Being located on the Teddington and Twickenham border, we really appreciated The Times’  very helpful declaration in 2021 that Teddington is the number one place to live in London.
Of course, our parents and anyone who lives locally already know the huge appeal for families and the unusually cohesive village feel for an area technically still in London. We are surrounded by lush Royal Parks, Hampton Court Palace and buffered by the River Thames. All of these provide wonderful recreational spaces, plenty of activities and a healthy dose of fresh air for families.
Politician Michael Gove even recently suggested that the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames offers such a good lifestyle, that it should be a role model for the government’s Levelling Up programme.
Newland House originally opened its doors in 1897 and over the years, the school has grown in line with the popularity of the area and has become very established. In fact, Mr Maguire, our longstanding deputy head, is now seeing plenty of Old Newlandians re-join our community as their children join the school.
“We do try to be aware of shifts in societal attitudes and are constantly analysing the way we operate.”
Traditionally, we have helped local families looking for a well-balanced, all-round prep school for both boys and girls. We think that a mixed-gender environment offers the most natural foundation, not only for learning, but also in helping children to understand how their relationships affect the world we live in.
We do try to be aware of shifts in societal attitudes and are constantly analysing the way we operate to understand how to meet evolving parental expectations. At the moment, for example, we are currently undertaking an audit addressing equality across the school.
Prospective parents and visitors constantly say how impressed they are by the welcoming and energetic vibe of the school. This is coupled with the confidence and politeness shown by pupils who embrace our traditional ethos and our core values of Kindness, Courage, Respect, Honesty and Community. We place a strong focus on well-being and launched a new RSE programme with the support of Discovery Health and Education last year.
“Parents enjoy a supportive parental network, creating new and often life-long family friendships.”
At our very heart we have a real sense of togetherness across the school community, and we have an excellent reputation for pastoral care. Parents enjoy a supportive parental network, creating new and often life-long, family friendships. We have a proactive Parents’ Association which organises many events, often raising significant funds for local charities.
In 2019 they raised over £35,000 for the local charity Skylarks. We try hard to keep a balanced and nurturing approach which helps the children grow and develop and importantly, acquire resilience. We also place emphasis on pupils’ adaptability, helping them to learn the skills to collaborate effectively and think critically. We have established a Personal Development Programme focusing on creating these.
We do have to stay on our toes though. The local state primary schools are exceedingly popular and have very good reputations. In recent years, parents have really benefited from securing their first-choice schools following the borough-wide expansion of Reception classes and the opening of a number of new free schools.
Put all of this together and consequently house prices are high, rentals are sought after and there are an increasing number of international families setting their sights, on Richmond in particular, as a destination.
“We do have to stay on our toes though. The local state primary schools are exceedingly popular and have very good reputations.”
Despite the competitive challenges, our co-educational prep model has stood us in excellent stead, so much so that in 2016 we acquired a site next to the school and built a brand-new pre-prep building. This allowed us not only to drop our old 7+ intake model but also to move to three-form, non-selective entry from Reception. This move had the added benefit of allowing us to convert our former pre-prep building where we based a new nursery.
We really focus on having a broad and engaging curriculum as we feel it’s so important to be a school where the children can actively enjoy school life. Parents’ motives are a reflection of the competitive (Twickenham stadium is on our doorstep) and often aspirational nature of the area and they are looking for a big range of opportunities for their children coupled with strong academic outcomes.
“There has been a noticeable shift to 11+ from 13+ placement in the area.”
So, we teach a wide variety of subjects and have over 60 extra-curricular clubs running each week so that children can find an interest to become passionate about and really look forward to. We also think we provide the right amount of challenge to help children achieve their full potential and we have been able to build good relationships with some very nearby sought-after senior schools.
With the increasingly competitive nature of the senior school entry process though, we are also widening our net and building connections with schools which not only provide an all-round experience but also identifying schools where children can be themselves.
There has been a noticeable shift to 11+ from 13+ placement in the area, led in part by senior schools’ entry changes but also through changes in parental philosophy which means that we are constantly evaluating the benefits and viability of Year 7 and 8 for boys.
“We are again on the lookout for innovative and child-focused ways to evolve.”
We have weathered the Covid storm well in terms of our home learning provision, in thanks to our ability to respond quickly using exiting IT platforms, staff who were incredibly flexible and our pastoral foundations all helped us to effectively support children and families remotely. However, as both national and local birth rates fall, state place availability increases, and parents have more educational choice, we are constantly seeking ways to be progressive.
Our new head, Chris Skelton, who was appointed in September 2019 had barely got his feet under the desk when both Covid and the dilemmas of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme arose. But as we move away from the influence of the pandemic, we are making progress again in fine tuning everything we stand for and we are again on the lookout for innovative and child-focused ways to evolve.