy Head)

Headmistress’ Office not Head’s Office and not Headmistress’s Office

Housemistress not House mistress or House Mistress

Matron not Pastoral Assistant, PA

All staff refers to everyone. To differentiate, please use the following: teaching staff, boarding staff, support staff.

Help and who to contact

If you have any questions about how to use the Wycombe Abbey brand or how to talk about Wycombe Abbey, please contact Rebecca Conroy, Communications Manager