Analysis of school magazine covers

School magazines

The layout of this magazine cover for Rainey Endowed School is simple with the school logo as the main feature, which seems to sell the status of the school and focuses on its tradition and sobriety and therefore is probably aimed at prospective parents who are looking at the school. 
The background colour of red may be the school colours as the logo is also red, and one photo shows a group of girls dressed in red. The colour is quite a neutral colour and so would appeal to both male and female readers. The font stands out clearly against the background but it is plain and simple, giving the page a 'formal' feel to it which is probably aimed at prospective students and parents. There is nothing on the cover to indicate what features inside the magazine which makes the magazine seem more like a prospectus than a magazine.
Although the photos draw attention to the magazine and make the cover seem more interesting, they all look quite posed which also adds to the formality of the magazine. Most of the photo's show adults, maybe teachers or past pupils which is more encouraging for parents to read than students.
The bottom photo shows a group of girls holding a cup and medals which creates the impression that pupils at the school are hardworking and aim and achieve high. This photo was probably chosen to appeal to prospective parents who are planning on sending their children to the school. Overall, looking at this magazine, we get the impression that it has been created with the target audience of adults, teachers or prospective parents in mind as its simple and formal layout would not appeal to younger students.




This is a magazine cover for The City of Pourtsmouth Boys' School and different in terms of layout and style than the previous cover. Unlike the cover for Rainey Endowed School, the school logo is smaller and a part of the title, rather than the main feature of the page. This makes it less obvious that the magazine is for a school but the title 'City News' creates a serious almost 'business' feel to the magazine which would not appeal to older teenage students. The main feature of the page is a collage of photographs taken from the year eleven prom and a short article about the event. Although the photographs are taken from a social event, rather than set in a studying environment. they look quite posed and serious which suggests that the photo is also aimed at parents as well as students. The text font is standard and quite formal, as is the language used in the article which suggests that the magazine is aimed at parents rather than students. The overall layout of this magazine is quite standard and simple and could represent a newspaper article rather than the cover of magazines that are popular with older teenagers. Overall, although this magazine has a different layout from the previous magazine, it seems to represent a newspaper article due to its formal style and language which suggests that it is aimed at parents rather than the students themselves. 





This is a magazine cover for the King Edward VI High School for Girls. Like the previous magazine, this cover does not make it obvious that the magazine is for a school as it does not include a logo and the school name is not used as the main title. The bold title 'High Profile' clearly stands out and would probably attract student readers as it does not center on the school name. The layout of the cover is quite simple but the background photograph is eye-catching and effective in encouraging younger pupils to read the magazine. The photograph shows three girls, dressed in their own clothes and wearing animal featured face paint. This photograph shows that the school also organises fun events for its pupils who look relaxed and enjoying themselves on a school trip. The photograph indicates that the magazine is aimed at the pupils at the school rather than parents as it is looking at the social and fun side of school rather than the academic. The captions at the bottom of the page give an indication of what features inside the magazine in a style that could be expected from a normal teenage magazine. The language is simple and the phrase, 'And lots more inside!' seems informal and engaging to young readers rather than adults. Overall, the simple yet effective layout and style of this magazine would target the younger pupils of the school to buy and read it as it focuses on the social 'fun' events.

Sixth form magazines

This magazine cover is for the South East Essex College and is aimed at students in further education, ages 16 and above. The magazine title 'Dave' could be the name of a friend or classmate which immediately creates an informal feel to the magazine which would encourage students to read it. The name does not link to the college's name and therefore shows that the magazine is not about academic life and will talk to the reader as a friend. However, 'Dave' is also a mens television channel and the male name seems to be aimed more at male students rather than female. The font style is modern and seems to connotate style which would appeal to young adults which is also reflected in the colloquial and chatty language on the cover which would appeal to a younger audience, as its informality talks to the reader as a friend, for example, 'Can you gig it?' The cover photograph is of Sam Duckworth, the frontman in a popular band Get Cape Wear Cape Fly which would appeal to young students who are interested or studying music. Sam is also originally from Southend, the area in which the magazine covers which could inspire young people in Southend to read about his success.  There are also previews of the features inside the magazine on the cover which are mainly associated with music and culture in the area such a gigs and festivals. The caption at the bottom of the page 'Whats on, where & when' shows that the magazine is not about the college itself, but the culture and events in the surrounding area which would interest students and encourage them to read it. Overall, the layout, style and language of this magazine clearly shows that it is targeted at younger students at the college and their common interests rather than prospective students or adults who may be more interested in the academic side of the college. I like this idea for a sixth form magazine as it would encourage more students to buy the magazine if it is based on their interests rather than the school, however, I would include more information about sixth form/school events than 'Dave' so it is still recognisable as a school magazine.

This magazine is written by sixth form students, for students at Cardinal Heenan Sixth Form in the Liverpool East Collaborative. The general 'look' of this magazine is modern and bright, like the previous magazine. However this magazine makes it quite clear that it is written for sixth formers as the main photograph shows a group of students with an award which is explained in the caption, 'Young Entrepreneurs judged best in Liverpool' unlike 'Dave' which focused on celebrities rather than students at the college. This would encourage students to read the magazine, especially if themselves or their friends appear on the cover or inside. The design for the cover of the magazine is quite artistic, with a simple but eye-catching pattern of circles and 'splats' of blue on a plain neutral background. This design would appeal to both male and female readers and creates a more 'fun' and modern look the the magazine, unlike the magazine for Rainey Endowed School which focuses on the academic side of the school. There are also 3 short sentences on the front cover to show what features inside the magazine, unlike the cover for Rainey Endowed School which looks more like a prospectus. The caption 'Band and film reviews' shows that the magazine is not completely based on school and also includes articles that would generally interest I think it is a good idea to include some previews on the front cover as this will encourage students to buy the magazine when they have an idea of what will appear in it. Overall, this magazine is successful in targeting sixth form students to read it as its modern design and content would appeal to young students.

This is a magazine cover for students at City of Bristol College, probably mostly aged 16-18, the same age group that my sixth form magazine is aimed at. The cover is bright and eye-catching, with a photo of a college student as the background. The student is relaxing on the grass rather than studying which creates a personal feel to the magazine that students could relate to. The photograph connotates freedom and seems to focuses on the readers interests rather than the academic side of college. The title 'Level Best' relates to A Levels, which most students would be studying at the college and also has connotations of doing your best. The college logo and name is in the corner to show that the magazine is still based on college life. This magazine cover does not have any indications of what features are inside, but the informal and friendly feel to the cover would intice both male and female students to read it. However, I would include some captions of what features are inside on my cover as it would give students an idea of what the magazine is like before they read it.I feel that this magazine seems to be aimed at people 'aspiring' to be older than they are as the sixth form magazines seem to have sense of maturity compared to the school magazines. Overall, the colours, layout and photograph show that this magazine is clearly aimed at students rather than parents and I think that the photo is very effective in creating a relaxed feel to the magazine which I will try to incorporate into my magazine cover.