XP Gateshead

Dear Families

Often, when you look back on the week past it is hard to believe that so much can be achieved in a week and this is definitely the case in the final half term of Summer when every week is full – time with new staff in school, ongoing expert sessions and fieldwork, final assessments of the year, Y6 transition, G29 DofE, G28 work experience, PoL’s, the list goes on… and we are also looking ahead planning for the next academic year. 

We get the chance to see your children and their greatness every day and see how hard they are working to produce beautiful work, grow their character and be successful academically. We also get the chance to see and hear them challenging and supporting each other to be better and, like staff here, our students ‘sweat the small stuff’ and have high expectations of themselves and their peers.  G29, G30 and G31 community circles this week were full of honest reflection from students and staff, which is only possible in a culture where everyone feels safe to use their voice. 

A new member of staff  who joined community meetings this week and shared her reflections at the end of the week, stated that:

“One of the most impactful experiences has been seeing the compassion in crew and the crew community sessions. Amazing and inspiring”. 

XPG Staff Crew

Like our student crew, a strong staff crew is key to our success at XPG. Over this half-term we have some of our new staff joining us for induction in readiness for the new term. Last week we were delighted to appoint Mrs Stefanie Dickson as another Learning Coach to our team.  We have one more round of recruitment for a Learning Coach position which is ongoing and then all posts will be filled and we have a complete team in place..

As part of our growth, I am delighted that we have appointed Michelle Ross and Saoisre Blain as Phase Leaders this year. Phase Leaders lead and support Crew Leaders in the  implementation of our narrative for success for every student at XPG. Mrs Ross will lead our Transition/Year 7 phase and Miss Blain will lead our Year8/9 phase.  

G31 experts and fieldwork

This week our Year 7 students enjoyed working with expert John Hayton from Durham Wildlife Trust. John gave them an insight into the nature of conservation work and why it is important to protect and maintain biodiversity. On Wednesday students headed out to Whitley Bay to carry out an ecological field study looking at interdependence of species within that ecosystem and the importance of freshwater and saltwater to those species. Whilst there, our students supported the work of our partners Surfers Against Sewage carrying out a beach clean as an act of service in our community. 

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G28 SLCs

Student Led Conferences started this week which gave our Year 10 students a chance to share their response to recent mock exams, their updated snapshot with HoWL and attendance information and the plans they have moving forward in readiness for Year 11 success. Students, Crew Leaders and families also took the opportunity to talk about plans for their upcoming work experience. It has been great to talk to students and families following SLCs and hear such confidence and ownership over their learning and clearly plans for success next year. Thank you to all families who have attended SLCs so far.

This week

This week all Year 7 to Year 9 students will start work on a written reflection of the year which will be shared with you alongside their Crew Leader reflections and a final snapshot at the end of term.  Year 10 students will complete a reflection around work experience and families will have a final chance to ask questions of Crew Leaders following this. 

G29 Fieldwork – Wednesday 25th June

On Wednesday of this week G29 students will be taking part in a fieldwork visit to the Ouseburn to explore interdependence within ecosystems. They will be working with expert ecologist Dr. Mike Jeffries, a lecturer from Northumbria University. Please see the website post for more details.

G29 Pathways

Thanks to all of the families that have indicated their thoughts around pathways for G29 students as they start GCSE and Level 2 courses. If you have not already done so, please let us know your thoughts by completing this form.

Staff will be meeting this week to finalise pathways for next academic year. Crew Leaders will then be in contact with families to confirm finalised pathways, or to pick up where additional conversations with families are needed.

PE sessions this week

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

• All of G31 (Year 7) have PE on Monday
• All of G30 (Year 8) have PE on Wednesday
• All of G29 (Year 9) and G28 (Year 10) have PE on Thursday.

Staff Day – Friday 27th June

Friday is the first of our staff days this half term, the second is on Monday 30th June. Our staff team will be planning for next year’s expeditions. Students will not be expected to be in school on Friday or Monday.

Extended Study and after school clubs

After school clubs and extended study will run as normal this week.