Unlock your child’s musical potential at XP Gateshead!

9th July 2026Geoff

At XP Gateshead, we believe music has the power to inspire and shape young minds. Each year, we offer a unique opportunity for children with a natural flair for music to gain a place in Year 7 through our dedicated Musical Aptitude Admissions route. 

Whether your child already sings or plays an instrument, or simply has a keen ear for rhythm, melody, and pitch, this pathway recognises raw musical potential. 

With access to expert tuition, vibrant performance opportunities, and a culture that celebrates creativity, XP Gateshead is the perfect stage for your child to flourish musically and academically. Click here to see highlights from our recent annual XP Festival of Arts and Culture:

 

Apply now, and don’t miss this chance to join a learning community where talent is nurtured and passion takes centre stage!

Find out more here: https://xptrust.info/XPGMA

 

Year 6 Open Evening – Monday 28th September 2026 – Booking is now open

By XP Gateshead Office8th July 2026

We are pleased to announce that you can now book a place at our Year 6 Open Evening, which will take place on Monday 28th September at 5.45pm.

This is an event for families that are considering XP Gateshead as a destination school for their children in the next academic year (from September 2027).

IMPORTANT – Signing up to the event

Please take the time to read our prospectus before signing up to the event.

As we are anticipating a very high level of interest in these evenings, and due to our limited size and space in our current temporary building, you must sign up for this event to be able to attend. This was indicated in the secondary admissions booklet sent to you by Gateshead Council.

We are limiting the number of places to three places per family, including your child in Year 6.

Last year there were some families that could not be accommodated on the evening as they had not booked in advance. Due to our limited size, if you have not booked in advance, you will not be able to attend on the evening.

Please do not attempt to sign up if your children are currently in Year 5 or below. All of the above will mean that we can accommodate as many Year 6 families as possible.

We will post again if the event becomes fully booked.

You can book your place at this event by clicking on this link.

Julie Mosley

Principal

XP Gateshead

 

G30 First Week Back

2nd September 2026Emmy Tatters

What a first week back G30 had! 


The guiding question for G30 was ‘How can we ensure that our future selves will thank us for the next two years?’ As always, we utilised our first week back to reconnect with the principles of crew and what it means to be OUR crews. Throughout the week, students engaged in initiatives – challenges that they had to overcome together as a crew. Through engaging in these, students were able to identify the features of a strong initiative and design their own. 


Students also explored the importance of building strong habits from the outset to ensure we are all as successful as we can be in our GCSEs in Summer 2028. To help motivate students, they looked at possible post-16 pathways and courses. 

This led students to create a professional CV which encouraged them to identify their strengths and reflect on all of the incredible things they have already done in their time at XPG and out of school. 
Students also had the opportunity to engage in 2 workshops with external professionals. These sessions focused on developing public speaking skills and interview skills. 


Students were then able to utilise these skills in the culmination of the week; every student in G30 had a 1:1 interview with an external professional, largely aligned to the student’s future career interests. 
I do want to share some of the incredible feedback we received from these visits: 

  • ‘Engaging and thoughtful speaker’ 
  • ‘Great communication, eye contact, confident but with humility’ 
  • ‘Engaging – great two-way conversation’ 
  • ‘Excellent interview, you showed great courage and will handle an interview very well.’
  • ‘Came across as kind and someone who likes to help others.’
  • ‘Unbelievably articulate’
  • ‘All answers felt authentic.’
  • ‘Should be very proud of herself. This was a fantastic interview. She was thoughtful, well prepared and confident throughout.’ 

It was truly a delight to see the smiles on the faces of the students as they walked away from their interviews. Interviews are something all our students will have later in life so this really is an invaluable experience for them to have at this point in their schooling. 

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Students will work with the feedback they have been given through their Thoughtful Thursday crew sessions over the coming weeks.

I want to thank you for the strong start that G30 have made to this important year. 
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your child’s crew leader in the first instance.

G33 First Week Back – “What does it mean to be Crew?”

By Gayle Crowder2nd September 2026

What a great start to the new G33 students’ journey at XP!

Our guiding question for this week was: What does it mean to be crew?

On Tuesday morning our G33 students arrived for their first day at school and boarded the bus to Ullswater. For some students, getting on the bus was their first opportunity to show us their courage and for others it was an opportunity to demonstrate their compassion towards other members of their crew!

Throughout the week, students had many opportunities to demonstrate our character traits of respect, craftsmanship and quality, integrity, courage and compassion, and became more confident in recognising these traits in others. Crews completed a range of challenges such as jog and dip, rowing, abseiling, gorge walking, camping and many more… All of our crews worked together on the hike to the summit of Hallin Fell meaning that everyone made it to the top of the mountain.

Our final product was a presentation answering the guiding question ‘What does it mean to be crew?’. Both XP staff and the instructors at the Outward Bound centre were blown away by the presentations given by our four crews, with all students taking part. We certainly have some impressive public speakers in G33!

Outward Bound is so important because it gives them memories and moments that they have shown our character traits which they can return to when facing challenges in the future. This week, we are remaining in crews for the next couple of days to learn about what crew means in the classroom and in our school.

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Our first week with G33 was fantastic and we can’t wait to see what else they can achieve this year.

G31 Immersion Fieldwork

1st September 2026Rebecca Jones

On Friday, 4th September, G31 students will participate in local fieldwork. Class One will head out in the morning to build on virtual fieldwork they have completed in school, collecting primary data to answer the enquiry question : “Are there inequalities on Gateshead High Street?” They will return to school for lunch at the usual time of 12.30.

Class Two will follow the same schedule, completing the same fieldwork and returning to school by 15:15.

If we anticipate we will be late back a post will be put on the blog.

The weather is currently forecast to be cloudy with sunny spells. Students should bring their usual kit, including a waterproof jacket, comfortable shoes, and their normal school kit!

G31 TV Viewing: Chernobyl

By Stephanie Jamison1st September 2026

Later this week as part of our Immersion G31, students will be watching one or two episodes of the Sky Drama Chernobyl. This drama will provide some important context to the topic of radioactivity later in the current learning expedition. The film addresses several mature themes, including strong language, some non-sexual nudity and depictions of injury and sickness which reflect the consequences of radiation poisoning. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has rated this film as suitable for viewers aged 15 and above.

If you have any concerns about your child watching this film, please feel free to contact your crew leader or myself at [email protected] by Thursday morning.Thank you for your understanding and support.

G32 – First Week Back – Up Where We Belong.

1st September 2026Tom Devitt

What a fantastic start for G32! Our guiding question for the week was:

How can we support each other to lead the learning of our new Year 7 Crew?

Case study 1: How can we welcome our new friends?

Case study 2: How can we teach our new friends about our culture?

Case study 3: How can we use our prior knowledge from expeditions 7.4 Hold Back The River to help us plan fieldwork that will enrich the learning experiences of our G33 students?

For our final products we planned a route to Hebburn Buddhist centre along the river tyne to compare and contrast two different Fieldworks. Students assessed risk, researched key information, and all coordinated their own crew picnic. Due to this fieldwork unfortunately being cancelled, students then travelled to Windy Nook nature reserve and carried out a geological field sketch, as well as creating an environmental piece of art that suitably represented their chosen crew name.

On top of this, students also spent time undergoing different initiatives to strengthen their crew bonds, as well as creating an introductory video for the new year 7s in order for them to make the transition in to secondary school as smooth as possible.

It was a great start! But only a start, I can’t wait to see this transferred into the classroom over the coming weeks.

 

 

 

 

Lost property G33 – Ullswater

1st September 2026Martin Said

We have one bag of wet clothes that left by the fence on Friday. The bag contains a black Primark T-shirt and various socks (pictured). Please contact the office if this belongs to your child. We have asked students to check in our community meeting this morning but it has not been claimed.

Weekly update for families – W/C Tuesday 1st September 2026 

By Julie Mosley31st August 2026

Dear Families

What a first week back we have had!

As I said last week, our first week back is fundamental to us in terms of introducing or reaffirming the importance of Crew, the foundation of our culture at XPG. Staff and students took time to build and tend to positive relationships through many great experiences and challenges reminding each other that:

Year 7 (G33) first week back – What does it mean to be Crew?

Our G33 students have had a fantastic week at Ullswater finding out what crew means. I hope they returned to you full of tales of their outward bound adventures and new friendships. Across the week, students began to form strong bonds with their crew and new crew leaders, supporting each other to rise to every challenge set. We could not have been more impressed by our new year 7 students. The level of challenge meant that all Crews had to support and challenge each other to do more than they thought possible. They were compassionate, courageous, respectful and showed integrity in equal measure across the week. 

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Year 8 (G32) first week back – How can we support each other to lead the learning of our new Year 7 Crew?

Our G32 students returned to school strong and Y8 Crew Leaders were blown away by the quality of student work, depth of thinking, collaboration and leadership shown by students across the week. There is no doubt that Y8 students will continue to work with us across the G33 transition to ensure that our new students are welcomed into XPGateshead and are quickly part of our school community. 

Unfortunately Friday’s fieldwork which was planned by G32 ready for our new Year 7 expeditions to come had to be postponed due to the  weather forecast. Year 8 did get out to the local  nature reserve at Windy Nook to create and complete outdoor crew challenges which can be used for other crews. The postponed fieldwork will take place in coming weeks, details will follow.

The work of G32 last week is a fantastic example of student leadership with students co-constructing learning with their peers and adults in school. The G32 teaching team are delighted with the fieldwork planning and the resources that have been made which are indistinguishable from that of adults. 

Year 9 (G31) first week back – How do we form great habits to tackle initiatives as a Crew with increasing agency, independence and resilience?

Our G31 students showed real strength and character last week returning to school displaying greater maturity and a clear sense of purpose. They were challenged to rethink how they best work as crews and the norms they use, starting to strategically plan crew charity events they’d like to run this year and prepared for fieldwork reconnecting with the Outdoors. See last week’s post.

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Year 10 (G30) first week back – How can we ensure that our future selves will thank us for the next two years?

Our G30 students really stepped up to the challenge last week, working in Crews to consider how they will support and challenge each other to be successful over the next two years of GCSE. The week also provided lots of opportunities to continue their thinking about careers and pathways, beyond Key Stage 4 to Post-16. 

Y10 students also worked on a first CV based on their ambitions, strengths and skills to date, and on Friday they had a mock interview with an external professional who gave  them feedback on how they presented themselves, articulated their ambitions and responded to questions asked during the interview. Again, we raised the bar on our expectations and our students stepped up! The feedback we received from all interviewers was exceptional, commenting on our students’ maturity, confidence and the focus they had on their future success.

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Year 11 (G29) first week back – How can we nurture the best version of our future selves?

Our G29 students enjoyed a week-long journey developing their resilience and exploring what it means to be an independent learner,  taking ownership of their own education by consciously thinking about how they learn and actively seeking ways to improve. They learned that resilience isn’t a solitary trait but a collective strength. As crews they faced challenges together, building trust and discovered that a strong crew provides a vital support system for overcoming adversity. It was great to see confidence and belief growing across the week, especially with academic challenges. A great start to their final year as they move closer to final GCSE exams.

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Our week ahead 

G33 students (Year 7) 

Students will be working in their Crews on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (morning session) reflecting on their Outward Bound experience and thinking about what Crew looks like in the classroom and around our school, and how learning will work at their new school – especially learning through expeditions.

We will hand out iPads to G33 students this week.  These will come with instructions on how to set these up on the school management system which is a fairly straightforward process. Students will need to set these up at home on the evening they are handed out.

Look out for an additional post about the iPads. This will confirm the day that they handed out and will explain how to set up the iPads, including important information on how to make sure they are protected in their cases too.

On Thursday, students will find out their new classes and Immersion for their new learning expedition will start.

G32 students (Year 8) 

After a Crew session on Tuesday, students will begin a week-long immersion for their new learning expedition this week. G32 have their first PE session on Thursday so will need PE kit please.

G31 students (Year 9) 

After a morning Crew session, students will begin immersion for their new learning expedition this week. G31 will have their first PE session on Friday this week so students will need their PE kit.

On Friday, G31 will carry out a Geography Fieldwork in Gateshead locality as part of their immersion. They will also watch the film I, Daniel Blake, please see the website post for more details.

G30 students (Year 10) 

After morning Crew sessions, students will begin immersion for their new learning expeditions this week. There are no PE sessions planned for G32 this week. 

On Wednesday G30 students will travel to York to carry out fieldwork as part of their immersion. Please see the website post for more detail.

G29 students (Year 11) 

After morning Crew sessions, students will begin immersion for their new learning expedition this week. G29 PE sessions take place on Wednesday so students will need their PE kit. 

Making the right start

All students need to be in school for an 8.30am start to sessions so they must arrive by 8.25am at the latest. There will be staff in school supervising so students can arrive from 8.00 am.

We will finish formal sessions at 3.15pm and there will be no extended study or activities after school this week. 

Kit List

As always, students need to bring a school bag with the following kit :

  • A backpack or suitable sized sized bag to carry equipment
  • A filled water bottle
  • Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser, pencil sharpener, purple pen and a gluestick
  • A fully charged iPad (G29, G30, G31, G32 from Tuesday, G33 on the day following their distribution to students) and headphones (ideally not expensive ones, for example here).
    • The newer iPads have a USB C headphone connection.
  • A notebook
  • A reading book

Students also need to bring a healthy snack for break time – no confectionery (sweets), fizzy drinks or energy drinks please as we do not allow these in school. Please note there are to be no nut products in snacks or packed lunches – this is especially important as we have students in this cohort who are highly allergic to nut products. 

Mobile phones are not allowed in school. Phones must be switched off and in school bags each morning. Students are not allowed to use mobile phones during the day . If you need to contact your son or daughter please do so via the school office at [email protected] or on 0191 4814360. 

Safe arrivals and exit from site

Cars and parking outside of school

The start of a new academic year is always busier at pick up and drop off, with new Year 7 students getting used to making their way to and from a new school, and all students finishing at 3.15pm until extended study and clubs are up and running.

Please can you ensure that you consider our neighbours when parking and do not block any pathways or drives onto their properties. Of even more importance is the safety of our students when crossing the road outside of school. Please leave space by the barriers outside of the main gates, as we have staff here who can ensure that children are crossing the road safely. With a clear road here we will more easily be able to see any approaching traffic.

Cycling to school

We are really pleased to see so many of our students cycling or scooting to school. Can I remind parents that if  students are to bring bikes or scooters to school then they must have a bike lock. In terms of safety, students should also have a bike helmet. Please check that your child’s bike is in good condition frequently.

Please note that electric scooters (e–scooters) are not allowed in school or as a means of getting to school. This includes all other  ‘powered transporters’ too such as hoverboards and electric unicycles.

Lunches

We are a no nut school. This is very important as we do have children with severe allergies.

Students can choose to bring in a healthy packed lunch (no nut products, confectionery, fizzy or energy drinks) or have a school meal with us. 

Our school dinners are very popular with our students, thanks to our wonderful kitchen crew. Students make a daily food choice in crew each morning and we have a three week menu. Here is a link to this year’s new menu – this week we start on week 1.

If your child receives a free school meal, we will provide lunch. Please contact the school office at [email protected] if you have any questions around school meals or paying for meals via ParentPay. New families and parents of Year 7 will receive a letter which gives details of how to add your child’s XPG lunches to a parentpay account. This will be sent home with your child.

We are really looking forward to welcoming all of our students tomorrow. 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 for your ongoing support and a special thanks again to those parents who have been supporting our new G33 parents with their XPG knowledge and expertise. 

Julie Mosley

Principal

Upcoming Film Viewing: I, Daniel Blake for G31 Students

28th August 2026Rebecca Jones

As part of our Immersion G31, students will be watching the film I, Daniel Blake. We believe this film is important for our students as it is set within our local community and provides valuable insight into the lives of people who may live in our neighbourhoods. The film addresses several mature themes, including strong language, sex references (including references to prostitution) , prescription drug use, criminal behaviour, and some unintentional racism. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has rated this film as suitable for viewers aged 15 and above.

I, Daniel Blake tells the story of a 59-year-old carpenter from Newcastle named Daniel Blake. After losing his wife and suffering a heart attack, Daniel’s doctor advises him to rest and avoid working. However, the benefits system declares him ‘fit for work,’ preventing him from claiming unemployment benefits. The film follows Daniel’s challenging journey through the British benefits system as he appeals the decision. Along the way, he befriends a single mother of two who is also struggling with the system.

If you have any concerns about your child watching this film, please feel free to contact your crew leader or myself at [email protected] by Wednesday.Thank you for your understanding and support.

G31 – First Week Back – ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’

28th August 2026Rebecca Jones

What a fantastic first week back for G31! Our guiding question this week was: 

‘How do we form great habits to tackle initiatives as a Crew with increasing agency, independence and resilience?’ 

To tackle the question the week was broken down into two case studies: 

Case study one: How we Crew: Showing initiative

Case study two: Reconnecting with the outdoors

For our final products, students developed a finalised set of Crew norms to guide them throughout the year, a strategic annual charity plan, and an initiative designed by their Crew to help other Crews build strong relationships.

Their norms, agency, resilience, and independence were put to the test on Thursday during a student navigated hike around Wylam. The spirit of crew carried into our first Year 9 community circle today, where over half the students shared thoughtful appreciations for their peers.

Students also reflected on the purpose of outdoor learning and wrote personal statements on why connecting with nature is so essential.

Below is a first draft from Donnell (Crew Pankhurst) who plans to build on this with his crew: 

‘After reading and  experiencing XP outdoors with my crew I now realise it’s important to go hiking especially with our community since class rooms  can be overstimulating. But, after going outdoors to bond with my crew it helped us not only develop skills but also understanding others strengths. Lastly, it helps us rewind and take a break from everyday life and help our character grow not just as a person but as a community too.’

What a great start to year 9! I can’t wait to see how the skills they’ve been working on this week will help with the rest of the year ahead!