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A number of deaf and hearing pupils from Plover School and the ARChi team have been working collaboratively on a British Sign Language version of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
This is another example of diversity and belonging that runs through our schools and is a concrete example of our culture of Crew.
On behalf of XP Trust, we would like to wish everyone a peaceful Christmas and New Year.
Andy Sprakes
Chief Academic Officer
XP Trust
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Christmas Crafts @ Norton Juniors
G32 Reverse Advent @ XP Gateshead
A Very Special Visit from Santa @ Norton Infants
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
This term, G31 students have been reading the play adaptations of Malorie Blackman’s book, Noughts and Crosses.
A professional performance of the play is coming to Newcastle’s Northern Stage from 27th February to 7th March 2026.
I know that lots of students would love to see this, it is unfortunate that the dates have not aligned to the expedition.
Here is the link to book tickets as a family if you are still looking for a last minute Christmas present that is a little different!
G30 also studied this last year so would also enjoy!
We are incredibly proud to share the impact of our Year 7 Reverse Advent Challenge, which has now concluded with a phenomenal collection of festive food items for Gateshead Foodbank.
Throughout Advent, Year 7 students have taken on the challenge of giving rather than receiving. Working together in their Crews, students and their Crew leaders have collected a wide range of festive treats including selection packs, mince pies, Christmas puddings, shortbread and much more, all with the aim of supporting families in the Gateshead area who may be facing difficulties at this time of year.
The response from our students was exceptional. The sheer volume of food collected was a powerful demonstration of generosity, empathy and compassion. We are delighted to confirm that the donations have now been collected by Gateshead Foodbank and will be distributed in food parcels to families who need that support during the Christmas period.
Activism and compassion sit at the heart of life at XP Gateshead, and this Reverse Advent Challenge is a wonderful example of Crew in action. Our Year 7 students have shown maturity, kindness and a real understanding of the challenges others may be facing, particularly at this time of year.
We are incredibly proud of our students and grateful to Gateshead Foodbank for the vital work they do in supporting our local community.
We are incredibly proud to share that our shoeboxes have now been collected and will be delivered to the Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital, supported by CHUF (Children’s Heart Unit Fund).
Students and staff from Years 8 to 11 at XP Gateshead stepped up to this challenge with care and generosity, creating a wonderful collection of shoeboxes filled with thoughtful gifts and festive treats. These will be shared with children and parents who will unfortunately be spending Christmas in hospital—many of whom have already been there for a very long time.
This initiative was inspired by Beatrix’s story and her family’s willingness to share their experiences of life on the Children’s Heart Unit. Their courage, kindness and determination helped both students and staff better understand the realities faced by families during long hospital stays, particularly at Christmas.
Activism is at the heart of much of what we do at XP Gateshead, and this reverse Advent challenge is a powerful example of Crew in action—bringing students and staff together to show compassion, responsibility and care for others. We are incredibly proud of the empathy and character shown by our community, and grateful to CHUF for the vital support they provide to families at the Children’s Heart Unit at such a challenging time of year.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all G32 parents and carers who attended the Presentation of Learning last night. Your continued support and engagement is so important, and it is essential that all students have a family member present at their Presentation of Learning, as these events are a vital part of our school model. They provide students with the opportunity to showcase their learning, reflect on their progress, and celebrate their achievements with the wider community.
As you saw on the evening, our youngest students stepped up confidently, reflecting on and sharing their learning in creative and engaging ways. Their clear speaking, impressive drama performances, and lovely singing were complemented by creative writing, including biographical narratives, diaries, and newspaper articles. Alongside some wonderful songwriting, this provided a clear showcase of their hard work and achievements.
We are also pleased to share the success of the raffle. Thanks to your generosity, £98 was raised for St Mary’s Church, which has kindly hosted our Year 7 Presentations of Learning for the past three years and has become a real friend of XP Gateshead. A special thank you goes to the winner of the Ringtons hamper, who very generously chose to donate the contents immediately to G32’s Foodbank drive.
Thank you once again for your continued support and for helping to make the evening such a success.
Dear parents and carers of G28
As we look forward to tomorrow’s event, it should be noted that as well as an outstanding performance of Romeo and Juliet, our Year 11s will also be running a Christmas market and be providing refreshments.
There will be a selection of beautiful Christmas decorations and gifts, made by our Design Technology students, ranging in price from £10-£15. This is in addition to a bake sale and drinks, which are also for sale. Please bring cash as all proceeds are going towards the prom fund for G28, to give them the night they so deserve.
A reminder of the staggered start times as follows:
Doors will open at 4.15 for the first performance to start promptly at 4.30pm.
Parents and carers for Crew Angelou, your staggered start will be at 4.30pm.
Parents and carers for Crew Frank, your staggered start will be at 4.40pm.
Parents and carers for Crew Parks your staggered start will be at 4.50pm.
Parents and carers for Crew Stanton, your staggered start will be at 5pm.
We looks forward to welcoming you tomorrow
Team G28
If you’re looking for a role where your organisational skills and dedication can make a real difference, XP Trust is the place for you – find out more here and apply!
https://xptrust.org/xp-trust-central-trust-team-administrator/
As we come to the end of term, we continue to celebrate our expedition work with Presentations of Learning where our students publicly share their final products and answers to their guiding questions with an audience of peers, staff, families and invited guests. To mark the end of the term, our expedition work always culminates in Presentations of Learning. During these events, students share their final products and the answers to their guiding questions with an audience that includes their peers, staff, families, and invited guests. This is a continued celebration of students’ hard work from this term.
Our Year 9 students took over the Farrell Centre at Newcastle University, creating a living expedition. They shared their knowledge around art and architecture, atomic structures in science, structures in government and society and made connections to the anchor text for this expedition, Lord of the Flies.
We owe a huge thanks to all of the people who supported us at The Farrell Centre, Newcastle University and also a special thanks to Max Farrell who ran a workshop with our students.
Our Chief Academic Officer Andy Sprakes joined us for the preparation in the afternoon and has written about his experience of working alongside our Year 8 students here.
Year 10 presented their learning through a series of lessons connected to their guiding question “To what extent does transformation benefit society?”. Students used our learning model to teach their families about topics from metallic bonding to the trading partnerships of the Vikings.
Year 8 students presented their learning through a variety of Ed Talks answering the guiding question of “What does it mean to be Human?” through multiple lenses such as the importance of the arts and music, or the future of humanity’s relationship with tech and what history teaches us about our shared humanity.
We are delighted to be able to share with you now the draft layout of the final product for G30, which will be an art installation at The RVI Hospital in Newcastle highlighting the importance of organ donation. Students have reviewed and critiques the initial plans and will work with our Comms Team to develop the final design.
Standing back and listening to our students ‘lead the learning’ in every sense of the word was simply stunning and we all could not have been prouder of G29, G30 and G31. Thanks to all families that supported their students and for your feedback through our exit tickets. Your feedback is invaluable to us in helping to sharpen the formats for PoLs year on year whilst holding to a step up in expectations as they move through the school.
Here are the slides that Mr Said shared with G29 families about work placements for Year 10 which will take place in the week commencing 11th May 2026.
Please start having conversations at home now about potential placements and employers and we will pick this up with students as soon as we return in the new academic year.
As always, we will be working hard until the end of Friday at XP Gateshead and students will be continuing to complete work on end of term assessments, final products, answers to GQ’s (guiding questions) and preparing for presentations of learning.
We are not running our extended study offer or clubs this week due to Presentations of Learning this week.
Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit.
Don’t forget that school finishes at the earlier time of 1.30pm this Friday. This is to allow us time to “degunge” and set up for the next term. Please make arrangements to pick up your children at the school gate for 1.30pm. As always, please be conscientious of our neighbours if parking as it is always very busy when students all leave school at the same time.
We return to school on Monday 5th January 2026.
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].
Julie Mosley
Principal, XP Gateshead
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
3SG Christmas art @ Norton Juniors
Enrichment Superstars @ XP East
A Twinkly Nativity to Remember @ Norton Infants
Write to us at [email protected] – we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!
