TE Newby was born in South Shields and completed his secondary education at Westoe Secondary School in July, 1906, when he went on to Armstrong College, Durham. He emerged in 1909 with a teaching certificate and a BSc in Chemistry although Geology was a subsidiary subject for which he was awarded a prize.

His first teaching post was at Westoe Boys' School until 1912 when he spent a year at Westoe Senior School. In 1913 he moved to the Westoe Secondary School, where he taught for 23 years. For the last two years of his time there, he was acting Headmaster and when the school combined with the Boys' High School he entered the school at Harton as Second Master, teaching Senior Chemistry.

During the war-time evacuation of about a quarter of the boys to Appleby, he was their Headmaster.

When he left the Boys' High School, on 31st December, 1945, it was to become Headmaster of Cleadon Park County Secondary School for Boys.