10 channels to get students, by season
Free channels close to your school come first: Google, an open day, schools and referrals. Paid ads and flyers work best in the weeks before each campaign, not all year.
Each row says when the channel works best and what it costs. Seasons are our planning suggestion for a school year from September to June: move them if your year runs differently.
| Channel | Best season | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | All year: update hours, photos and courses before September | Free |
| Your website with an enrolment form | All year | Your web hosting |
| Open day or trial week | September, and June for summer courses | Your team's time |
| Re-enrolment of current students | May and June | Free |
| Referrals from families and students | All year, ask at re-enrolment | The discount or free lesson you choose to give |
| Schools and AMPAs (after-school classes) | Spring, for the next school year | Free, always ask first |
| Local companies (in-company classes) | September and January | Your time |
| Instagram and local Facebook groups | All year, more before each campaign | Free to post |
| Flyers and noticeboards near the school | Late August and September | Printing |
| Google Ads | The weeks before September and January | You set a daily budget |
Costs come from each provider's own pages (sources at the end) or are your own time. Ask every new student how they found you, so next year you know which rows to keep.
A year of enrolment campaigns
Plan the year in five moments: get ready in summer, run the September campaign, open new groups in January, talk to schools in spring and ask for re-enrolment in June.
- 1
July and August: get ready
Update your Google profile, website, prices and timetable for the new year. Print your flyers and set a date for your open day.
- 2
September: the main campaign
Hold the open day, post in local groups, put flyers up near the school and, if you use ads, switch them on now. Answer every enquiry the same day.
- 3
January: the second campaign
Offer new groups or free places to people who start the year with a new goal, and to companies planning their training for the year.
- 4
Spring: schools and summer
Talk to schools and AMPAs about after-school classes for next year and start selling your summer courses.
- 5
May and June: re-enrolment
Send families next year's timetable and ask them to re-enrol before the summer break. Hold an open day for your summer courses.
Google, your website and an open day
A free Google Business Profile puts your school on Google Maps for people nearby. Your website turns that visit into an enrolment, and an open day lets families meet the teachers.
Google says creating a Business Profile is free. Add your address, opening hours, languages, levels and photos of the classrooms, and link to a page where people can enrol or book a level test.
Reviews help families choose. Ask happy students and parents for one at the end of each term, and reply to every review, good or bad.
At an open day, offer short sample lessons by level, a quick level test and someone at the door who can answer questions about prices and timetables. Take each visitor's contact details and follow up within two days.
Schools, AMPAs and local companies
Schools and companies bring whole groups at once. They decide months ahead, so talk to schools in spring and to companies before September and January.
Ask the school office or the AMPA (the parents' association) if you can run after-school English classes at the school, or leave information for families. We explain how to pitch it in our guide to after-school English classes.
For companies, offer in-company or online classes for their teams. Start with businesses near the school and with the students you already teach: ask them where they work.
Paid ads: when are they worth it?
Ads are worth it when you can measure what one new student costs you. Run them in the weeks before each campaign and stop the ones that don't bring enrolments.
On Google Ads, you set an average daily budget for each campaign and can change it at any time. To compare channels, divide what you spent by the students who enrolled: €300 of ads that bring 6 students means €50 per enrolment.
Say exactly what you offer in every ad. In Andalucía, the consumer authorities are checking academy ads, contracts and diplomas from April to November 2026: ads must be truthful, complete and objective, and say clearly when a course is not official.
Keep the students you have
A student who re-enrols doesn't need a new campaign. Show progress during the year, follow up on absences and ask for re-enrolment before summer.
- Show progress: a short report each term and a clear goal for the year (a level, an exam, a trip).
- Follow up on absences: a message after two missed classes in a row can warn you that someone is about to leave.
- Ask for re-enrolment early: send next year's timetable in May and keep current students' places until a set date.
- Ask leavers why: one short question when someone drops out tells you what to fix.
- Keep groups at the right level: a student in a group that is too easy or too hard ends up looking for another school.
To measure it, use your re-enrolment rate: students who re-enrol divided by students who could have re-enrolled, times 100. If 80 of your 100 students sign up again, your rate is 80%.
For the report itself, copy our student progress report template.
Your school in one place
SmartCookie Teams brings your team's calendar, courses, attendance and payments together, so in enrolment season you look after families, not a spreadsheet.