High school open day video that works
A high school open day video should not be a tour of corridors set to music, with the head teacher talking from behind a desk. It should show a 14 year old and their parents what an ordinary Tuesday at your school feels like, through the eyes of students who sit there today. Below you will find what to film in December, how to handle consent from parents of underage students, and why a second year student showing the workshop wins more families than a speech from leadership.
Key takeaways
- Since 2026, Slovak parents apply through the national ePrihlášky system and rank their chosen schools. According to Noviny.sk, an automated system then decides the placement, so being a family's first choice matters more than ever.
- In 2026, applications had to be confirmed by 20 February. Your video needs to be out by January, while families are still comparing schools.
- The strongest format is a two minute day in the life of a student: arrival, a lesson, the workshop, the break, an activity. Students talk; the head gets 20 seconds at most.
- Film in early December, while the school runs its normal routine and end of term tests have not started.
- Consent to publish the image of an underage student comes from the parent. Check that your school's annual consent form covers paid social media ads too.
Why does a high school open day video matter before the open day itself?
Because families decide at the kitchen table, not in your corridor. An open day lasts a few hours, a student visits several of them between November and January, and after the third one the schools blur together. What stays is a feeling. Your video brings that feeling back, and gives it for the first time to the parent who could not come on Saturday.
Slovakia added a new kind of pressure. Since 2026 placement follows the ranking parents enter, so being on the list is not enough. You need to be first on it. The school a family ranks second often only gets the students whose first choice fell through.
Demand is also rising in some regions. The Institute of Educational Policy, as quoted by Noviny.sk in 2024, expects the number of secondary students in the Bratislava region to grow by 26 %, roughly 8,000 more students, by 2030. More applicants means more families comparing, and more questions your video should answer before anyone picks up the phone.
Who should speak on camera: the head, or a second year student?
The student. A head teacher listing competition wins and modern equipment for three minutes says what every other head says. A 14 year old does not see themselves in the head teacher. They see themselves in a 15 year old who shows them what he made with his own hands in the first term, or in a second year student who admits she did not know anyone in her first week either.
Leadership belongs in the video, just shorter and near the end. Twenty seconds, one concrete sentence, no list. Something like: "If you join us, we won't grade your practical work for the first month, so you're not afraid to try." Parents remember a sentence like that.
Pick students by how they talk, not by their grades. The best ones speak about their subject with enthusiasm even when the camera is off. Go through the questions with them beforehand, never the answers: a memorised script sounds like a school assembly recital. We wrote a full guide on preparing someone for an on camera interview if they have never stood in front of a lens.
This campaign from the Department of Education in Victoria, Australia, gets the tone right: thirty seconds, kids and teachers doing ordinary things, not a single statistic. Your video will be longer and more specific, but the principle is the same.
What to film in December: a two minute script
Film one real school day with two or three students. A 14 year old wants to know what your school looks like at eight in the morning, not what your mission statement says. A script that works:
- Arrival, 10 seconds. The bus or tram stop, the entrance, the lockers. For a student who will commute, this is question number one.
- The student introduces themselves, 15 seconds. Name, year, programme and why they chose you. An honest "I came because of a friend, but I stayed for the workshops" beats a polished answer.
- A lesson, 20 seconds. One subject that sets you apart: the lab, a language with a native speaker, coding. Film a real lesson, not a staged one.
- Workshop or work placement, 25 seconds. The most important part for vocational schools. Hands, machines, finished work. If you run apprenticeships with local companies, show the company and say what students earn.
- Break and canteen, 15 seconds. Parents won't say it out loud, but they want to know their child will fit in.
- Clubs and events, 15 seconds. A sports tournament, an exchange trip, the first year welcome party. Footage from the whole year works here.
- Head or class teacher, 20 seconds. One concrete sentence, as above.
- Close, 10 seconds. The date of the next open day and where to apply.
The same shoot day gives you three to five short vertical clips on top of the main video, one per student, for Instagram and TikTok, where 14 year olds actually are. Put a lavalier microphone on everyone who speaks: in a classroom with thirty people and an echoing corridor, the sound is unusable without one. And leave time for b-roll, the shots of hands, tools and details you need to cut interviews together.
If you want a second opinion from someone who shoots these for UK schools, this list of open day video tips from a videographer in Tes Magazine makes the same point we do: audio matters more than the camera, and shorter wins.
How do you handle consent from parents of underage students?
In writing, in advance, with a precise purpose. Under the Slovak Civil Code, a person's likeness may only be used for promotion with their permission, and for a minor that permission comes from the parent. Most schools collect a general photo consent at the start of the year. It often does not cover paid social media ads or using the video again next year.
In practice: a week before the shoot, send the parents of the chosen students a short form stating where the video will appear (website, YouTube, social media including ads), for how long (three years, for example) and that they can withdraw. In classroom shots, seat students without consent at the back or out of frame. We covered the wider rules in our article on filming at events and GDPR.
When won't a video help?
When it shows a school that does not exist. If the video features a shiny new workshop and the student finds the old one on open day, you have lost them and their parents. Video amplifies what you have. It cannot invent it.
And honestly, some schools don't need one for recruitment at all. A Bratislava grammar school with far more applicants than places will fill its classes anyway. For a school like that, a video is mainly a way to answer parents' questions so the office does not take a hundred identical phone calls. A vocational school in a district town competing with two others for the same students gets the most out of a good video.
The shoot does not need a crew either. Media students or a handy teacher with a phone can make the short social clips. For the main video that will sit on your website for two years, professional sound and editing pay off. You can see what that costs in our 2026 video production price guide.
Timeline: from November to application day
- By the end of November: pick the students, collect parental consent, walk the locations, write interview questions.
- First two weeks of December: one shoot day. The school runs normally and there are enough pre Christmas events for extra footage.
- Before Christmas: edit, subtitles, sign off by leadership. Plan for two rounds of feedback; more on that in how long video production takes.
- January: the video goes on your website, YouTube and social media, student clips roll out weekly, a QR code goes on your open day flyers.
- February: a deadline reminder with a clip of a student explaining why they ranked you first.
If you want to film your school in a single day without disrupting lessons, see how we approach video production, or tell us about your school and who you want to reach. We will prepare your students so they talk on camera the way they talk at break time.
FAQ about high school open day videos
How long should a high school open day video be?
Two to three minutes for the main video on your website and YouTube, 20 to 45 seconds for social media clips. Anything that does not fit belongs in the text on your website or in the brochure, not in the video.
Can a school film students without parental consent?
Not if they are recognisable and the video is used for promotion. For an underage student, consent comes from the parent, and it is sensible to have it in writing with the channels and duration listed.
When should we publish the video before applications open?
In January, while families visit open days and decide how to rank schools. In 2026 Slovak applications had to be confirmed by 20 February, so a video published in February changes very little.
