By Craig Burton
January 11, 2021The Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto brand story began back in late 2015. A new vision and core set of values were developed and, in 2017, they adopted the combined English and Te Reo Māori name 'Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto' which means 'Beckenham, the school of the ponds'. It's been a wonderful school branding journey and I'm excited to finally share it.
Background
The school was built in 1915. The founders adopted red, black and yellow to honour the sacrifice made by soldiers from the Canterbury region in Belgium (the colours of Belgium's flag) during WW1. The red and black also reflected their pride as a school in the region with the yellow (golden) symbolising educational excellence.
Logo Meaning
The logo symbol flows like Ō Pāwaho, the Heathcote River, as it flows through the suburb of Beckenham to form what is known as 'the Beckenham Loop'. The last surviving remnants of the wetlands in the area are the 'Beckenham Ponds', not far from the school, hence the name 'Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto' (Beckenham, the school of the ponds).
Ō Pāwaho was an important travelling route for Ngāi Tahu Māori as it was an excellent source of ‘mahinga kai’ (food). Here they would stop and search for food and other supplies 'kai hau kai' - filling their kete for their journey ahead.
The logo shape is derived from the shape of 'hei matau' (Māori fish hook) which also looks like a stylised lower case “b” for “Beckenham”. Hei matau finds its origins in Māori legend, which tells the story of how the North Island of New Zealand was once a large fish that was caught by Maui using only a woven line and a hook. In the logo, hei matau represents the life skills (tools) that staff and students learn to use in order to help their growth both collectively as well as individually.
School Wellbeing Poster
Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto encourages and helps students to have healthy mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and family lives. This wellbeing poster is based on the principals of Te Whare Tapa Whā designed by leading Māori health advocate Sir Mason Durie in 1984.
School Ethos
'Filling our kete for the journey! Whakarite nga kete mō te haerenga!'
Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto promote and celebrate their beliefs in different ways around the school. Their Learning Ethos Model was created to highlight these. The kete are metaphors for the school values - inviting staff and students to embrace these values both in and out of school. Each kete has an unique symbol representing a value.
School Ethos Diagram in the Reception Area
School Ethos Outside the Hall
School Signage
We walked around the school and identified places for the school logo to appear as large as possible. Wayfinding signs were created to help parents and students find their way around.
The school has a large welcome sign at their main entrance that introduces parents to their vision 'filling their kete for the journey'. It invites parents to think about what this means.
All of these examples show how signage does not have to simply be the school logo and contact details on a white sign. It can be warm, welcoming and set the tone when entering the school and navigating around the environment.
Another good example of branded signage can be seen at Ilam School. Their case study is here.
School Signage - Front of School
School Signage - Back of School
Welcome Sign
Wayfinding Signs
Ferndale Satellite School Signage
School House Signage
From The Principal
"Craig worked with us to redesign our school logo and branding. He listened to our stories and incorporated our ideas and vision into images that both symbolise our fresh direction and acknowledge our past and our school culture.
We are continuing to work with him to bring this new, fresh look into all of our school-wide signage, documents and publications."
Sandy Hastings (Principal) - Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto, Christchurch
Interested in a new school logo?
I'd love to work with you on creating an unique logo design for your school. Explore some of the projects below to see what the process looks like or contact me for more information.
