When changes are proposed to admission arrangements, we must consult on our admission arrangements that will apply for admission applications the following school year and at least once every 7 years, even if there have been no changes.
Our consultation will last for 6 weeks and between Friday 20th December and Friday 31 January.
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Exciting opportunity at Carcroft School! We’re looking for a Teacher with a Specialism in SEND to join our team and make a difference. Interested? Find out more here: https://xptrust.org/carcroft-school-teacher-with-specialism-in-send/
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust from this week. To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
The following letter will be sent home with Year 8 students tomorrow, which includes a permission slip for the visit which must be completed and returned by families as soon as possible.
There will also be a media consent form attached to your letter, which the V&A museum have requested for you to fill in.
All important details of kit and timings are in this letter. We are travelling to London by train, and then using underground services to reach the museum. Students will carry out a range of activities including a tour of the museum. Students will need a packed lunch, tea and any snacks as well as their full kit. They do not need to bring money for the gift shop, but can do so if you wish.
Join our Crew at XP Trust as Central Administrator! Play a vital role in keeping everything running smoothly and making a real difference.
Apply now: https://xptrust.org/central-administrator-xp-trust/
As part of our current expedition ‘Do your bit’ with the guiding question:
‘Why do we need to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?’
We are carrying out religion and worldviews fieldwork at the Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha in Newcastle on Tuesday 11th February. This fieldwork will consolidate the studying the students are going to be doing about the involvement of the many Sikh soldiers who fought bravely for the empire during WW1.
The students will have an informative presentation and Q & A session with an expert, Rav Singh from ‘A Little History of the Sikhs’ in London, on 7th February as well as lessons which explore the beliefs and practices of Sikhi. This fieldwork will then provide the students with firsthand experiences and insights into the Sikh religious traditions that they have learned about.
Students should arrive for school as usual before 8.25am.
We will be travelling to the Gurdwara by metro from Heworth, leaving school at 9:00am and returning by 3:15pm.
As a mark of respect, and as is the case in many different religious buildings, students will need to cover their heads when in the Gurdwara – if they have their own bandana or thin headscarf to do this they can use that, otherwise they will be provided with one (which has been freshly laundered) on arrival at the Gurdwara. Hats and hoods are not an appropriate or acceptable head covering inside the Gurdwara. Students will also need to remove their shoes but leave on their socks whilst in the Gurdwara. Students need to be dressed modestly which in terms of going into the Gurdwara means shoulders and knees covered so no shorts or vest tops to be worn please.
One of the practices we will have learned about in the Sikh faith is Sewa which is selfless service or volunteering for the betterment of others and the community without expecting anything in return. Our students will be contributing to ‘Langar’ whilst there, helping to prepare the meal that will be eaten at lunchtime. Students will also be responsible for serving the lunch and clearing away. Sewa is activism which emphasises the importance of compassion, empathy and the selflessness needed in order to promote a caring community and therefore aligns perfectly with our character values here at XP.
The lunch that the students will help to prepare and then will be served to eat will be a vegetarian dhal and flatbread. If students would prefer to bring a packed lunch it MUST not contain any meat, fish or eggs and, as always, strictly no nuts). Lunch will be provided for students eligible for FSM if you request this.
We are looking forward to students being able to find out more about Sikhi and how the Gurdwara holds immense significance in the Sikh faith and community.
Last year’s cohort and staff found this a very enriching experience and we know that G31 will too!
If you have any questions about this fieldwork, please contact your child’s Crew Leader.
This event will take place at 5.30pm in school.
It will include information evening for G29 families to give further details around key events this year – Passage Presentations, the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and our KS4 curriculum offer for GCSE and other courses.
Our theatre space is out of use at the moment. To allow us to plan the best room to use, if you have not already done so could you please indicate how many family members will be attending using this Google Form.
Students do not need to attend but are welcome to do so.
On Friday, students in G29 were excited to embark on a new expedition, diving into the guiding question, “How can we continue to make progress in public health?” Their expedition is titled “You Give Me Fever”, and it promises to be both engaging and insightful, with a focus on three important case studies:
Throughout this 16-week expedition, students will explore the history and evolution of public health, from the Medieval Period to the modern day. The expedition will focus on key factors affecting health, such as wealth, poverty, science, technology, and the role of government. Students will also examine these themes through the lenses of both history and science, allowing them to conduct a human geography study of their local area.
As part of their local study, the students will look into the most prevalent diseases in Gateshead and the risk factors that contribute to them. A key focus this year will be on the impact of smoking and vaping on public health. In the immersion phase, students have already read “Tobacco: A Smoking Gun”, a report by Alice Wiseman, Gateshead’s Director of Public Health. This will serve as a springboard for students to research and write their own reports, which will be showcased at G29’s Point of Learning (PoL) event on May 9th, details to follow.
As part of their expedition, students will also learn key GCSE content in both science and history, integrating their understanding of the scientific and historical aspects of public health. By the end of the expedition, students will have gained a deeper understanding of how various factors shape public health policies and practices, both globally and in their local community.
Stay tuned for more updates as the students continue their exploration into the important field of public health!
Find a link of the full expedition here – smap
Students have settled back into school and routines well, it was great to hear staff and students talk about highlights of their week and the appreciations given on Friday during online Community Meeting with G31, G30 and G29. It’s wonderful to see so many students recognising each others’ great habits, character, areas of improvement and a strong start in sessions.
Last week we launched our new learning expeditions across all year groups. More details of the types of activities that students have been carrying out in immersion can be found below.
A huge appreciation goes to those Year 10 students who have started supporting Year 9 students with their Passage preparations and Year 7 students who have started work on their first Student Led Conference (SLC). The commitment and care our students show to each other is impressive and they definitely are ‘crew not passengers’ at XPG.
Last week we launched our new learning expeditions across all years. As is always the case, expeditions start with a week of immersion which is an opportunity for students to dip their toe into the content of the learning expeditions, to build background knowledge and generate curiosity about the GQ (guiding question) for the expedition.
Year 7 students have two new learning expeditions in STEAM and HUMAN. Their STEAM immersion has involved reading extracts from a dystopian novel called Station 11 and preparing to carry out food tests, making connections back to their study of elements, compounds and mixtures from term 1.
In HUMAN and ARTS year 7 have been building background knowledge about World War I, and beginning to read a play called White Poppies as well as revisiting skills from term 1 to represent medals in graphite pencil drawings.
Year 8 have been learning about important figures from history such as Benjamin Franklin and Alessandro Volta. Year 8 have also carried out a gallery walk in HUMAN, making connections between stimulus images on natural hazards and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They have also started to read an abridged Modern English version of The Scottish Play to put together a storyboard of its key moments, before grappling with the full text. Connected to this in STEAM students have been carrying out physics experiments to do with objects in motion, revising their knowledge of elements, compounds and mixtures from Year 7 and grappling with an excerpt from A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
Year 9’s immersion has involved building background knowledge about health around the world and in our own country as well as trying to unravel a mysterious connection from these ideas to a 17th century poem by John Dryden. In STEAM students have been building viral, fungal and bacterial cells from scrap materials as part of their immersion. Miss Jamison was impressed by these creative and scientifically accurate models from Ben D, Francis, Eleanor, Dakota, Lily, Winnie, Peyton and Hallie. Brilliant work Year 9!
This term Year 10 have an expedition that combines HUMAN and STEAM. The week of immersion has involved studying Nazi ideology and how pseudoscientific arguments were used to promote fear and division, as well as a study of The Weimar Republic of Germany between wars, and the impact that The Treaty of Versailles had on living conditions and society pre-WWII. Connected to this students have made connections from this and their wider studies from previous expeditions about the class system in Britain, that of today and of the past.
As you can see, these immersive and intensive experiences at the beginning of a learning expedition help to generate curiosity and excitement about the topic, build background knowledge and provide students a solid starting point to launch into and tackle their guiding questions for the rest of their learning expedition.
This week will see all of the GQs (guiding questions) revealed for our new expeditions. GQs are a crucial part of the anatomy of an expedition and are revealed at the end of immersion.
GQs influence, shape and act as a reference point for student learning. GQs provoke thinking and deepen learning throughout the 12 week expedition and allow students to be engaged in authentic and purposeful work which makes connections between different subject areas and disciplines. During the course of a learning expedition, our children experience a range of case studies, with challenging texts which deepen their understanding and help them to develop an answer to the rich GQ for the expedition.
Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit.
SLCs for G31 and G30 will take place this term in the two weeks commencing 27th January 2025. It is an expectation that all families attend SLCs to fully support their child’s progress. All G31 and G30 families should have now made appointments to attend their child’s SLC. Please contact the school office if you have not arranged an appointment.
G31 and G30 students will continue with their preparations for their Student-Led Conferences. Please can all G30 families ensure that they have completed this Google Form to help your child to prepare for the conference.
We invest a lot of time in giving students opportunities to reflect upon their learning and growth. A significant amount of Crew time is devoted to this in the run-up to SLCs. Please do also ask your child about how their preparation is going.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We are trialling using Google Calendar as the booking system for SLCs for the first time rather than sign up genius.
We should have included cautionary notes in Google Calendar about the dates for booking SLC and the London fieldwork which is taking place for Year 8 students.
For example families with children in Class 2 will not be able to book SLC slots on the evening of Tuesday 28th January as this is when children will be in London. Your child’s Crew Leader or a member of staff will contact you if we need to change any existing bookings. Again, please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.
On Wednesday evening of this week we will hold an information evening for G29 families to give further details around key events this year – Passage Presentations, the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and our KS4 curriculum offer. This will take place at 5.30pm in school.
Our theatre space is out of use at the moment. To allow us to plan the best room to use, can all Year 9 families please indicate how many family members will be attending using this Google Form. Students do not need to attend but are welcome to do so.
Lunchtime and after school Clubs and supervised Extended Study sessions return this week. Here is our offer:
This week also sees the return of the regular setting of Extended Study work for students.
It is important that students get into good habits around extended study. Studies have shown that this has a positive impact on student progress, on average (+ 5 months), particularly with pupils in secondary schools. We recognise that it is not always possible for students (or staff) to have a quiet working space at home which is why we offer a space to work in school from 3.30-4.30pm Monday-Thursday. For students who do not complete extended study and struggle to meet deadlines, directed extended study will be put in place.
Our full rationale for Extended Study can be found here.
As part of their new learning expedition Year 8 students will be carrying out important fieldwork at the V&A (The Victoria & Albert Museum in London). This is in partnership with the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. Students will travel to London and back in a day by rail, and will work with experts at the museum to help put together artistic responses to their new guiding question. We will post more details about timings of these days soon:
This week families will receive a letter with full details and consent for this fieldwork, including travel times and organisational details. Please note that we want to give every student the opportunity to come to London and there is no cost to families for this fieldwork. We do expect a commitment from both students and families in terms of their conduct and if there are any absences on the day of travel, we will ask families to cover the costs incurred by us as a school.
Please note that our whole staff will be travelling to Doncaster on Thursday 23rd January for a twilight CPD session which will launch an XP Trust Teaching and Learning conference on Friday so school will end at the slightly earlier time of 1.30pm on Thursday 23rd January to allow for this.
As usual if you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance. Thank you as always for your ongoing support.
Julie Mosley
Principal
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust this week! To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
G29 Immunisations
The next immunisation programme for school aged children is the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (Td/IPV) and Meningitis ACWY (MenACWY) campaign. This is for YEAR 9. This session will happen in school on Wednesday 19th February.
Can the following consent link please be completed by all families, including if you do not consent.
https://www.northumbriaimmunisations.co.uk/Forms/DTP
The school code is: NB148617
Thanks
