This year, we were lucky enough to have new Year 7s from both XPD and XPG working closely together at the Ullswater and Howtown Outward Bound centres. As a result, we were able to capture these wonderful highlights of both sets of students building Crew and expressing what it means to be Crew at the end of their week in their first ever presentation of learning.
Beautiful Curation across the XP Trust
More beautiful work has been made public this week – in both Plover and Carcroft School. Look at these awesome selections from final products, now curated for all to see!
XP Trust Crew Away Day @ YWP
Our Heads, Admin, Facilities and Comms Crews came together to further develop positive relationships and build Crew at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. They spent the day exploring Case Studies to improve communication and conceptual understanding around day-to-day crucial aspects of what we do at XP Trust.
The day was extremely positive and productive – thank you to YWP for your hospitality!
Due to high demand and our limited size and space in our temporary building, we have had to limit the number of places at the event. If you have not registered to attend, please do not turn up on the evening as unfortunately we will not be able to accommodate you.
More information about our school
Our website is also a valuable source of information and will give you a real flavour of the rigour of XP and our relentless focus on academic success, character growth and beautiful work.
It is a particularly packed week next week with our open evening and fieldwork. We will post our usual weekly update, however for next week it is important to note:
Tuesday 1st October – Open Evening
We have our open evening for Year 6 families on Tuesday evening from 5.45pm. There will be no extended study provision after school on Tuesday next week. Extended study will run as normal next week on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The Open Evening is led by our students. Tomorrow student leaders will bring home permission slips given that the event will finish at around 7.45pm. Student leaders will be preparing for their roles in presenting and being ambassadors throughout tomorrow, on Monday and Tuesday next week.
This event is now nearly fully booked! To book a place – please click here.
Tuesday 1st October – G29 Fieldwork in Newcastle
G29 are carrying out fieldwork in Newcastle on Tuesday next week. They will be travelling from school by foot and metro, so will need to be prepared with their regular kit and be ready for the weather. At the moment the forecast is cool and mostly dry.
Students will need a packed lunch for the day. They should arrive to school at the normal time.
They will be visiting the Hatton Gallery and Farrell Centre to do preparatory work in readiness for their final product which will be shared in their presentation of learning in Newcastle on Wednesday 11th December.
We will leave for the metro from Newcastle at 2.30pm, so students may be a little later back to school, around 3.30pm.
Thursday 3rd October – G31 Year 7 Fieldwork in Marsden Bay
G31have their first STEAM fieldwork next week. Each class will spend half a day in Marsden Bay analysing the rock formations in there, connected to their studies of the rock cycle and deep geological time.
Students will need a packed lunch for the day. They should arrive at school for the normal time.
We will be travelling by coach, but will be outdoors for the entire fieldwork. Students will need their regular kit including their iPad, and will need to be prepared for the weather. The current forecast is cool with a chance of showers so waterproof coats will be needed.
Class 2 will carry out work in the bay in the morning and will eat lunch in the bay before returning to school for their regular afternoon sessions.
Class 1 will carry out work in the bay in the afternoon and will eat lunch in the bay on arrival. Class 1 will set off by coach from the bay at 3.15pm, so may be a little later back to school – around 3.45pm.
Taster sessions for lunchtime and after school clubs
Tomorrow we will publish our initial list of proposed clubs to the students. They will have the opportunity to sign up for taster sessions next week. Please discuss this with your child and encourage them to get involved in as many clubs as possible.
We are very proud to announce that 5 more talented writers have been selected for publication as part of the national Young Writers competition!
Molly, Eliza, Harry, Lyra and Bella all submitted fantastic pieces of work to the Mission Chaos competition. Congratulations to all 5, we can’t wait to get a copy for the school library.
The next writing competition challenges students to write a poem about ‘being real in a fake world’. The Beautiful Truth pushes students to write a poem that shows us who they truly are (fantastic links to G30’s current expedition…) Remember that you can seek critique from staff and students before submission, so get writing! Next time, it could be you!
See Miss Tatters in G8 if you would like more information.
It is a shorter update this week due to our staff days.
Today staff have been working on learning expedition and curriculum plans to ensure that our children continue to receive a great deal in terms of beautiful work, character growth and academic success.
Extended Study
Extended Study will continue to be on offer for all students after school each day except Friday. Regular setting of extended study has now commenced. You can find more on our rationale for Extended Study by clicking here. This now includes the schedule of extended study for Year 10.
Staff will finalise our rich offer of clubs this week and taster sessions for lunchtime and after school clubs will start next week.
PE sessions this week
G31 students (Year 7) have PE on Wednesday
G30 students (Year 8) have PE on Tuesday
G29 students (Year 9) have PE on Thursday
G28 students (Year 10) have PE on Thursday
Open Evening Next Week
On Tuesday next week we will be hosting Year 6 families and their children. This means that on Tuesday 1st October we will not have Extended Study provision or clubs after school as spaces will be being set up for the evening.
We will be drawing upon the brilliant start that Year 7 have made and asking for student volunteers to host and run the evening – as we do each year. This represents a great opportunity for Year 7 to demonstrate leadership and communicate what makes our school so wonderful, with support from their peers in Years 8-10.
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.
We are pleased to be able to announce more details for our Open Evening on Tuesday 1st October 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 2025).
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 will need to sign up for this event to be able to attend which 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 space, 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.
Yorkshire Sport Foundation – Opening School Facilities at Plover
Check out this actively awesome video courtesy of Yorkshire Sport Foundation. The children and staff at Plover were superstars in explaining their positive experiences regarding the OSF funding they secured last year, to provide after school and community clubs! Plover have been lucky enough to secure some OSF funding this year too, so watch this space for Community Clubs starting in October! #LovePlover
Beautiful Curation!
We don’t just ensure our work is made public – it needs to live inside our school communities, too! More beautiful work has been curated at Plover School, celebrating their ‘Pride of Plover’ award winners and recent Expedition products!
‘If we get staff Crew right, we get everything right…’
One of our great friends and mentors, Ron Berger, once said to us that ‘staff culture can never outpace student culture.’ With this firmly at the forefront of our minds we set out last week on our bi-annual outdoor staff induction process with a group of educators from across our Trust.
We headed out into the wilderness to answer the guiding question, ‘What does it mean to be Crew?’ through a number of shared experiences and activities our Crew formed very quickly. We explored the purpose of Crew deeply and considered how we could make Crew even stronger on our return to our respective schools so that we continue to create the culture in which our students grow their character and make our community and the world a better place for everyone.
Below is an immediate reflection from one of our XP educators:
‘This experience has helped me to understand the building of community. The support that other members of our Crew showed this week has been immense. There have been some activities that have been challenging but everybody has been supportive whilst giving positive challenge so that everybody has been able to push themselves in a safe environment where everybody trusts each other and it’s lifted me and made me feel that I can achieve anything I put my mind to with the support of other people.’ – Louise
It was an honour and privilege to support and challenge our adults to reflect on the imperative we all have at XP to become and create great learners and even better human beings!
Beautiful Work – Character Growth – Academic Success
We are pleased to be able to announce more details for our Open Evening on Tuesday 1st October 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 2025).
IMPORTANT – 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 will need to sign up for this event to be able to attend which 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. We will also ask primary schools to pass on this message this week, specifically about the need to book and restrictions on how many family members can attend. 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.
If you are interested in our school and have not already done so you can subscribe to get updates from our website by looking for this button on our homepage:
We will post an updated version of our prospectus later this week, along with the booking form for the event.
