Westfield School is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

day school for girls aged 3 to 19 in

Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of New ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is a Round Square school and a member of the

Girls' Schools Association The Girls' Schools Association (GSA) is a professional association of the heads of independent girls' schools. It is a constituent member of the Independent Schools Council. History The GSA can trace its history back to the Association of Headm ...

History

Westfield School was founded in 1960 by a group of parents who saw the need for a new type of girls' independent school with a broader curriculum than those offered at the time by other Newcastle schools. They decided to establish a girls' school on the Gordonstoun model. Henry Brereton, a former Headmaster of Gordonstoun, was a founder trustee consultant and an adviser from the beginning. He remained a Governor of Westfield after retirement from Gordonstoun. Miss Ellen Bicknell's Parents' National Education Union School, situated at 1 and 3 Westfield Grove, Gosforth, was purchased and became the Junior House. Demand for places grew rapidly. Within a year Oakfield House, the former home of local MP Sir Cecil Cochrane, was purchased for the Senior House. Westfield continued to grow rapidly throughout the 1990s. It became a member of the international Round Square in 1991. In 1996 the acquisition of Ashfield Towers on Kenton Road, adjacent to Senior House, led to the relocation of Junior House allowing Westfield to offer an all-through education for girls from three to eighteen on a single six-acre site in the heart of Gosforth. The current school is now made up of three divisions: Junior House (which includes the Early Years), Senior House and Sixth Form.

Uniform

The school's uniform consists of a tartan blue and pink kilt with a pink shirt and a navy blue V-neck jumper, whilst the sixth form uniform consists of a navy suit along with the same pink and navy blue pullover as the rest of the school.

Programmes

As a Round Square school, Westfield frequently participates in exchange programmes and service projects with other member schools. Girls from most year groups have the opportunity to visit other Round Square schools. There are also opportunities for younger students to participate in Junior and Young Round Square conferences aimed specifically at their own age groups and usually held in the UK or Europe.

Extracurricular Activities

A wide variety of activities are available ranging from sport to interest clubs to performing arts. Outdoor pursuits for Duke of Edinburgh Award participants offers girls the opportunity to experience the outdoors through expeditions and camping trips. Westfield is a member of UNESCO ASPNet. Hence girls may also take part in

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, Passport for Life and environmental awareness groups.Senior Extracurricular Activities
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Notable former pupils

* Julia Barrow, historian and academic *

Sally-Ann Hart Sally-Ann Hart (born 6 March 1968) is a British politician who has been the member of parliament (MP) for Hastings and Rye since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, she succeeded Amber Rudd, the former home secretary, who did not seek re- ...

, politician * Rose Ridley, wife of

Owen Paterson Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minist ...

, secretary of state

References

External links

School WebsiteProfile
on

MyDaughter MyDaughter was a British website set up by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) offering advice to parents of daughters on all aspects of raising and educating girls. Advice was provided by headteachers from the member schools of the Girls' Schoo ...

Profile
on the ISC website {{authority control Independent schools in Newcastle upon Tyne Girls' schools in Tyne and Wear Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Round Square schools