Six in Ten Students Found Westerfield Online

A parent in Lagos, phone in hand, types “best a level college in Lagos”. That is the moment admissions are decided. The shortlist forms on page one of Google, in about ten seconds, and a college that is not on it does not get rejected, it gets something worse: it never gets considered. No visit, no enquiry, no chance to explain its results.

Westerfield had the substance to win that shortlist: Cambridge A-Levels, foundation routes into universities in the UK, Canada and Australia, a progression record to be proud of. What it did not have was presence at the moment of choice. Families searching “sixth form college in Nigeria” or “a level college in Lagos” were writing their shortlists from the colleges Google showed them, and Westerfield was not among them.

The families who did find their way through met a second leak. An enquiry about A-Levels is perishable: a parent who asks about entry requirements on Tuesday evening and hears back on Thursday has spent Wednesday touring another college. Westerfield’s enquiries were answered when someone could get to them. There was no system whose job was to make sure every single one met a person.

And underneath both leaks, the college could not see itself. Money and effort went into being known; students enrolled; but which activities were producing the enrolments was a matter of opinion, not evidence, so there was no way to do more of what worked on purpose.

The fix followed the order. Be found first: number one for the exact phrases families type. Then be reachable the moment they act: a chat system with a team behind it. What came back was a college whose largest enrolment channel is now the one it can see and count.