Newstead woods

[Cozyhome]

Hi has anyone had a nice letter today from NW ?

[PettsWoodParadise]

Yes, a very nice letter indeed .

[Cozyhome]

Seems a lot of girls must have scored high this year.. It's a long waiting game now. Good luck everyone

[PettsWoodParadise]

I tend to hear extremes about NW. Some very good, others awful. I have been told by some parents with DDs at the school the snipes are out of jealousy. I gather there is a lot of expectation of self teaching and pastoral care is being ramped up due to some recent sad incidents. Anyone with DDs at the school who can give any helpful insights? If you are more comfortable PMing me then that would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Highheelmum]

Have dd at Newstead. The school has had a number of difficulties over the last year but saying this my dd is happy there with a good network of friends. Teaching standards are mixed but I think this is the same in all schools, I don't have anything to compare with, but believe the difference is that the girls all seem to work very hard and have high expectations of themselves. New headmaster so difficult to comment on him but head of lower school is excellent. The downside is that there seems to be one or two girls in each class that struggle to keep up and the school is constantly short of money - this is an issue that even the girls are aware of. My personal impression is that money seems to be spent on the prime departments (maths and science) and areas such as music are lacking with old equipment. Despite ups and downs very happy with the school and no regrets. Hope this helps!

[SanityClause]

DD1 was at Newstead until the spring. She has now moved elsewhere for A levels.

I was always very happy with the school under Mrs Allen. She always gave the impression she treated the girls as individuals, and wanted to educate the whole child.

Mrs Ross seemed very keen to push STEM subjects, to the detriment of anything arty. The head of science she appointed was very switched on. (Even DD1 agrees, and she isn't all that keen on science.) The new music teacher, on the other hand is abysmal, and has really low expectations of the girls; both of their ability and their attitude.

Obviously, she has now gone, as well, so it remains to be seen how things will pan out from here.

There are some excellent teachers at Newstead, particularly in anything humanities based.

Anyway, congratulations to those whose DDs did well.

(When DD sat the test, we had to wait until March to hear whether we had a place. There was no indication before then of how they had done. )

[KaraokeQueenOfTheNorth]

Do they have a head teacher now? (Rather than just an acting head?)
Does anyone know why the last head left so suddenly?

[SanityClause]

I don't know, Kareoke. It was all very hush hush. I do know that she has a history of spending only a year or two at each school, before moving on, although this could have been because she was usually taken on in a sort of consultant capacity, rather than because things didn't work out.

I was always a bit peeved that OFSTED inspected so soon after she started. It just seemed she couldn't have done too much to mess up the school in a few months, so she was really taking credit for other people's work, in a way.

Some of her first actions were to cancel quite a few school traditions. Also, a lot of really good teachers left. This was really lowering to the girls' morale. Also, I know that talking a good talk isn't everything, but you would normally expect a head to have some decent oratory skills. Wouldn't you?

The current care taker head had been at the school for some time, so hopefully will keep things on an even keel.

I do hope a good head is found. It would be such a pity for a school with such a wonderful reputation and results to go downhill.

[PettsWoodParadise]

Thanks for all your replies. I too hope a good Head is found as there is so much potential in the school and a good Head will release that potential more fully. I saw some excellent ones at other open days, I wonder if the Governors would find it odd if I were to send a list of names of Heads I think they should approach?????

[Edie52]

Hi I am a former pupil/ old girl from long ago (Miss Pipe’s time!) Can you tell me in which year the school became a mixed sixth form? Many thanks.