diff --git a/nextjs-app/components/HomeView.module.css b/nextjs-app/components/HomeView.module.css
index bb52e15..cd55a2f 100644
--- a/nextjs-app/components/HomeView.module.css
+++ b/nextjs-app/components/HomeView.module.css
@@ -62,6 +62,11 @@
   font-weight: 700;
 }
 
+/* Copy variants: full paragraph ≥641px, compact merged line on phones. */
+.heroDescriptionCompact {
+  display: none;
+}
+
 @media (max-width: 768px) {
   .heroSection {
     padding-top: 1.5rem;
@@ -74,18 +79,29 @@
   }
 }
 
-/* Above the fold on phones, every line costs. Drop the eyebrow tag and the
-   long descriptive paragraph — the h1 already names the product, and the
-   search input is the primary action users came to perform. */
+/* Above the fold on phones, every line costs. Drop the eyebrow tag and swap
+   the long descriptive paragraph for one compact line that carries coverage
+   ("24,000+ schools") and freshness ("updated for 2026/27") — a first-time
+   visitor otherwise sees only a poetic h1 and a bare box, with no reason to
+   trust the data (audit P1.7, feeds the 46% home exit rate). */
 @media (max-width: 640px) {
   .heroSection {
     padding-top: 0.75rem;
     margin-bottom: 1rem;
   }
   .heroEyebrow,
-  .heroDescription {
+  .heroDescriptionFull {
     display: none;
   }
+  .heroDescriptionCompact {
+    display: block;
+  }
+  .heroDescription {
+    font-size: 0.85rem;
+    line-height: 1.4;
+    max-width: 320px;
+    margin-bottom: 0.25rem;
+  }
   .heroTitle {
     font-size: 1.65rem;
   }
diff --git a/nextjs-app/components/HomeView.tsx b/nextjs-app/components/HomeView.tsx
index fb535e7..f3bec73 100644
--- a/nextjs-app/components/HomeView.tsx
+++ b/nextjs-app/components/HomeView.tsx
@@ -267,7 +267,15 @@ export function HomeView({ initialSchools, filters, totalSchools, howItWorks, ed
             Every school in England, <em className={styles.heroEmph}>compared.</em>
           </h1>
           <p className={styles.heroDescription}>
-            <strong>24,000+ primary and secondary schools</strong> with Key Stage 2 SATs, GCSE results, Ofsted grades, progress scores and admissions data — side by side, in one place.
+            {/* Full copy for larger screens; a compact merged line (coverage +
+                freshness, standing in for the hidden eyebrow too) on phones,
+                where every line above the fold costs. */}
+            <span className={styles.heroDescriptionFull}>
+              <strong>24,000+ primary and secondary schools</strong> with Key Stage 2 SATs, GCSE results, Ofsted grades, progress scores and admissions data — side by side, in one place.
+            </span>
+            <span className={styles.heroDescriptionCompact}>
+              <strong>24,000+ English schools</strong> — SATs, GCSEs, Ofsted &amp; admissions, side by side. Updated for 2026/27.
+            </span>
           </p>
         </div>
       )}