Codes and Conventions of School Magazines

Although varying in many ways, there are a host of things that link the design of the four school magazines I have studied; from colour through to content. The overall design, I have noticed, is often inspired somewhat by both the school uniform and its logo – the Top Terrace magazine is a good example of this, with a colour scheme of red, blue and dark yellow taken from the uniform of the student on the cover.

     The emblem, along with the name of the school itself, is often featured heavily on the front cover, alongside a motto or short phrase to sum up the style and intention of the magazine: e.g. “Connecting classrooms all over the world!”

     An exclamation mark like this is used very frequently on front covers to display enthusiasm and to draw attention to the achievements of individual students and the school as a whole. There tends to be merely a very brief summary of the articles inside with more focus drawn to the images; typically of students wearing their uniform. Team photos are popular, along with others that recognise achievement (such as a student playing an instrument), and all of the figures are smiling, giving out a positive impression of the school.

     The contents page typically focuses less on images and more on text, although small photographs can be seen to be used to accompany the writing. There is a small headline for each article featured in the headline and its page number, and these fonts are often in a very bright colour to catch the eye, as can be seen in the contents of Fusion magazine.

     The language used is casual, in an attempt to appeal to the students, with phrases such as “Everything you need to know” and “Gives us the low-down” used frequently. Rather than “Contents”, CHiLL magazine gave this page the heading of “What’s going on?” to better represent everyday speech and appear informal and accessible.

     There is frequently a letter to the students from the head teacher or editor of the magazine, giving it a more personal feel, and in addition to this emphasis is put on the fact that most of the articles are written by students themselves, so it is not something professional and boring – the articles will be of great interest to the students.