School Shop Works Well for Pocklington
Pocklington School in East Yorkshire elected to go down the exclusive school shop route about 18 months ago, and selected the John Cheatle Group to supply and administer all aspects of it.
Domestic bursar Andrew D’Arcy said it was a major decision for the school, but the right one and the best way forward. The John Cheatle internet site also complements the shop, and he explained why John Cheatle was selected to be the supplier: “We did a considerable amount of homework first and we visited several other schools already using John Cheatle. They really know the schoolwear business, and even though we’d been doing it ourselves for some years, we were keen to get someone who knew the business inside out. We’re glad we took this route; our supplier is always at the end of a phone, and since we acquired our school shop we’ve been happy to recommend this route to other schools.”
Now managed by Karen Smitheman, who previously helped order the school’s uniform and sports kit requirements when the school ran these itself, the Pocklington school shop has come with a number of key benefits, as she confirms: “We now have a till that does almost everything for us, plus a card machine so parents can pay quickly and easily – even when they’re not present! I can also hold more stock, which is obviously better for parents.”
Uniforms can be tried on by pupils visiting the on-site shop, within the safety of the school, and parents can then pay for the required items by phone or in person. This works particularly well for boarders at Pocklington.
As Andrew D’Arcy summed up: “We’ve had a very positive experience across the board, even during the transitional period when John Cheatle took our staff on to manage the shop. It went well and continues to be a good experience for us and for Pocklington School pupils and parents.”
ENDS
For further media information please contact Bridget Summers, Footprint, PO Box 4, Thorpe Park, Leeds LS15 8WX. Tel: 0113 251 5697. E-mail:bridget@fim.org.uk
Tags:
