I talked to my mum abt being able to use this and tell other mums a perspective from a student.
Honestly from my point of view and everything I have seen, this was the worst decision made in my whole life, I am currently suffering anxiety, panic attacks, ed and depression because of the school. I am writing this with tears in my eyes because i have realised how much this school has affected my mental health. I was once that happy kid who always had a smile on their face but now i'm the completely opposite, i am also suicidal. The school doesn't really care abt ur mental health instead only abt ur grades. These so called rumours aren't actually rumours but the truth, this has affected so many people ik but they never speak on it. My parents think the school is perfect because i dont tell them what goes on in those gates, I tell them im fine when my eyes are blood red from crying to sleep.
They dont realise how traumatic this school is for me and how much it has taken a toll on my mental health, you can all say there are always gonna be bad experiences but majority are bad experience and we always have that exception of people who like the school. Favouritism exists so much in this school and its so obvious, if anyone has said favouritisms doesn't exist they lied. Everyday i want to give up, sometimes i say im sick to miss school cause im tired of the panic attacks. I had a panic attack before a test and in the process decided to cheat, i regretted it immediately i did it but then a teacher that hated me saw me and called me aside, i explained what happened and they didn't care, this teacher told every other teacher in the department and teachers told EVERY student which then leaded me to have a major panic attack i couldn't breathe.
If u care about ur child mental health please don't send them here, also below are other peoples stories.
I'm writing this largely because I don't know how else to protect girls from this school. In my seven years there I and my friends never encountered anything remotely resembling competent pastoral care, and I've been left with the impression that this school cares about its grades, and not about its students.
Due, I believe, to the high pressure environment and lack of support, this school is a breeding ground for anorexia, depression, anxiety and self harm. No support is given for students who suffer from these, and whilst I cannot say for certain there were rumours that such students were asked to leave the school if teachers felt their grades were affected.
Students are made to feel that anything below an A grade is a fail, and below an A is inadequate. Reward ceremonies after big exams are used to enforce this, for example at GCSE only students who get 7 A grades or more are recognised as having made a notable achievement.
Bullying is also badly tackled at this school. The school will do next to nothing to combat bullying, and students often give up and suffer in silence when their complaints are not listened to. Attempts to stop bullying largely consist of team building activities in the classroom, which are deeply ineffective. The school is unwilling to allow students to move class no matter how bad the bullying gets.
They are also generally unobservant; because they only notice students when concerned about their grades, if a student is high performing then learning difficulties such as dyslexia can go unnoticed until university if they weren't diagnosed in primary school. This can be an issue because a lack of diagnosis can mean a lack of support and a lot of confusion for both the child and their parents when there are things the child inexplicably seems to struggle with or cannot manage. As someone diagnosed with dyspraxia and dyslexia at university, this is something I have first hand experience of. Instead of help, my struggles were met with perplexed teachers and the suggestion that I change subjects so as to get better grades.
And certainly don't send your child here if they might want to consider anything other than university afterwards; Newstead will force them to apply to university in hopes that they will change their mind and will be entirely unsupportive of their plans.
I'm sure there are some people who have enjoyed their time at Newstead, unfortunately there are far more who have been left damaged by it. So this is just a warning; I have experienced Newstead and would 100% NOT recommend it.
P.S. please look at the school reviews and not the ones that don't have comments because they are teachers doing it.
I hope u all have a great day and i am happy your children enjoy the school