Newstead Wood 2017 admission

[user1477075127]

What is the cut off mark for Newstead Wood ?

Dear Sobz70, thank you for making such valuable contributions to this thread. I live in Bexley and about 2 miles from Townley Grammar. My daughter got into the top 180 in bexley entrance test and has got a score of 255 in Newstead Wood. Leaving alone the travel, which school do you think you would choose if you were me, given the current scenario at Newstead Wood. We are in a dilemma and don't know which one to choose. My daughter likes both schools.

@aarkar - Townley vs Newstead - I don't think anybody else can make a decision for you. Both are good schools and probably at par with each other for GCSE but certainly their A-level performance is quite different with Newstead easily beating Townley results.

Does anyone know what joining MAT may mean for Newstead in the short and long term? I saw the schools under United Learning and most are pretty average performing - not sure if they performance changed for schools after they joined UL or were already so.

To me, Newstead seems to have really good teachers and students (super selective it is) but really need more spending on their infrastructure - which is abysmal compared to Townley but then, maybe, Townley needs better students and teachers to make use of their good infra and take it up the charts :)

Parents at the school received a letter from United Learning confirming that Newstead is now part of their MAT. It talks of 'already putting plans in place to enhance' the school by working with independent schools Guildford High and Ashford. They are also working with the school to recruit a new Head when the current interim Head retires at the end of this academic year.

A statement (but not the same wording as the letter to parents) is also on the United Learning website: unitedlearning.org.uk/News/ArtMID/476/ArticleID/867/Newstead-Wood-School-joins-United-Learning

DD is very happy at the school and thriving. She has found other quirky girls who are kind and thoughtful. In DD's Guide pack there are girls at Townley too and they are also happy. DD's deciding factors were NW was closer, she liked the language and Engineering emphasis, she didn't hate but preferred to avoid the more compulsory elements of dance and drama at Townley. We were envious of the computer suites at Townley and it is all very glittery but the learning at NW seems so far to have been excellent. Other things to consider are the class sizes at Townley, 32 compared to 27 at NW, not a bad thing in itself but I've got a teacher friend who says if she was deciding between schools, if all other things were equal (which they obviously rarely are) she would choose the one with the smaller classes due to pure workloads and so that may be relevant about attracting future teaching staff.

Hi everyone, missed this thread as been inactive for a while. I would say my daughter is thriving at Newstead. The teaching is excellent and my daughter is very happy. The girls are supportive of each other and the school has a nice environment. This for me is more important than flashy buildings or facilities. Their results are also good- as mentioned before GCSE on a par with Townley and A levels much better. I still am sure I made the right decision however my only problem is there is no sibling priority as my other dd is doing her exams this year!
Hope this helps!

Why the discrepancy in persistent absence rate though? National average for overall absence 2016/2017 was 5.4%. Townley absence was 3%, NW was 5.1%. National average for persistent absence was 13.5%, Townley was 3.4% whilst NW was huge 19.4%, slightly lower than last year. Townley is a much bigger school with a sixth form over twice the size of NW, 235 A level students in 2017 compared to 111 students at NW. Would have thought the bigger school might have more problems with attendance, not the smaller school?

I just posted another positive review to "Newstead - a warning" thread. Have to say here that NW funding problems are also due to the fact that there is a postcode lottery around the funding each school gets depending on their borough, and Bromley schools are among schools that get the lowest funding countrywide. NW also doesn't get much SEN or pupil premium funding.

St Olaves has/had a parental contribution campaign and as far as I heard, they raised 400K by 2017. At NW a similar campaign was set up by concerned parents, not by the teaching staff or leadership. And if you're following the news, you'll be aware that all schools are being extremely squeezed and even the private schools ask for donations, when they charge more than double the money allocated to state schools..

I do contribute to the NW fund, and I think they are using it wisely. The guideline is to donate £50 per month, which should be affordable for any parent who considers private school as an option. Parents who can't afford that of course do not need to, though they could still consider donating £10 or £20 per month if that would be affordable.

I suggest you read the latest Governors minutes about the PET fund. Then decide if you will continue paying. I cancelled my DD recently and buy books for the library instead. I support the school but there has been a lack of transparency about what is going on with the fund. Read the minutes and make up your own mind though. The PET team have not reported for ages and I’ve emailed them without a reply. Please be careful about contributing to the fund. Also don’t confuse this with the good work the teachers do who have no control over these things.

Symirna. Is last week's Ofsted visit to the school the reason why you have added a positive spin to this thread and the other thread you mention? You seem well informed. Perhaps you have a greater connection to the school than just as a parent?

Is it really a good idea to resurrect scary threads that have been buried on the forum?

But now you're here and you want to talk parents' money. The school's parents' fund, or PET, has apparently been mentioned to Ofsted. You'll see PET mentioned in the governors' minutes of 7 Feb 2018, available on their website:

"Governors expressed concern that PET funding could also be lost in the overall UL budget as a result, and the Chair agreed to follow this up at a higher level in UL."

Symirna, are you happy that the money given by parents to PET by direct direct, could be going into the pockets of United Learning, the trust that run the school?

This point in the minutes was being actioned by the Chair back in February. I wonder what the outcome was and whether parents have been told?

Parents have not been told...some read the minutes but to wade through these and pick out the key points is not a five minute job. They also haven’t told parents the decision to cut Engineering and Music at A Level. I appreciate many schools are making tough curriculum decisions, it is just polite to let parents with girls at the school know!

Yes, especially if they are in the lower years and are expecting to be able to take those subjects at A level.