Newport, Isle of Wight Newport, Isle of Wight Newport is a civil parish and the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. The civil parish had a population of 23,957 at the time of the 2001 census, which rose to 25,496 at the 2011 census. The town lies slightly to the north of the centre of the Island. It has a quay at the head of the navigable section of the River Medina, which flows northward to Cowes and the Solent. Mousterian remains, featuring tools made by Neanderthals at least 40,000 years ago, were found at
Education on the Isle of Wight Learning and Skills Council proposed to replace the state school sixth forms with central provision at the Isle of Wight College. In January 2007, the authority rejected this proposal, and instead offered its own, which included a reduced number of secondary schools, and the retention of Year 9 pupils in Middle schools, extending their range to form 9–14 schools – a unique arrangement in the United Kingdom – and 14–19 provision at High Schools. In January 2008, more reforms were put forward, which could see the closure of at least half of the Island's primary schools. On 14 January 2008