Unlock your child’s musical potential at XP Gateshead!

By XP Gateshead18th July 2025

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 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 – https://youtu.be/-tcB979lD_g

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

Applying for a place at XP Gateshead – Fair Banding Assessment

By XP Gateshead18th July 2025

To ensure a balanced intake of students across all ability levels, all applicants to an XP secondary school must sit a Fair Banding Assessment. 

This multiple-choice test focuses on non-verbal reasoning and helps us place students into one of five ability bands. There is no pass or fail, and results are used solely to support a broad and representative admissions process.

Completing the assessment is a key part of the application and must be done to be considered for a place. 

Please ensure your child is registered by 31st October 2025 and prepared to attend the assessment on 22nd November 2025.

Find out more here – https://xptrust.info/XPTFBA

Sharing our Stories: 18/07/2025

18th July 2025Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful Work This Week

Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust from the last two weeks of term! It’s been filled with all kinds of wonderful things from all of our schools. To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.

Top of the Blogs

Why the Arts Matter at XP – Our Festival Highlights @ XP Trust

Year 6 leavers party 2025 @ Green Top

EYFS Sports Day @ Plover

Prom 2025 @ Carcroft School

At the Coalface: POL @ Norton Juniors

Climate Change Through Data @ XP

Crew Rosa Parks @ XP East

G29 What a Wonderful World POL @ XP Gateshead

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!

From all of us here at XP – have a great summer break! We’ll be back in the new term with more beautiful work to share!

Why the Arts Matter at XP – Our Festival Highlights

18th July 2025Andy Sprakes

At XP, we believe education should help young people discover who they are, what they stand for, and how they can make a difference. The arts are at the heart of this.

Through music, dance, drama, and visual art, our students learn to collaborate, express themselves, and craft work of real depth and beauty. These aren’t “extras” to the curriculum – they are essential experiences that develop the character traits we value above anything else: courage, craftsmanship, respect, and compassion.

Last Friday, we celebrated these values at our second XP Festival of Arts & Culture – a day filled with music, dance, and art from across all the schools in our Trust. Every primary school showcased their dancing skills in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Company, alongside cheerleaders and singers from across the Trust.

The afternoon culminated in a show-stopping parade led by the New York Brass Band, bringing everyone together for an unforgettable rendition of Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration”. The evening carried the energy forward with live music from XP Doncaster and XP Gateshead students, alongside local bands and professional artists.

Our students were phenomenal – both on stage and in the audience – showing once again the power of Crew in action.

A huge thank you goes to the XP Doncaster and Plover staff who stewarded and supported the event. It was a powerful example of what’s possible when we create spaces for young people to thrive.

Here’s to next year!!!

In Crew,

Andy Sprakes

G29 9.3 – PoL 17.00 LIVE – What a Wonderful World?

By Rebecca Jones17th July 2025

At 17:00, G29’s Presentation of Learning goes live!

Our students have been working hard to craft powerful poems inspired by the beauty of nature and their study of interdependence within ecosystems. Some poems celebrate the natural world, while others serve as a compelling call to action. Feel free to add any messages to the message board about our students work.

A huge thank you to our Digital Leaders — Drew, Seb, and Lyra — for their dedication and creativity in editing the final showcase.

Below the video, you’ll find photos of the students’ final product — planting wildflowers in our planters to help boost biodiversity on our school site. Students also began surveying our site to find out what species live on our school grounds this will support any work that is done on our school site.

We hope you enjoy this inspiring collection of student work.

 

 

G28 POL Power to the People

By Darren Mead15th July 2025

Dear Families,

We are proud to share with you the G28 presentation of learning Power to the people. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work and thinking on the part of our students. Who have explored the UK’s energy future. Our guiding question “How can we use the planet’s resources more sustainably?” is at the heart of this work, where students have designed and justified Energy Plans for the UK in the year 2040.

 

G28 POL Power to the People

The student work can be found here on this website. It contains the  Energy plans and student online jigsaws. 

Our  “Exit Ticket” is here to leave the students some praises and for you to make a pledge about our energy future, after you have watched their presentations.

As always thank you for your support and we wish you all a very happy Summer Holiday!

G28 Power to the People POL Update

By Darren Mead15th July 2025

Dear G28 Families,

Later on today, we will post our online POL presentation and student work for our G28 expedition Power to the people. Our guiding question “How can we use the planets resources more sustainably?” is at the heart of this work, where students have designed and justified Energy Plans for the UK in the year 2040. The presentations last for around 50 minutes.

Please standby for the release of this material and enjoy our student work together with your family. As always there will be an “Exit Ticket” to complete when you have watched their presentations.

Beautiful Work – Mamma Mia Performance

By Michelle Ross14th July 2025

This weekend, Mrs Dobson was thrilled to be part of the audience for a stunning performance of Mamma Mia by the ‘Acting Up’ theatre school, featuring the exceptional talents of G28’s Hannah Dobson, G30’s George Dobson, G31’s Yoshni and Yoshna Vimal, Ellie Brown, and one of our new incoming G32 students, Ashton Bain. Mrs Dobson said their energy, dedication, and stage presence shone through in every scene, delighting the audience from start to finish.

All of us at XPG are incredibly proud of the Courage and Craftsmanship and Quality shown by these students. Their hard work and commitment to excellence truly embodied our character values.

A huge well done to all involved!

Weekly Update for Families – W/C 14th July 2025

By Julie Mosley13th July 2025

Dear Families

Welcome to our final weekly update of this academic year. It is another exciting week for us at XPG with our final presentations of learning for each expedition, our final Crew Day of the year which is a Sports Day on Thursday.  We will share updates from these events with you over the next week.

There was great work achieved as always last week and our students continued to work hard, get smart and be kind even as end of term tiredness kicked in. Seeing students work together supporting each other to be their best versions, leaning in on crew and culture was a real strength. Here are a some of the highlights from our week:

Into University Pathways – G28

A cohort of our G28 students worked with experts to investigate pathways to University on Tuesday. These sessions were organised by our partners Into University, who provide learning experiences designed to inspire young people to consider university, especially when they are from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the wider university population.

G32 Meet your child’s Crew Leader 

On Tuesday it was great to welcome back our G32 families to a final transition meeting of the year. Like our students, our new ‘family crews’ circled up and got to know XPG staff, each other along with some of the protocols we use at XPG. Can I thank all families for their time on Tuesday, especially our already established families who were on hand offering advice , guidance and support to new families.

Here is a link to a post with the slides from the event.

G30 Fieldwork Shipley Art Gallery – Thursday 10th July

G30’s sculptural artwork from Term 2’s expedition “What is Power?” is now being exhibited at The Shipley Art Gallery. On Thursday, all G30 students and staff involved in the expedition walked to the Shipley Gallery where they were presented with design certificates from the V&A.  

We would encourage all families to visit the Shipley Gallery with your children to see their work
 and so much more over the Summer. 

XP Festival 2025

On Friday Mr Said and Mr Parry travelled to Doncaster with Eve Walker (our visiting dance teacher) alongside our performers. The groups have been working on performances over the last term and put on a fantastic show, including performances from our cheer group, dance group, two rock bands and our singing group.

Video and photographs were captured by our Comms team in Doncaster at the event which will be shared later in the week. Mr Said will put some footage from students’ cameras together tomorrow. Much more to follow!

Staffing Update

Recruitment has continued over this half-term and on Thursday we appointed Miss Hannah Young who will be joining us as a Learning Coach/Crew Leader in the new term. 

This week we will be saying goodbye to three members of staff:

  • Emily Quested who has been our Spanish Teacher since the start of XPG. Emily is setting up new ventures outside of education including a travel company (https://www.quested-travel.com). Our thanks go to Emily for all of the work she has done at XPG, setting up and delivering our Spanish curriculum and for the work she does with Crew King on a daily basis as well as the outdoor joy she brought to G29’s DofE this year. 
  • Nelly Mosley who has worked at XPG this year as a Learning Coach and Crew Leader. Our thanks go to Nelly for the work she has done and the support she gives to students on a daily basis including her dedication to Crew Earhart. Nelly is set to continue her post graduate studies at The University of Manchester next year and we wish her all the best.
  • Charles Parry who has worked at XPG this year as a Learning Coach and Crew Leader. Our thanks go to Charlie for the support he has given students inside and outside of sessions and his commitment to establishing culture with Crew Windsor. Charlie is set to start a PGCE next year in his next steps to become a Maths Teacher.

As is always the case, it’s sad to see staff leave our school but we will always be grateful for the work they have done and the part they have played in shaping our school and its culture whilst they have been with us. I know that as parents and carers you will join me in thanks to these staff for the care and compassion they have shown to your children. 

This week

G31 Presentation of Learning, Monday 14th July

This event will take place in school and will include a hosted gallery walk where students will discuss their learning from across this last term around the guiding question “How does water shape our world?”. This will start at 4.30pm in school. More details here.

G28 Presentation of Learning, Tuesday 15th July 

The final presentation of learning for G28 will be available online at 6.30pm on Tuesday, and includes student perspectives on a sustainable energy future in answer to the guiding question: “How can we use the planet’s resources more sustainably?”. More details of how to join will be posted in a separate post.

G30 Presentation of Learning, Wednesday 16th July 

This event will take place in school on Wednesday, 16th July at 4:30 PM. Students will be presenting their learning around the guiding question “Is migration worth the risk?”. More details here.

G29 Presentation of Learning, Thursday 17th July 

The final presentation of learning for G29 will be a live stream on Youtube at 5pm, which includes poetry inspired by nature and in response to the guiding question: “What is our relationship with our natural world?”. More details of how to join will be posted in a separate post. 

Crew Sports Day, Thursday 17th July

We are looking forward to our final Crew Day of the year this week and crews are getting organised with their sign ups for Thursday’s events. Crew Days allow us time to build and tend to our culture and celebrate the greatness of our crews; this time the theme is sport and physical challenge.

Sports Day will involve a range of activities with healthy competition within each cohort between Crews. Students should come dressed in full PE kit for the day. A reminder of PE kit can found by clicking here.

PE sessions this week

There will only be PE sessions for Years 7 and 8 this week due to Sports Day. Our PE sessions this week are as follows, please ensure that your child has their full PE kit.

  • G30 students (Y7) have PE on Tuesday this week
  • G29 students (Y8) have PE on Tuesday this week

ALL students will need a full PE kit for Sports Day on Thursday.

No Extended Study and Clubs

Due to the Presentations of Learning this week we are not running clubs or extended study this week.

Summer Holidays

We break up for Summer holidays this Friday 18th July and return to school on Tuesday 26th August. Please remember that, as always, our students finish at 1:30pm on Friday to allow staff to de-gunge and replenish rooms and teaching spaces ready for the new academic year.

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 

Julie Mosley

G30 Presentation of Learning

By Michelle Ross13th July 2025

REMINDER: The third and final Presentation of Learning (POL) for G30 will take place in school on Wednesday, 16th July at 4:30 PM.

As part of our expedition Should I Stay or Should I Go?, students will host a special Gallery Walk to showcase their learning and reflections on the guiding question: Was Migration Worth the Risk? Families will be guided through a powerful display of images, student work, and final products—art pieces inspired by Islamic art, blending visual storytelling with mathematical analysis.

In addition to presenting their academic and creative achievements, students will challenge common myths about asylum seekers and refugees, many of which are shaped by media narratives. We are proud to feature a thought-provoking exhibition from the Humanity Cartoons competition, highlighting the refugee experience through art. Students will share insights into one or two pieces that resonated with them, offering personal reflections on stories of resilience, hope, and compassion.

Through their final products, students connect artistic techniques such as geometric pattern and calligraphy with mathematical concepts like scatter graphs—using purposeful imperfections to represent outliers. This innovative project reflects both creativity and analytical thinking.

The event also offers a window into the development of students’ academic progress, Habits of Work and Learning (HoWLs), and core character values, including Compassion, Courage, and Craftsmanship and Quality.

We ask that students dress in a more formal manner for Presentations of Learning. This helps foster a professional mindset and emphasises the importance of the event and its audience. Students may choose to wear a shirt/blouse, trousers and shoes, or a formal dress. Our branded polo shirts are also appropriate for this occasion.

Students will remain in school on the day for a walkthrough rehearsal to ensure the evening runs smoothly. They may bring a healthy snack to enjoy after the school day ends.

It is essential that each student has at least one family member in attendance. Presentations of Learning are a key component of our educational model, 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.

We look forward to welcoming you for the final time this academic year and celebrating the incredible achievements of our students.