Sharing our Stories: 28/03/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

Sign Language Week at Green Top

Last week was Sign Language week in the UK – so all the students at Green Top have made this video, singing and signing the song ‘True Colours’ as part of the celebration!

‘If We Plant Trees…’ – Legacy @ NJS

As part of their awesome POLs this week, every single Year 3 and 4 child has planted a tree at Norton Junior School, with support from Murphy’s and their Roots Programme.

They also celebrated their product from last term (more on this next time!) and unveiled their awesome digital artwork, made from images of recycling – this will be on display in school after the Easter break!

Plover’s Eco Garden!

KS1 at Plover have just finished their Expedition ‘The Blue Planet’. Their final product has provided a lasting legacy for the community – a lovely eco garden that will develop across future Expeditions to provide a range of habitats and food sources for a variety of insects, birds and mammals.

Students dedicated the trees to community heroes who have helped to improve the lives of people across Intake and Doncaster at their POL yesterday – including Mrs Ogle and Dame Rosie Winterton!

Highlights from KS1 and LKS2’s COL @ Green Top

On Friday, KS1 and LKS2 at Green Top celebrated their learning for their two Expeditions – ‘The Blue Planet’ and ‘There Is No Planet B’

The celebration included an interactive art gallery, a visit from Reptile Rendezvous and showcasing awesome family learning.

Top of the Blogs

Weekly Update for families @ XP Gateshead

Finding the magic in Science @ Norton Infants

KS1 Artists @ Green Top

Action Packed @ XP

Danum Read Aloud @ Plover

UKS2 Celebration of Learning @ Carcroft School

Easter Hamper Day @ XP East

The French Revolution at Campsmount @ Norton Juniors

Join our Crew!

We’re looking for Cleaners and a Cleaner in Charge to #JoinOurCrew at XP Doncaster – find out more and apply here!

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Sharing our Stories: 22/03/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

Beautiful Activism at Plover

As part of their Expedition ‘Once Upon a Time’, students in EYFS at Plover have raised money to provide boxes of books to local community organisations, including Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospital Trust. They posted this update on their social media this week from their Children’s Ward, thanking students for their generous donation.

Genius of Steam and Speed

Across the Trust we have always researched and celebrated Doncaster’s railway story through expeditions. Lots of our students’ work is already out there in the community – including railway stations and parks. Our latest book, Rail City, is also on sale in Waterstones and the Danum Gallery, Library and Museum.

On the 23rd April a remarkable new exhibition – Gresley: Genius of Steam and Speed – will open at DGLaM, featuring artifacts, letters and stories about the man who engineered the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard in Doncaster.

Students from the Trust will be co-creating an audio guide which will be accessible through an app for the exhibition. We will also be helping to create rail related resources for the summer holiday programme of children’s events at DGLaM.

More on the story in the Doncaster Free Press here

Top of the Blogs

Crew Parks Tree Planting @ XP Gateshead

Easter Maths Hunt @ Norton Infants

Class 6 read anywhere, any table, any chair… @ Green Top

Crew Tubman Year 10 Beautiful Work @ XP

Festival of Football @ Plover

The beat goes on @ Carcroft School

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Sharing our Stories: 15/03/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

For the love of reading: curation at Green Top!

As part of their Expedition ‘Once Upon a Time’ Green Top have had some beautiful displays created for their reading areas in Nursery and Reception!

Staff Days across the XP Trust

All our staff were getting their heads together and planning for next term’s Expeditions last Friday and Monday – lots of exciting learning and products are on the horizon for students in term 3!

As with all of our Expeditions, students will work within one of our three curriculum seams and staff will do the project first! If it’s good enough for our kids, it’s good enough for us!

Passage Presentations at XP Gateshead

This week, G28 were the first year at XPG to complete their ‘Passage’ – these are presentations to a panel where they reflect on their learning journey, discuss examples of their work, and talk about how they are prepared for next steps in learning and GCSEs.

Top of the Blogs

Beautiful Work from Winnie and Evan @ XP Gateshead

We are sprouting scientists @ Norton Infants

Year 6 Learning Club @ Green Top

Crew Ardern DofE Volunteer Work @ XP

We are Activists! @ Plover

Raising money for the British Heart Foundation @ XP East

Creating confidence in Crew @ Carcroft School

Scientific Discoveries @ Norton Juniors

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Sharing our Stories 11/03/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

Expedition Stories: UKS2 @ Plover

This week we’re proud to share the beautiful story of UKS2s Expedition from last term ‘Earth Emergency’. The carefully designed planters and greenhouse will surely be a catalyst for Plover growing its own produce for generations to come!

Beautiful Curation at XP Doncaster

XP on the TV!

For anyone who missed it – XP Doncaster has been featured in a BBC Two documentary which aired on the 7th March. All episodes are available on BBC iPlayer now.

We’d like to thank everyone who has got in touch or left a comment about the programme – we are so proud of our students and how eloquently they expressed how they feel about their school.

If you’d like to learn more about our schools and how you can do what we do too, you can get a copy of our book How We XP here.

Top of the Blogs

Just another day… @ XP Trust

Beautiful Work from Reuben @ XP Gateshead

World Book Day @ Norton Infants

Class 8 Story Writing @ Green Top

FXP Tuck Shop @ XP

Save our Seas! @ Plover

Crew Da Vinci SLCs @ XP East

Magnets @ Carcroft School

Lowry inspired artwork @ Norton Juniors

We’re looking for a Cleaning Lead at XP Doncaster

Find out more about the role and apply here to #JoinOurCrew

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Just another day at XP Trust…

It is a privilege to work at XP Trust but I don’t reflect enough on the wonderful things I see and experience every day as I work alongside students, teachers, colleagues and other stakeholders in, and across, our Trust. As one of our Design Principles is ‘sharing our stories’  I have made a commitment to share my stories on the Trust website so that those moments are captured and celebrated more often.

So, here we go!!!!

One of the highlights for me in January was the Festival of Learning organised by XP University. The event took place on a Staff Day as staff from across our Trust gathered together as Crew to explore, critique and contribute to our newly proposed Trust wide Teaching and Learning model. The model draws together best practice from across the Trust and from other schools so that we have a consistent way of talking about, sharing and developing high quality learning experiences for all our young people and staff.

The model is underpinned, crucially, by five fundamental principles that inform our lesson design. These are:

  • Learning through expeditions
  • Feedback
  • Leaders of our their learning
  • Curriculum
  • Literacy

In addition, we proposed using a simple but effective methodology to inform lesson planning that ‘Activates, Constructs, Demonstrates and Consolidates’ learning or AC/DC for short!!! Staff worked through the model in a series of practical workshops and made a commitment to develop and embed this practice in every school across the Trust.

Check out this short clip that shows highlights from the day!

It was a fantastic day and showed how dedicated and determined our staff are, across the Trust, to ensure our kids create beautiful work, grow their characters and achieve academically.

To conclude…

Sharing our Stories: 01/03/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

Expedition Stories: LKS2 @ Plover

This week we’re proud to share the beautiful story LKS2s Expedition from last term ‘Coming to Doncaster: why then and why now?’. The incredible work from the students is on display outside the school for the community to see – make sure you go and check it out!

Being Human: Beautiful work in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead

This week beautiful work created by students at XP Gateshead was curated and unveiled at the QE Hospital!

What does it mean to be human?’

As part of their learning the students considered what makes a human both in a scientific way, through study of the gas exchange, circulatory and reproductive systems, and with regard to culture and religious beliefs when studying the Abrahamic faiths and the sanctity of human life. 

Students then began the analysis of the tone and structure of successful speeches, and used this learning to write persuasive speeches on the topic of organ donation. 

The theme of how humans and their societies and cultures grow and develop was then explored. Studying the development of humans from a single cell, through childhood, and puberty and onwards to adulthood. Adding to this theme we also considered our evolutionary past. 

Students also worked with an expert to explore innovations and advancements that are being made around the world to help and support the development of humans. Alongside this students met with experts in organ donation, Dharmic faiths and Humanist beliefs  in order to reflect upon who we want to be and how we can be the best version of ourselves. 

The students were then challenged to create artwork to promote organ donation, and reflect upon what it means to be Human. Students also gave a speech expressing what they think it means to be human to parents and experts. 

This work displayed at the QE hospital is the result of XPG’s community collaboration and celebrates what it means to be human and how together we are stronger.

The work has been well received already and Gateshead NHS have shared this post about working with the students at XPG!

XP on the TV!

We’re on TV next week!

XP Doncaster will be featured in a BBC Two documentary to be aired on the 7th March.

Multi award winning TV company Tern TV, spent several days filming with us last summer, with the presenter Darren McGarvey, who won the Orwell prize for his book ‘Poverty Safari’.

The filming was for the second of three documentaries, which in order focus on Justice, Education and Health, titled: Darren McGarvey: The State We’re In.

Claira Salter, our Principal of XP Doncaster said:

“We love to share what we do across the XP Trust, welcoming over a thousand visitors and delegates from all over the world in the last year alone. So, when we were approached by Tern TV to take part in the education documentary presented by Darren, it was a real opportunity to engage with an even wider audience here and for our students to participate in the process of interviewing and film making.”

“We are looking forward to seeing all three programmes and are delighted that the spotlight will also be on Doncaster and the communities and partners we are proud to work with.”

All episodes are available on BBC iPlayer now and the Education documentary will be broadcast on Thursday 7th March at 9pm on BBC Two. 

Top of the Blogs

Weekly update for parents @ XP Gateshead

Kindness changes everything @ Norton Infants

Family Learning Y3/4 @ Green Top

Fantastic artwork in Year 9 @ XP

Fieldwork Fun at Yorkshire Wildlife Park @ Plover

C26 Celebrations @ XP East

Science Experiment @ Carcroft School

Year 3 are Magnetic! @ Norton Juniors

We’re looking for an awesome Learning Coach at Plover School!

Find out more about the role and apply here to #JoinOurCrew

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Sharing our Stories: 23/02/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

Expedition Stories: KS1 @ Plover

This week, beautiful work from KS1s Expedition ‘Ready Steady Grow’ has been curated in the school! Be sure to stop and take a look at their work on how to live a healthy lifestyle!

We are also really proud to share the story of KS1s last Expedition ‘Not All Heroes Wear Capes’ – you can watch the full video here…

40th Anniversary of the Miner’s Strike – XP work in an exhibition!

A new exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the year long miners’ strike opens on the 2nd March at Doncaster Gallery, Library and Museum – DGLaM.

The first book published by XP students was ‘From the Ground Up – what does our community owe to the miners’. Sold in Waterstones, this praised and popular work went on to become one of their local history bestsellers.

Now the book will feature in this new exhibition as part of our local mining heritage alongside other created items and stories from Doncaster.

The exhibition will run until September.

Great teaching and learning at XP Doncaster

Here are some highlights from our spring term walkthroughs at XP Doncaster!

Top of the Blogs

Crew Frank Activism @ XP Gateshead

Around the World in one lesson @ Norton Infants

Our Train Expert @ Green Top

Self Portraits in Crew CMO/MCO @ XP

‘Motivate Me’ Crew Challenges @ Plover

C27 Work Experience Launch @ XP East

What is a network? @ Carcroft School

Supportive learning @ Norton Juniors

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Sharing our Stories: 09/02/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

XPG Studios

Have you seen this awesome Instagram page, created to showcase the beautiful work from the 150 (and counting!) artists at XP Gateshead? You can see everything they’ve done and follow them here.

Here are some examples recent work they’ve produced…

Beautiful Curation: Plover School

This week, beautiful work from LKS2’s last Expedition ‘Coming to Doncaster – Why then, why now?’ has been curated outside the school! Be sure to stop and take a look at their work on migration, Roman history and sharing stories!

Beautiful Work in the Community: Earth Emergency

In Autumn 2023, Green Top School’s UKS2 children undertook a learning expedition called Earth Emergency. The guiding question was: How can we help our planet survive? Their beautiful artwork is on display on a shopfront on Fieldside in Thorne.

Top of the Blogs

Beautiful work from Arlo and Daniel @ XP Gateshead

Exploring and Embedding Goldilocks and the three bears @ Norton Infants

Safer Internet Day @ Green Top

Crew RPU/ABT getting SLC ready @ XP

We Can Collaborate! @ Plover

Crew Rashford sharing the love @ XP East

Fun in the snow @ Carcroft School

Ponder, Persevere, Practice but never Procrastinate @ Norton Juniors

We’re looking for great teachers at XP Gateshead!

The next 65 seconds could change your life…

If you are a teacher looking for a model of schooling that dares to break the mould, then this might just be for you. There is now the opportunity of a lifetime to teach at the newest of our extraordinary schools, XP Gateshead.

Find out more and apply here to #JoinOurCrew

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Sharing our Stories: 02/02/2024

Beautiful Work This Week

XP Doncaster: XP Outdoors Reflections

At the end of last year, we asked students in C29 to reflect on the learning that took place outside the classroom and how this has helped them to build Crew.

Beautiful Curation: Carcroft School

Look at this collection of recent work which is now on display in the corridors of Carcroft School. Be sure to stop and admire students beautiful work from across phases and Expeditions!

Top of the Blogs

Beautiful Work from Harris @ XP Gateshead

Animal Habitat Research @ Norton Infants

Y6 Athletics Champs! @ Green Top

E28 Crew Ardern DofE Charity Work @ XP

Little Twitchers! @ Plover

Crew Malala Achievements @ XP East

Recycle Walk @ Carcroft School

Setting Description Artwork @ Norton Juniors

We’re looking for Cleaners at XP Doncaster!

Find out more here and apply to #JoinOurCrew

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!