Dear Families
Welcome back after what I hope has been a restful and safe half term holiday.
We are looking forward to seeing all of our students back this week, raring to go and ready to continue their hard work on current expeditions.
As always, a return to school gives us all the opportunity to make a strong start in terms of getting into good habits and being organised. I would like to remind everyone of the importance of punctuality, attendance and being fully prepared for learning and ask for your support in this to make sure that all of our students are getting it right.
Punctuality
All students need to be in school for an 8.30am start so they must arrive by 8.25am at the latest. A minority of students were regularly late for school last half term which impacted on the learning of others (staff and students). Please talk to your child about their punctuality and ensure that they are arriving on time every day.
Attendance
At XPG we celebrate attendance and will support those students and families who need to improve their attendance. Snapshots will be shared with you this half term which include attendance information and Crew Leaders will be talking with students and their families about how important attendance is to academic achievement and success in school.
As you may have seen in the news, school attendance continues to be a concern across the country. At XPG, we were pleased that our attendance figures were higher than local and national figures last year and there is no doubt that this was down to the hard work of all – students, parents/carers, Crew Leaders and our inclusion team.
We all understand that school attendance is vital to the life chances of young people and that being in school improves health, wellbeing and socialisation throughout life. We will continue to work hard on attendance and punctuality this half term and will be in contact with families where this is a concern and put supportive improvement plans in place.
As the winter approaches, we are all more susceptible to mild respiratory illnesses including general cold symptoms. It is usually appropriate for parents and carers to send their children to school at these times but it can be tricky making these decisions. The following NHS guidance includes information which may be useful – NHS ‘Is my child too ill for school?’ guidance.
Please share any worries you have around attendance or punctuality with your childs’ Crew Leader.
Being organised
As always, students need to bring a school bag every day with the following items
-
- A filled water bottle
- Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener
- Headphones – ideally not expensive ones
- A healthy snack for break (no confectionery (sweets), fizzy drinks or energy drinks, nut products)
- A notebook
- A reading book (e-reader book, school library book or book from home)
- A glue stick
- A purple biro pen
- A highlighter pen
Please make sure your son/daughter is fully equipped for learning and contact us if there are any problems.
Our week ahead
Working with experts
G31 – What does it mean to be human?
G31 will have sessions with our longstanding humanist experts on Monday, who will help students to build on their learning about the golden rule of humanism, and uncover more about the Humanist belief that we have one life and therefore should ensure we make the most of our time on Earth by living the best life possible for ourselves and others, including future generations.
G30 – How are structures important in helping us to explain our world?
This week our G30 students will have an expert session with Kate Osborne Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow and Gateshead East as part of their current expedition ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ where they are working to answer the guiding question ‘How are structures important in helping us to explain our world?’. As part of their work students have been looking at political structures in Government and been investigating housing policy of the Labour Party and other major political parties in the U.K.
PE sessions this week
Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit.
- For G32 students (Year 7)
- G31 Class 1 students have PE on Monday.
- G31 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday.
- All G31 students (Year 8) have PE on Tuesday.
- All G30 students (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
- All G29 students (Year 10) have PE on Monday.
- All G28 students (Year 11) have PE on Monday.
Extended Study and Clubs
Our clubs will all run this week (see schedule below) along with extended study sessions every day except Friday.
Important dates for your diaries
Presentations of Learning (PoLs) this term:
- G32’s PoL will be on the evening of Tuesday 16th December 2025 at St. Mary’s church in Heworth from 4:30pm until 5:54pm.
- G31’s PoL will be on Thursday 11th December in school at 4.30pm.
- G30’s PoL will be on the evening of Wednesday 10th December at the Farrell Centre in Newcastle University Campus. Start time is to be confirmed.
- G28’s PoL will be on Wednesday 17th December in school at 4.30pm.
PoLs are used as an opportunity for students to showcase their learning from their most current learning expedition. PoLs enable students to grow their character and further embed their learning through presenting their work in front of a range of authentic audiences and in a variety of contexts. We expect for every child to have a family member there to support them at a PoL.
As usual if you have any questions about your son or daughter please get in touch with your child’s Crew Leader in the first instance or email general enquiries to [email protected].
Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.
Julie Mosley
