“Thank you for your engaging and thought-provoking presentation at the recent Educate Plus International Conference in NZ. I was particularly intrigued with the revelation that a prospective parent considers both the real-time experience that a school can offer their child, as well as the deferred benefits that could be expected from enrolling at a particular school. The concept of a prospective parent as an ‘investor’, rather than a consumer was interesting, too. This statement is notably supported in the ‘International Student’ market; conversations with parents of International Students clearly approach their decision-making process of selecting a school from an investment angle.”

“Dr. Stephen Holmes, Principal and Founder of The 5R’s Partnership conducted a very effective School Board Training workshop for the Overseas School of Colombo during the weekend of September 15, 2018. Dr. Holmes’ work consisted of several weeks of initial planning in close contact with the Board Chair and with me as the Head of School. The intent and clear outcome of his preparation was to construct a meaningful training session tailor made to this school’s identified profile. The training session objectives were clearly targeted, and the outcome was notably effective in helping OSC review and refine our governance practices in a meaningful manner.

I recommend Dr. Holmes for his clear expertise in organizing and leading a very productive School Board training session for the Overseas school of Colombo.”

“Dr Stephen Holmes is a truly gifted consultant, steeped in the reality and ambition of the independent school world, but flexible and sensitive enough to customize his findings to the lived reality of particular schools.”

“Xavier College engaged Dr Stephen Holmes as our chief consultant in the facilitation of our Strategic Plan for 2018. Stephen has brought his energy, skill, global thinking and perceptiveness to intelligently inform and guide our planning process. His capacity to accurately synthesise a weighty amount of background reading, in combination with his personable engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders, enabled him to astutely grasp and assess the structural and cultural landscape of a diverse College. This in turn has enabled him to demonstrate his clear thinking and strong understanding of a complete range of critical educational issues to positively inform his strategic conversations with core leadership and management stakeholders. He has demonstrated this in personal conversations, small group consulting sessions and whole school forums. I have felt exceptional alignment and engagement in the personal sessions I have had with Stephen for Xavier College.”

“Stephen’s deep knowledge of the education sector is clear. He comes at school marketing from a different angle, forcing us think about new ways of demonstrating what we do. Stephen’s presentation reminded me that we can’t afford to sit back and market as we have been because the educational landscape is changing fast. Stephen knows what parents want and how they want to find out about it.”

“Dr Stephen Holmes facilitated an effective school board training session for Overseas School of Colombo in September 2018. He led board members in considering the role of the board, the future of the school, and how to evaluate performance of both the board and the head of school. Dr Holmes also shared his considerable expertise on school marketing and strategic planning.”