Virtual vs In-Person School Open Days: UK Trends
School open days have changed permanently. What began as a pandemic necessity has matured into a genuine strategic choice: most UK schools now weigh virtual school open day options alongside traditional in-person events — and the strongest admissions strategies use both.
Here’s how the formats compare, and how schools are combining them.
What In-Person Open Days Do Best
Nothing fully replicates standing inside a school. In-person events let families:
- See the facilities and atmosphere first-hand
- Meet teachers and, crucially, current pupils
- Watch real lessons and activities
- Ask spontaneous questions and judge how staff respond
- Imagine their child in the environment
These sensory and emotional impressions are usually what finally tips a decision. For families within easy travelling distance, in-person remains the gold standard.
What Virtual Open Days Do Best
Virtual events solve the problems of distance, time and cost:
- Convenience: parents attend from home, often in the evening
- Reach: families across the UK and overseas can attend
- Cost: no catering, signage or weekend staffing
- Reusability: recordings keep working for you long after the event
Virtual formats are particularly valuable for international families researching UK schools from abroad, families relocating to a new area, and boarding school recruitment. A webinar scheduled with overseas time zones in mind — with a recording for those who can’t make it live — opens your school to a global audience that could never attend a Saturday morning event.
The UK Trend: Hybrid, Not Either/Or
The clearest trend among UK schools is using the two formats as stages in a funnel:
- Virtual first touch — a webinar, live Q&A or online tour to introduce the school to a wide audience at low commitment
- In-person close — an open morning or private tour for families who are now genuinely interested
This approach respects parents’ time, widens the top of your funnel, and means your in-person events are attended by warmer, better-qualified families. Many schools also keep a library of recorded content — head’s welcome, subject talks, pupil panels — on their website for families at any stage.
Practical Tips for Each Format
For virtual events:
- Use a reliable webinar platform with live Q&A and chat
- Keep sessions to 45–60 minutes with a clear agenda
- Record everything and share the replay within 24 hours
- Schedule with your target families’ time zones in mind
For in-person events:
- Student-led tours and real lessons over long presentations
- Short, warm welcome talk from the head
- Clear signage, parking information and refreshments
- Fast, personal follow-up within 48 hours
Promoting Both Formats
Whichever format you run, families can’t attend what they can’t find. Promote virtual and in-person events through your website, email list and social channels — and list them on SchoolOpenDays.co.uk, where families actively search for both in-person open days and virtual admissions events, including international parents researching UK schools remotely.
Final Thoughts
The virtual vs in-person debate has a clear answer from the UK market: use both, deliberately. Virtual events widen your reach and qualify interest cheaply; in-person events convert that interest into commitment. Schools that run them as connected stages of one admissions journey will out-recruit those still choosing one format over the other.
