Dear Families

We have continued to be impressed with the vast majority of our students this week and the HOWLs (habits of work and learning) they are exhibiting in sessions. It has been great to see the fantastic start G32 have made and hear praise from the team who work with our new cohort. 

On Friday it was wonderful to hear G32 students’ appreciations, apologies and stands during their Community Meeting and I look forward to this week’s Community Meetings with our other year groups.  The language our students use around our character values and HoWLs shows a real depth of understanding and commitment to character development. These are not just words on a wall at XPG

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Guiding Questions

At the start of last week immersion came to the end for all year groups and guiding questions (GQs) have been set with all students. 

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.

Presentations of Learning

At XP we make our work public. One of the most important ways we do this is through Presentations of Learning (PoLs). PoLs usually take place towards the end of expeditions and they 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. In addition, students develop oracy skills by presenting to different audiences and in different contexts which builds confidence and further allows students to grow their character whilst developing key skills. 

It is essential that each student has at least one family member in attendance at PoLs. Presentations of Learning are designed to help students develop character, showcase their beautiful work, and reinforce the vital partnership between family, school, and students in their academic and personal growth.

This terms’ Guiding Questions and Presentations of Learning:

G32 -“What’s the story of our community?”

The presentation of learning for this event will be held on Tuesday 16th December 2025 at St Mary’s Church in Heworth from 4.30pm until 5.45pm. Please keep this evening free in your diaries.

G31 – “What does it mean to be Human?”

G31’s presentation of learning will be held on the evening Thursday 11th December in school.

G30 – “How are structures important in helping us to explain our world?”

G30’s presentation of learning will take place on the evening of Wednesday 10th December at Newcastle University Campus including the Farrell Centre.

G29 –  “To what extent does transformation benefit society?”

The final product for this expedition is service learning, and the presentation of learning for this expedition will take place at Edberts House in our community. More details to follow.

G28 – What’s love got to do with it?

Students will be producing revision resources to Romeo and Juliet as their final product and will also perform excerpts from the play with directorial narration and analysis of each scene.

This Presentation of Learning will take place on the evening of Wednesday 17th December in school.

Our week ahead 

Breakfast Club supported by Magic Breakfast

Last week we launched our brand-new Breakfast Club, giving every student the chance to start their day in the best possible way. My thanks go to Miss Jones who has worked with Magic Breakfast and the team from Crew Frank and Crew Parks who set up every day this week offering delicious toast, bagels and crumpets to our students.  The club runs every school morning from 7.45am to 8:10am and all students are welcome to attend. We have talked to our students this week about the importance of looking after themselves and making sure they start each day in the right way. Can I remind parents that energy drinks and sweets are not allowed in school and ask for your support around this.

PE sessions this week

Please can parents make sure that their child has a PE kit  for PE sessions. We expect students to change into their appropriate PE kit, and not wear the same clothes they wear in school. Similarly, students must change out of PE kit afterwards, into their normal school clothes. For safety, jewellery must be removed and hair must be tied back.

• G32 students (Year 7) – Class 1 PE sessions take place on Monday, Class 2 PE sessions take place on Wednesday.
• G31 students (Year 8) have PE on Tuesday.
• G30 students (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
• G29 students (Year 10) have PE on Monday.
• G28 students (Year 11) have PE on Monday.

Extended Study 

Last week teachers set extended study and students have begun to build their extended study timetable. In a typical week, for Years 7-9 there is around 45-60 mins set  per night. Each subject area sets the extended study and it is due on the same day each week, so that students can organise their time and get into good habits around additional study outside of sessions. Here is our KS3 (Years 7-9) extended study timetable:

There is a step up in expectations at GCSE in Year 10 and Year 11. All GCSE-level courses now have examinations as their main form of assessment. There is a lot of content that students need to internalise and it is just not possible for students to do this in Year 11 in the run up to their examinations. As such, students are expected to spend more time on their extended study in comparison to Years 7-9. This means that there should be no need to rely on cramming in Year 11 and students should be in good habits around working outside of sessions in readiness for the revision needed to be successful. Here is our KS4 (Years 10-11) extended study timetable:

Please see our earlier post on Extended Study at XP Gateshead which includes more details on our rationale.

After school extended study sessions will start this week.

We offer extended study sessions from 3:15pm – 4:30pm Monday – Thursday.  Students attending these sessions must stay for the full session until the end at 4.30pm. These sessions allow students to work with their peers and staff on extended study tasks in school where support is on hand. Extended study is optional for most students but for some who struggle to complete and miss deadlines, extended study may be directed.

If you have any questions about extended study or how you could best support your child, please contact their Crew Leader for support.

We will be launching our new lunchtime and after school clubs programme by the end of September.

Staff Development Days

We have staff days each term at XP so that our teachers can collaborate across the Trust to create and deliver the high quality curriculum that our students study. These are shown in blue on our calendar.

This week and next see the first of our staff days where students are not expected to be in school.

• Friday 19th September – Staff Development Day 
• Monday 22nd September – Staff Development Day 

On staff days our students do not attend school and there is no expectation that they complete work beyond their regularly set extended study (homework). Students will find this work on Google classroom.

Students are expected back to school on Tuesday 23rd September by 8:25am at the latest.

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. Together we are stronger #WeAreCrew.

Julie Mosley