How we sound

How we talk about, write about or refer to ourselves is as important as how we present ourselves. We can sum up the tone of Freemen’s in three words:

Let’s think about these words as we talk about the school or when we need to write a letter, document or report. They will help us all set the right tone.

Our name

We always refer to ourselves as City of London Freemen’s School or Freemen’s. We avoid using CLFS.

Keep it simple

Don’t use overcomplicated language. Be clear and simple.

Avoid jargon

It is difficult in schools not to use jargon, but where possible avoid using jargon. If you must use it, think whether you need to explain it first. if using abbreviations, explain those in the first instance.

Be friendly if writing, talk to the reader. Use ‘you’ and then when referring to Freemen’s, use ‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘us’.

Use a subject

Always use add a subject into the subject line of an email.

Think descriptively

Entice your audience with more descrptive verbs. We could invite parents to our open day, but it is much more interesting to ask them to ‘explore’ or ‘discover’ Freemen’s.

Focus on the experience rather than the detail

Particularly when writing for the website, focus on the experience of the event or activity rather than documenting everything that happened. The reader only needs to know what time you left if it has some impact on the day itself. Similarly, every article does not need to start with the date the activty or event occurred. Think more about what the reactions of the students were, what the learning objectives were and how these were met or exceeded.

Don’t speak

Where possible, don’t say or write anything at all. Think about how you can document your activity in different ways: photos, video, work. Then try to get the students to write the experience up. We love your voice, but we really, really want to hear from the students.

Proof and check spelling

Proof all documents, particulalrly any that are being sent out to parents and students. Use the Guardian / Observer style guide if you are unsure of how we spell words e.g. Headmaster.