The move to EVOLVEvisits and EVOLVEpay has transformed how King Edward VI College manages trips, visits and events. What was once a manual, error-prone and time-consuming process is now streamlined, transparent and resilient. Staff have regained time to focus on the educational value of trips rather than the admin behind them, and the college has a system that supports both efficiency and accountability.
Strategic Objectives
King Edward VI College in Stourbridge is a vibrant, inclusive and exciting community where students and staff are united in their enthusiasm for learning. With a long history of academic excellence, the College provides a high quality, stimulating educational experience for young people with high aspirations, nurturing their potential and challenging them to develop personally, intellectually and creatively.
The college runs a high volume of trips, visits and student events each year. Historically, the administrative workload surrounding these activities was heavy, fragmented and overly dependent on manual processes. Stuart Eaves, who led the transition, shares how adopting EVOLVEvisits and EVOLVEpay reshaped the college’s systems, improved accuracy and created a more resilient and transparent workflow.
Why EVOLVE?
EVOLVE was chosen because it was widely recognised as the market leader. The college had heard consistently positive
feedback from other institutions and felt confident it would provide the structure and reliability they needed.
Implementation & Roll-out
The college took a phased and thoughtful approach that helped build trust and familiarity across the college.
- Technical teams (MIS, etc.) tested the system first to ensure compatibility and smooth integration.
- Experienced trip leaders were brought in next, providing practical feedback from real-world use.
- Training sessions were delivered internally, ensuring all relevant staff understood the system and felt confident using it.
Advantages of EVOLVE
- A Streamlined, Clearer Process
EVOLVE introduced clarity and consistency. The built-in audit trail eliminated confusion, reduced workload and improved accuracy. Reporting became easier and more reliable. - EVOLVEshop
The college was pleasantly surprised by EVOLVEshop functionality. They now use it not only for trips and visits but also for wider college events such as music concerts. This has helped centralise all student-facing activities in one place. - Transparency for Trip Leaders
Trip leaders can now see payment statuses instantly, something impossible with the previous system. This has removed the need to chase finance and empowered staff to manage their own trips more effectively.
A real example illustrates the impact:
A trip leader concerned about a parent who was months behind on payments used EVOLVEpay to track payments directly,
liaise with the parent and resolve the issue quickly without involving the finance team as intermediaries.
Support Experience
Stuart highlights support as one of EVOLVE’s greatest strengths:
- Fast response times
- Helpful and welcoming tone
- Reliable phone support — rare in modern software services
Staff Feedback
- The system is easier to use
- Email notifications are helpful
- Payment visibility has been transformative
- Workflows are clearer and more efficient
EVOLVEpay in Practice
EVOLVEpay has brought transparency and clarity to the payment process. While the finance team still handles a significant volume of work due to the number of trips, the system ensures everyone has visibility and understands what’s happening at each stage.
Recommendation
Stuart’s advice to other institutions considering EVOLVE is simple:
Take advantage of the training offered at the beginning. It’s extremely valuable and sets staff up for success.