School Signage
How to Advertise School Open Days
Every open day is an opportunity - a chance to showcase your school's culture, facilities and people to prospective pupils and their families. But in a world full of competing messages, how do you ensure your event doesn’t just blend into the background?
The key lies in visibility - and that starts with great signage.
At Signs Express, we work with schools and academies across the UK and Ireland to help them stand out. Here are five effective ways you can advertise your next open day, using a blend of print, digital and local engagement strategies to get noticed and drive attendance.
1. Make Your Message Unmissable with Outdoor Signage
Let’s start with the school gate - the first place visitors, parents and passers-by will see.
PVC banners with bold messaging and school branding are a tried-and-tested way to advertise open days to your local community. Whether hung on fencing or installed with posts, they’re affordable, weather-resistant and hard to miss.
For a professional touch, consider post & panel signs or temporary monoliths with changeable graphics. These not only promote your event but boost overall kerb appeal. Add wayfinding signage to help first-time visitors navigate easily on the day itself, reducing stress and enhancing the experience.
Pro tip: Add a QR code on banners or signs linking to your open day registration page.
2. Get Moving with Vehicle Graphics
If your school has a minibus or service van, you’re sitting on a powerful (and underused) advertising opportunity.
Van graphics or magnetic signs turn your everyday journeys into mobile marketing campaigns. Whether dropping off students or parked near community hotspots, your open day message can be seen by thousands.
It’s not just practical - it shows pride in your school and consistency in your brand. And for multi-academy trusts, vehicle graphics are a brilliant way to promote open events across multiple campuses while reinforcing your group identity.
3. Go Digital to Stay Dynamic
Digital signage isn’t just for retail.
Freestanding digital screens in your reception, canteens or even local community venues offer an engaging way to promote open days through videos, slideshows or welcome messages. They’re especially useful for multi-date events where printed posters may go out of date quickly.
Need a sustainable option? Many schools are switching to cloud-based digital totems, which can be updated remotely by your marketing team or even supported by us at Signs Express.
4. Use Social Media to Expand Your Reach
While physical signage works wonders locally, social media helps you reach prospective parents who haven’t yet driven past your gate.
Facebook and Instagram ads allow you to target specific postcodes, age groups and interests - perfect for narrowing down to likely parents of reception or Year 6 pupils.
Want to go a step further? Use Instagram Stories or Reels to share sneak peeks of classrooms, interviews with students, or a friendly “invitation” from your headteacher.
Need content? Use high-quality photos of your new signage in action - it builds credibility and excitement.
5. Bring the Experience to Life Before Visitors Arrive
First impressions count, and your open day marketing doesn’t stop at the gate.
Consider using window graphics to promote the date and theme of your open day from the inside out. Think student quotes, achievements or values - these can all be incorporated into clean, eye-catching designs.
Inside the building, wall and floor graphics can transform your corridors into a mini open day tour. Display your mission, pupil work or subject highlights to create a warm, values-driven environment before the event even starts.
Conclusion
Be Seen. Be Remembered. Be Chosen.
Advertising your open day effectively isn’t about one big campaign - it’s about smart, joined-up visibility across every touchpoint.
Whether it’s a banner on your gate, a graphic on your minibus, or a video on a screen in reception, every sign plays a part in your school’s story. Done well, signage doesn't just inform - it inspires.
At Signs Express, we bring over 30 years of experience supporting schools and academies to do just that. Our local centres provide personal service backed by national expertise, helping you plan, design and install signage that works.
Ready to get your open day noticed? Let’s talk.
📞 Call us on 0345 5040 501
📧 Email: sales@signs-express.co.uk
🌐 Or visit: www.signsexpress.co.uk
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