Newstead Wood School

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

1. Register for the 11 plus

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.

2. Apply for a school place

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.

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:

1. Looked after and previously looked after children who achieve the required standard

2. 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:

1. Girls whose primary home is within a 9-mile radius of the school

2. Girls who have a parent who works at the school

3. 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.