G28 Families: The next half-term

Thanks once again to G28 families for your support this term in our first Teacher/Student-Led Conferences and your ongoing support for your children’s studies and growth.

Students must continue to work on revision over the two-week break in readiness for their mocks as will be the case in Year 11. It is important to build these habits now,

Fine Art mock examination – Tuesday 22nd April

Students in Fine Art will have a mock of the practical art exam during the whole day on Tuesday 22nd April The mock for Photography will take place in the final half-term. Students have been preparing for this in their art sessions.

If you have not already ordered an art pack for your child to use at home, and wish to do so you can still order (more information here) link although we would not then be able to start the fulfilment process for these orders until our first week back.

Revision and Mock examinations – from Monday 28th April

Mock GCSE examinations will be taking place in the two weeks commencing Monday 28th April. Students have been given guidance in Crew and in their subjects on how to revise and what content will be on the mocks.

The rest of the mock timetable is below:

Staff have put together this revision website as a guide for families which has a wealth of information to help you to support your child right the way through to the final assessments in Year 11 next year.

You can access this any time by going to the XP Gateshead website and clicking on Parents – GCSE Revision on the menus.

Students have been given four exercise books to use as part of their HUMAN revision over the break. These books will need to cared for and brought back to school when students return after the break.

Work Experience – Week commencing 30th June

This week students have been briefed on the arrangements for their Work Experience, which will take place in the week commencing 30th June. Students will be asked to make contact with potential employers and then we will get assurance that suitable arrangements are in place for the placement. We will give families fuller information at the upcoming Presentation of Learning on Wednesday 16th April.

Dear Families

Here we are at the end of another fantastic term at XP Gateshead and what a term it has been!

G30 Presentation of Learning

Year 8 students presented their ‘What is Power?’ expedition at Caedmon Hall, Gateshead Central Library on Thursday. We were all blown away by the quality and depth of their understanding – performances of Macbeth intertwined with insights into the meaning of the word power in society, science, history, geography and art. 

This PoL is a real challenge for our students and they showed great courage in terms of presenting to an audience and being part of a drama performance. The high quality of their work and performance was down to the commitment they have shown and the support they have given each other. It has been wonderful to see the pride in our students today reflecting on the mountain they climbed this week, especially those who thought they couldn’t (and there were many). Students are definitely starting to see that there is more in them than they know!

Can I thank G30 families for their attendance and support at last night’s PoL. 

G31, G29 and G28 Presentations of Learning to come

I’m really looking forward to seeing G28 and G29 families at our upcoming PoLs at the start of the Summer Term and enjoying the online G31 PoL too. See below for details:

Year 7 HUMAN – Why is it important to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?

PoL will be recorded in school and steamed for families to watch with their children at home via Youtube. This will be broadcast in the first week back after the Easter Break on Thursday 17th April at 6pm. 

Year 10 – Are we really free to choose?

PoL on Wednesday 16th April at Newcastle Sixth Form College at 4:30pm. 

Alongside the Presentation of Learning which is in the form of a debate, we will also be sharing important information with parents regarding work experience at this event as well as taking the opportunity to celebrate and award our students’ DofE success too. 

Students will be using the campus earlier as part of the preparation for the PoL and also as part of their continued preparation for Post-16.

Mr Said will be putting out a further post for G28 families with reminders and information about mocks, revision and art packs.

Year 9 – How can we continue to make progress on public health?

PoL on Friday 9th May in school from 2pm. This Presentation of Learning is in the form of a Public Health Conference, hosted by our students. Please note the earlier time for this.

I am sure that you will all agree that our students have continued to rise to the challenge – they continue to work hard, get smart and be kind on a daily basis producing beautiful work, developing their character to achieve academic success.

Thank you so much for your continued support. 

We look forward to seeing you after the holiday on Monday 14th April at the usual time where we will be starting on our next exciting expeditionary adventures.

Happy Easter from all the staff crew at XP Gateshead.

Julie Mosley

G29 Expedition Updates

This week, G29 had the pleasure of attending two expert sessions as part of their current expedition ‘How can we continue to make progress in public health’

We were joined by Daisy, Rhiannon, and Kaat—three Doctors and Specialty Registrars in Public Health who work on reports that directly influence policy in Gateshead. Daisy and Rhiannon posed a thought-provoking question to the students: “Should women who smoke receive fertility treatment?” This sparked insightful discussions and encouraged students to think like decision-makers, weighing up the pros and cons of providing IVF on the NHS to people who smoke. The session inspired thoughtful, mature conversation and strengthened students’ ability to approach public health issues critically.

Kaat supported students in developing strategies to make their reports more engaging. She reminded them that it’s not just about accurate research and data—effective communication matters too. Students were encouraged to use linguistic devices to capture readers’ attention and make their reports as persuasive and accessible as possible.

All students have now begun writing their reports. I’ve recommended that each student spend at least one hour during the Easter holidays working on their section of the report. This will ensure we have ample time for critique and redrafting ahead of our Presentation of Learning (PoL) on 9th May.

Each student is taking the lead on a section of their group’s report, meaning they can make progress independently during the break without needing to meet with their group.

Below is an extract from the first draft of Brodie, Dakota, Hallie, and Leo’s report, entitled:

Lights, camera , smoke: How media fuels smoking? 

‘Eight of the ten films nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars contained tobacco imagery’ (Truth Initiative, 2025). Timothee Chalamet, who was a fan favourite to win the oscars earlier this year, smokes in his movie “A complete Unknown”. Chalamet plays a 1960’s Bob Dylan from New York City, where The Daily Mail states, ‘Timothee Chalamet wears a suede jacket and smokes a cigarette’ ( Kayhart, 2024).

Similarly to Chalamet, Cillian Murphy has smoked ‘3,000 herbal cigarettes per season as Tommy Shelby, despite not being a smoker himself’ ( Barker, 2024). This is important as it shows the effects that films can have on the public, and how despite Murphy not smoking himself,  his character is stated to be ‘rarely seen without a cigarette dangling from his lips’ ( Barker, 2024). Thomas Shelby is an important character in many people’s lives, his smoking habits could lead people to joining him.

Lily has also written a strong introduction for her group: Accessing the impact of public health reform

It’s no secret that smoking has been a common problem across the world for decades, centuries even. King James I of England was the first to publish his concern about smoking. James’s Counterblaste to Tobacco published in 1604 described smoking as ‘a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs’ (James I 1604). 

Students also have their guiding question to complete if they find themselves at a loss for activities this early Easter break.

Beautiful Work This Week: 28/03/2025

Beautiful Work This Week

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.

Top of the Blogs

Class 8 POL @ Green Top

Science Fair Preparations @ Plover

Presentation of Learning @ Carcroft School

What a week in PE @ XP Doncaster

G31 STEAM Presentation of Learning @ XP Gateshead

World Maths Day 2025 @ Norton Infants

Inspirational Portraits @ Norton Juniors

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

G31 STEAM Presentation of Learning: Beautiful Work

On Tuesday, G31 students presented their learning for their “Staying Alive” STEAM Expedition which had the guiding question “Is Survival Sufficient?”.

Students worked extremely hard throughout the expedition, considering the importance of food, water and warmth, and the challenges many face in accessing these resources. Students combined their knowledge from across their STEAM subjects to put together recipes that are both healthy and delicious, donating ingredients and designing recipe cards for each meal to display nutritional information and instructions on how to prepare the meals.

The students presented their work to staff from Edberts House which will be shared with members of our community. Absolutely stunning work, G31!

Thank you so much to all families who have supported this expedition by supporting students to try out recipes, and for making such kind donations that will make a difference to our community.

Students presenting their learning Food donations and recipe cards put together by students

Dear Families,

We are pleased to offer your child the opportunity to purchase a Classic Art pack, an excellent resource to support their studies at GCSE Fine Art. We highly recommend this excellent resource as a valuable tool to support students to access the course, complete high quality extended study and make great academic progress

Pricing:
By purchasing through school you will be able to buy these packs at a discounted price of ÂŁ12.99.

To buy this, please use the XP Trust Shop using the link below.

Classic Art Pack

If required, could you please order before Friday 28th March – we will then place the order for delivery the first week back after our two week holiday.

Within the pack are:
• Watercolour Tablet Tin Set of 14 Assorted
• Synthetic Round Short Handled Brush Size 4
• Spectrum Graphites HB Pencil
• Spectrum Graphites 2B Pencil
• Spectrum Colour Pencils Set of 12 Assorted
• Spectrum Synthetic Eraser
• Pencil Sharpener Single Hole
• Shatterproof Plastic Ruler 30cm
• Specialist Crafts Scissors 152mm/6″
• Specialist Crafts Glue Stick 40g
• Premium Stapled Sketchbook 150gsm 20 Sheets A4

More success for Brooke!

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Brooke was very very proud of herself she got the highest score she has ever achieved whilst competing! (27.000 out of a possible 30.000)
Brooke and her partner placed 2nd in grade 2 women’s pairs in all of the North East region!
They will now move up to compete at the next grade (grade 3) in the new competition season.  What a way to finish grade 2, 2nd place and a personal best!

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome to the final week of our Spring Term.

Last week was definitely a week full to the brim with high quality work and learning with staff crew on Monday, G29 Passage Presentations across the week, Crew Day for G31, G30 and G28, a regional Lego tournament and three days of teacher interviews. It is a testament to staff and students alike that we are able, as a small school, to continue to thrive during weeks like this with every visitor to school (40+ experts, 12 teachers on interview and 50 families supporting their children through passage). This is a product of  the strength of our school culture, the character values shown by students and staff and high quality work seen across our school. Our expectations are high at XPG and I know, we set the bar high but time and time again our students step up to this challenge.

G29 Passage Presentations

Without a doubt, Passage Presentations are one of the highlights of the year at XP Gateshead and last week we saw our G29 students stepping up to, and indeed surpassing, the high expectations and demand of Passage. 

Over the past three weeks we have seen our Year 9 students work hard to produce beautiful scripts to tell their XP journey to date with integrity and how they have developed as a learner. Students have supported and challenged each other to show real craftsmanship and quality in their writing, lifting each other to produce work better than they thought possible. The spirit of Y9 crew and compassion has underpinned all of this work and the success students have achieved.

G29 Families: We would love to get your feedback as families on the process. You can let us know your thoughts using this Google Form.

To stand and present to an audience takes real courage and maturity, as reflected by our panellists (families and experts alike)

Thank you again for the privilege of being part of your Year-9 students’ passage presentations – this was my second year. The honest reflections on their educational journeys was inspiring, as each student presented the ups and downs and the journey’s waypoints, recognising what they did and do well and what they have need to improve upon and intend to change, this included academic expectations and aspirations, and how their behaviour and attendance will contribute to success. As the students prepare for and embark on their GCSE studies, each was able to describe how their time at XP has and will influence the formation and development of character, their identity and future-self. (Expert panellist)

I’d like to say how thoroughly impressed I was with the Passage presentation, and the all-around concept associated with it, having attended yesterday. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I can see the value in having the students self-analyse their overall performance and journey with a degree of honesty and bravery to be able to identify the good, the not so good and what they need to do differently in order to achieve their goals. (Expert panellist)

We feel so fortunate that our daughter attends XPG as seeing her stand and present today with such professionalism is a real testament to the work that you do. I knew that she had sought critique from her teachers but found out when we got home that she had done this independently and had asked each of her teachers to provide feedback for their subject section. I think this really illustrates the strength in the relationships that the students at XP have with their teachers and also the maturity and drive to critique and produce the best work possible. It’s wonderful to see and we’re so grateful for the amazing educational experience that she is receiving (Y9 Parent)

“I honestly don’t think half the adults I know (including myself) could write such a structured, reflective piece of work and deliver it as well as you did” (Y9 Parent)

The words of Kurt Hahn couldn’t be more true

“There is more to us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less” 

G31, G30 and G28 Crew Day

On Tuesday whilst passages were taking place for Year 9, our Year 7, 8 and 10 students spent the day with their crews building and tending to crew and culture because, ‘If we get Crew right, we get everything’ right’

Crew days allow us to focus and build our strong school, attend to relationships in crew and ensure we are supporting and challenging each other to be the best versions of ourselves.  Our strong culture and the shared commitment we all have to this is key to our success at XPG and all stakeholders (students, parents and carers, staff) play a part in this, understanding the positive impact we can have on each other and our community. 

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Year 7 crews improved their teamwork skills with a real focus on collaboration and what great looks like and feels like. They spent time in the kitchen preparing some of the best yorkshire puddings I have ever seen and then took time for stewardship work in the local area carrying out a litter pick alongside another teamwork challenge.

Our Year 8 students prepared for a bake sale to raise money and awareness of their chosen crew charities. As well as making their goods, students worked on a costing and marketing strategy. The bake sale took place on Wednesday in school and their bakes were enjoyed by all, updates on the final amount of money raised will come soon. In the afternoon Year 8 enjoyed time in the outdoors producing land art which represented the meaning of crew.  

Our Year 10 students spent their crew day looking at revision techniques, trying out different strategies with a focus on healthy study habits. Students looked at planning time effectively, balancing revision revising for their upcoming Y10 assessments so they are equipped to look after themselves and rise to the challenge of GCSE exams.   

Lego Winners 

On Monday this week some of our digital leaders competed in the regional First Lego League tournament in Gateshead and were awarded the trophy for best robot design. Well done to Ethan, Charlie, Evan and James!

Preparing for the culmination of expeditions

As always, the hard work continues in sessions at XP Gateshead. Students have been working hard on termly assessments, completing their final products for expedition and getting ready for presentations of learning (PoLs). 

Year 7 have been preparing to record their presentation of learning which will be streamed via Youtube in the our first week  back after the Easter Break. They have working hard on their drama performances of the play White Poppies and drafting their creative writing, uplifting lesser heard voices of WWI. They also have a presentation in school this week with experts from Edberts House who will receive the food packages that students have designed to provide for families in need.

Our Year 8 students have been working hard on their Macbeth performances as part of the ‘What is Power?’ expedition. Our students are showing real courage and stepping up to the challenge of performing in front of an audience.  This is another important moment in developing character, especially courage and we can’t wait for families to see the students’ work on Thursday evening this week.

Not content with knocking it out of the park for Passage, Year 9 are also now preparing for their Public Health conference which will take place in the next half term. As well as an expert panel, every student will host a marketplace on an issue related to tobacco. This week will see students working with more public health experts to help them to be ready for this event.

This week, Year 10 will be briefed on Work Experience which will take place in the final half-term of this academic year. In addition they are also working on preparing for their debate next half-term and stepping up their revision in readiness for their mocks.

As a reminder, please note the Presentation of Learning (PoL) dates. There have been some changes this term due to venue changes so please check these carefully.

PoL Dates

Year 7 HUMAN – Why is it important to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?

This PoL will be recorded in school and steamed for families to watch with their children at home via Youtube. This will take place in the first week back after the Easter Break. 

Year 7 STEAM – Is survival sufficient?

PoL on Monday 24th March with experts from Edberts House (this is not an event that families attend, students will present their food packages to the workers at Edberts House)

Year 8 – What is Power?

PoL on Thursday 27th March at Caedmon Hall, above Gateshead Central Library at 5pm. 

ALL YEAR 8 FAMILIES: Please use this Google Form to let us know how many family members will be attending.

Year 9 – How can we continue to make progress on public health?

PoL on Friday 9th May in school from 2pm. This Presentation of Learning is in the form of a Public Health Conference, hosted by our students. Please note the earlier time for this.

Year 10 – Are we really free to choose?

NEW DATE AND VENUE: PoL on Wednesday 16th April at Newcastle Sixth Form College at 4:30pm. 

Alongside the Presentation of Learning which is in the form of a debate, we will also be sharing important information with parents regarding work experience at this event as well as taking the opportunity to celebrate and award our students’ DofE success too. 

Students will be using the campus earlier as part of the preparation for the PoL and also as part of their continued preparation for Post-16.

The week ahead

G30 PoL – What is Power?

Students have additional rehearsals this week, and will be travelling to Caedmon Hall on foot on Thursday. Students will have an earlier lunch so will not need a packed lunch unless usually provided. The forecast for Thursday is mild and dry. See this post for more details.

On Thursday G30 students will need:

  • Black (or dark) clothing for the performance, ideally as plain as possible e.g. black jeans and black t-shirt.. (XPG polo shirts are fine for this performance)
  • Usual full kit including fully charged iPad and water bottle
  • Comfortable walking shoes or trainers
  • A coat
  • Optional: A packed tea or healthy snacks if they want to eat before the presentation starts at 5.00pm.

PE this week

  • G31 (Year 7):
    • G31 Class 1 have PE on Tuesday this week
    • G31 Class 2 have PE on Thursday this week
  • G30 (Year 8)
    • G30 Class 1 have PE on Monday this week
    • G30 Class 2 have PE on Friday this week
  • G29 (Year 9) 
  • G28 (Year 10)
    • Year 9 and Year 10 both have PE on Thursday this week.

Extended Study and Clubs

Due to preparations for the end of term and presentations of learning, our after school clubs are not running this week. Please ask your child to check student notices and our timetable for more details.

Easter Holidays

We break up for our Easter Holiday on Friday 28th March and return to school on Monday 14th April at the normal time. As is always the case at the end of terms, our students leave school earlier on Friday at 1:30pm to allow for a full school de-gunge and set up of areas for next term’s new expeditions and immersion.

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

As you know, Year 8 are working towards a presentation of learning for their current expedition “What is power?” which will take place on Thursday 27th March and will start at 5.00pm.

The venue for this event is Caedmon Hall, above Gateshead Central Library. We anticipate that we will be finished by around 6.30pm.

We will be rehearsing in the venue from 1pm so students will eat lunch in school, albeit earlier than the normal time.

We will be travelling to the venue by foot. The forecast is currently mild and dry.

On Thursday G30 students will need:

  • Black (or dark) clothing for the performance, ideally as plain as possible e.g. black jeans/trousers/skirt and black t-shirt. (XPG polo shirts are fine for this performance)
  • Usual full kit including fully charged iPad and water bottle
  • Comfortable walking shoes or trainers
  • A coat
  • Optional: A packed tea or healthy snacks if they want to eat before the presentation starts at 5.00pm.

Students have been working very hard preparing scenes from Macbeth, artwork inspired by their brief from the V&A, power structures in society, the power of the earth and the atom. We are so excited for you to see the way that students connect these ideas together in this PoL.

Due to the limited capacity of the venue, we ask that each student has a maximum of three family members at the performance on the evening please.

Please can you use this Google Form to let us know how many family members will be attending.