Rathkeale College is a leading independent boys’ secondary school in the Wairarapa, with a proud history and a distinctive educational offer. While the school enjoys a strong reputation within the region, their existing website had become outdated – both visually and functionally.

It lacked clear navigation, was difficult for prospective families to find key information, and didn’t reflect the energy, values, or achievements of the school. It also struggled to deliver a strong user experience on mobile devices, which was increasingly important for parents and students.

Rathkeale College approached Scratch Design to lead a full rebuild of their website – one that would be modern, clear, and compelling, while retaining the school’s heritage, personality and embracing their Special Character.

Our Approach

Our first step was to run a workshop with the leadership team, and key stakeholders to understand their priorities, audiences, and aspirations for the new site.

From there, we:

• Developed a new website structure that made it easy for prospective parents, students, and the school community to find what they needed quickly.
• Refreshed the site’s visual design, introducing a clean, contemporary layout while preserving established brand colours and identity.
• Streamlined the content, helping Rathkeale refine messaging and calls to action to support enrolment enquiries and event attendance.
• Designed with mobile-first principles, ensuring excellent usability across devices.
• Delivered a custom coded WordPress content management system tailored for easy use by the in-house team.

The Result

The new Rathkeale College website is a confident, modern digital presence that reflects the school’s character and ambition.

Key improvements include:

• A clear, audience-led navigation structure with intuitive pathways for prospective families, current students, and alumni.
• A fresh, professional design that balances heritage and modernity.
• Mobile-optimised layouts for easy access on any device.
• Simplified content and clear calls to action for enrolment and contact.
• An easy-to-manage CMS that puts the Rathkeale team in control of their content.

Since launch, Rathkeale has received positive feedback from prospective parents, students, and the wider community. The site now acts as a true digital front door supporting the operation of the school day in, day out.