The Newcastle School: Entry to Years 3-6 and 8-12 (CAT4)
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Table of Contents
Introduction
The Newcastle School (previously known as Newcastle School for Boys) will open its doors to girls in the Junior School and Sixth Form from September 2026 and to girls in the Senior School from September 2027. The school opened in 2005 after the merger of Ascham House and Newlands School. In January 2022, the Independent School Inspectorate (ISI) produced a report on the establishment, which comments on the school’s effective leadership and management.
Academically, pupils progress well. Those with additional needs receive specialist help, and the most able students also have their needs met. In 2024, more than one-third of GCSE grades were in the 9-7 range, considerably above the national average, and over one-third of A Level grades were A* or A. Many school leavers go on to study at prestigious universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.
Life outside of the classroom is vibrant and fulfilling, ensuring that pupils receive a holistic education that helps them grow into confident young adults ready for life in the 21st century. Students can, for example, get involved in charity work, go on sports tours and secure work experience placements. The ISI report refers to pupils’ enjoyment of extra-curricular activities.
Pastoral care at The Newcastle School is at the heart of school life, with the school community being supportive, caring and inclusive. Staff get to know every child as an individual because class sizes are small, meaning no pupil goes unnoticed. Additionally, Sixth Form students act as role models and assist younger pupils.
If you are interested in your child joining The Newcastle School in any of the years from 3-6 or 8-12, please read on.
The Newcastle School: Contact Details and Admissions Process for Years 3-6 and 8-12
School Details for The Newcastle School
Address: West Avenue, Gosforth, NE3 4ES (Junior School)/The Grove, Gosforth, NE3 1NH (Senior School)
County: Tyne and Wear
Admissions info: [email protected] or 0191 255 9303
School type: Independent day school for pupils aged 3-18
Entrance exam: Online CAT4 and a written English paper for entry to Years 3-6 and 8-11/Online CAT4 and a written general studies paper for entry to Year 12
Admissions Process for The Newcastle School for Years 3-6 and 8-12
The first step in the admissions process is to visit the school to ensure it is the right place for your child. You can attend an open day or arrange a visit during a school day.
The next step is to fill out the application form and pay the registration fee.
For entry to Years 3, 9 and 12, the registration deadline is early December of the year before entry, and the assessment day is towards the end of January. However, for entry to the other years, you should contact the admissions team to see if a place is available. If one is, you will be asked to apply, and then your child will be invited to The Newcastle School to sit the entrance assessments and spend time with their peer group, which is referred to as a trial day.
Please note that if you miss the deadline and assessment day for entry to Year 3, 9 or 12, you are advised to contact the school to see if alternative arrangements can be made.
In addition to taking the entrance assessments, your child will be interviewed, and a report from their current school will be reviewed so that The Newcastle School can determine whether they will be able to access their challenging curriculum and will engage fully in school life.
For Year 12 entry, your child must achieve at least five passes at grade 5 or above in their GCSEs, including maths and English language.
The Newcastle School: Scholarships and Bursaries
Scholarships
Choral scholarships are awarded from Year 3 until the end of Year 8. Choral scholars are choristers at Newcastle Cathedral and are expected to embrace music at The Newcastle School. The awards are worth £500, which is to help towards the cost of music tuition.
The following scholarships are available for Year 12 entry:
- Academic
- All-rounder
- Sport
- Music
- Art
The scholarships are worth up to 50% of the fees, and the scholarship assessments will take place on the assessment day. You must indicate on your child’s application form if you wish to apply for a scholarship.
Additionally, High Level Sixth Form scholarships are available for Year 12 entry. These are worth up to 100% of the fees and are awarded to those performing at the highest level in their chosen area.
Bursaries
Bursaries are available for Year 3 entry and above. They are means-tested awards designed to enable applicants who would benefit from an education at the school, but whose families can’t afford the full fees.
Generally, they are worth up to 50% of the fees and are unlikely to be awarded to any family with a gross income that exceeds £60,000. They are reviewed annually and may change in value if a family’s financial situation changes.
The Online CAT4 for Admission to Years 3-6 and 8-12 at The Newcastle School
The online assessment that applicants will take for Year 3-6 and 8-12 entry is the CAT4. It is a test that assesses your child’s verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning:
- The verbal reasoning questions will assess how well your child can interpret language and reason with words. A strong vocabulary is crucial for this paper.
- The non-verbal reasoning questions will evaluate your child’s ability to analyse shapes and diagrams to solve problems.
- The quantitative reasoning questions will assess your child’s problem-solving abilities using numbers.
- The spatial reasoning questions will require your child to solve three-dimensional problems by mentally moving shapes around.
The CAT4 has different levels for different year groups. Typically, schools use the following levels:
- Level X for candidates in Year 2
- Level Y for candidates in Year 3
- Level A for candidates in Year 4
- Level B for candidates in Year 5
- Level C for candidates in Year 6
- Level D for candidates in Year 7
- Level E for candidates in Year 8
- Level F for candidates in Year 9 or 10
- Level G for candidates in Year 11 or 12
Preparing for the CAT4 for Entry to Years 3-6 and 8-12 at The Newcastle School
We have the following advice to help your child prepare for their online CAT4:
- Optimise your child’s physical and mental wellbeing by encouraging them to eat healthily, have a sensible bedtime and exercise regularly. This will help them manage stress, make study sessions more productive and make illness less likely.
- Promote a positive attitude by focusing on your child’s achievements, no matter how small. Teach your child not to be disheartened by mistakes but to see them as opportunities to learn and grow.
- Schedule short study sessions so that the preparation process does not feel overwhelming, and bear in mind that the average attention span of a child is 2-3 minutes per year of their age. If you start preparation months before your child’s assessment, you won’t need lengthy cramming sessions.
- Encourage your child to read regularly so that their vocabulary expands and their reading comprehension improves. This will be beneficial for the verbal reasoning questions. Also, reading is a great way to wind down at the end of the day.
- Practise times tables and mental arithmetic questions, which will be helpful for maths-based questions. Focus on accuracy to begin with and then build up speed.
- Use our practice tests so your child can get used to the timings, format and question types of their online assessment. Familiarity will remove any fear of the unknown. Additionally, they can use our answers and explanations to learn from their incorrect answers, meaning their skills will improve, and they will make fewer errors in their actual assessment. As they work through our tests, their confidence will grow.
Going into their online assessment fully prepared and confident will put them in a strong position to perform exceptionally well.
The Newcastle School: CAT4 Practice Materials
Our CAT4 practice tests and courses are highly accurate, ensuring that your child’s preparation is targeted and efficient. The following Level X-G resources are a relevant source of preparation materials for the Doha College Years 3-13 Entry CAT4 exam:
Online Practice Tests, Skill Practice Resources & Video Courses
➢ Our highly rated CAT4 full practice tests are available to take online immediately after purchase. Each CAT4 practice test is marked automatically and can then be reviewed. Answers and explanations are provided for every question, as well as comparative ranking statistics on a per module basis.
➢ Our CAT4 skill practice tests each focus on one module that will come up in the CAT4 assessment. Therefore, if your child finds particular modules challenging, you can target them specifically, making a big improvement in a short amount of time.
➢ Our CAT4 online video courses cover each section of the CAT4 exam. Each course consists of a series of lessons and step-by-step explanations.
The Newcastle School Year 2 (Level X) CAT4 Practice Tests
The Newcastle School Year 3 (Level Y) CAT4 Practice Tests
The Newcastle School Year 4 (Level A) CAT4 Practice Tests
The Newcastle School Year 5 (Level B) CAT4 Practice Tests
The Newcastle School Year 7 (Level D) CAT4 Practice Tests
The Newcastle School Year 8 (Level E) CAT4 Practice Tests
The Newcastle School Year 9 & 10 (Level F) CAT4 Practice Tests
The Newcastle School Year 11 & 12 (Level G) CAT4 Practice Tests
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If you have any questions about any of our resources, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will always do our best to answer your queries, as our goal is to help your child ace their CAT4 entrance exam.
The information in this post was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of possible future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the post.
Please note that Pretest Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and not affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers of the CAT4 or any other test publisher.
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