Newport Girls' High School Academy

I have had first hand experience with this school as well as many other schools. This school is often spoken very highly of, however I would like to give a real review. The way the school acts towards pupils who are in need of help in areas such as mental health is appalling. They pride themselves on having a great support system, however it is mainly all for show. I have spoken to people in the support system and I know that nothing is anonymous. Everyone knows everything and soon everyone will know about your issues and problems. The way that the school don’t even realise what they do to students or how they put them down is demoralising. Everything the school does is for show, including all the open days and all the facilities and support they say they have in place for students is all for show. When you really get to the school, it’s everyone out for themselves, and even teachers don’t stop to help you. An example of this is that one student was not receiving the help or support she needed for her EPQ. When the time for the deadline came, she had fallen very far behind and had been unable to catch up due to the lack of support. If the presentation was handed in, she would receive around a D/U grade. However the school didn’t want to ruin their reputation so they pressured the girl into paying £60 to drop the EPQ as the deadline for dropping it had passed, just so the school didn’t have a D/U grade to their name, even though the girl had asked previously to drop it as she was struggling and the school had refused. On the surface, the school seems supportive and has good grades, however when you get into the details it is not. The teaching is average, the students only receive high grades due to their own efforts and the work they put in. Little support is ever given and the way the school handles things is just not right. Another example of this is a girl who was not doing so well due to personal circumstances at home. She then asked if she was able to retake the year in order to catch up with the work she had missed and the school declined as she was “too much of a safeguarding danger to have in school”. Surely, if you cared about your students, then keeping them on an extra year to help them succeed would overrule the “safeguarding danger” and you wouldn’t put your student at risk of not receiving higher education. A lot of the staff are passively aggressive, whether it be in emails or in person, as they assume that because they are staff they have an automatic right to lower your self esteem and self confidence. Before coming to the school for sixth form, I was an outgoing confident person however after being at the school, I have lost all of my self confidence and now would rather just sit there quietly and get through lessons instead of trying to answer or ask questions, as I know my self esteem will be significantly lowered. This school has been the worst decision I have made, and I am really struggling in everything. Every single day, I dread having to go to school, whereas previously I was enthusiastic and enjoyed my other school. Favouritism also plays a massive part in self confidence, as teachers do not try and hide who they favourite. So, if you are considering sending your daughter here, I would strongly advise against it