XP Gateshead

Dear Families

It’s been another busy and productive week at XP Gateshead. 

In these final weeks of term, rather than wind down, our students step up in their work and dedication to craftsmanship and quality. They are all working hard on final products, responses to their guiding questions and preparing for upcoming Presentations of Learning. This brings lots of challenges as you can imagine but I am  proud, as always, of the courage, determination and resilience shown by our staff and students on a daily basis. 

Character and Integrity

As you know we are relentless in our focus to ensure students grow their character and are guided by our Character Traits & Habits of Work and Learning (HOWLs) 

On Friday, I held a whole school meeting after it was brought to my attention by other students that some students had not been following our acceptable use of ICT policy. This was quite a serious breach of trust from a minority of students, in terms of a lack of integrity and actions which are completely counter to our culture. This puts our school’s reputation at risk – something that the overwhelming majority of our students, staff and you as families have worked so hard to establish and maintain. We are a community.  More than that ‘We are Crew’.  Therefore it is important that I am honest with you in calling this out, and in asking for your support – as always – moving forwards, in line with our home-school agreement.

In short, a small number of children in our school have been making videos during the school day and posting these on social media. Disappointingly, a further minority of students have then liked or commented on these videos without calling it out. Our huge appreciation goes to the students across year groups that brought this to our attention – it is really important that we are able to have a school community where we hold each other to account, holding true to our character traits and strong culture.

The actions described above are in clear conflict with the following statements from the acceptable use of ICT policy that all families and children have signed:

• I will use the technology provided to me by XP, or my own personal devices, only when permitted and only for learning purposes.
• Permission must be given by a staff member to use personal devices for anything other than permitted learning purposes.
• I will report any unacceptable use to my Crew Leader.

The culture of any organisation rests upon how honest we are able to be with each other and about ourselves. Our character traits of integrity, courage, compassion, respect and above all… compassion are not just words on a wall, they are an expectation from each of us.  This is an expectation that we can all be excellent, that we may and will all make mistakes and importantly that we can have the courage and integrity to put it right, and the compassion to support each other when we do get it wrong.

Navigating an increasingly tech-oriented world

As we continue to inhabit a world where developments in technology change at pace, it can be challenging to know what is best for our children as parents, guardians and indeed as educators and professionals.

For those of you who are finding navigating tech at home challenging, there is a wealth of information available online. A particularly good source of advice is the NSPCC website. This offers guidance from topics such as ‘setting up parental controls on devices’ to being vigilant for signs of grooming when our children are online.

You can access the NSPCC’s range of resources here; this page is updated frequently.

As families, and a crew together it is important that we maintain healthy boundaries with regards to our children’s use of tech, balancing the need to prepare them for the modern world, with the need to also expose them to the other things in our world that will enrich their lives: conversation, exercise, reading, solving a puzzle, the arts or simply time invested in each other’s company.

The Week Ahead

G28 Teacher/Student-Led Conferences – Monday 8th December

Following their recent round of mocks, G28 students continue to reflect on their progress at our 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. 

Thank you to the families of Class 1 who joined us on Thursday. This week is the turn of G28 Class 2 along with those students from Class 1 who didn’t attend TSLCs on Thursday due to Further Maths at RGS. G28 Class 2 will have their TSLCs tomorrow from 4pm – 7pm

Each student has a booking sheet which has been shared with them through their Google Classroom.

G30 PoL at Farrell Centre and Great North Museum, Newcastle University – Tuesday 9th December, 4:00pm-5:00pm

We are really looking forward to seeing our Y9 present their learning this week at Newcastle University. They will be sharing their responses to the guiding question from this expedition – “How are structures important in helping us to explain our world?”

Students will be travelling over to Newcastle after an early lunch in school. They need to be prepared for the weather, as they will also have a campus tour as part of their day.

Families should arrive at the Farrell Centre on Newcastle University Campus from 3.45pm. We will put out a separate post with further information. The presentation is taking place at two sites close to each other – families will be directed to the correct starting point for their children – the PoL start at 4pm.

Parking is available further north on Claremont Road, or the two presentation sites are within walking distance from Haymarket Metro Station.

G29 PoL at XP Gateshead – Wednesday 10th December 4:30pm-6:00pm

Our “A Change Would Do You Good”  POL takes place from 4.30pm on Wednesday 10th December. Doors will open at 4.15 pm so that the lessons can start promptly at 4.30pm. Yes, you read that right… lessons. Our PoL will take the form of taught lessons where students will teach you about transformations during Viking History; Chemical reactions; and in Dickens A Christmas Carol from our expedition all in service of answering our guiding question: “To what extent does transformation benefit society?”

Please see Mr Mead’s post from last week if you have not signed up for sessions. 

G31 PoL at XP Gateshead – Thursday 11th December, 4:30pm- 6:00pm

G31’s POL will take the form of a series of speeches inspired by “TED talks” answering the brilliant guiding question of “What does it mean to be Human?”. Each family will see their own child’s talk which could look at the answer to the guiding question through the lens of: The Arts, or Human History and many more. You will then see one more TED talk, which gives our children the opportunity to step up further in terms of presenting to less familiar and more intimate audiences, with a chance to look at the student work that has inspired the talks at the end of the evening.

PE sessions this week

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

• For G32 students (Year 7)
  • G32 Class 1 students have PE on Monday.
  • G32 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday
• All G31 students (Year 8) have PE on Tuesday.
• All G30 students (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
• All G29 students (Year 10) have PE on Monday.
• All G28 students (Year 11) have PE on Monday.

Christmas Jumper Day 2025 and our charity work

Christmas Jumper Day 2025 in the UK is officially on Thursday, December 11, 2025. At XPG many students have already chosen to wear festive jumpers but we are encouraging as many of our students as possible to wear their festive knits this Thursday 11th and next Thursday 18th when we will be enjoying our Christmas Lunch together. 

We’d like to encourage as many of our students as possible to wear festive jumpers and donate to support children in need. Many charities will benefit from donations alongside Save the Children with charities such as UK Sepsis Trust and local hospice care also joining the festive fundraising. Collections will be taken by Crew Leaders on Thursday.

We will share how much we have raised in our charity update at the end of this term which will also include an update on our Y7 ‘Reverse Advent Calendar’ and their donations for the Gateshead foodbank along with our Y8-11 shoebox Advent Challenge which supports the Children’s Heart Unit. Thank you to all families who have contributed donations so far.

Looking ahead – important dates

Presentations of Learning

• G32’s PoL will be on the evening of Tuesday 16th December 2025 at St. Mary’s church in Heworth from 4:30pm until 5:45pm
• G28’s PoL will be on Wednesday 17th December in school at 4.30pm

Christmas Lunch – Thursday 18th December

XPG Christmas Lunch will take place on Thursday 18th December. There will be a vegetarian option for Christmas lunch but none of the usual deli options on this day. If your child does not want a Christmas lunch, please provide a packed lunch on Thursday. We are really looking forward to our whole school community having lunch together, it’s always a special one thanks to the hard work of our kitchen team. We’d love to see students in Christmas jumpers again here too! 

End of term – Friday 19th December

Don’t forget that school finishes at the earlier time of 1.30pm on Friday 19th. We return to school on Monday 5th January 2026. 

As usual if you have any questions about your son or daughter please get in touch with your child’s Crew Leader in the first instance or email general enquiries to [email protected].

Yours, in the spirit of Crew

Julie Mosley

XP Gateshead

Dear Families

Over the next few weeks we will be fully into preparation for Presentations of Learning (PoLs).

At XP we make our work public. One of the most important ways we do this is through PoLs. They are used as an opportunity for students to showcase their learning from their most current learning expedition. PoLs enable students to grow their character and further embed their learning through presenting their work in front of a range of authentic audiences and in a variety of contexts. In addition, students develop oracy skills by presenting to different audiences and in different contexts which builds confidence and further allows students to grow their character whilst developing key skills.

We look forward to seeing all families at the following Presentations of Learning for their children:

• G32’s PoL will be on the evening of Tuesday 16th December 2025 at St. Mary’s church in Heworth from 4:30pm until 5:45pm
• G31’s PoL will be on Thursday 11th December in school at 4.30pm
• G30’s PoL is on Tuesday 9th December – starting at 4pm at The Farrell Centre in Newcastle.
• G29’ PoL is on Wednesday 10th December at 4.30pm in school.
• G28’s PoL will be on Wednesday 17th December in school at 4.30pm

Staff Days

Over the past two staff days our staff teams have spent time focussing on long and medium term planning for term 2 expeditions and our wider support and pastoral provision for all students.

The Week Ahead

G30 Student Led Conferences

This week sees the second week of SLCs for Year 9 students. All families should have booked their SLC slot. Please contact [email protected] if you need more support with this.

G28 Teacher/Student-Led Conferences

Following their recent round of mocks, G28 students will begin the preparation needed to reflect on their progress and at their next round of 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. 

Slots will be available from 4pm – 7pm on each evening.

• G28 Class 1 will have their TSLCs on the evening of Thursday 4th December.
• G28 Class 2 will have their TSLCs on the evening of Monday 8th December.

Each student has a booking sheet which has been shared with them through their Google Classroom.

Students in Class 1 that are attending Further Maths at RGS on Thursday are able to attend on Monday 8th December instead of this Thursday.

PE sessions this week

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

• All G32 students (Year 7) have PE on Wednesday.
• All G31 students (Year 8) have PE on Tuesday.
• All G30 students (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
• For G29 students (Year 10) and G28 students (Year 11)
  • Due to the staff day there is no PE session this week.

As usual if you have any questions about your son or daughter please get in touch with your child’s Crew Leader in the first instance or email general enquiries to [email protected].

Julie Mosley

Dear Families

As always, weeks go by at XP Gateshead and they are filled with high quality, beautiful work from our students and staff alike. The cold weather has brought its challenges but these have been made easier in a school community who support each other, showing compassion and care and it’s been wonderful to see this during delayed morning starts due to travel disruptions. A special thanks goes out to Kenzie, Connor, Ryan and Francis who helped us to grit our car park and paths, keeping students, staff and visitors safe on site.

Updates from the week in brief

It has been such a bumper week with Crew Day being a sharp focus and great way to end the week, but so much more has been happening too.

This week Year 11 students have started their 1:1 guidance meetings with Mrs Burns – Careers Lead across our trust. By Wednesday of this week every student will have had personalised guidance about Pos-16 and beyond.

Year 8 have carried out fieldwork this week at Byker Wall in quite challenging conditions. Despite this, the majority of students showed the resilience needed to make the most of the experience. Students worked with experts to gain an understanding of the importance of Byker Wall to Newcastle and how they have tended to the local community.

A Culture of Crew

On Friday we had our first Crew Day of the year which gave all crews the chance to ‘tend’ to and strengthen Crew, to support and challenge each other to be the best versions of ourselves and carry out some important work together.  As you know, Crew is our support network at XPG and key to the continued success of everyone at our school.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

G32 students (Year 7) continued their work on researching suitable people after whom to name their crews – people who have achieved great things and who display our character traits of courage, integrity, respect, craftsmanship and quality, and above all compassion. I’m pleased to introduce our four Year 7 crews:

• Crew Booth – (Miss Bennett’s Crew)
  • William and Catherine Booth were the founders of The Salvation Army.
• Crew Thomas Hepburn – (Mr Allan’s Crew)
  • Thomas Hepburn was a leading figure in the Mining Trade Union Movement, and is the person for whom our school building was named.
• Crew Robson (Miss Ross’ Crew)
  • Named after former England and Newcastle United Manager, Sir Bobby Robson.
• Crew Swan (Mr Diamond’s Crew)
  • Named for Joseph Swan, a prominent physicist and chemist and pioneer of electric lighting.

Year 7 have also taken up the advent challenge. Each Crew will create a ‘Reverse Advent Calendar’. The idea being that they will spend the next few weeks in the run up to Christmas, bringing donations for the Gateshead foodbank so that families across our region can have something to look forward to, and can spend the Christmas period knowing that they have been thought of and that people care.

It was great to see our Year 7 students working hard in crews to support each other through their presentation and the advent challenge throughout the day and hear their appreciation for each at the end of the day in our community meeting. 

G31 students (Year 8) worked on their pitches for which charity they wanted their crew to support. I’m pleased to introduce our Year 8 chosen charities are:

• Bliss – Crew Pankhurst (pitched by Lucy, Sadie and Yosh)
• Cancer Research UK – Crew Curie (pitched by Leila)
• Greggs Foundation – Crew Windsor (pitched by Pearl)
• Malan Syndrome Foundation – Crew Shakespeare (pitched by Amelia Y)

It is a real testament to the strength of Crew when students share personal connections to charities and why they matter to them and their families. Students really step up when they know that their work matters and it was wonderful to listen to the reasons for the choices of charities in our community meeting.

Students also completed an initiative as a Crew to tackle an escape room, requiring strong communication, collaborative skills and a creative mindset to be successful.

G30 students (Year 9) had the chance to work in the kitchen alongside experts  from Nourish Food School on Friday morning. Our visitors were full of praise for the hard work and commitment shown by all students and the high quality food they prepared. Students tried new flavours and for some, really pushed themselves out of their comfort zone in terms of tasting new foods. I hope that families enjoyed the stir fry that was made (if it managed to get home and not eaten before that). 

Year 9 also spent time on preparing for their Student Led Conference (SLCs) which start next week, gathering together work to share with their families from different subject areas.

In the final community meeting of the day, G30 shared some of their work from the day on plans for charity events for their respective charities, connecting back to and developing the plans that they made in their first week back in September. 

G29 students (Year 10) Crew Day attended to their wellbeing (mind, body, soul) alongside improving their skills of collaboration. Working successfully with others is key to success in school and beyond and as our students move towards GCSE the support of everyone around them is vital. Year 10 Crews  enjoyed challenge sessions including badminton. cake decorating, creative expression and problem solving. Across the whole day, crew leaders observed how well they collaborated against success criteria set at the start of the day. I’m really looking forward to our community meeting on Monday when crews will find out final results. 

Year 10 also spent some time on their Crew Day returning to thinking about Careers, and possible avenues for exploration around Work Placement which will take place in the Summer Term. Mr Said will talk to all Year 10 families about the practicalities of these placements in the upcoming presentation of learning.

G28 students (Year 11) came together for an inaugural XPG Traitors which started on Wednesday morning and has had us all guessing. After their hard work over the last weeks getting ready for a set of mocks, it was great to see our students relaxing and enjoying their time in crews together. As well as the conclusion of Traitors, students were also working together on activities which supported their preparation for this term’s PoL which will take place on Wednesday 17th December. Each crew was set a challenge to perform a key scene from An Inspector Calls and it was great to see the creativity they showed from drama performances to stop motion play dough modelling. This was a great opportunity for students to reconnect with plot and characters from the play and their work will be put together as a high quality revision resource for themselves and other students to use.

After a busy morning, Year 11 enjoyed a RSC screening of Romeo and Juliet which gave plenty of inspiration for their own acting endeavours.

For all of our students, Crew Day was an important reminder that:

“We are Crew, not passengers, strengthened by consequential acts of service to others.”

Christmas Advent Charity work 

Christmas can be a challenging time for many people and every year at XPG we work together to show our care and support to others and support the work of local charities. Our advent challenges were launched on Friday so please talk to your son or daughter to get more details.

As you have seen above, our Year 7 Crews will be taking part in a ‘reverse advent’ food bank collection. Details will follow from Mrs Ross and the Year 7 team.

We have launched a shoebox Advent Challenge for our Crews in Years 8–11 to support the Children’s Heart Unit. Each crew have been asked to put together a shoebox of small comfort gifts—treats, toiletries and other thoughtful items that will be collected in the final week of term and delivered to the Children’s Heart Unit. We aim to gather boxes suitable for a range of ages and are especially keen to include some for parents, who we know often need just as much care and encouragement during long hospital stays.

Our week ahead 

G30 Student Led Conferences

This week sees the start of SLCs for Year 9 students, which are taking place over the next couple of weeks. All families should have booked their SLC slot. Please contact [email protected] if you need more support with this.

PE sessions this week

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

• G32 students (Year 7)
  • G32 Class 1 students have PE on Monday
  • G32 Class 2 students have PE on Wednesday
• All G31 students (Year 8) have PE on Tuesday.
• All G30 students (Year 9) have PE on Thursday.
• All G29 students (Year 10) have PE on Monday.
• All G28 students (Year 11) have PE on Monday.

Staff Days – Friday 287th November and Monday 1st December

We have a staff day this coming Friday and next Monday. The focus for these staff days are forward planning, especially our exciting new learning expeditions for term 2 from January. On staff days our students do not attend school and there is no expectation that they complete work beyond their regularly set extended study (homework). Students will find this work on Google classroom.

Looking ahead – important dates

G28 Teacher/Student-Led Conferences

Following their recent round of mocks, G28 students will begin the preparation needed to reflect on their progress and at their next round of 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. 

The system for booking slots will be shared soon. Slots will be available from 4pm – 7pm on each evening.

• G28 Class 1 will have their TSLCs on the evening of Thursday 4th December.
• G28 Class 2 will have their TSLCs on the evening of Monday 8th December.

POLs (Presentations of Learning) this term – dates for your diary 

• G32’s PoL will be on the evening of Tuesday 16th December 2025 at St. Mary’s church in Heworth from 4:30pm until 5:45pm
• G31’s PoL will be on Thursday 11th December in school at 4.30pm
• G30’s PoL is on Tuesday 9th December – starting at 4pm at The Farrell Centre in Newcastle.
• G29’ PoL is on Wednesday 10th December at 4.30pm in school.
• G28’s PoL will be on Wednesday 17th December in school at 4.30pm

As usual if you have any questions about your son or daughter please get in touch with your child’s Crew Leader in the first instance or email general enquiries to [email protected].

Julie Mosley