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A reminder that the pre-recorded PoL for this exhibition will be broadcast on Youtube this evening at 6pm to allow families to watch with their children at home.
You will be able to watch the presentation online as a family by clicking on the YouTube link below at 6pm tonight.
We’re excited to announce two fantastic opportunities to join the team at XP Gateshead.
We’ve got vacancies for:
Faculty Leader for Arts
Teacher of Art and Design
Teacher of English and History
Learning Coach (Teaching Assistant)
At XP, we do things differently. Our approach to education is rooted in Crew, beautiful work, and purposeful learning. If you believe in developing meaningful relationships with students, delivering real-world learning, and fostering creativity in every corner of the curriculum – we’d love to hear from you. XP Gateshead is part of the XP Trust family of schools, and we’re proud to offer an innovative, supportive and collaborative working environment.
Apply now and find out more: https://xptrust.org/careers-at-xp/current-vacancies/
Come and be part of something special. #JoinOurCrew
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.
G31 Year 7 POL – Tonight! @ XP Gateshead
Eggsellent Effort Class 6 @ Norton Infants
Digging into our New Expedition @ Norton Juniors
Join Our Crew – Maths Teacher Vacancy at XP Doncaster
We’re currently looking for a talented and passionate Maths Teacher to join us at XP Doncaster. Our approach to education is different – through Crew, Expeditions, and a culture of compassion, we support our students to do work that truly matters.
If you’re an educator who wants to be part of something meaningful and collaborative, we’d love to hear from you.
Apply now: https://xptrust.org/careers-at-xp/current-vacancies/
G28 will have their presentation of learning for their current expedition, which will take the form of a debate addressing themes associated with their guiding question: “Are we really free to choose?”. It is very important that you complete this google form so we can confirm all students will be safely escorted home at the end of the POL.
We will be travelling to Newcastle Sixth Form College in the morning by metro and then on foot. So students will need:
We will also share details of work experience at the event, and we will be able to celebrate DofE bronze with students.
Students in Fine Art will have a mock of the practical art exam during the whole day on Tuesday 22nd April. Students have been preparing for this in their art sessions. The mock for Photography will take place in the final half-term.
Students should continue the revision for their upcoming mocks.
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.
Happy Vaisakhi’ to our Sikh friends at Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha and Rav Singh from Little History of the Sikhs.
Welcome back, we hope you have enjoyed your Easter break. We are really looking forward to welcoming our students back tomorrow for the start of our Summer term at XP Gateshead.
We would also like to gather feedback from G29 families following last term’s Passage Presentations so would appreciate your time in completing the following form.
You can give us your feedback by clicking here.
Over the Easter break you may have seen the news article which listed XP Gateshead in the 15 best state secondary schools for attendance in the North East. This was based on attendance figures for the full academic year 2023/24.
You can read the article by clicking here.
We were really pleased to see our school named in this list but we still have work to do and continue to work hard XPG around attendance this year as it is vital to the life chances of our young people and their success.
We will continue to look closely at attendance and the ways we celebrate attendance and support those students and families who need to improve their attendance. We expect every student to be in school and want every young person to hit our 97%+ attendance target.
Attendance is an area we all work hard on together – students, parents/carers, Crew Leaders and our inclusion team. We appreciate your full support with this.
If, for any reason, your child is unable to attend school you must contact the school office before 8:25 am by telephone. This is a safeguarding procedure which has to happen on every day of absence.
School opens at 8:00am every morning. Students should arrive between 8:00am and 8:25 am and there are spaces available for socialising, reading or completing extended study. Students must be on site for 8.25am for the call to Crew. A calm start to the day is really important for students to settle into learning so we ask that parents support their child with this.
Please refer to our website post for full details on our dress code. Can I remind parents of the following expectations around daily dress within school and ask for your full support around this as we move in to a new Summer term and the weather is becoming warmer.
For a normal day within school, we do not think it appropriate that students wear:
As always, all students need to be fully equipped for school and bring a school bag with:
A new term means new and exciting expeditions for our Y7, Y8 and Y10 students. Immersion will take place this week and our students will be working hard to find out what their new guiding questions are and the challenges and new learning their expeditions will bring.
The recorded PoL for this exhibition will be broadcast on Youtube this Thursday 17th April at 6pm to allow families to watch with their children at home.
You will be able to watch the presentation online as a family by clicking on this link on Thursday.
The final product for this exhibition is a radio podcast and we are delighted that yet again, year 7’s work will be part of the Remembrance programming on the radio in November. More details to follow.
A reminder that students need to bring back their HUMAN books that were being used for revision over the break.
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.
G29’s bumper 16-week long new expedition ‘You Give Me Fever’’ continues this term. Our students continue to look at public health over time and investigate health inequalities in Gateshead today, looking at the correlation between disease and deprivation.
This will be another step up for our students, hosting a conference , delivering keynote speeches with an audience including families and more. We appreciate this is an earlier than normal start, however this has been carefully considered and will allow us to make use of professionals as part of the process and end the week and expedition with a bang!
There will be changes to PE this week as unfortunately Mr Devitt has broken his ankle this weekend. We will put a plan in place and communicate that with families tomorrow. There is no PE tomorrow.
As is usually the case at the start of a new term there will be no extended study or after school clubs running this week. After school sessions will all start again next week.
Students will finish school at 3:15pm on Thursday 17th April and return to school on Tuesday 22nd April at the normal time.
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
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,
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.
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.
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.
Eid Mubarak to our Muslim students, families and friends of XPG.
Here we are at the end of another fantastic term at XP Gateshead and what a term it has been!
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.
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:
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
What a week in PE @ XP Doncaster
G31 STEAM Presentation of Learning @ XP Gateshead
World Maths Day 2025 @ Norton Infants
Inspirational Portraits @ Norton Juniors
Mary . XP Student
