--- title: "Winning the preferences: open evenings that convert" description: What separates the schools parents name first on the preference form - and how to make your open evening convert before the 31 October deadline. image: https://blog.applicaa.com/hubfs/newsletter-banners/hero-winning-the-preferences.png --- [![Aplpicaa Logo White.png](https://blog.applicaa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/APPLICAA_LOGO_White%20Background-1.png?width=1008&height=345&name=APPLICAA_LOGO_White%20Background-1.png "Aplpicaa Logo White.png")](http://applicaa.com) Search toggle [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com) [Follow us on X](https://www.x.com) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com) [![Aplpicaa Logo White.png](https://blog.applicaa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/APPLICAA_LOGO_White%20Background-1.png?width=1008&height=345&name=APPLICAA_LOGO_White%20Background-1.png "Aplpicaa Logo White.png")](http://applicaa.com) Search toggle [![Aplpicaa Logo White.png](https://blog.applicaa.com/hs-fs/hubfs/APPLICAA_LOGO_White%20Background-1.png?width=1008&height=345&name=APPLICAA_LOGO_White%20Background-1.png "Aplpicaa Logo White.png")](http://applicaa.com) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com) [Follow us on X](https://www.x.com) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com) Search toggle What are you looking for? 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[![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67b6eb9544c5ccd53a71af16/6822fef27f7e4abefb1b1b4b_b8e5e574272debd65bdc0005e79f2599_contact-phone.svg) 0208 762 0882](tel:02087620882)[![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67b6eb9544c5ccd53a71af16/6822fef2846abb9a1dc6e09c_e933439d49630a99ef81b4695bbf4bca_contact-envelop.svg) info@applicaa.com](mailto:info@applicaa.com) [Watch demo](https://applicaa.com/demos)[Book a meeting](https://meetings.hubspot.com/amanda-grainger/website-meeting-link) [![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67b6eb9544c5ccd53a71af16/6822fef27f7e4abefb1b1b4b_b8e5e574272debd65bdc0005e79f2599_contact-phone.svg) 0204 538 1630](tel:02045381630)[![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67b6eb9544c5ccd53a71af16/6822fef2846abb9a1dc6e09c_e933439d49630a99ef81b4695bbf4bca_contact-envelop.svg) info@applicaa.com](mailto:info@applicaa.com) # Winning the preferences: open evenings that convert 16 Sep 2026 [Nicola Entwistle](https://blog.applicaa.com/author/nicola-entwistle) ![](https://blog.applicaa.com/hubfs/newsletter-banners/hero-winning-the-preferences.png) Every secondary school runs an open evening. Only some of them get named first on the preference form. The gap between the two isn't budget or venue - it's what happens in the room, and in the days immediately after, before the 31 October deadline closes the decision. ## The open evening doesn't decide it - it confirms it By the time a family walks through your doors, most have already done their research: results tables, Ofsted, word of mouth from other parents. The open evening isn't where minds change from scratch - it's where a lean-in becomes a first-choice tick. Schools that convert treat the evening as confirmation, not persuasion: current students talking unprompted, real classroom work on display, staff who know names, not scripts. ## Know who actually walked through the door You can't follow up with a family you can't identify. Admissions+'s Events module handles booking and ticketing for the evening itself, then QR check-in at the door turns "287 families registered" into an accurate list of who actually came - not a guess based on a busy car park. No families vanish into thin air because nobody wrote their name down. ## The follow-up window is short - automate it A family who leaves impressed and hears nothing for two weeks starts drifting back to whichever school followed up first. Every attendee gets a follow-up automatically the day after in Admissions+ - no admin team manually working through a sign-in sheet. Emma, Applicaa's AI agent, drafts the personalised chase for anyone who needs one (a feeder school still to send through records, a family who asked a specific question on the night), so the last impression before 31 October is fast and specific, not a generic newsletter blast weeks later. ## Make "name us first" the easy decision Don't make a convinced parent hunt for what to do next. Every open evening should end with one unmistakable next step - and with the preference deadline tracked against every visiting family in the system, your team can see exactly who's still undecided with days to go, and follow up with them specifically before the form gets filled in. ## Where to start None of this needs a bigger event. It needs an accurate attendee list, same-day follow-up, and visibility on who's still deciding before 31 October. If your open evening plan this year is "run it and see," fix the follow-up first - it's the cheapest lever you have. Want your open evenings to convert into first-choice preferences, not just attendance numbers? [**Book a meeting with the team**](https://meetings.hubspot.com/amanda-grainger/website-meeting-link) and we'll show you how Admissions+ handles it end to end. ### Share: [Share on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.applicaa.com/winning-the-preferences-open-evenings-that-convert&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook) [Share on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.applicaa.com/winning-the-preferences-open-evenings-that-convert&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin) [Share on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https://blog.applicaa.com/winning-the-preferences-open-evenings-that-convert&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&url=https://blog.applicaa.com/winning-the-preferences-open-evenings-that-convert&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Winning%20the%20preferences:%20open%20evenings%20that%20convert) [Year 7](https://blog.applicaa.com/tag/year-7), [Secondary School](https://blog.applicaa.com/tag/secondary-school) ## Nicola Entwistle Head of Marketing [nicola@applicaa.com](mailto:nicola@applicaa.com) ## Comments ## Related posts Search [Marketing your sixth form: what actually moves applications](https://blog.applicaa.com/marketing-your-sixth-form-what-actually-moves-applications) [Filling the nursery: sessions, tours and what converts](https://blog.applicaa.com/filling-the-nursery-sessions-tours-and-what-converts) Search Copyright © 2025 Applicaa LTD, All Rights Reserved ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Nicola Entwistle", "url" : "https://blog.applicaa.com/author/nicola-entwistle" }, "dateModified" : "2026-09-16T06:34:26.216Z", "datePublished" : "2026-09-16T06:34:26.000Z", "headline" : "Winning the preferences: open evenings that convert", "image" : [ "https://blog.applicaa.com/hubfs/newsletter-banners/hero-winning-the-preferences.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.applicaa.com/winning-the-preferences-open-evenings-that-convert", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.applicaa.com/hubfs/APPLICAA_LOGO_White%20Background-1.png" }, "name" : "Applicaa LTD." } } ```