Dear Families

Last week there was a lot of hard work from staff and students alike at XP Gateshead. Character growth alongside academic progress and beautiful work is at the core of our ‘Three Dimensional’ approach for students, staff and leadership, including governance. Our Crew Days last week and the DofE work undertaken by G29 students is key in terms of character development and Crew.

The Importance of Crew at XP Trust

Our design principles at XP Trust are summarised in one sentence:

We build our community through activism, leadership and equity, sharing our stories as we go.

Crew is integral to our school’s approach and has been designed with the above in mind as is articulated in our core practices document:

“The cultural heart of XP is expressed through the concept of Crew. This concept is pervasive and runs through everything we do from dedicated Crew sessions, through our curriculum, to the way we enable student and staff voice. Crew is our culture and promotes and sustains the building of community. Crew empowers our students and staff to be activists; to develop their leadership skills; and to be champions of equity. The measure of success in our Trust is weighed through service and kindness as well as the academic success of our children. Crew allows everyone associated with our Trust to become part of something bigger than themselves and fosters a sense of community and belonging, reflected in the stories we share with each other every day.”

G31 Crew Day – Walk for Water

G31 Crews carried out a day of fundraising at Gateshead International Stadium linked to their studies from the last learning expedition “Staying Alive”. This was part of the final case study in the expedition – ‘Water, water everywhere’. Working together in Crews, our students were challenged to carry 5 litre bottles of water around as many laps of the 400m track as they could.

The challenge gave students a small insight into the challenges that people in the world face just to get clean water for washing, drinking and cooking every day and raised awareness of how much we have in our country that we take for granted as a basic human right.

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We are really proud of our students who walked an incredible total distance of 70 km carrying 5 litres of water. We will post a separate update with the total amount raised – at the moment we are almost half way to raising the £2700 needed to install a water facility. All students worked really hard, and we had a great community meeting at the end of the day where students made appreciations for the encouragement shown to each other. Great work G31!

Of course the fundraising is in itself important, and we hope that with the funds raised we will be able to twin more of our school toilets with more facilities installed in Sub-Saharan Africa. Events like this in Crew day are also integral to the development of character and teaching your children that they are important, that they can do important work and make their community and the wider world a better place.

There is still time to donate – please click on this link if you would like to do so.

G30 Crew Day 

As our Year 8 students develop and mature, we challenge them to get stronger together developing their leadership skills and charity work.

Crew Earhart and Crew Kahlo spent the day onsite working outdoors with their Crew Leaders and Outdoor Education expert Wayne Dobson High Tide Adventure Company. Throughout the day, crews undertook a variety of team building challenges looking at how to improve their communication, trust and crew culture to ensure all voices listened to and every student feels valued. 

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Crew Darling and Crew Einstein stepped up to the challenge on Monday completing a  sponsored 13 km walk along The Tyne from our school to Hebburn and back.

Crew Darling took the opportunity to gather sponsors to raise money for a special visit to the Farne Islands inspired by the legacy of Grace darling, the namesake of their Crew. Crew Einstein raised money from their sponsorship to support their chosen charity: anxious minds. 

G29 Readiness for Duke of Edinburgh 

All of our students complete a bronze DofE award in Year 9 and this, like our first week at Ullswater, is a compulsory part of our curriculum at XPG. The DofE programme aims to “develop the skills and attitudes young people need to become more rounded, confident adults. Qualities that colleges, universities and employers are attracted to” – aims that align with ours, developing in students  “confidence, resilience, focus and motivation to achieve things they never thought they would”.

Across this year G29 students have been learning new skills, volunteering and getting physical. The final part of the award is a two day, one night expedition which our students have been planning and training for last week. Students completed a day of campcraft training on Monday and carried out their practice expeditions in Crews on Friday. 

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As always, our students stepped up to the challenge. Their maturity and independence was commented on throughout the day – how they supported each other, managed the physical challenge, cooked and set up camp for each other and the thorough de-gunge carried out at the end of the day.  We also managed to travel more sustainably on the Metro to get to Seaburn Metro where students then navigated across unfamiliar rural terrain back towards Brockley Whins. Students covered 9km with a significant climb at the start of the morning laden with their clothes, tents and cooking equipment.  

Thank you to those who have made voluntary contributions to XPG DofE so far, this has helped support our purchase of a DofE loan kit for families struggling to be able to purchase the required kit. Every student was fully equipped on Friday, which is thanks to the commitment of all families in G29 as well as the kind donations we have received.

G28 Crew Day

Year 10 students headed to Tynemouth Longsands for their Crew Day, taking part in a range of activities including sports, art and stewardship. The day was planned to allow Year 10 students to unwind after their recent hard work across the mock exams, enjoy the outdoors, and reconnect with the spirit of Crew. Students really enjoyed taking time with their crew to reflect on collaboration, communication and how they support each other and how this can continue in the months to come.  

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Staff Crew at XPG

New appointments

We are delighted to announce that we have now finished recruiting teaching staff for our final year of establishing the school to a full set of cohorts from Year 7 to Year 11. Joining our Staff Crew from August will be members of teaching staff in Spanish, Art & Design and HUMAN. Last week we also appointed two Learning Coaches to join our Staff Crew both of whom bring will real strength to our team.

Farewell to Mr Walters

Friday ‘s Duke of Edinburgh practice with G29 was a fitting end for Mr Walters’ time with XP Gateshead. Throughout his time with us Mr Walters has had relationships with students at the heart of his role, and he has been instrumental in supporting our work on outdoor education including the development of our school site. Mr Walters will be missed by all at XP, although we will continue to see him as a parent and wish him all the best in his important new role, supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

This week

G31 and G30 Student Led Conferences (SLCs) 

SLCs continue this week for our Year7 and Year 8 students.

SLCs, like PoLs, are key moments in the development of our students and it is vital that parents, carers and families fully support SLCs. It has been wonderful to hear of the pride our families, staff and students have felt following SLCs last week and we look forward to hearing more this week.

G28 Fieldwork – Monday 19th May

Year 10 will be visiting Newcastle University on Monday morning to participate in workshops about our Fuel Futures. Students will debate the use of renewable energy,  study the factors that affect the placement of a wind turbine and look at engineering solutions to transport. This fieldwork supports their current STEAM expedition ‘Power to the People!’, where students will be working to answer the Guiding Question: How can we use the planet’s resources more sustainably? See post for more details 

PE sessions this week

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

• G31 students (Y7) have PE on Wednesday this week
• G30 students (Y8) 
  • Class 1 have PE on Tuesday and Wednesday this week
  • Class 2 have PE on Tuesday and Friday this week
• G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday this week
• G28 students (Y10) have PE on Thursday this week

Extended Study and Clubs

Extended study and after school clubs will not be running this week due to G30 and G31 Student led Conferences.

G32 In-Person Information Evening, Thursday 22nd May at 6pm.

As part of our transition work, we have now met almost all our new students and their families online. This is a huge undertaking, as you can imagine but having 30 minute family meetings allows us to start getting to know our students well.

On Thursday at 6pm, we will hold an Information Evening for all of our new families in Year 6. It is vital that all families attend as we will give important information about the Outward Bound course that takes place for all students at the start of Year 7 as well as our iPad scheme. In addition, we will address some of the misconceptions about our school so that families are completely clear on what we are: ‘A mainstream school with a relentless focus on beautiful work, character growth and academic success’, and also what we are not. There will be an opportunity for you to ask us questions too of course.

Half term break starts Friday 23rd May 

We come to the end of a six week half term on Friday 23rd May and as always, we will finish at 1:30pm for our usual de-gunge. 

We return to school on Monday 2nd June 2025. 

G29 Pathways Drop In Evening

On Tuesday 3rd June from 5pm we will be hosting a drop in for G29 families to discuss KS4 pathways with members of staff that are leading GCSE courses.  See this post 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 Families

Another week of great work at XP Gateshead, even though we only had 4 days in school! 

Our second annual Public Health Conference, ‘Is Public Health Going Up in Smoke?’, took place last Friday hosted by our Year 9 students. G29 students brought their final products: a public health report exploring the impact of smoking and vaping on the local community to the attention of local councillors, health professionals, invited experts and families. We enjoyed an afternoon of youth-led activism, informed debate, and meaningful dialogue which really showed what young people are capable of when supported and challenged to engage with important issues such as health in their community.

The conference was an in-depth look at inequality in health outcomes and life expectancy in Gateshead viewed through the specific lens of smoking and vaping. This is just one aspect of what our Year 9 students have been studying as part of a longitudinal expedition looking at the people’s health since 1250 in the UK. To be ready for the conference students had to read widely and internalise data to be able to defend propositions when quizzed by delegates. After keynote speeches and expert panel interviews written and presented by our students,  Year 9 then ran marketplace information stalls and important discussions around public health. 

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This week

Crew Day – Monday 12th May

On Monday, Crew Day takes place for G28, G29, G30 and G31. We will take time to reaffirm the importance of Crew, building positive relationships through shared experiences and challenges. Students at XPG are ‘Crew not passengers’ and it is vital that we continue to build our crews and culture strong as this is the bedrock of our work at XPG.

G31 (Year 7) 

G31 students will participate in a fundraising effort to support Walk2Water. This event will take place at Gateshead International Stadium from our arrival at around 9am, until departure after lunch time. Families are also welcome to come and support students’ efforts and cheer on students should they wish! We are asking families and friends of XP Gateshead to support the efforts of G31 to help us reach the required total by donating, if they can, using the Enthuse platform linked here.

Students will start school at the regular time. We will be travelling to the stadium on foot and by metro and returning during the school day so students will finish at the regular time of 3.15pm.

Year 7 students will need a packed lunch for the day and to come prepared for all weathers and for walking a distance. See post for full details. 

G30 (Year8) 

Our year 8 students will be working in their crews getting stronger together. 

Crew Darling and Crew Einstein will be offsite taking part in a 7-mile walk along Hebburn Riverside and back, with a cultural visit to the Buddhist monastery, which will help consolidate the students’ learning from our first learning expedition of the year, Being Human. Crew Darling are taking the opportunity to gather sponsors from their walking efforts to raise money for a special visit to the Farne Islands inspired by the legacy of Grace darling, the namesake of their Crew.

Crew Earhart and Crew Kahlo will be onsite working outdoors on team building including den building with their Crew leaders and Wayne Dobson, an expert in Outdoors Education: High Tide Adventure Company.

Year 8 students will need a packed lunch for the day or their agreed crew picnic contribution and be prepared for outdoor activity and weather.

G29 (Year 9) 

Our Year 9 students will spend Crew Day carrying out campcraft training in readiness for their DofE bronze practice expedition on Friday 16th May. G29 Crew Leaders will be checking their crews to ensure students have all the required kit and are fully prepared. Please see the recent post for more details on the practice and final expeditions along with the kit needed. 

G28 (Year 10) 

Our Year 10 students are heading to Tynemouth Longsands for their Crew Day, where they will take part in a range of activities including sports and art. After working incredibly hard over the past two weeks during their mock exams, this day is a well-deserved opportunity for students to unwind, enjoy the outdoors, and reconnect with the spirit of Crew. 

Students will start and finish school at the regular time and will need a packed lunch for the day. Some Crews have organised a Crew Picnic please ask your child about this. See post for full details.

G29 and G30 Student Led Conferences (SLCs)

SLCs start for our Year 7 and 8 students and their families this week. Students have worked hard to prepare for their conference, preparing to share their recent work, evidence of work around the pledges they have shared and responses to the questions parents and carers have asked to be addressed in the conference. Please can I remind all families that SLCs, like PoLs, are key moments in the development of our students and it is vital that parents, carers and families fully support SLCs. 

You should already have received an email from your child with an updated snapshot and a link to ask questions of them in advance of the SLC. Here is that link if your child has not yet sent that on to you. You will also receive a link to sign up for a time slot from your child’s Crew Leader. Please contact [email protected] if you do not receive this.

PE sessions this week

There are some changes to PE sessions this week due to Crew Day and G28’s DofE practice expedition . Please ensure that your child has their  full PE kit for sessions.

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

Extended Study and Clubs

Extended study and after school clubs will not be running over the next two weeks due to G31 and G30 Student led Conferences.

Changes to the lunch menu this week

Please note that Thursday and Friday lunch options will swap this week. Please see our menu for details (we are on week 1).

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

Here we are at the end of our first May Bank Holiday weekend. I hope you have enjoyed the additional family time this weekend.

Last week saw a lot of hard work from students across all year groups and a highlight for me was the way all of our students have supported G28 mock exams which started last week. Our Year 10 students have approached their mocks with real maturity and commitment and we couldn’t be prouder of them. Their courage is admirable as they had their first real experience of GCSE exam papers and conditions and they deserve full congratulations. We will be working with them to make sure they understand that this is the start of their journey and we will be supporting them all the way. In the coming weeks after marking and moderation takes place, we will share the mock results with students along with our predictions at this stage for their final outcomes next year. 

I also want to congratulate our year 7, 8 and 9 students for their support of year 10 this week. On Thursday an exam paper was set to finish after 3:15pm and the whole school exited the site in silence to make sure students in exam spaces were not disturbed. This really showed the respect and compassion students at XPG have for each other, knowing that as a community we all support each other to get to the top of the mountain!

G32 Transition – Online family meetings

We have enjoyed meeting many  of our new students and their families this week online. Family meetings will continue this week. This is all part of us getting to know our new students and their families as much as possible before they start with us on Tuesday 26th August 2025. Our transition timeline is shown below and, as you can see, after our family meetings, we will start our visits to feeder primary schools to meet our new students in person and their current teachers.

G30 and G31 Getting ready for Student Led Conferences (SLCs)

Our Year 7 and 8 students have started their preparation work for SLCs which take place over the fortnight beginning Monday 12th May. G31 and G30 parents will be receiving emails from their child which includes  the pledges they have made to improve their work and a request for questions which students will prepare responses to as part of their SLC. Please note that we expect all families to attend SLCs. These, like PoLs, are key moments in the deliberate development of character for our young people and it is vital that parents, carers and families are present to support these events. 

You should have already received an email with an updated snapshot from your child and a link to ask questions of them in advance of the SLC. Here is that link if your child has not yet sent that on to you.

You will also receive a link to sign up for a time slot from your child’s Crew Leader this week. Please contact [email protected] if you do not receive this.

G29 and our Key stage 4 (KS4) pathways

This week we have held a Year 9 community meeting to talk through our finalised KS4 offer. 

Slides with more information on the nature of the courses in our offer can be found here.

As you can see from the timeline below, over the coming weeks, students will get more details around courses from subject experts to support their choices and families will be involved in discussions ready for finalising choices with Crew Leaders after Summer half term.

On Tuesday 3rd June we are inviting all G29 families into school in the evening to meet with subject teachers of GCSE courses. This is so that families can talk to our staff about their child’s suitability for courses based on their motivation, capability and capacity.

This week

G29 XPG Public Health Conference 2025, Friday 9th May; Is Public Health Going Up In Smoke? 

Our Year 9 students will be hosting an inaugural Public Health Conference on Friday 9th May. We will be opening our doors to families and delegates from 1.30pm. Please use the pedestrian gate if arriving on foot, or push the bell on the vehicle gate if using our car park. Car parking spaces on site are limited, so if parking on the street please be considerate of our neighbours.

The event starts at 2pm and we expect to be finished at around 4.15pm.

PE sessions this week

There are some changes to PE sessions this week due to the bank holiday and mock exams. G28 (Y10) students will not have their usual PE sessions. G31, G30 and G29 students PE sessions are shown below, please ensure that your child has their  full PE kit for sessions.

• G31 students (Y7) have PE on Wednesday this week
• G30 students (Y8) 
  • Class 1 have PE on Tuesday this week
  • Class 2 have PE on Friday this week
• G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday this week

Extended Study and Clubs

Extended study and after school clubs will be running Tuesday to Thursday this week.

Looking ahead

Crew Day – Monday 12th May 

Every half term, we look to run a Crew Day which is an opportunity to ‘tend’ to crew and culture. Crew is our support network at XPG and key to the continued success of everyone at our school. We will revisit what it means to be crew, and our responsibilities in getting everyone to the top of the mountain.

We will put out separate posts this week for each year group to give further details of each Crew Day and the kit needed for each year group.

G29 DofE Practice Expedition – Friday 16th May 

Our Y9 students will be carrying out their DofE bronze practice expedition on Friday 16th May. This will take place offsite for most of the day with the final part taking place on our school site until 4:30pm. This is part of getting them ready for the final assessed expedition which will take place on Friday 4th July – Saturday 5th July. Please see the recent post for more details on the practice and final expeditions along with the kit needed. G29 Crew Leaders will be checking their crews to ensure students have all the required kit and are fully prepared.

Students should arrive at school for the normal time on the morning of Friday 16th May. They will travel by Metro with their packed rucksacks and complete a 10km walk whilst carrying their gear. They will return to school by Metro in the afternoon and students will practise setting up camp, cooking a meal, pitching a tent and re packing their bags independently. We expect the day to conclude at around 4:30pm to allow time for these tasks. Students will be expected to stay beyond 4:30pm if necessary to complete all activities and the spirit of crew and stewardship will be vital – it is essential that all students complete the practice expedition successfully to ensure they are fully prepared for the final expedition.

Supporting families with DofE kit – XPG Voluntary School Donation

As a school, we fully fund DofE and last year allocated a significant budget for start-up costs (tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, etc). We would also like to add to this kit over time and be able to loan hiking boats, waterproof coats and trousers to support families who are not in the position to be able to buy these items for their children. 

We have been approached by several parents over time who have wanted to make voluntary financial contributions to the school to support XP Gateshead and the work we do in learning expeditions and other activities. We have decided to open up an option on Parent Pay ‘XPG Voluntary School Donation’ to allow for any parent/carer to be able to make a contribution if they would like to. At the moment, we will use contributions to build our DofE loan kit so that all students have access to the required kit and this will be in place for Year 9 students. We also welcome kit donations from Year 10 families who want to add to our loan kit for this year’s expedition.

Thank you to those families who have offered to support our work and for their generosity.

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 another busy week at XP Gateshead with some great work from students and staff alike. We have had several visitors in school this week who have all commented on how confident and articulate our students are when talking about their learning, the strength of relationships at XPG which mean our students are safe, are known, feel seen and valued.

Whenever visitors come to XPG, it is our students who give ambassador tours. Like our open evenings, Presentations of Learning, Student led Conferences and Passage presentations it is the voice of our students which is the most important and we continue to use every platform for them to use their voice and be the leaders of their learning. Here is some feedback Brodie and Scarlett in Year 9 received this week from a visitor:

“I am writing to thank you for your time today. I am so grateful to you for explaining the way your school works and the special things about your experience as students there which make it such an excellent place to learn.

I have had the opportunity to visit many, many schools in my time but I have never been as impressed as I was today by the clarity and meaningfulness of what you shared with me. I agree with you that you are receiving a brilliant education which is going to help you to become the people you want to be. I have no doubt that you will put it to good use for the benefit of the wider community.

Thank you again. As I said, I will not forget you; you have made a profound impression on me and you did a fantastic job of representing your school community in a very positive light.”

Summer term expeditions 

G31 and G30 students have all had their Summer expeditions and guiding questions revealed and have made a great start to these new expeditions. This term’s expeditions and guiding questions are:

Year 7: How does water shape our world?

Students will investigate how river and coastal processes shape the land and the species that live in these ecosystems. They will also study a range of literature inspired by water including an anthology of poems and Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. They will create art inspired by nature and as a final product will write articles connected to the water quality in our rivers and seas and will do service learning to clean up local wild spaces.

Year 8: Is Migration worth the risk?

Students will look at push and pull factors that lead to migration, and will study some cases where conditions have led people to seek refuge such as war or climate change, as well as economic factors such as rural to urban migration in India. They will work with our partners at the Comfrey project to be able to hear the stories of migrants first-hand and will create artwork inspired by the geometric patterns found in Islamic art and architecture connecting this to data about migration.

Last week’s highlights

Year 7 Class 1 students carried out fieldwork this week to our local nature reserve to investigate the area close to the pond and how the water in this area impacts on biodiversity. Class 2 will carry out the same fieldwork in a few weeks time.

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G29 students have continued to impress us with their high quality script writing in readiness for their Public Health Conference which takes place on Friday 9th May at 2pm. 

Last week saw the start of our G28 mock exams for year 10 students which will continue over the next two weeks. We are running these exams in the same way that final GCSEs run so that our students get a realistic experience to learn from and build upon. See the recent mock exam information post for parents and students here.  

As you know our 3-Dimensional curriculum has a relentless focus on beautiful work, character growth and academic success. We have seen that when children are supported and challenged to go beyond their comfort zones, to produce beautiful work beyond which they thought possible, then in turn they grow and become stronger in character. This sets them on a pathway to achieve well and enjoy academic success. 

This week

G32 Transition – Family meetings

Transition has started for our new G32 cohort. We are really looking forward to getting to know our new students and families this week as online family meetings take place for every child with their family. Families will receive invites to these meetings in the coming days.

PE sessions this week

There are some changes to PE sessions again this week due to staff absence.  As you know, Mr Devitt is recovering from a broken ankle and we have been working hard to cover sessions with staff who are known to our students. We are grateful to Lauren Cadenas for supporting us further at XPG and allowing us to get another afternoon of sport expertise for students on top of her usual Thursday sessions with Year 9 and Year 10. Please make sure that your child has their full PE kit for sessions.

• G30 students (Y8) have PE on Tuesday this week
• G31 students (Y7) have PE on Wednesday this week
• G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday this week.
• For G28 students (Y10) have PE on Thursday this week.

Extended Study and Clubs

Extended study and after school clubs will be running Monday to Thursday as usual this week.

If you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance. 

Julie Mosley

Dear Families

Welcome back, we hope you have enjoyed the Easter Bank Holiday break. 

We had a good start back to school last week and the vast majority of students have settled back with us quickly and, as always, have impressed us with their HoWLs, character values and their engagement in learning during last week’s immersion.

G28’s PoL – Are we really free to choose?

It was wonderful to see so many families last week for G28’s public debate at Newcastle Sixth Form College. Our students had a fantastic day on campus, getting a chance to use the great facilities on site and find out what’s available to them for post 16 study at the college.

It was great to see debating teams challenge each other around some key topics on democracy, feminism, genetics, social media, the right to protest and the persecution of minorities in Nazi Germany. The confidence shown by our students and their speaking skills conveying the deep understanding of content covered in this expedition was stunning. 

G28’s Work Experience – w/c 30th June 2025

The slides that Mr Said spoke to during the PoL evening can be found by clicking here. Students will be introduced to the Placementt app in upcoming Crew sessions.

G31’s PoL – Why is it important to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?

Like many of you I thoroughly enjoyed watching the pre-recorded G31 PoL last Thursday which was broadcast on Youtube. For those who haven’t seen it, watch the presentation online by clicking on this link.

A huge congratulations goes to all of our Year 7 students for their craftsmanship and quality in this work and special mention to our Digital Leaders who recorded this work.

   

New Term – New Expeditions for G31 and G30

Our Year 7 and Year 8 students were working hard in immersion last week, making connections between their studies in lessons, building background knowledge and developing curiosity.

Year 7 were studying freshwater species and their adaptations in STEAM, and in HUMAN were investigating how the power of water has been represented in literature and its symbolism in religion. In ARTS students were carrying out observational drawing of water settings using the grid method.

In HUMAN Year 8 have been looking at how migrants and refugees stories have been represented, and have looked at first-hand accounts of both refuge and migration. In STEAM, students have also been studying the island nation of Tuvalu and their pleas for richer nations to take more urgent action to tackle climate change.  In ARTS students have looked at objects with sentimental value and building skills in using oil pastels to represent these objects.

This week their new guiding questions will be revealed along with the challenges and new learning this term’s expeditions will bring.

G29 Expedition ‘You Give Me Fever’ 

G29 continued to work hard on their current expedition ‘You Give Me Fever’’. Our students continued to look at public health over time and investigate health inequalities in Gateshead today, looking at the correlation between disease and deprivation.  Preparations have now started in earnest for the Public Health Conference which this year is on the theme of tobacco and smoking.

G29’s Presentation of Learning will be a Public Health Conference, hosted by our students in school on Friday 10th May, 2pm.

We appreciate this is an earlier than normal start, however this has been carefully considered and will allow us to make use of professionals as part of the process. 

We need your support

Monitoring online activity 

There are a minority of students who took longer to settle last week and we have invested a significant amount of staff time picking up issues around friendships which have played out online outside of school. This is definitely not what we expect or want to spend time on and we ask for your support, as parents and carers, to monitor your child’s online communications outside of school hours. 

As you know, character growth is a key component of our 3-Dimensional curriculum at XP Gateshead and we all (students, staff and families)  have a responsibility to support the development of our character values of courage, craftsmanship and quality, respect, integrity and compassion.

I understand the challenges that being a parent or carer of a teenager brings and how difficult this can be, especially around social media and finding the right balance between privacy, monitoring and trust. Here are some useful links to support conversations with your teenager:

https://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/

https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents

This week

G28 Mock exams – Fine Art, Tuesday 22nd April

This week marks the start of our mock exams with Fine Art students completing a practical mock exam in Art during the whole day on Tuesday. The mock exam for Photography students will take place in the final half-term. 

The main mock exam session takes place between Monday 28th April and Thursday 8th May:

Students should continue the revision for their upcoming mocks. Staff have put together this revision website as a guide for families which has a wealth of information to help you to support your child right the way through to the final assessments in Year 11 next year.

You can access this any time by going to the XP Gateshead website and clicking on Parents – GCSE Revision on the menus.

G31 Fieldwork – Wednesday 23rd April

This fieldwork will take place in the Windy Nook Nature reserve on Wednesday morning – students will be back in school for the normal lunch time. The forecast is set to be dry and cool. Students will need to be prepared with:

• Regular full kit – including a water bottle
• Appropriate clothing for the weather including a coat
• Comfortable walking shoes or trainers

PE sessions this week

Due to the shortened four day week, our PE sessions this week are shown below. Please ensure that your child has their  full PE kit.

• G31 students (Y7) have PE on Thursday this week
• G30 students (Y8) have PE on Wednesday this week
• G29 students (Y9) have PE on Thursday this week

Extended Study and Clubs

Extended study and after school clubs will be running this week.

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

Welcome back, we hope you have enjoyed your Easter break.  We are really looking forward to welcoming our students back tomorrow for the start of our Summer term at XP Gateshead.

Passage feedback from G29 families 

We would also like to gather feedback from G29 families following last term’s Passage Presentations so would appreciate your time in completing the following form.

You can give us your feedback by clicking here.

Our usual reminders for a good start back…

Attendance

Over the Easter break you may have seen the news article which listed XP Gateshead in the 15 best state secondary schools for attendance in the North East. This was based on attendance figures for the full academic year 2023/24. 

You can read the article by clicking here.

We were really pleased to see our school named in this list but we still have work to do and continue to work hard XPG around attendance this year as it is vital to the life chances of our young people and their success. 

We will continue to look closely at attendance and the ways we celebrate attendance and support those students and families who need to improve their attendance. We expect every  student to be in school and want every young person to hit our 97%+ attendance target. 

Attendance is an area we all work hard on together – students, parents/carers, Crew Leaders and our inclusion team. We appreciate your full support with this.  

If, for any reason, your child is unable to attend school you must contact the school office before 8:25 am by telephone. This is a safeguarding procedure which has to happen on every day of absence.

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. A calm start to the day is really important for students to settle into learning so we ask that parents support their child with this.

Dress code 

Please refer to our website post for full details on our dress code. Can I remind parents of the following expectations around daily dress within school and ask for your full support around this as we move in to a new Summer term and the weather is becoming warmer.

For a normal day within school, we do not think it appropriate that students wear:

• 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:

• For example sliders, flip-flops or high heels.

Daily kit list

As always, all students need to be fully equipped for school and 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

This week

New Term – New Expeditions for G31, G30 and G28

A new term means new and exciting expeditions for our Y7, Y8 and Y10 students. Immersion will take place this week and our students will be working hard to find out what their new guiding questions are and the challenges and new learning their expeditions will bring.

G31, G29 and G28 Presentations of Learning to come

G31 Year 7 HUMAN – Why is it important to honour all those who sacrificed in WWI?

The recorded PoL for this exhibition will be broadcast on Youtube this Thursday 17th April at 6pm to allow families to watch with their children at home.

You will be able to watch the presentation online as a family by clicking on this link on Thursday.

The final product for this exhibition is a radio podcast and we are delighted that yet again, year 7’s work will be part of the Remembrance programming on the radio in November. More details to follow. 

G28 – Are we really free to choose?

A reminder that students need to bring back their HUMAN books that were being used for revision over the break.

G28’s PoL will take the form of a debate 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.

G29 Expedition ‘You Give Me Fever’ 

G29’s bumper 16-week long new expedition ‘You Give Me Fever’’ continues this term. Our students continue to look at public health over time and investigate health inequalities in Gateshead today, looking at the correlation between disease and deprivation.  

G29’s Presentation of Learning will be a Public Health Conference, hosted by our students in school on Friday 10th May, 2pm.

This will be another step up for our students, hosting a conference , delivering keynote speeches with an audience including families and more. We appreciate this is an earlier than normal start, however this has been carefully considered and will allow us to make use of professionals as part of the process and end the week and expedition with a bang!

PE sessions this week

There will be changes to PE this week as unfortunately Mr Devitt has broken his ankle this weekend. We will put a plan in place and communicate that with families tomorrow. There is no PE tomorrow.

Extended Study and Clubs

As is usually the case at the start of a new term there will be no extended study or after school clubs running this week. After school sessions will all start again next week.

Easter Bank Holiday Weekend

Students will finish school at 3:15pm on Thursday 17th April and return to school on Tuesday 22nd April at the normal time. 

If you have any questions please contact your child’s crew leader in the first instance. 

Thank you as always for your ongoing support.

Julie Mosley

 

Dear Families

Here we are at the end of another fantastic term at XP Gateshead and what a term it has been!

G30 Presentation of Learning

Year 8 students presented their ‘What is Power?’ expedition at Caedmon Hall, Gateshead Central Library on Thursday. We were all blown away by the quality and depth of their understanding – performances of Macbeth intertwined with insights into the meaning of the word power in society, science, history, geography and art. 

This PoL is a real challenge for our students and they showed great courage in terms of presenting to an audience and being part of a drama performance. The high quality of their work and performance was down to the commitment they have shown and the support they have given each other. It has been wonderful to see the pride in our students today reflecting on the mountain they climbed this week, especially those who thought they couldn’t (and there were many). Students are definitely starting to see that there is more in them than they know!

Can I thank G30 families for their attendance and support at last night’s PoL. 

G31, G29 and G28 Presentations of Learning to come

I’m really looking forward to seeing G28 and G29 families at our upcoming PoLs at the start of the Summer Term and enjoying the online G31 PoL too. See below for details:

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

PoL will be recorded in school and steamed for families to watch with their children at home via Youtube. This will be broadcast in the first week back after the Easter Break on Thursday 17th April at 6pm. 

Year 10 – Are we really free to choose?

PoL on Wednesday 16th April at Newcastle Sixth Form College at 4:30pm. 

Alongside the Presentation of Learning which is in the form of a debate, we will also be sharing important information with parents regarding work experience at this event as well as taking the opportunity to celebrate and award our students’ DofE success too. 

Students will be using the campus earlier as part of the preparation for the PoL and also as part of their continued preparation for Post-16.

Mr Said will be putting out a further post for G28 families with reminders and information about mocks, revision and art packs.

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.

I am sure that you will all agree that our students have continued to rise to the challenge – they continue to work hard, get smart and be kind on a daily basis producing beautiful work, developing their character to achieve academic success.

Thank you so much for your continued support. 

We look forward to seeing you after the holiday on Monday 14th April at the usual time where we will be starting on our next exciting expeditionary adventures.

Happy Easter from all the staff crew at XP Gateshead.

Julie Mosley

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