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Are you considering Newstead Wood School in Bromley for your daughter? We've collated all the information you need to know about 2024 entry to Year 7. Keep reading to learn about key dates, the admissions process, and how to prepare for the 11 plus exam.
Newstead Wood School is a grammar school in Orpington, Bromley for girls aged 11 to 18 and boys aged 16 to 18. It opened in 1954 as Orpington Grammar School for Girls in response to rapid growth in the area and has grown considerably since.
The school is highly selective and heavily oversubscribed; students at Newstead Wood achieve high academic results and benefit from exceptional pastoral care. Children also have access to an extensive range of enrichment opportunities, including the Duke of Edinburgh Award, sports, music, ICT and technology, modern languages, debating, and music and performing arts.
Newstead Wood School is currently in the midst of a 10-year plan which aims to improve the facilities on the school site. As part of the Newstead 2030 Vision, the library has been renovated, a new DT kitchen area has been created and and all 10 science laboratories will be refurbished.
Address: Newstead Wood School, Avebury Road, Orpington, London, BR6 9SA
Local authority: London Borough of Bromley
School type: girls' grammar with mixed sixth form
Headteacher: Alan Blount
Number of pupils: 1,250+
National rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 25
A level results: 84.9% A*–B
GCSE results: 92.6% 9/8/7
Admissions contact: [email protected], 01689 853626
Number of places in Year 7: 168
Open evening: Saturday 1st July 2023
11 plus registration opens: 2nd May 2023
11 plus registration closes: 30th June 2023
Exam date: 22nd–23rd September 2023
Exam type: Bromley 11 plus – GL Assessment
Common application form (CAF) deadline: 31st October 2023
National school offer day: 1st March 2024
The 2023–2024 term dates at Newstead Wood School are:
Autumn term: 6th September – 20th December 2023
Half term: 20th–27th October 2023
Spring term: 4th January – 28th March 2024
Half term: 12th–16th February 2024
Summer term: 15th April – 19th July 2024
Half term: 27th–31st May 2024
Before registering, speak to your child’s teacher to see if the 11 plus and grammar school is right for them. The 11 plus is a challenging exam and is designed to select children who are working in the top 25% academic ability range of their year group.
To register for the 11 plus for entry to Newstead Wood School, you will need to complete the school's Supplementary Information Form (SIF). This will be available on the school website from Monday 2nd May 2023, and will close at midnight on Thursday 30th June 2023.
Newstead School will write to you with your daughter's results in the 11 plus during the week commencing 16th October 2023. You can use these results to decide whether to put down Newstead Wood School as one of your options on your common application form.
Before listing Newstead Wood School as a preference on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible. How close you live to a school is very important as schools have priority areas which change based on the demand for places.
The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2023. The form must be completed for your home local authority – i.e. if you live in Bromley you will need to complete the form on the Bromley Council website. If you live in a different local authority, make sure to apply through the relevant website for that council.
The 11 plus exam for Newstead Wood School will take place on either the 22nd or 23rd September 2023. Details confirming the timings and other useful information will be sent to you during the first week of September.
Children will take two test papers, each lasting about 50 minutes. These papers will assess two subjects:
Verbal reasoning
Non-verbal reasoning
Learn about the exam in more detail in our full guide to the Bromley 11 plus:
Your child's scores in the two papers will be combined and age-standardised. This is to ensure that any children born later in the school year aren't disadvantaged.
The pass mark – also known as the 'required standard' – will be a total standardised score of 210. Only children who score more or equal to this will be eligible for a place at the school.
Achieving a score higher than the required standard doesn't guarantee a place at the school, as it is usually oversubscribed with qualified candidates. We always recommend researching the admission policies for your target schools, looking at their oversubscription criteria and their catchment area.
Newstead Wood School has a planned admission number (PAN) of 168. Girls who achieve the required standard and who have an Education, Health and Care Plan which names the school will be admitted as a priority. The remaining places will then be allocated in the following order of priority:
Looked after and previously looked after children who achieve the required standard
Girls who achieve the required standard, whose primary home is within a 9-mile radius of the school, and who receive the pupil premium or service premium
The remaining places are then allocated in rank order list of girls achieving the required standard:
Girls whose primary home is within a 9-mile radius of the school
Girls who have a parent who works at the school
Girls whose primary home is outside a 9-mile radius of the school
The catchment area for Newstead Wood School covers a 9-mile radius from the school. Children whose primary residence (i.e. the place where they sleep for the majority of school nights) lies within 9 miles of the school will be considered as living within the catchment area and prioritised for a place at the school.
Distances are measured in a straight line from your home postcode to the school's postcode (BR6 9SA). Newstead Wood School recommends an online distance calculator to help you work out the straight line distance between the two postcodes.
Girls who live outside of the catchment area are still welcome to apply to Newstead Wood School. However, as the school is heavily oversubscribed, no place has historically been offered to any children living beyond the 9-mile limit.
Here are our top tips on how to best prepare your child for the Newstead Wood School 11 plus.
The 11 plus assesses a large breadth and depth of learning objectives across the Key Stage 2 national curriculum and beyond.
We recommend that your child starts revising content at least one year before the test. Setting aside study periods using a 'little and often' approach will give them time to build the skills and knowledge they need. When preparing, avoid falling into the trap of over-focusing on either the topics your child enjoys or the topics they find hardest.
Atom Nucleus is an 11 plus online course that tailors your child's personalised learning journey to cover all elements of the Newstead Wood School 11 plus at the right pace for them.
Your child will encounter lots of unfamiliar types of questions in the 11 plus exam. Building exam technique with 11 plus test papers will help your child to feel fully confident with the styles of questions they'll encounter in the exam, reducing the potential for stress on the day.
Setting regular goals and celebrating achievements will help keep motivation high. Atom Nucleus offers data-driven insights into your child’s progress towards mastering the 11 plus curriculum, making it easy to see where they need to focus next.
Wondering how to make sure your child covers the depth and breadth of the entire 11 plus curriculum, stays on track with their progress, and gets help when they're stuck? Online learning is a particularly efficient, cost-effective (and fun) way to do this!
Atom Nucleus is the award-winning online 11 plus practice platform that gives your child everything they need to prepare for grammar school exams.
Children work independently through over 90,000 interactive practice questions in English, maths and reasoning. Teacher-created helpsheets and videos help them discover new concepts and consolidate their learning.
Atom's algorithm keeps children on their ideal learning path, tailored to their unique learning style and pace to keep them challenged and motivated.
Atom Nucleus gives children access to online practice papers. Our online tests are designed to mirror the format and style of the real Newstead Wood School 11 plus, so your child will go into the exam knowing exactly what to expect.
And what's more, everything is automatically marked for you.
Begin your child's journey to Newstead Wood School today. Use the full features of Atom Nucleus free for 5 days – cancel anytime.
We know how keen you are for your child to do well in the 11 plus, to give them every chance of securing a place at their school of choice. Our dedicated team of Education Experts are on hand to support you and your family every step of the way:
We're happy to help with any questions you may have about admissions processes and helping your child prepare for entry to selective schools in Bromley.
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