Year 7 Open Morning - July 2026

Good morning, and a very warm welcome to Newstead Wood School. 

I’m delighted to be joined on stage today by Niamh in Year 12, part of our Student Team Leadership Team, as well as Sumayyah and Stella who are just completing their first year with us. 

Today is your opportunity, as prospective students, families, and friends, to experience what makes Newstead Wood such a special place. It’s a chance to explore our vibrant school community and to understand our commitment to excellence in teaching, learning, and personal development. As you tour the school, I encourage you to speak with our staff, and especially our students, who can offer a vivid and authentic insight into life at Newstead. 

Newstead is successful because of the people within it, and we are incredibly fortunate to have some truly remarkable individuals here. We work hard to create opportunities for every student to succeed. And success takes many forms: academic achievement, personal growth, leadership, resilience, and meaningful relationships. Our students leave us as confident, capable individuals, aware of their strengths and responsibilities, and ready to make a difference in the world. 

We are proud to be an intellectually stimulating and academically challenging environment. Our students are naturally curious, hardworking, and passionate about learning. Combined with our culture of high expectations and rich opportunities, this leads to exceptional outcomes. Our focus on Character, Excellence and Leadership develops students who understand themselves, have confidence in what they do, and are well prepared for lives and successful careers in which they can contribute to society. We are consistently ranked among the top-performing state schools in the country. You’ll know that we were recently inspected by Ofsted. We cannot say anything until the report is published, but if we were to say something it would be that we are very much looking forward to sharing it with you.

But our success is not just measured in grades. We are ranked as one of the top grammar schools nationally for student progress, meaning we add significant value to each student’s journey, regardless of their starting point. We were delighted to be recognised by The Sunday Times as London State School of the Year 2025. 

Our students go on to study at the world’s leading universities, across a wide range of disciplines, from traditional academic subjects to modern, innovative courses, and increasingly, prestigious degree apprenticeships. There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ Newstead student, except that they are all full of good character and successful. We celebrate individuality and diversity in every sense. 

We are incredibly proud of our students, not only for their personal achievements but also for their contributions to school life and the wider community. 

At the heart of our ethos is the development of the whole person, not just the intellect. We aim to nurture confident, resilient, creative, and compassionate young people who thrive, serve and lead. To support this, we offer a wealth of opportunities for students to explore their interests and develop new skills. 

We believe that personal development is essential for living a fulfilled life and for adapting to an ever-changing world. Our students will be the generation tasked with solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges: climate change, sustainability, and greater global peace. While they are with us, we guide them to become socially responsible adults, capable of making ethical, informed decisions and leaving a positive mark on the world. 

There truly is something for everyone at Newstead. We place great emphasis on student initiative, if a club or society doesn’t exist, we’ll help them create it! From academic societies and professional pathways like Medicine and Dentistry, to sports, music, or Global Social Leaders - our co-curricular life is rich and varied. Our Diversity Forum celebrates all cultures, with an Asian Celebration Evening in honour of South Asian Heritage Month, and China Night this coming Thursday. This sits alongside our Community Iftar, A Pinch of Spice, and We are Newstead Day, all of which are student led. In the penultimate week of term we have Cultural Arts and Careers Week, which features a wide range of creative workshops and looks at life after school. 

Our curriculum is designed to provide a strong foundation in essential knowledge while also developing the skills needed for further study and the workplace. At Key Stage 3 (Years 7–9), students study traditional subjects alongside programmes that build independence, research, and real-world problem-solving. Our Year 9 students have just achieved remarkable success in the grand final of the national Wings of Hope Achievement Awards at the London Business School. Through their creativity, determination and hard work, they earned the ‘Most funds raised Award’ and came runners-up in the ‘Best overall Team’ category. On Monday, students will at Drapers Hall defending their title as current champions in the final of the national Enterprise Challenge.

At Key Stage 4, students enjoy a broad GCSE curriculum, complemented by our vibrant elective programme. 

Our Sixth Form is also thriving and oversubscribed. We offer a wide range of A level courses, including subjects new to many students such as Classics, Psychology, and Economics. Leadership development, pastoral care, and enrichment are central to our Sixth Form experience, ensuring students are well-prepared for university and beyond. 

The partnership between home and school is vital. We are committed to working closely with families to give every student the best possible opportunities. 

Years 7 to 11 run proudly as a girls’ school and an academically selective one. Research from the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools highlights the value of this environment that students can benefit from, such as:

Typically calmer classrooms, with students seeing a clear link between effort and opportunity. Greater satisfaction in working hard toward goals, persisting through challenges, and a strong sense of belonging.

At Newstead, we focus on nurturing confidence, leadership, and aspiration. We understand how girls learn best and provide the support and mentoring they need to flourish. Most importantly, we create a space where they can truly be themselves. 

Newstead is a happy, positive, and vibrant place. There are always bumps in the road in the lives of our students, and when they happen, we act swiftly to support them. We want our students to enjoy their education with us, to work hard, discover their talents, embrace new challenges, and always strive to be their best. Our success is built not only on the brilliance of our students but also on the dedication of our exceptional staff, both teaching and support, who inspire and guide them every step of the way. 

Thank you for joining us today. Newstead is a school rooted in traditional values, yet progressive in outlook. Learning is at the heart of our community, and I hope today gives you a glimpse into our ethos, our values, and our aspirations for every student. I look forward to the possibility of working together with you in the near future. Thank you.

Hello everyone, my name is Niamh and I am a Deputy Head Student here at Newstead. I am very excited to welcome you to our open morning. I have been at Newstead since Year 7, so today I want to talk to you a bit about my experience here, and why this school is such an amazing and inviting place.

Seven years ago I was in your position, wondering if Newstead was the right place for me, but when I came for the first time I immediately felt at home and that I could see myself as a student here. Even after finishing my GCSEs, one of the reasons I chose to stay at this school was the community here, and you really feel it from the moment you come through the doors on your first day. I will admit on my first day of Year 7 I was quite nervous, wondering if I would make any friends, if I would fit in, or if I really belonged at Newstead entirely. But those feelings soon subsided, as I felt immediately welcomed into the school environment. All of the teachers and staff here are so helpful and want to give you the best support possible. Whether you’re in lessons, doing homework and projects or revising for tests and exams, you never feel alone or like you can’t ask for help.

There are also so many activities that you can get involved in. Firstly, our Newstead community celebrates diversity, and you see it all the time here: through events like the Asian Celebration Event and A Pinch of Spice that celebrates Afro-Carribean culture, and even our annual Culture and Heritage Day, students celebrate and support each other through performances, fundraising and more. They make me feel immensely proud of my school and to be a part of such a tight-knit and respectful community. Our clubs and societies are also a standout part of school life here. Throughout my time here at Newstead I have attended countless lunchtime societies, orchestras and choirs, sports clubs and performed in the school musicals, plays and performances. I am not exaggerating when I say that there is something for everyone, because there really is! You will be surprised by the sheer amount of clubs that you can join in with to meet new people and share your interests - I have made a lot of great friends from across the school years.

These are just a few reasons as to why I have loved and appreciated my time at Newstead. There are so many more brilliant things that happen here, that if I mentioned them all we would be here all day, so I hope you enjoy the rest of the morning exploring everything that this school has to offer, and especially speaking to our Newstead students to get even more insight into everyday life here.

I have really treasured my time in both secondary and sixth form at Newstead, and I hope that today you feel like you belong here too.

Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Sumayyah and I’m in 7G. Thank you for attending today’s Open Morning. 

The first thing to understand about starting secondary school is that nobody ever arrives as confidently as they pretend to. 

I remember, on the very first morning of Year 7, while the sky over Dartford was still dark and quiet, I stood sleepily on a train platform carrying a bag so heavy it felt as though I had packed every textbook in Britain. Somewhere in the distance, a train screeched towards the station, and I remember thinking that this was exactly how first-year students must have felt waiting for the Hogwarts Express - excited, nervous, and secretly hoping they wouldn’t embarrass themselves before they even entered the giant, green gates. 

At that point, secondary school existed in my imagination as a huge and mysterious place. I pictured endless corridors, impossible homework, terrifying older students and teachers who somehow expected everyone to immediately understand complicated timetables and maps. I had also convinced myself that I would definitely get lost within the first hour. 

As it turned out, I was absolutely... correct. 

That first week, the school seemed enormous, like a castle designed by someone who enjoyed confusing children. Convoluted corridors stretched in every direction. Snaking staircases appeared to lead somewhere different every day, and I half expected them to move like the Grand Staircase at Hogwarts. Every classroom had a number that sounded important, and had they been in any logical order, they wouldn’t have been as impossible to locate. 

But the reassuring thing about Year 7 is the knowledge that everyone else felt the same way. 

Thankfully, during the induction day, we took part in engaging activities which helped us to bond with our form members, and the nervousness soon simmered away. Even the shyest amongst us found their voice and strangers became friends surprisingly quickly. Everyone realised that nobody really knew what they were doing yet. 

The teachers helped too – more Lupin than Snape. Short of giving out chocolate to shocked students, of course. They understood that the new Year 7s occasionally forgot their wands (I mean whiteboards), lost their way or stared hopelessly at lockers as if though they required actual magic to open them. I mean seriously, opening mine for the first time felt harder than learning Professor Flitwick’s levitation spell. Even now, there are moments when five people are waiting behind me while I pretend I definitely remember the code to my lock. 

Little by little, though, the school stopped feeling so perplexing. Soon I learned the quickest routes between lessons, and more importantly, to lunch. I discovered that secondary school wasn’t endless homework and intimidating classrooms after all. In history we watched Horrible Histories, in geography we played games, and in DT, I got the opportunity to poison my mum with the food I cooked. 

Outside lessons, school was even more exciting. There were clubs, sports, competitions and performances happening every term. Earlier this year, Year 7 students performed in a singing showcase in front of parents - slightly less terrifying than facing Voldemort. I also joined the Quidditch team (oops... football team... am I taking this Harry Potter thing too far?), travelling to tournaments and matches against other schools. 

There are also cultural events throughout the year, including A Pinch of Spice (an event celebrating African culture), Asian Culture Event and the Ramadan Iftar event, making the school feel inclusive. In the summer, the field opens at lunchtime, and every inch of grass is covered by girls enjoying the sunshine with friends. 

Looking back now, starting secondary school reminds me even more of the beginning of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. At first, everything seems huge, unfamiliar and slightly intimidating. But then, slowly, the castle becomes familiar. The corridors stop feeling confusing. You find your tribe, discover new talents, and realise you’re capable of much more than you expected. 

So, to those of you who are hoping to join the school next year, I know the entrance test and the thought of starting secondary school can feel a little daunting but remember that every secondary school student was once exactly where you are now. We were all wondering what the school would be like, whether we'd make friends, and whether we'd fit in.  

I hope that as you look around today, you can imagine yourselves here too. Perhaps this might even be the place where your own adventure begins. Perhaps you could be the next Emma Raducanu, winning major tennis tournaments, or perhaps you are a budding space expert like Libby Jackson, who trained Tim Peake, or maybe your skills lie in the arts like actress Gemma Chan. Some of our more notable members of the Newstead Wood family. 

Thank you very much for your time and extendable ears. I'm sorry... but I simply had to finish on a Harry Potter note. 

Hi everyone!

I could begin this speech by talking about how perfect this school was since I joined but I won’t, I will share the reality of moving to this huge building called secondary school. I speak for all past, current, and future Year Sevens by saying that I was lost, scared and confused- a lone wolf with no pack. Yet that heavy feeling only lasted for a week because of this community of students and teachers that lifted me up with small gestures like introducing themselves, or bigger ones like guiding me around. I slowly started to ‘fit in’ or rather belong in this treacherous maze. Because of this, Newstead hasn’t just been a school to me but also a second home.

And what was school life like? A change for sure at first but eventually something I got used to. We do have homework but in Year 7 it’s very manageable and mainly covered in lessons. Honestly, a lot of the time parents stress more about homework than kids do but homework is an opportunity to learn independence, responsibility and show off your hard work. For me, it was a chance to live in my own creative flow space Many ordinary lessons incorporate a fun activity which brings the low Monday mood up and brings classmates together, so no one is isolated for too long. Consistent partner work truly let me meet new people without having to initiate things myself.

But once this awkward phase was over, everything fell accordingly like the final piece of the puzzle being placed. I found a best friend, I didn’t carry around a huge backpack anymore, I wasn’t running between lessons trying to find the next classroom. I was having fun even through the downs of this rollercoaster. And at some points it definitely got scary, but the fear slowly drifted away. And this fun I was talking about didn’t end in the classroom. Throughout this year we have done so many exciting things. These highlights include a Y7 singing showcase, cultural events to celebrate our diverse school, a School of Rock production, and my personal favourite- the Christmas song battle. In Year 7 specifically, each form gets the opportunity to create an assembly and write a newsletter. And hidden in these events, was a teaching of confidence, creativity, and teamwork.

Additionally, something that also built these events are clubs. Almost all clubs are at lunchtime, and we have a wide variety that vary from sports to history. We also have many music clubs, some for people who have never played or sang in their life and just want to give it a go and others for experienced players. Here there is something for everyone. Here festivities and life is endless. Here people really listen and people understand. Here I belong. That is why I want to come to school every day because every day is more than just a day.