Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome to the final week of our Spring Term.

Last week was definitely a week full to the brim with high quality work and learning with staff crew on Monday, G29 Passage Presentations across the week, Crew Day for G31, G30 and G28, a regional Lego tournament and three days of teacher interviews. It is a testament to staff and students alike that we are able, as a small school, to continue to thrive during weeks like this with every visitor to school (40+ experts, 12 teachers on interview and 50 families supporting their children through passage). This is a product of  the strength of our school culture, the character values shown by students and staff and high quality work seen across our school. Our expectations are high at XPG and I know, we set the bar high but time and time again our students step up to this challenge.

G29 Passage Presentations

Without a doubt, Passage Presentations are one of the highlights of the year at XP Gateshead and last week we saw our G29 students stepping up to, and indeed surpassing, the high expectations and demand of Passage. 

Over the past three weeks we have seen our Year 9 students work hard to produce beautiful scripts to tell their XP journey to date with integrity and how they have developed as a learner. Students have supported and challenged each other to show real craftsmanship and quality in their writing, lifting each other to produce work better than they thought possible. The spirit of Y9 crew and compassion has underpinned all of this work and the success students have achieved.

G29 Families: We would love to get your feedback as families on the process. You can let us know your thoughts using this Google Form.

To stand and present to an audience takes real courage and maturity, as reflected by our panellists (families and experts alike)

Thank you again for the privilege of being part of your Year-9 students’ passage presentations – this was my second year. The honest reflections on their educational journeys was inspiring, as each student presented the ups and downs and the journey’s waypoints, recognising what they did and do well and what they have need to improve upon and intend to change, this included academic expectations and aspirations, and how their behaviour and attendance will contribute to success. As the students prepare for and embark on their GCSE studies, each was able to describe how their time at XP has and will influence the formation and development of character, their identity and future-self. (Expert panellist)

I’d like to say how thoroughly impressed I was with the Passage presentation, and the all-around concept associated with it, having attended yesterday. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I can see the value in having the students self-analyse their overall performance and journey with a degree of honesty and bravery to be able to identify the good, the not so good and what they need to do differently in order to achieve their goals. (Expert panellist)

We feel so fortunate that our daughter attends XPG as seeing her stand and present today with such professionalism is a real testament to the work that you do. I knew that she had sought critique from her teachers but found out when we got home that she had done this independently and had asked each of her teachers to provide feedback for their subject section. I think this really illustrates the strength in the relationships that the students at XP have with their teachers and also the maturity and drive to critique and produce the best work possible. It’s wonderful to see and we’re so grateful for the amazing educational experience that she is receiving (Y9 Parent)

“I honestly don’t think half the adults I know (including myself) could write such a structured, reflective piece of work and deliver it as well as you did” (Y9 Parent)

The words of Kurt Hahn couldn’t be more true

“There is more to us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less” 

G31, G30 and G28 Crew Day

On Tuesday whilst passages were taking place for Year 9, our Year 7, 8 and 10 students spent the day with their crews building and tending to crew and culture because, ‘If we get Crew right, we get everything’ right’

Crew days allow us to focus and build our strong school, attend to relationships in crew and ensure we are supporting and challenging each other to be the best versions of ourselves.  Our strong culture and the shared commitment we all have to this is key to our success at XPG and all stakeholders (students, parents and carers, staff) play a part in this, understanding the positive impact we can have on each other and our community. 

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Year 7 crews improved their teamwork skills with a real focus on collaboration and what great looks like and feels like. They spent time in the kitchen preparing some of the best yorkshire puddings I have ever seen and then took time for stewardship work in the local area carrying out a litter pick alongside another teamwork challenge.

Our Year 8 students prepared for a bake sale to raise money and awareness of their chosen crew charities. As well as making their goods, students worked on a costing and marketing strategy. The bake sale took place on Wednesday in school and their bakes were enjoyed by all, updates on the final amount of money raised will come soon. In the afternoon Year 8 enjoyed time in the outdoors producing land art which represented the meaning of crew.  

Our Year 10 students spent their crew day looking at revision techniques, trying out different strategies with a focus on healthy study habits. Students looked at planning time effectively, balancing revision revising for their upcoming Y10 assessments so they are equipped to look after themselves and rise to the challenge of GCSE exams.   

Lego Winners 

On Monday this week some of our digital leaders competed in the regional First Lego League tournament in Gateshead and were awarded the trophy for best robot design. Well done to Ethan, Charlie, Evan and James!

Preparing for the culmination of expeditions

As always, the hard work continues in sessions at XP Gateshead. Students have been working hard on termly assessments, completing their final products for expedition and getting ready for presentations of learning (PoLs). 

Year 7 have been preparing to record their presentation of learning which will be streamed via Youtube in the our first week  back after the Easter Break. They have working hard on their drama performances of the play White Poppies and drafting their creative writing, uplifting lesser heard voices of WWI. They also have a presentation in school this week with experts from Edberts House who will receive the food packages that students have designed to provide for families in need.

Our Year 8 students have been working hard on their Macbeth performances as part of the ‘What is Power?’ expedition. Our students are showing real courage and stepping up to the challenge of performing in front of an audience.  This is another important moment in developing character, especially courage and we can’t wait for families to see the students’ work on Thursday evening this week.

Not content with knocking it out of the park for Passage, Year 9 are also now preparing for their Public Health conference which will take place in the next half term. As well as an expert panel, every student will host a marketplace on an issue related to tobacco. This week will see students working with more public health experts to help them to be ready for this event.

This week, Year 10 will be briefed on Work Experience which will take place in the final half-term of this academic year. In addition they are also working on preparing for their debate next half-term and stepping up their revision in readiness for their mocks.

As a reminder, please note the Presentation of Learning (PoL) dates. There have been some changes this term due to venue changes so please check these carefully.

PoL Dates

Year 7 HUMAN – Why is it important to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?

This PoL will be recorded in school and steamed for families to watch with their children at home via Youtube. This will take place in the first week back after the Easter Break. 

Year 7 STEAM – Is survival sufficient?

PoL on Monday 24th March with experts from Edberts House (this is not an event that families attend, students will present their food packages to the workers at Edberts House)

Year 8 – What is Power?

PoL on Thursday 27th March at Caedmon Hall, above Gateshead Central Library at 5pm. 

ALL YEAR 8 FAMILIES: Please use this Google Form to let us know how many family members will be attending.

Year 9 – How can we continue to make progress on public health?

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.

Year 10 – Are we really free to choose?

NEW DATE AND VENUE: 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.

The week ahead

G30 PoL – What is Power?

Students have additional rehearsals this week, and will be travelling to Caedmon Hall on foot on Thursday. Students will have an earlier lunch so will not need a packed lunch unless usually provided. The forecast for Thursday is mild and dry. See this post for more details.

On Thursday G30 students will need:

• Black (or dark) clothing for the performance, ideally as plain as possible e.g. black jeans and black t-shirt.. (XPG polo shirts are fine for this performance)
• Usual full kit including fully charged iPad and water bottle
• Comfortable walking shoes or trainers
• A coat
• Optional: A packed tea or healthy snacks if they want to eat before the presentation starts at 5.00pm.

PE this week

• G31 (Year 7):
  • G31 Class 1 have PE on Tuesday this week
  • G31 Class 2 have PE on Thursday this week
• G30 (Year 8)
  • G30 Class 1 have PE on Monday this week
  • G30 Class 2 have PE on Friday this week
• G29 (Year 9) 
• G28 (Year 10)
  • Year 9 and Year 10 both have PE on Thursday this week.

Extended Study and Clubs

Due to preparations for the end of term and presentations of learning, our after school clubs are not running this week. Please ask your child to check student notices and our timetable for more details.

Easter Holidays

We break up for our Easter Holiday on Friday 28th March and return to school on Monday 14th April at the normal time. As is always the case at the end of terms, our students leave school earlier on Friday at 1:30pm to allow for a full school de-gunge and set up of areas for next term’s new expeditions and immersion.

As usual 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

Dear Parents/Carers

Without a doubt, last week has seen our G29 students step up to the challenge as they get ready for their Passage Presentations taking place this coming week. Students have been working hard writing with deep reflection about their progress since joining us and their readiness for GCSEs. 

The presentations we saw today were strong and our students spoke with such integrity and authenticity. We are delighted today that all students have either passed their passage presentations, or passed with conditions that need to be met over the coming weeks. 

In preparing for passage, Year 9 really are demonstrating their readiness for the next stage in their education and their potential for greatness in the years to come. What a joy and honour it is to sit alongside families watching their children shine and talk so beautifully about themselves with such honesty.

This feedback from a panellist and member of our local governing committee really sums up what a special day it has been today:

“What an absolute privilege it was to be able to be part of the passage presentations this morning. The work that is being carried out within XP Gateshead is transformational in the young people’s lives within the school community. This was evident to see in the passage presentations that I was involved with, in terms of character growth and the journey that students are on with regards to being owners of their own learning. 

XP Gateshead is truly a very special place and it is these reflective processes that allow us to really take notice of the amazing work that happens every day within school. “

NHS Fieldwork

Huge praise today to the Year 9 students that took time out of their passage prep and on a staff day to visit the QE hospital in Gateshead. This visit was in support of the upcoming public health conference after Easter. Well done and thanks for your commitment Fallyn, Imogen, Georgia, Eleanor and Scarlett!

Presentations of Learning for Year 7 and Year 10

We have made the difficult decision to postpone the scheduled Presentations of Learning in this half-term for Year 7 and Year 10. Unfortunately, our theatre space is still not ready for use at the moment.

Year 10s Presentation of Learning will now take place in the first week back following the Easter break in the w/c 14th April. We are working with a range of partners to find a suitable venue for the debate and will let you know the date and time as soon as we possibly can.

Year 7s Presentation of Learning will instead be recorded in school and steamed for families to watch with their children at home via Youtube. This will also take place in the first week back after the Easter Break. 

(Year 8s Presentation of Learning is still taking place next week at Caedmon Hall on Thursday 27th March at 5pm).

The week ahead

G29 Passage Presentations

Presentations continue on Tuesday during the school day and on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. A huge appreciation to our panellists for helping to make this a rigorous process and for their kind, specific and helpful feedback to our students. And of course thanks to you, our families for supporting your children in this important work.

Year 9 Families: If you have not already done so, please make sure that you have let us know about arrangements for tomorrow and whether your child will be attending school or working from home using this form.

G31, G30 and G28 Crew Day – Tuesday 18th March

On Tuesday whilst passages are taking place, our Year 7, 8 and 10 students will spend the day with their crews giving staff and students the opportunity to ‘tend to’ crew. Returning to agreed crew norms, developing team work, crew identity and wellbeing is key to our continued success. 

‘If we get Crew right, we get everything’ right at XPG, so it is vital we take the time to ‘cultivate crew’.

Year 7 will be working as a team focusing on collaboration, spending time in the kitchen continuing to learn base recipes which will allow them to cook a range of dishes; this week it is a batter-based recipe of miniature toad in the holes.  They will also be carrying out stewardship activities to improve our school site.

Year 8 students are preparing for a bake sale to raise money and awareness of their chosen crew charities, they will also be spending time outdoors creating art in the local area. 

Year 10 students will be working looking at revision techniques and healthy study habits so they are equipped to look after themselves in the coming months and rise to the challenge of GCSE exams.   

Crew days allow us to focus and build our strong school, attend to relationships in crew and ensure we are supporting and challenging each other to be the best versions of ourselves.  It is key that our students realise the positive impact that they can have on each other and their community. Without this strong culture and shared commitment, we would not be able to do the work we do here at XPG.  

Teacher Interviews Wed-Fri this week

This week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we will be interviewing candidates to join our staff Crew in Art, HUMAN and Spanish. This is our final year of staffing the school to our full capacity. Whilst this does impact the timetable, making sure that we have the best staff in front of our children is one of the most important things that we can do as a school and we know that our students will do us proud in the interview lessons and panels as part of the process. Candidates that experience interview days at our school are always at pains to praise our students for how articulate they are and their kindness and pride in their school.

PE this week

• G31 (Year 7)
  • All Year 7 students will have PE on Wednesday this week
• G30 (Year 8)
  • All Year 8 students will have PE on Friday this week
• G29 (Year 9) 
  • All Year 9 students will have PE on Thursday this week
• G28 (Year 10)
  • All Year 10 students will have PE on Thursday this week

Extended Study and Clubs

Due to passage presentations some clubs are not running this week. Please ask your child to check student notices and our timetable for more details.

 

As usual 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

Dear Parents/Carers

It was great to see our students make a strong start back to school last week after their half term break. Students were back to working hard, getting smart and being kind, stepping up to our high expectations in and outside of sessions. 

Secondary School National Offers

Parents of Year 6 students received notification of secondary school places last week. XP Gateshead works with the Local Authority admissions teams to administer places. As in previous years, we received more applications than we can offer places and our admissions were determined by a random lottery administered independently by the Local Authority.

I’d like to thank all families who expressed an interest in our school and the work we do here. An appreciation too for our existing families and students for showing our school for the really special place that it is. Again we are massively oversubscribed with around eight applicants for every place at the school.

For our new families, welcome to XP Gateshead and congratulations! We are delighted to have you and your children join our school. See last week’s welcome post for more details. 

G29 work with Blue Sky Trust

This week, our students had the privilege of welcoming experts from Bluesky Trust into their lessons, including Miss Pegg!

Bluesky Trust supports and connects individuals across Tyne & Wear, Durham, Northumberland, and North Cumbria throughout their journey with HIV. In addition to their vital support work, they also educate communities to help break the stigma surrounding HIV.

See Miss Jones post for more information.

   

G30 Theatre visit

G30 students were able to see their Drama expert Christina Berriman Dawson in Ishy Din’s play: Champion at the Live Theatre this week. Students dealt incredibly well with the challenging content of the play, and asked some really thoughtful questions about the play, and the nature of stage performance. We would like to appreciate JD Stewart, the New Work Producer at Live and all of the cast and crew for helping us to give this opportunity to our children.

Attendance

Last week I attended a Department for Education conference – Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity: Transforming Secondary School Attendance. Schools Minister Catherine McKinnell talked about the attendance challenges schools in the North East are facing.  

You can read more about the event and the points raised by the Schools Minister by clicking here.

We continue to work hard XPG around attendance as this is vital to the life chances of our young people and their success. Being in school improves health, wellbeing and socialisation throughout life. Put simply, if pupils are not at school then they will not be learning and will fall behind in all areas of their development.

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 8:25am by telephone. This is a safeguarding procedure which has to happen on every day of absence.

Please share any concerns you have around attendance or punctuality with your childs’ Crew Leader. 

The week ahead

G30 Fieldwork – DesignLab 

In the final of their series of fieldwork sessions with experts from DesignLab and the Shipley and V&A, G30 students will return to the Shipley this week. This final session will be a chance to pull together their ideas from across the term to produce pieces of art in response to the brief, which has challenged them to think about power in the arts, in an era where mass production is competing with individually crafted pieces.

• G30 Class 1 will work at the Shipley during the school day on Tuesday 11th March
• G30 Class 2 will work at the Shipley during the school day on Thursday 13th March

G30 students will be walking to the Shipley following their regular crew session in the morning so will need:

• Their regular full kit
• Comfortable shoes suitable for walking
• Appropriate clothing for the weather 
  • The forecast for both days is cool with a chance of showers so lots of layers and a waterproof jacket are essential.
• A packed lunch

G30 work with expert – Wednesday 12th March

Year 8 will also have their final sessions with Christina Berriman Dawson this week as they refine their performances for the Presentation of Learning at Caedmon Hall.

G31 Edberts House

Following a visit to Edberts House by some student leaders in Year 7 earlier this term, we will host workers from the charity in school this week. Alongside our student leaders they will present to G31 about the need for support around feeding families in Gateshead as a consequence of the cost of living crisis. We are really proud of G31 and the work that they are doing to ensure that their learning about nutrition, digestion and the wider issues that families face is being put to great use. Thanks also to all families who are supporting us by providing ingredients for the food packages that will be passed onto Edberts.

PE this week

• G31 (Year 7)
  • Class 1 have PE on Tuesday this week.
  • Class 2 have PE on Wednesday this week.
• G30 (Year 8)
  • Both classes have PE on Monday this week.
• G29 (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
• G28 (Year 10) have PE on Thursday.

Extended Study and Clubs

Clubs will all run this week along with extended study sessions every day except Friday. 

Staff Days – Friday 14th and Monday 17th March

Friday is the first of our staff days this half term, the second is on Monday 17th March. Our staff team will be planning for next term’s expeditions and this year’s curriculum priorities from our school improvement plan. Students will not be expected to be in school on Friday or Monday unless they are G29 students who have a Passage presentation on Monday. If students want to come to school on Friday to prepare for their passage, they must organise this through their Crew Leader.

Looking Ahead:

IMPORTANT – Passage Presentations next week

G29 are working hard on preparing for their passage presentation next week. They will be using Crew time and additional time in sessions to get ready for this important moment in their time at XP Gateshead.

Passage presentations are hugely important benchmark demonstrations of learning over multiple years that mark this pivotal transition from Key Stage 3 into Key Stage 4 and GCSEs. During the presentations, students will use their portfolios as a guide to articulate their progress and growth. These presentations are another means by which we help students to develop their character and hone their public speaking. The rubrics that will be used during the presentations can be found here.

Monday 17th March is a staff day.

Students will be welcome to arrive at school earlier than their passage presentation slot to do final preparations, and then should return home after their presentation. If students do not have a passage presentation, there is not a need for them to be in school on Monday 17th March.

Tuesday 18th March

This is not a staff day, however Year 9 teachers will be involved in passage presentations throughout the day so we will not be running a regular timetable for this day for Year 9 students. There are three options for Year 9 students and this day:

• Come into school for the full school day (including staying in school after a Passage Presentation).
• Come into school for a Passage Presentation and then leave with their family.
• Work on extended study from home.

Please can all G29 families use this Google Form to let us know what your child will be doing, and whether they will need a school lunch.

As usual 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

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back! We hope you have had a restful half term break and we look forward to welcoming our students back tomorrow.

Please note that this half term is shorter at 4 weeks. We break up for our Easter Holiday on Friday 28th March and return to school on Monday 14th April.

Our usual reminders for a good start back…

Punctuality

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. 

Daily kit list

As always, students need to bring a school bag with:

• A filled water bottle
• Pencil case including: pens, pencils, ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener
• A fully charged iPad 
• Their AR reading book (please remember that as part of our reading strategy, we expect all students to read between 20-30 mins. each day)
• Headphones 
• A healthy snack for break (no confectionery (sweets), fizzy drinks or energy drinks, nut products)
• A notebook

Dress code

A reminder that we ask students and staff to dress appropriately and modestly. Please note that for a normal day within school, we do not think it appropriate that students wear:

• Hats, hoods & coats inside school
• Revealing clothing, i.e. revealing the midriff, chest or upper thigh
• Noticeable make-up, including false eyelashes
• Valuable, sentimental or impractical accessories / jewellery. For example heavy chains, thick sovereign rings, or false nails
• Impractical footwear

As is always the case, we ask for your support in upholding our dress code. See link here to full details on our website.

The week ahead

National Careers Week

All students will be taking part in activities connected to careers in Crew this week, including a virtual careers fair.. For G29 this will form an important part of their Passage Presentations which includes a section on their future self.

You can access a guide for families to national careers week here, which has some really useful information on pathways after students leave XP.

G31 Students in the kitchen this week

Connected to their studies of nutrition and digestion, some of Year 7 will be in the kitchen this week. For more details see Mr Said’s earlier post here.

G30 Theatre Fieldwork

This is taking place on Thursday 6th March in the afternoon with a slightly later finish back at school. More details can be found here. 

PE this week

• G31 (Year 7)
  • Class 1 have PE on Tuesday this week.
  • Class 2 have PE on Wednesday this week
• G30 (Year 8)
  • Class 1 have PE on Monday this week.
  • Class 2 have PE on Friday this week
• G29 (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
• G28 (Year 10) have PE on Thursday.

In line with our dress code, we expect students to arrive at PE lessons with a change of kit which is appropriate for the activity and all accessories removed. This includes sports trainers with non slip soles e.g. running shoes/astro turf (not plimsolls). 

Extended Study and Clubs

Clubs will all run this week along with extended study sessions every day except Friday. As usual, if a student attends an after school club or extended study session they must attend the full sessions until 4:30pm.

Looking Ahead:

G30 Final Shipley Gallery Fieldwork

Students in G30 Class 2 will have their final work session at The Shipley on Tuesday 11th March, and G30 Class 1 will do likewise on Thursday 13th March. These will all be during the school day but students will need a packed lunch.

Staff Development Days

A reminder that we have two staff development days this half term; Friday 14th and Monday 17th March. 

Passage Presentations

The schedule for passage presentations has now been shared with families. Students will continue to work hard on their passage presentations this week and next. Please talk to your children at home about how their preparation is going and how they are demonstrating their readiness for GCSEs in sessions too: remember there will be feedback given on quality of reflection, quality of writing, integrity of reflection and organisation of the portfolio of evidence.

Monday 17th March is a staff day. Students will be welcome to arrive at school earlier than their passage presentation slot to do final preparations, and then should return home after their presentation. If students do not have a passage presentation, there is not a need for them to be in school on Monday 17th March.

Tuesday 18th March is not a staff day, however Year 9 teachers will be involved in passage presentations throughout the day so we will not be running a regular timetable for this day for Year 9 students. Students can come into school for the regular school hours or work from home where families give permission; we will be setting additional extended study to support students in their expeditions which students can access independently. Likewise, if students have a passage presentation on this day, and families give permission, then students can go home following their presentation.

Please note that Tuesday 18th March will be a regular timetable day for all of Year 7, 8 and Year 10.

 

More information on slots and attendance on these days can be found here.

 

Presentations of Learning

Below are the dates for our PoLs (Presentations of Learning) which will all take place before the end of this term (except Year 9). It is important to note that we expect for every child to have a family member there to support them.

Year 7 HUMAN – Why is it important to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?

PoL on Tuesday 25th March in school at 4.30pm

Year 7 STEAM – Is survival sufficient?

PoL on Monday 24th March with experts from Edberts House (this is not an event that families attend, students will present their food packages to the workers at Edberts House)

Year 8 – What is Power?

PoL on Thursday 27th March at Caedmon Hall, above Gateshead Central Library at 5pm.

Year 9 – How can we continue to make progress on public health?

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.

Year 10 – Are we really free to choose?

PoL on Tuesday 18th March, venue and time to be confirmed.

 

As usual 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

Dear Families

We have come to the end of another half-term that has been packed with moments where our students have shone.

G31 have had their very first set of SLCs and have this last week started to consider how they will support families in need with food packages, building from their knowledge of nutrition and digestion. Miss Jamison has put out a separate post here with details on some recipes we’d love to see you try at home with your children too.

G30 have had a series of fieldwork as part of their art studies that has led them to the V&A in London, and this last week have worked with expert actress, writer and director Christina Berriman Dawson to support their preparations for their performance of Macbeth Don’t forget that they also have a theatre visit booked to see Christina in an excellent production: Champion, more details can be found here. This wonderful production was also featured on BBC Radio 4 this week too, you can listen here from 12 minutes 45 seconds onwards.

G29 have had a return to Newcastle University this week to delve into the archives of public health in our region, and also to carry out anatomical drawings under the guidance of experts  at the Hatton Gallery. This has been a really strong term for G29, who have been praised time and again for their conduct and how they have acted as ambassadors for the school at the production of our Sam, in how they are preparing for Passage and how they are motoring in lessons.

Following their TSLCs, G28 have this week been in G29 Crews supporting students in their preparations for passage. It’s great to see the leadership potential of all of our G28 students being harnessed. In addition student leaders have this term supported the G30 fieldwork to the V&A, leading ambassador tours and training younger students and running clubs. There are mock exams coming up in April which will become the focus in Crew following the break. We will post the revision guidance website in a separate post, which has guidance for how families can support revision – the work and expectations for which will step up when we return. Our pioneering Year 10 students really are incredible in terms of the way that they model our culture for our younger students, and it goes to show the impact that this has had on their peers when you look at what our younger students are achieving, in the case of G29 with direct support from Year 10s for passage.

Every visitor that comes to our school comments on how articulate, informed, knowledgeable and proud that our students are, and we could not be more proud of them.

Important dates for your diaries for next half-term

Fieldwork

G30 Theatre Fieldwork

This is taking place on Thursday 6th March in the afternoon with a slightly later finish back at school. More details can be found here. 

G30 Final Shipley Gallery Fieldwork

Students in G30 Class 2 will have their final work session at The Shipley on Tuesday 11th March, and G30 Class 1 will do likewise on Thursday 13th March. These will all be during the school day but students will need a packed lunch.

Passage Presentations

Most of these will take place on Monday 17th March and Tuesday 18th March during the day, and some limited slots after school on the following two days.

More information on slots and attendance on these days can be found here.

We will send out provisional time slots for families on Monday this week from the office@ email address so please keep an eye out for that.

Presentations of Learning

Below are the dates for our PoLs (Presentations of Learning) next term. It is important to note that we expect for every child to have a family member there to support them.

Year 7 HUMAN – Why is it important to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?

PoL on Tuesday 25th March in school at 4.30pm

Year 7 STEAM – Is survival sufficient?

PoL on Monday 24th March with experts from Edberts House (this is not an event that families attend, students will present their food packages to the workers at Edberts House)

Year 8 – What is Power?

PoL on Thursday 27th March at Caedmon Hall, above Gateshead Central Library at 5pm.

Year 9 – How can we continue to make progress on public health?

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.

Year 10 – Are we really free to choose?

PoL on Tuesday 18th March, venue and time to be confirmed.

Easter Holidays

Please note that it is a shorter half-term coming up at 4 weeks. We break up for our Easter Holiday on Friday 28th March and return to school on Monday 14th April at the normal time. Our Easter holidays do not always align with other Gateshead school. The date of the religious holiday changes each year, however we need to be able to plan a consistent length for our expeditions in term 2 and 3. You can see more on our calendars on the trust website. These holidays do align much better in the following academic year.

Have a wonderful break with your children

So, it’s been another exciting and fruitful half-term.  Have a great half-term break and we look forward to seeing all of our students on Monday 3rd March at the normal time. 

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.

 

.Julie Mosley

Principal

Dear Families

I say it every week, but last week was definitely a record in terms of many moving parts in a school week. A week full of purposeful learning experiences for our students which only happens on the back of the hard work, craftsmanship and quality of the staff who work here. Starting a school, building as we go demands a staff crew who are fully committed to our school and every week go to great lengths to plan purposeful experiences for our children. The breadth of activities that we post in these weekly updates is testament to the hard work of our Staff Crew and their commitment to our approach. Children and staff alike, we are lucky to be part of something so special, but also must recognise what makes our school so special are the people. A school is not a building, a school is a community of children, families and staff. Every week we are thankful for the trust places in us by you, our families, and for the beautiful work that happens week in – week out:

“To start a school is to proclaim what it means to be human”

Tom James – EL Education

G31

On Tuesday 11th February, our Year 7 students visited the  Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha in Newcastle to find out more about Sikhi and how temples operate as part of their expedition ‘Do your bit’. Our students had a fantastic experience which included an Indian classical music lesson, learning about Langar and working in the kitchen to prepare Langar for lunch and a meditation session. We are extremely grateful to our friends at the Gurdwara for giving their time and allowing our students the opportunity to learn more about Sikhi. Our Year 7 students were described as phenomenal, and showed great respect throughout the day.

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G30

Year 8 students continued their work with Design Lab Nation this week, working at Orbis Studios and looking at Gateshead High Street to consider their current brief – to create art using waste materials in response to the shift in power between larger companies and independent companies as exemplified in the growth of out of town shopping and continued decline of the high street. Students enjoyed another day of creativity and construction.

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G29

On Friday 14th February, our Year 9 students conducted local Geography fieldwork to explore the question: Why are there variations in life expectancy in Gateshead? This fieldwork enhanced their understanding of Census data, giving them the opportunity to gather primary data through firsthand observations and surveys. This is a fieldwork that takes place outside for the whole day and students walk over 7 miles. This, as you can imagine, is a real challenge on a cold day, but our Year 9 were amazing and staff shared praise for their maturity, resilience and positive approach to learning. 

G28

It was another first for XPG this week with Teacher Student Led Conferences (TSLCs) after school on Monday and Tuesday. As always, our Year 10 students stepped up to the challenge and sat alongside their subject teachers presenting their learning and plans for improvement in each subject area. 

The week ahead

G31 working in the kitchen

Connected to their studies of nutrition and digestion in science, some Year 7 students will work in the kitchen this week learning to prepare a tomato sauce recipe which can then become a base for many other dishes. This is in preparation for the final product where students will put together food packages to be donated to families in need through our partners Edberts House.

More details on which children are in the kitchen this week can be found here.

G30 expert in school 

On Monday as part of their current expedition with the guiding question: ‘What is power?’, our Year 8 students will continue their work to create an abridged performance of Macbeth in drama sessions. They will be developing their physical, vocal, characterisation and directorial skills alongside an expert, Actress and Writer Christina Berriman Dawson.

   

LEGO League Digital Leaders

Our LEGO league team will be travelling to RGS school for training in Newcastle on Tuesday this week.They will walk to Heworth at 8.30am and then travel onwards by metro. The forecast is very cold with a chance of snow, so please make sure that as well as a packed lunch and full kit, that students are well wrapped up with plenty of layers and a waterproof coat. Students taking part are: G28 Ethan B. Charlie DJ, Evan R and G30 James T.

G29 vaccinations

The next immunisation programme for school aged children is the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (Td/IPV) and Meningitis ACWY (MenACWY) campaign. This is for YEAR 9. This session will happen in school on Wednesday 19th February.

G29 Fieldwork – Library Archive Newcastle University, Thursday 20th February

G29 will travel by foot to Heworth and then by Metro to Newcastle University to carry out fieldwork connected to their guiding question “How can we continue to make progress on public heath?’

They will spend part of the day in the University Library looking at the special collection in the archives with extremely high quality historical sources in cluding contemporary data and first editions of texts referring to previous epidemics from the past going back centuries.

They will also return to the Hatton Gallery to carry out a workshop on anatomical drawings, building on their work in Year 8 as part of their Being Human expedition. Students will be back at school for around the regular time of 15.15 – 15.30. If there are any delays on the metro we will let you know via our website.

The forecast is for the weather to turn more mild (around 12 – 13ºC) on Thursday however there is still a chance of rain. Students need to bring a packed lunch, as well as regular full kit and be dressed appropriately for the weather.

PE sessions this week

In line with our dress code, we expect students to arrive at PE lessons with a change of kit which is appropriate for the activity and all accessories removed. This includes sports trainers with non-slip soles e.g. running shoes/astro turf (not plimsolls). 

Our PE sessions this week are as follows:

• G30 students (Y8) have PE on Monday this week
• G31 students (Y7)
  • G31 Class 1 students have PE on Tuesday
  • G31 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday
• G28 students (Y10) have PE on Thursday.

Clubs and Extended Study

We will be running all after school clubs and extended study this week. 

Early closure this Friday 21st February

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 half term. Please make arrangements to pick up your children at the school gate for 1.30pm this Friday. 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 3rd March 2025. 

Dates to note

Passage Presentations – Mon 17th and Tue 18th March

A reminder that Passage Presentations for G29 are taking place on Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th March. More info on how to indicate a preferred slot can be found here. 

As usual 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

Principal

Dear Families

It has been a busy week as usual at XP Gateshead this week and as always, our students step up to the challenge making the words of Kurt Hahn become more real each day

“There is more in us than we know if we could be made to see it;, for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less.”

G31

Our year 7 students have had the privilege of working online with expert Rav Singh, the founder of ‘A little History of the Sikhs’ in their Human session this week. Rav worked with our students on their current HUMAN expedition exploring the guiding question: ‘Why do we need to honour all those who made sacrifices during WWI?’, helping students to understand the experience of Sikhi soldiers and their contribution during WW1. 

   

G31 SLCs continued last week and our Year 7 Crew Leaders have been full of praise for the courage students have shown in their first SLC and the high quality of their work and presentation. Our students have definitely set the bar high.

G30

On Monday I had the pleasure of joining Class 1 fieldwork to the V&A in London who, like Class 2 worked with artists on their Design challenge ‘High Street, My Street’. It is a great brief which ties into their current expedition and guiding question, ‘What is Power?’. Students have been asking where power lies in art & design, especially looking at the impact on larger brands and retailers and the changes which have taken place on our high streets over time.

The conduct of G30 has been exemplary on this fieldwork and it has been a real joy to spend time with year 8 enjoying the magnificent V&A and see them work with artists outside of XPG.

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G30 SLCs also continued last week and it was great to hear from both parents and students about the step up made in SLCs since Year 7 and the growing confidence and maturity shown in presentations.

G29

Work on passage preparation is underway for Year 9 students. Having considered metaphors for their time at XPG, students are currently reflecting on their progress as writers, mathematicians and artists using evidence from their portfolios across Year 7 and Year 8. Students have also been considering the learning journey they have been on at XPG their character development.

We will share a booking system with you tomorrow where you can indicate which time slots would work best for you as a family. There will be slots during the day on Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th March and some limited slots after school on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th March.

G28

Our Year 10 students have been reflecting on their progress and targets in each subject area in readiness for next week’s Teacher Students Learning Conference (TSLC). Students will sit alongside their subject teachers to present their learning and share their revision plans and readiness for KS4 exams. Students have been making 5 minute appointments with staff and all parents should now have appointments with all subjects.

Please see the website post for more details. 

Winning ways

A final highlight to share from last week is a football success. Mr Devitt took a team of Y9 and Y10 students to compete with another Gateshead secondary school on Thursday and XPG came away with their first win! As a small school, it is always a challenge competing with other schools in team sports and we always remind our students that taking part, displaying XP character values and enjoying the game is more important than winning. 

The week ahead

National Apprenticeship Week

This week is National Apprenticeship Week. Over the week we will provide students with more information about possible routes into careers through apprenticeships at a range of levels, from intermediate through to degree level. This will include testimony from existing apprentices.

Safer Internet Day

It is Safer Internet Day on Tuesday this week. The focus for this year is when things seem ‘too good to be true’, in particular teaching our children the signs that they are potentially being exploited or scammed.

G31 Gurdwara Fieldwork – Tuesday 11th February 

On Tuesday 11th February our Year 7 students will visit the  Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha in Newcastle to find out more about Sikhi and how temples operate as part of their expedition ‘Do your bit’. Please see the website post for more detailed arrangements.

G30 Design Challenge Fieldwork – Tuesday 11th February (Class 2) and Thursday 13th February (Class 1) 

Our work with the Shipley Art Gallery, V&A Museum and Design Lab Nation continues this week.  Our students will work at Orbis studios which will give them an opportunity to look at Gateshead High Street and start to consider their response to their brief. Students have been challenged to create art using waste materials in response to the shift in power between larger companies and independent companies as exemplified in the growth of out of town shopping and continued decline of the high street in most places in England.

See this website post for more details.

G29 Fieldwork – Friday 14th February 

On Friday 14th February, students will be conducting fieldwork to explore the question: Why are there variations in life expectancy in Gateshead? Our students have already analysed secondary data from the national census and this fieldwork will enhance their understanding by gathering primary data through firsthand observations and surveys. Please see the website post for more detailed arrangements.

PE this week

• G31 (Year 7)
  • Both classes have PE on Wednesday this week.
• G30 (Year 8)
  • Class 1 have PE on Tuesday this week.
  • Class 2 have PE on Thursday this week
• G29 (Year 9)
  • Both classes have PE on Thursday this week.
• G28 (Year 10)
  • Both classes have PE on Thursday this week.

In line with our dress code, we expect students to arrive at PE lessons with a change of kit which is appropriate for the activity and all accessories removed. This includes sports trainers with non slip soles e.g. running shoes/astro turf (not plimsolls). Please ensure that your child has a full PE kit. 

Clubs and Extended Study

We will be running all after school clubs and extended study this week. 

Dates to note – holiday dates

Please note that our dates do not always fully align to other Gateshead schools. 

We do not authorise students to take holidays during our school term times. 

Spring half-term break

• Starts Friday 21st February. We return to school on Monday 3rd March 2025. 

Easter Holidays

• We break up for Easter holidays Friday 28th March and return to school on Monday 14th April 2025. Please note that the bank holiday weekend of Good Friday 18th April and Easter Monday 21st April are outside of our two week break. See 2024/25 Calendar.

As usual 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

Principal

Dear Families

Every week before I start a weekly update, I look back on the week before reflecting on our progress, student and staff achievements, our culture and our crew. Like every week, there is a feeling of pride about the work that happens at XPG and pleasure in the work we do daily alongside our students, who, like staff, are producing beautiful work, developing character and achieving academic success. 

Students as ‘Leaders of their Own Learning’

It has been great to see so many of you in person this week attending G31 and G30 Student Led Conferences (SLC). Our students have shown real courage this week presenting their learning, especially G31 students where this has been their first time presenting a SLC. Feedback from parents and carers has been full of praise and this will feed into their SLC debrief where they will reflect on this experience against the rubric and set themselves targets for their next SLC.

Our Year 9 students continue to work on their passage preparations, ready for their Passage Presentations which will take place during the 17th and 18th March.  Crew leaders have been really impressed with the maturity and commitment G29 are showing to their work and the process of passage which is a step up from SLC’s. In a Passage Presentation students present their learning journey from Year 7 to a panel which includes their Crew Leader, a Staff Panelist, a Guest Panelist and their Parents/Carers. We will soon send out the system to book a passage presentation slot (which will take place during the days on 17th and 18th of March).

This half term term, we will be running Teacher Student Learning Conferences (TSLCs) with G28 and our students have been working hard to bring together their work in each subject area so they can sit alongside their subject teacher to present their progress to parents. 

We also had the first of our multi sports clubs ran by Will Quinn and Corbyn Mullen, and last week Holly Nesbitt ran a dance fitness session for all Year 10 girls.

Fieldwork and Experts this week 

Year 8 London Fieldwork: Victoria & Albert Museum Fieldwork for Year 8 – On Tuesday, G30 class 2 travelled to London to visit the V&A and work with artists on their DesignLab Challenge ‘High Street, My Street’. On Monday 3rd February, G30 class 1 will complete this fieldwork. We will post a full update for families with photographs of the days in the coming week. I do want to acknowledge and appreciate the work of our staff on this fieldwork, especially Ms Macphail who wrote the successful bid for our involvement in the Design Challenge. The commitment staff show on a day that starts at 6:30am and doesn’t finish until 9:30pm, is special and the reason we have the school we do. The character of our students and the strong respectful relationships staff have with them mean that we have been able to travel on public transport (metro, train and tube) with full confidence. 

 

Students are working on a brief set by the V&A and Design Lab Nation which asks them to reflect upon where power lies in art & design, in particular considering how larger brands have impacted on design and the high street. This connects to their wider guiding question of “What is power?” Students’ final outcomes and designs will be exhibited in the Shipley Art Gallery.

A special thanks too to arts student leaders Charlie Button, Mason Crane and Leighla Curry who accompanied and supported students on their fieldwork.

Holocaust Memorial

On Tuesday we welcomed Brenda Dinsdale, the Honorary President of the Newcastle Reform Synagogue, to XP Gateshead. Brenda’s personal connections and stories left a lasting impression on all students who attended her session, which was a poignant reminder of the resilience of those who survived and the importance of remembering such crucial moments in history. Our students as always were respectful and reflective during the sessions. See post for full details.

Year 9 Theatre Visit – On Friday G29 students went to Whitley Bay Playhouse to see 

a production of ‘Our Sam’, an opportunity offered by  Samantha’s Legacy charity. This builds on the learning that students have been doing about the risks of carrying knives, and consequences of knife crime. ‘Our Sam’, is a dramatic performance of the ripple effects of Sam’s passing on her family, friends, and community. It explores themes of grief and lost potential. As you can imagine, this was a hard hitting performance. I had the pleasure of attending this performance alongside our Year 9 and their Crew Leaders and our students’ maturity, the high level of respect they displayed and their conduct across the afternoon was stunning and commented on by several members of staff from other schools who attended and from the Samantha’s Legacy team.

The week ahead

Year 8 London Fieldwork: Victoria & Albert Museum Fieldwork for Year 8 Class 1

More details of the fieldwork can be found here. A reminder that students need to be either at Central Station by 7.30am or at XP Gateshead by 6.45am.

Experts at XPG

This week we welcome Rav Singh who runs “A little history of the Sikhs”. Rav will run a session with out students to help them to better understand the experience of soldiers from North India that served in WWI, and how their faith and connection to the British Empire impacted upon their attitudes to the war both during and after the fighting.

Teacher/Student-Led Conference and Passage Presentation Preparation for Year 9 and Year 10.

On Thursday, Year 9 and Year 10 students will be given some intensive time in their crews to carry out activities which will help them to reflect upon their progress and set appropriate goals within their subjects – the evidence of which you will see when they present to you in passage or TSLCs. The system for booking slots for each of these events will be shared soon.

PE sessions this week

Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their  full PE kit.

• G30 students (Y8):
  • Class 1 have PE on Tuesday
  • Class 2 have PE on Monday.
• G31 students (Y7)
  • G31 Class 1 students have PE on Tuesday.
  • G31 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday
• Due to the preparation for Passage and TSLCs there are no core PE sessions in Year 9 or 10 this week.

 

As usual 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

Principal

Dear Families

This week we have revealed the full details of our new expeditions for all cohorts.

This terms’ Expeditions, Guiding Questions and Presentation of Learning dates

You can see more detailed information on each of the new expeditions by clicking here.

• Year 7 HUMAN – Why is it important to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?

• • • PoL on Tuesday 25th March in school at 4.30pm

• Year 7 STEAM – Is survival sufficient?

• • • PoL on Monday 24th March at Edberts House (this is not an event that families attend, students will present their food packages to the workers at Edberts House)

• Year 8 – What is Power?

• • • PoL on Thursday 27th March at Caedmon Hall, above Gateshead Central Library at 5pm.

• Year 9 – How can we continue to make progress on public health?

• • • 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.

• Year 10 – Are we really free to choose?

• • • PoL on Tuesday 18th March, venue and time to be confirmed.

G29 (Year 9) Information

We also enjoyed meeting with G29 families at our Information Evening on Wednesday to give further details around key events for Year 9 this year – Passage Presentations, the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award  and our KS4 curriculum offer. Thank you to those families who attended. Here are the slides we shared so everyone can access the information.

Raising awareness around the dangers of knife crime

On Friday we welcomed Alison and Yvonne from the charity Samantha’s Legacy into school to run  sessions with our G28 and G29 students on knife crime and to hear first-hand the devastation one family can experience at the hands of knife crime. The team at Samantha’s Legacy work relentlessly to raise awareness around this important issue, support families and young people who have been affected by knife crime and prevent knife crime in our region.

The feedback from all involved was extremely positive. We will be running further sessions for our other year groups later this term. We’ve also been offered the opportunity for a group of students to attend the new theatre production of ‘Our Sam’ which is being held at the end of the month at Whitley Bay Playhouse which is a play based on the true story of Samantha Madgin, a young mother who tragically lost her life to knife crime in 2007 and highlights the irreversible impact of knife crime. More information about this event will follow.

The week ahead

Experts at XPG

This week we welcome film director Russell Smith to XP Gateshead. Russell will be talking to our students about his work and sharing his award winning film documentary ‘The Last Men Standing’ with G28 with a screening followed by a Q&A session. The documentary is about 15 East Durham Miners which not only goes back to G28’s first expedition which focused on East Durham mines but also supports learning in their current expedition in terms of our curricular seam of social justice, connecting to themes of social class in their current anchor text ‘An Inspector Calls’.  

G30 (Year 8) Local Fieldwork: Working with experts at the Shipley Art Gallery 

This week our Year 8 students will spend a day working with experts at the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead.

• Class 2 are working at the Shipley throughout the day on Tuesday this week
• Class 1 are working at the Shipley throughout the day on Wednesday this week

More details including kit and packed lunches can be found by clicking here.

PE sessions this week

Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their  full PE kit.

• G30 students (Y8) have PE on Monday.
• For G31 students (Y7)
  • G31 Class 1 students have PE on Tuesday.
  • G31 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday
• G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday.
• G28 students (Y10) have PE on Thursday.

SLC Preparation G31 and G30

SLCs for G31 and G30 will take place this term in the two weeks commencing 27th January 2025. It is an expectation that all families attend SLCs to fully support their child’s progress. All G31 and G30 families should have now made appointments to attend their child’s SLC. Our students continue with their preparations this week which, for G30 students includes responses to questions from their families. Please can all G30 families ensure that they have completed this Google Form to help your child to prepare for the conference.

Passage Preparation G29

Our year 9 students continue with preparation for their Passage Presentations which will take place during the 17th and 18th March and slots will be available during the days. We will soon send out a the system to book a passage presentation slot.

Staff Days on Friday 24th and Monday 27th January – EARLY FINISH TO SCHOOL THIS THURSDAY

Please note that our whole staff will be travelling to Doncaster on Thursday 23rd January for a twilight CPD session which will launch an XP Trust Teaching and Learning conference on Friday so school will end at the slightly earlier time of 1.30pm on Thursday 23rd January to allow for this.

As always, students are not expected to be in school on staff days Friday 24th and Monday 27th January.

Dates to note

Year 8 London Fieldwork: Victoria & Albert Museum Fieldwork for Year 8

More details of the fieldwork can be found here. 

• Year 8 Class 2 will travel to London on Tuesday 28th January
• Year 8 Class 1 will travel to Longon on Monday 3rd February

Can all G30 families return reply sheets to Crew Leaders by Wednesday this week. As you can imagine it is imperative that we have full details to ensure appropriate arrangements and travel bookings are made. 

Please note that we want to give every student the opportunity to come to London and there is no cost to families for this fieldwork. We do expect a commitment from both students and families in terms of their conduct and if there are any absences on the day of travel, we will ask families to cover the costs incurred by us as a school.

As usual 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

Principal

Dear Families

Students have settled back into school and routines well, it was great to hear staff and students talk about highlights of their week and the appreciations given on Friday during online Community Meeting with G31, G30 and G29.  It’s wonderful to see so many students recognising each others’ great habits, character, areas of improvement and a strong start in sessions.

 

Last week we launched our new learning expeditions across all year groups. More details of the types of activities that students have been carrying out in immersion can be found below.

A huge appreciation goes to those Year 10 students who have started supporting Year 9 students with their Passage preparations and Year 7 students who have started work on their first Student Led Conference (SLC). The commitment and care our students show to each other is impressive and they definitely are ‘crew not passengers’ at XPG.

Immersion

Last week we launched our new learning expeditions across all years. As is always the case, expeditions start with a week of immersion which is an opportunity for students to dip their toe into the content of the learning expeditions, to build background knowledge and generate curiosity about the GQ (guiding question) for the expedition. 

G31 Immersion

Year 7 students have two new learning expeditions in STEAM and HUMAN. Their STEAM immersion has involved reading extracts from a dystopian novel called Station 11 and preparing to carry out food tests, making connections back to their study of elements, compounds and mixtures from term 1.

In HUMAN and ARTS year 7 have been building background knowledge about World War I, and beginning to read a play called White Poppies as well as revisiting skills from term 1 to represent medals in graphite pencil drawings.

G30 Immersion

Year 8 have been learning about important figures from history such as Benjamin Franklin and Alessandro Volta. Year 8 have also carried out a gallery walk in HUMAN, making connections between stimulus images on natural hazards and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They have also started to read an abridged Modern English version of The Scottish Play to put together a storyboard of its key moments, before grappling with the full text. Connected to this in STEAM students have been carrying out physics experiments to do with objects in motion, revising their knowledge of elements, compounds and mixtures from Year 7 and grappling with an excerpt from A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. 

G29 Immersion

Year 9’s immersion has involved building background knowledge about health around the world and in our own country as well as trying to unravel a mysterious connection from these ideas to a 17th century poem by John Dryden. In STEAM students have been building viral, fungal and bacterial cells from scrap materials as part of their immersion. Miss Jamison was impressed by these creative and scientifically accurate models from Ben D, Francis, Eleanor, Dakota, Lily, Winnie, Peyton and Hallie. Brilliant work Year 9!

 

G28 immersion

This term Year 10 have an expedition that combines HUMAN and STEAM. The week of immersion has involved studying Nazi ideology and how pseudoscientific arguments were used to promote fear and division, as well as a study of The Weimar Republic of Germany between wars, and the impact that The Treaty of Versailles had on living conditions and society pre-WWII. Connected to this students have made connections from this and their wider studies from previous expeditions about the class system in Britain, that of today and of the past.

As you can see, these immersive and intensive experiences at the beginning of a learning expedition help to generate curiosity and excitement about the topic, build background knowledge and provide students a solid starting point to launch into and tackle their guiding questions for the rest of their learning expedition.

The week ahead

Guiding Questions

This week will see all of the GQs (guiding questions) revealed for our new expeditions. GQs are a crucial part of the anatomy of an expedition and are revealed at the end of immersion.

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.

PE sessions this week

Our PE sessions this week are as follows. Please ensure that your child has their  full PE kit.

• G30 students (Y8) have PE on Monday.
• For G31 students (Y7)
  • G31 Class 1 students have PE on Tuesday.
  • G31 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday
• G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday.
• G28 students (Y10) have PE on Thursday.

SLC Preparation G31 and G30

SLCs for G31 and G30 will take place this term in the two weeks commencing 27th January 2025. It is an expectation that all families attend SLCs to fully support their child’s progress. All G31 and G30 families should have now made appointments to attend their child’s SLC. Please contact the school office if you have not arranged an appointment.

G31 and G30 students will continue with their preparations for their Student-Led Conferences. Please can all G30 families ensure that they have completed this Google Form to help your child to prepare for the conference.

We invest a lot of time in giving students opportunities to reflect upon their learning and growth. A significant amount of Crew time is devoted to this in the run-up to SLCs.  Please do also ask your child about how their preparation is going.

Important note and apology: SLC bookings for Year 8

We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We are trialling using Google Calendar as the booking system for SLCs for the first time rather than sign up genius.

We should have included cautionary notes in Google Calendar about the dates for booking SLC and the London fieldwork which is taking place for Year 8 students.

For example families with children in Class 2 will not be able to book SLC slots on the evening of Tuesday 28th January as this is when children will be in London. Your child’s Crew Leader or a member of staff will contact you if we need to change any existing bookings. Again, please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

G29 (Year 9) Information Evening – Wednesday 15th January, 5:30-6:30pm

On Wednesday evening of this week we will hold an information evening for G29 families to give further details around key events this year – Passage Presentations, the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award  and our KS4 curriculum offer. This will take place at 5.30pm in school.

Our theatre space is out of use at the moment. To allow us to plan the best room to use, can all Year 9 families please indicate how many family members will be attending using this Google Form. Students do not need to attend but are welcome to do so.

Clubs and Extended Study

Lunchtime and after school Clubs and supervised Extended Study sessions return this week. Here is our offer:

This week also sees the return of the regular setting of Extended Study work for students.

It is important that students get into good habits around extended study. Studies have shown that this has a positive impact on student progress, on average (+ 5 months), particularly with pupils in secondary schools. We recognise that it is not always possible for students (or staff) to have a quiet working space at home which is why we offer a space to work in school from 3.30-4.30pm Monday-Thursday. For students who do not complete extended study and struggle to meet deadlines, directed extended study will be put in place. 

Our full rationale for Extended Study can be found here.

Dates to note this term

Year 8 Local Fieldwork: Working with experts at the Shipley Art Gallery 

• Class 2 fieldwork will take place on Tuesday 21st January.  
• Class 1 will take place on Thursday 23rd January. 

Year 8 London Fieldwork: Victoria & Albert Museum Fieldwork for Year 8

As part of their new learning expedition Year 8 students will be carrying out important fieldwork at the V&A (The Victoria & Albert Museum in London). This is in partnership with the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. Students will travel to London and back in a day by rail, and will work with experts at the museum to help put together artistic responses to their new guiding question. We will post more details about timings of these days soon:

• Year 8 Class 2 will travel to London on Tuesday 28th January
• Year 8 Class 1 will travel to London on Monday 3rd February

This week families will receive a letter with full details and consent for this fieldwork, including travel times and organisational details. Please note that we want to give every student the opportunity to come to London and there is no cost to families for this fieldwork. We do expect a commitment from both students and families in terms of their conduct and if there are any absences on the day of travel, we will ask families to cover the costs incurred by us as a school.

Staff Days on Friday 24th and Monday 27th January

Please note that our whole staff will be travelling to Doncaster on Thursday 23rd January for a twilight CPD session which will launch an XP Trust Teaching and Learning conference on Friday so school will end at the slightly earlier time of 1.30pm on Thursday 23rd January to allow for this.

As usual 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

Principal