Newstead Wood School

The school specialises in engineering and psychology. The current head teacher is Alan Blount. The school's motto is Fortitudine Crescamus (Latin for: 'May we grow in strength'). The school has recently begun admitting boys into the sixth form.

It is in the Crofton area of Orpington, not far from the A21 and next to Darrick Wood. Darrick Wood School and the Princess Royal University Hospital are the other side of Darrick Wood, to the west. The London Outer Orbital Path passes adjacent to the playing fields. It lies in the parish of St Paul's, Crofton.

It was founded as the Orpington Grammar School for Girls in 1957,[3] when administered by the Kent Education Committee. It became part of Bromley in 1965. There were firm plans for the school to become comprehensive in 1978. Nearby Bullers Wood School went comprehensive in the late 1970s.

In 1997, a survey in the Sunday Times found that the school was the best value in England for each A or B grade achieved at A-level, second to St Olave's school; Bromley was a low spender (per pupil) comparative to other LEAs. In 2004, a pupil gained the best result at Maths GCSE in England. In 2009 the headteacher told the conference in Harrogate of the Girls' Schools Association[4] that schools were not concentrating on brighter pupils, instead trying to raise average pupils' grades from D to C, and that girls in mixed-sex schools can have their ambitions crushed and be held back in male-dominated professions (girls from single-sex schools are statistically more successful in science-based professions than from mixed schools). She also criticised a government scheme to give one-to-one tuition to less able pupils, and not more-able students, when considering the lack of women in traditionally-male occupations, and she claimed there was a 'huge reluctance' to concentrate on top students.

On 1 April 2011, the school gained academy status and is now sponsored by United Learning.

At its last full inspection in 2014, Newstead Wood was rated by Ofsted as Outstanding,[5] and a more recent examination was not rated.[6] The school has a large catchment area, from which pupils are selected on the basis of tests in verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Around 900 girls sit the entrance tests annually and competition is intense.

It was ranked third amongst secondary schools in Bromley based on overall performance at end of key stage 4 in 2019 - all pupils, a.k.a. Progress 8 benchmark.[7]

Describing the Head, the Good Schools Guide [8] says: "Since September 2018, Alan Blount, previously deputy head. A graduate of both Exeter (biology and education) and Canterbury Christ Church (masters in leadership and management in education) universities, he taught science at Oxted School and Carshalton Boys Sports College before joining Newstead Wood in 2014. Despite a girls’ grammar being such a different kettle of fish (‘friends said, “Seriously, are you sure Newstead is for you?”’ he laughs), he was appointed assistant head within a couple of months and headteacher four years later. ‘Headship was definitely on my radar, but I didn’t think the opportunity would come up here or so soon,’ he admits."

Times Parent Power [9] has ranked the School's A-level 2019 results 121st= in the country (previous year 161st) and GCSE 2019 results 11th (previous year 15th) and also ranks it 11th amongst all secondary schools in London.[10]

Initially the school had no house system but when it was introduced there were only three houses: Nightingale, Wren and Swift. The first letters of each house came from the initials of Newstead Wood School, and the name of the house was both a bird, and a notable historical figure (Florence Nightingale, Christopher Wren and Jonathan Swift). Each year group had three classes, one from each house. As the school expanded, each year group grew to 4 classes, and a fourth house, Griffin, was founded. The school continued to expand, growing to 5 classes in each year, and so the Falcon house was founded. It expanded still, having six classes since the September 2013 intake.

The school now consists of six houses: Nightingale, Wren, Swift, Falcon, Griffin and Phoenix. The first five house names come from the school's initials NWSFG (Newstead Wood School For Girls), the sixth house, Phoenix was added in 2017 and celebrates the school reaching six forms for all years in the school. The September 2017 intake was the first year group to include Phoenix.

There are currently two examinations required to gain a place at the school: verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

Josie Long at the Green Man Festival (Brecon Beacons) in August 2010

• Dina Asher-Smith, athlete who won a team bronze medal in the women's 4 × 100 m relay at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 3 medals at the Athletic Championships 2019
• Gemma Chan, actress known for her role as Astrid in Crazy Rich Asians, and as Anita/Mia on the television drama Humans
• Samantha Baines, actress and comedian
• Suzi Brent, blogger and author
• Leela Bunce
• Emma Johnson MBE, clarinettist, winner of the 1984 BBC Young Musician of the Year, and Bronze in the Eurovision Young Musicians 1984
• Josie Long, comedian
• Kim Medcalf, actress who played Sam Mitchell (EastEnders) from 2002 to 2005
• Liv Little, Editor in Chief and Founder of gal dem magazine
• Josephine Vander Gucht - part of the duet Oh Wonder
• Barbara Harriss-White,[11] Professor of Development Studies at the University of Oxford

• Newstead Wood School website
• Alumni
• EduBase