Newstead Wood 2017 admission

They are not hiding anything (except all the redacted stuff in relation the tennis courts!) when you look at the Head's newsletters, comms re the MAT etc the are brutally clear about financial problems and Headteacher shortages. Yes the Governors redacted minutes are small on detail and I'd like to see more but they are published on the website for all to see. I have a friend whose DD left in the summer and went all the way through the school including sixth form, another who has a DD in Y8. However most telling is that friends with DCs in other schools - these themes are not unique- Newstead is not the only school who has experienced financial pinches or other problems. My niece's comp in the same borough had a suicide a few years ago. That didn't make the press, Newstead is an easy target in that regard. I applaud the school that unlike some other grammars they haven't cut the music programme and if that means going cap in hand to the parents or charities and asking for money then so be it. Many other schools of all guises do too. Newstead spend 90% of their budget on teachers which I knew when DD chose the school, I knew it wasn't the most sparkly. However I choose to be positive, without sticking my head in the sand either, and engage with the school, offer my time on spruce up days and foster the collaborative spirit. I see a lot of friends with DCs who've been and are in all sorts of schools upto and including GCSEs and A Levels and they've seen a shift so there are a lot of uneasy parents. I also think the concept of a single school managing its own finances is a recipe for disaster - they don't have the expertise. Newstead hasn't been scammed like some other schools but it is so easy not to know the best deal. The expertise the admin of an MAT offers will help with this. Slicing off 4% of income when it covers what they are already spending on Microsoft and admin licences sounds like a good deal. I too was nervous about the change but talking with the Governors makes it clear of all the advantages as well as the risks of not joining. Of course money isn't the only solution but for anyone unhappy with how their school is suffering with funding arrangements then I would urge you to write to your MP.

Yes, PettsWoodParadise, my DD loved the school too and we were sad to apply outside but with no senior school accountant, the poor management of the finances, and the subsequent impact, means she will take her A levels elsewhere. I believe your DD is in a lower year group and I would suggest you talk with parents of older girls at the school for their experience. Friends with DDs in GCSE and A level years tell me that they are still missing textbooks. Perhaps the school is putting a positive spin on it and who can blame them. The excellent teaching staff are trying to manage on extremely tight budgets. You will have received the direct debit forms for donations of £600+ per year. This request is to cover the £300,000 shortfall from the empty places in sixth form from 2013 - 2016 when the school roll fell. The government is pushing schools into MATs, similar to being run by a private company, one that decides how much to top slice off the school's income for central costs and in this case governs from Peterborough. I still use the Tennis Centre so I hope it stays!

The school has bought all the new text books for the new GCSEs and A levels - yes mostly thanks to the parental contributions. I was cautious about the MAT but it seems most schools to survive are having to be part of a bigger picture. Tennis courts are a liability to the school as far as I am concerned so if they did go it would be sad they were not a resource but not the end of the world - in their last filed accounts they got no income from the courts but had expenditure which could go on other things. The teaching has beeen great and DD is loving the school. It isn't for everyone of course.

I'm interested in this thread, esp PettsWoodParadise's views on this and other threads. My DD has now left Newstead but I would approach the school with caution. The cutoff for yr 7 has been dropping each year. They are also struggling to retain girls from year 11 into sixth form, when they compete with the very high achieving and 'Oxbridge friendly' St Olave's who look to take 100 girls into yr 12. During my DD's time at NW there were three different heads including the current interim head who doesn't seem to want it permanently. The school had severe financial difficulties even before the forthcoming gov cuts which meant no new GCSE/A level textbooks and very few other resources. The IT system needs overhauling urgently and has previously crashed. The governing body needs to be more communicative with parents, as recommended in their last Ofsted. The school were constantly asking parents for large donations of money and I've been told they are now phoning parents to encourage this! Due to the finance issues Newstead is now joining a very large multi-academy trust. There are no comparable state schools in the MAT and it would gain control of the Bromley Tennis Centre which the school owns and is a great local asset. Is it possible the MAT would look to enlarge the school further and/or dispose of the Tennis Centre? On the good side, there are some excellent teachers and the pupils are very high achievers, although many have outside tutors, benefitting the school's league table position. Pastoral care has greatly improved under the interim head, thank goodness.

The cut off for 2016 entry was a record low of 215. It was higher on offer day, around 225. It hadn't been as low as 215 before. I would be surprised if was as low again but you never know. Typically in the years before 2016 years entry and while they've had an intake of 160, it has shuffled down to 218/219 by start of term. No harm putting it on the CAF form but it is unlikely you'll get a place on first March and it will be a tense wait. Good luck.

I just googled, and it looks like the cut off was about 225 last year.

I think the top mark possible is 280 (i.e. 140+140).

Don't they give you last year's cut off as a guide?

However, you should put down schools in your order of preference, not in the order in which you think they are likely to be offered. If her score is not high enough, it will just be as if it wasn't on her list.

It varies from year to year. They offer to those with the highest scores first, going down the list. There is no "pass mark" as such.