Helping Schools and
Their Leaders
Find Their Edge
A boutique consultancy serving independent and international schools and their leaders by sharpening the communications and brand that define both personal and organisational success. Senior expertise, direct involvement, and fees that reflect a lean practice rather than a large agency.
Two services. One for leaders, one for schools.
For leaders ready to step up to their next role, whether that is Head of School, Head of Division, or a professional services leadership role: the positioning and preparation that earns the top seat.
Offered as part of a journey, not in isolation. This builds on the Your Unique Edge session, where we take the time to understand what you bring. A thorough review and positioning of your CV so it reads as leadership-ready, plus support with the final-stage interview deck, the presentation you may be asked to create about yourself or your strategic plan.
A strategic LinkedIn presence that signals headship-readiness: a polished profile, thoughtful content, and the right connections to grow your professional standing.
A bespoke personal website that positions you as headship-ready, with professional copywriting and a design that tells your leadership story.
What makes you distinct: a clear, defensible articulation of your unique value as a leader. The edge that separates you from every other candidate in the room, and the foundation every other service builds on.
Begin with a conversation.
Tell us a little about you and your school, then pick a time for a 30-minute chat. No pressure and no pitch, just a genuine conversation about where you'd like to go next.
Leaders who have worked with Nishel.
Nishel was instrumental during my time leading United Nations International School of Hanoi. She completely reworked my personal statement and CV, sharpening how I presented my leadership story for my next step. Her video work on our campus development and our lower school programme both won recognition, and she filled every Early Years vacancy under my leadership. She also introduced our parent and baby programme from scratch. Her impact on how we communicated and who we attracted to the school was phenomenal.
Jane McGee
Superintendent/Head of School
Graded – The American School of São Paulo
I've worked closely with Nishel on admissions at United Nations International School of Hanoi, and the results speak for themselves. She's helped us increase enrolment numbers, built video content that genuinely moves prospective families, improved our admissions processes end to end, and generated leads that turned into real enquiries. She understands both the marketing and the operational side of admissions, which is rare.
Marcus Shaw
Director of Enrolment Management
United Nations International School of Hanoi
Nishel worked with me across admissions, boarding recruitment, and building our alumni office from the ground up. What stood out most was her work on our unique value proposition in a genuinely competitive Hong Kong market - she was relentless in increasing enrolment. Nishel also had to deal with many communications 'crises' during her tenure at Harrow Hong Kong and dealt with each one with sensitivity, professionalism and clarity.
Susan Phillips
Director of Admissions and Marketing
St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju
I had the privilege of working with Nishel for four years at UNIS Hanoi. During that time, she consistently supported numerous school wide initiatives and developed numerous highly effective marketing campaign strategies. Nishel also works closely with her colleagues on personal/professional branding. Her insights, support and recommendations helped me successfully secure a senior leadership position.
Dr Tanay Naik
High School Principal
The American School in Japan
Nishel was instrumental during my time leading United Nations International School of Hanoi. She completely reworked my personal statement and CV, sharpening how I presented my leadership story for my next step. Her video work on our campus development and our lower school programme both won recognition, and she filled every Early Years vacancy under my leadership. She also introduced our parent and baby programme from scratch. Her impact on how we communicated and who we attracted to the school was phenomenal.
Jane McGee
Superintendent/Head of School
Graded – The American School of São Paulo
I've worked closely with Nishel on admissions at United Nations International School of Hanoi, and the results speak for themselves. She's helped us increase enrolment numbers, built video content that genuinely moves prospective families, improved our admissions processes end to end, and generated leads that turned into real enquiries. She understands both the marketing and the operational side of admissions, which is rare.
Marcus Shaw
Director of Enrolment Management
United Nations International School of Hanoi
Nishel worked with me across admissions, boarding recruitment, and building our alumni office from the ground up. What stood out most was her work on our unique value proposition in a genuinely competitive Hong Kong market - she was relentless in increasing enrolment. Nishel also had to deal with many communications 'crises' during her tenure at Harrow Hong Kong and dealt with each one with sensitivity, professionalism and clarity.
Susan Phillips
Director of Admissions and Marketing
St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju
I had the privilege of working with Nishel for four years at UNIS Hanoi. During that time, she consistently supported numerous school wide initiatives and developed numerous highly effective marketing campaign strategies. Nishel also works closely with her colleagues on personal/professional branding. Her insights, support and recommendations helped me successfully secure a senior leadership position.
Dr Tanay Naik
High School Principal
The American School in Japan
Frequently asked questions.
The most common questions leaders and schools ask before working with The School Edge.
The School Edge is a boutique consultancy for the education sector, founded by Nishel Turpin. It works with school leaders preparing for their next role and with schools navigating strategy, communications, admissions, and crisis moments. The focus is on finding and sharpening the edge that makes a leader or a school stand out.
Both. For individual leaders, The School Edge offers leadership promotion packages covering positioning, CV and interview preparation, LinkedIn authority, and personal websites. For schools, it offers bespoke consulting across strategy, marketing, communications, admissions, crisis management, and new head transition support.
Use the booking form on the home page or the Contact page to share a few details about your situation. Nishel will follow up personally to arrange a conversation at a time that suits you.
Leadership promotion packages start at $210 for the Your Unique Edge strategy session and range up to $4,890 for the Complete Leadership Promotion bundle. School services are bespoke and scoped together. Full pricing is on the Fees page.
The School Edge works with clients across the UK and internationally. Nishel has held senior roles in schools in the UK, Hong Kong, and Vietnam, and engagements are delivered remotely or on-site depending on the work.
GEO is the discipline of making sure your school appears inside AI-generated answers on platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. It builds on SEO but targets being cited in the answer itself, not just ranking on a page. The School Edge offers a free AI visibility snapshot and a bespoke GEO audit for schools.