#SchoolStories are the lifeblood of our 'story-led', creative websites. They are an effective, visual and engaging way for a school to really demonstrate what they do on a day-to-day basis: to "show, not tell" their community what makes the school so special.

So, when one school shares great #SchoolStories that gets seen by millions of people we get pretty excited! 

Alleyn Court Prep's snowball fight

With the #BeastFromTheEast causing some chaos across the UK, many schools were forced to close and see out the snow fall. Alleyn Court, an co-ed preparatory school based in Southend-on-Sea, opted to stay open to celebrate the snow in the best way you possibly can...by holding a pupils vs. teachers snowball fight!

Much has been argued on the subject of social media, particularly in relation to Millennials, in recent years: 

• is it good or bad?
• is it actually harming young minds?
• is it creating a generation far more removed on a social / relationship basis?

Understanding these impacts is essential if we are to best prepare our younger generations.

We can regard social media as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it enables a platform for users to share amazing stories and to interact with communities on a global scale. But on the other hand, concerns around self-esteem and the growing fear of Social Networking Addiction underlie fears of social media use.

The reality is that whatever the impact of social media, it is here to stay. 

Dopamine and social media

The use of mobile tech and social media has been proven to release dopamine - the "feel good" chemical - in our brains. We receive a text, we get a hit of dopamine. We get a Like on Facebook, we get a hit of dopamine. Someone has commented on our Instagram post, we get a hit of dopamine.

Simon Sinek - author, motivational speaker and marketing consultant - identifies social media as having heavily addictive consequences; particularly on the Millennial generation.

[1] Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality [CORRECT]

We said: The technology and behaviour around VR and AR will evolve over the next 12 months, and further.

2017 has seen VR and AR come along in leaps and bounds. It is clear that the applications offered by VR and AR have a long way to go, but in a relatively short amount of time both platforms are readily available to everyday consumers.

• For VR, we have Google Card (incredibly cheap, to be used with a mobile device) and a whole variety of VR headsets, such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and gaming headsets like PlayStation VR. 
• For AR, the introduction of ARKit on the new iPhone models has brought augmented reality into the homes of millions.

VR and AR will undoubtedly remain a trend throughout 2018, expanding into other sectors outside entertainment. Keep an eye on the education industry in particular, as VR and AR become key learning tools both inside and outside the classroom. Google expeditions is already a prime example of this!

Each year, schools all around the world share their inspiring #SchoolStories throughout December. Each day there's a new challenge to tackle and share with your community. We call it #SocialAdvent.

Will you be taking part?

The #SocialAdvent Challenge 2017

December has been a firm favourite at @intSchools HQ over past years. We put lots of time into making this challenge as fun as possible for schools wanting to get involved.

This year we are looking to make our fourth #SocialAdvent challenge the greatest one yet, with a record number of participants across a global audience. To make it extra special, our creative elves have been hard at work - coming up and designing a bigger, better and refreshed #SocialAdvent to spread festive marketing cheer throughout December. 

Get involved!

Download the #SocialAdvent Calendar using the links below. We have created two versions for you:

• poster - download and stick onto your wall

• foldable desk calendar - download, fold in half and keep on your desk

Sulfur, Oxygen, Carbon, Iodine and Aluminium - what would they create? SO₂CI₃Al (not a recommended, or even viable, chemical formula by the way).

In this week's #SchoolBytes, we are sending out something a little special. With a team of lab-cloaked researchers, we have been splicing the atoms of social media.

What did we discover through our study? Many, many elements that make up the very fabric of the Social Media Universe! In a truly scientific manner, we've begun to map out these elements.

For your viewing pleasure, we give you The Periodic Table of Social Media.

Each year, during the very busy school conference season, we boot up our #SocialScore tool and analyse how schools are performing on Twitter.

This year, we wanted to share our findings - taking a more analytic approach to what the top Tweeting schools are doing to be hitting a high #SocialScore.

So, without further ado, here are the top 10 HMC schools on Twitter.