Newstead wood grammar school results

[Tiredpanda]

Hi, I received the results of my daughters test at Newstead. It is 227. Does she stand a chance of getting in? Anyone had similar marks and got in?

Top 3! Wow I do not think she is top 3 sadly :(

I think the catchment area has been reduced since she started

The catchment has been 9 miles for as long as anyone can remember and still is. Main change (about five years ago) is that those on Pupil Premium within the catchment who score 210 or above are guaranteed a place if they want to attend and put the school on their CAF.

My daughter is very bright and maybe even top 3 in her class (though the teacher would have never given me this info if I'd asked!)... she's naturally good at maths and English, excellent memory, good at logic puzzles and loves learning... but despite the prep we did at home, missed out by 2 marks.

I started gently in y4 with a few papers and exercises, then at the end of y4 I got a tutor weekly... in y5 I ramped up the prep to 20 mins daily and weekly tests.... but despite this she didn't make it.

Those who did make it had done even more tuition than us, more hours per week over a longer period of time.

On the day of the test, there were soooo many girls... I knew it would be competitive but I had no idea how much.

If your daughter is a Sept born child, you will need to get them to aim even higher in the test as the results are age adjusted. I think this is what got us... we were aiming for a certain mark as a raw score (80%) but we needed to aim for 90% really.

I don't know if we would have still gone through all of that, knowing what I know now... or if we would have gone for it but taken a different approach... I do wish I'd known more about it though!

It all worked out in the end as she loves her school... and I know her sisters will go to the same school as her too (they're not as academic anyway, so this is a weight off!).

The catchment area was 11.5 miles when my daughter applied, if I remember correctly, and then reduced to 9 miles just after she started. I particularly remember the change because we were very thankful that she went when she did because we would not have been within the reduced catchment area.

Wow thank you for this info. My daughter is a September baby too.

and I certainly don’t think that we would put her through more than what you had done, she is very social and sporty and so would be miserable if all of her time was spent being tutored :(

we also have 2 girls so that was also ok my mind, if one got in and one didn’t

thanks for you honest input

@Growlybear83 interesting thanks DD was in Y1 in 2015 and i was looking at the school for a few years before.and a neighbour went a good number of years before too and it was 9 miles in their memory but appreciate that beyond that it may have been different. I know originally there were only 90 places when I was school age so the school has almost doubled in that time.

If you go and visit your local secondary schools on open day (many are happening now) you'll probably be reassured that your daughter with be happy there.

I was terrified of sending my daughter to secondary school, based on my own childhood experiences but we've been so lucky. We got a place at an excellent girls school, most of her old primary class are there, including many of her good friends. She walks there and back with her friends too and is getting on well with the change. She says she prefers it to primary.

Thanks @mugboat, DD is now at University so I am not planning any school visits any time soon! I was reporting back my daughter having been at this school in the recent past. I suspec;t you mean your message to @DoTheRightThing55 who posted about concerns for travel.

yes, indeed I was. Easily done in this forum!

Hi Mums,
Just got the results for Newstead Wood 2025 entry, my DD got a score 215/280, does she stand a chance by next summer?
Any information on last year's final cut off score will be greatly appreciated. We are in Dartford but within 9 miles and plan to put NWS as our first choice on the application form
Thanks
A

@NRANA - last year 215 did not get a place, unless pupil premium. However, this year there are rumours the test was harder so the cut off score may be lower again, but even historically 215 is borderline (unless pupil premium). I would still put it down though if you have plenty of choices. Presumably you also have local grammar options in Dartford itself anyway.

@Araminta1003 thanks. I also sense that this year's test could have been harder. DD has a good Kent and Bexely score and will qualify for both Dartford Grammar for Girls and Townley but we had our heart on NWS for its well reputed for STEM.

@NRANA - your other options are also very good choices and kids can always change again for Sixth Form if you don’t get it now. Top scorers 400 plus in Kent seem fewer than last year too. I think they have made the tests harder again.

@Araminta1003 is it? interesting! . DD is quite academic and we hoped DD would get Kent score of over 400 too but she scored 392/ 423. Bit disappointed by still a good score for Kent schools. How were you able to gauge that the test could have been harder than previous years ? Have you seen any data published ? Thanks

Kent results - all data is published on their website and you can compare amount of top scorers last year above your child’s score to amount of children this year.

Newstead is just what we have heard locally from families who have put older kids through the process too. So that is just rumour at this stage, hence my reference to “rumour”.

@NRANA - 392 is a great score, you can request data from Kent if you want on raw score. You just need to get a few questions wrong in maths or English each and you are quickly under 400.

Hello All, sorry to jump on this thread. Could someone please kindly recommend a tutor they used to prepare their child for Newstead please

Sent you a pm

Great, cud you pls share a feedback about the school based on your experience.
We are seriously considering the school this yr for my dd.

Bump
Can anyone kindly share their current experience of Newstead? I see the school has 15% persistent absence, should I be concerned about this?

From my experience when DD was at the school the absence was often down to students who had other things going on in their lives, for example one was an actor in Eastenders, another was playing a lot of tennis. There will of course be others who are just not going in and I don't know the breakdown. I found the school was more interested in its students long term future and interests than how it would impact the data. May have changed as DD left the school a few years ago now.

@PettsWoodParadise

@PettsWoodParadise - pls could you share some detailed feedback about the NWS . This would really help us a lot as we are considering seriously this year for our DD.

@sdkr DD left over two years ago now and has recently started her third year at Cambridge so none of my information is current. She chose to stay on at NW for sixth form despite some other amazing offers as she felt the environment worked for her. For us it was also close to home, no major commute which helped.

if you are considering for your DD think about what she liked on the open day, distance etc. I really liked Tonbridge but DD preferred NW and less of a journey and we respected her choice. She was always going to do best at a school she saw herself fitting into. It is so diverse so no majority or minority, very different from some of her friends at other schools. She liked the teachers being experts dealing with bright girls, her private primary was not so welcoming of questions in class or giving reading lists if asked etc.

Thank you @PettsWoodParadise