Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust from this week. To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Innovating the Gingerbread Man @ Plover
Identifying features of a map @ Carcroft School
Activism in action – the second annual public health conference @ XP Gateshead
Fully immersed in Wordsworth @ XP
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!
We’re looking for two incredible Learning Coaches to join the team at Green Top School!
This is an opportunity to be part of a school where relationships come first, learning is purposeful, and every child is known, supported, and challenged.
You’ll work side by side with teachers to help deliver beautiful, meaningful learning experiences as part of our expeditionary learning curriculum. From Early Years to Key Stage 2, you’ll support children to grow academically, socially and emotionally – helping them become thoughtful, capable, and kind individuals.
Find out more about the roles here: xptrust.org/vacancies
What does it really mean to be part of XP? Don’t take it from us – hear it from the students themselves.
If you’re a teacher who believes in creativity, challenge and doing work that matters, this is the role for you. We’re open to applications across a range of subjects – find out more here
https://xptrust.org/were-looking-for-great-teachers-at-xp-doncaster/
It was an honour to spend time with Year 9 students at XP Gateshead as they held their second annual public health conference with a focus on the dangers of smoking and vaping on Friday. The conference was the culminating event to the learning expedition entitled, ‘You Give Me Fever’ where students had engaged in a thematic study of health, considering how approaches to, and learning about health has changed over time from the Medieval Period to the modern day. Students were challenged to answer the guiding question,
In order to do this students focused on factors which can affect our health, such as wealth, poverty, science and technology and the role of the government. Combining what they studied in history and science this helped us to complete a human geography study of our local area. Students had investigated the difference in life expectancy in the local area by studying deprivation and its contribution to risk factors. Case studies blended English, History, Geography and Science to give the students a breadth of knowledge and understanding about key health issues, in particular smoking and vaping.
Student key note speakers eloquently outlined the causes and long term effects of smoking on health and related social issues. They articulated the desperate link between smoking and deprivation and presented some chilling and compelling research about the impact of smoking on reducing life expectancy and increasing the chances of life threatening diseases like cancer, respiratory illnesses and strokes.
After this thought provoking start, students conducted a question and answer session with local experts from local government and community health services. Questions ranged from:
Should smoking be banned?
Does social media contribute to participation and smoking?
Have public health changes made a difference to health in our community of Gateshead?
What is the local council doing to address deprivation in our community?
The next phase of the Presentation of Learning involved all students hosting a stall where they articulated the report they had written that linked to their learning in the expedition. Reports were wide ranging, informative and extremely well written. Titles included:
Students ended the conference with a call for the community, local authority and health professionals to collaborate more effectively to reduce the negative impact that smoking still has on the health and well being of the wider community in Gateshead.
After the conference I caught up with Georgia and Scarlet who spoke to about the importance of the work they had undertaken. I asked them why it was important to hold a Health Conference.
Georgia commented:
And Scarlet built on this:
In conclusion, it was a privilege to be invited to an event that confirmed how our curriculum empowers and enables students to make a positive change in their communities. The level of understanding, confidence and quality of work was, quite simply, breathtaking. I made a pledge that the reports now need to be available for a wider audience to access and read. Our civic leaders and politicians must support and realise this important work and I know XPG students will not stop demanding this until they do!
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust from this week. To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
VE Day Celebrations – Moorends Community Centre @ Green Top
Celebrating beautiful work @ Carcroft School
G28 Fishing Success @ XP Gateshead
Class Five journey to space… @ Norton Infants
VE Day at Norton Campus @ Norton Juniors
Crew Peake tackle the litter @ XP
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!
It was a great pleasure and privilege to work alongside our partners the Wood Foundation in April this year as forty two visitors from schools across the North East of Scotland descended on XP to learn more about why and how we Crew and experience first hand what Crew looks like, feels like and sounds like. Colleagues from Scotland explored Crew at XP through the lens of a learning expedition, ultimately reflecting on and answering the guiding question,
After checking in as bespoke Crews with fellow Crew Leads, Kerry Poncia and Laura Parsons (my Crew was named Dalglish!!) delegates experienced ‘immersion’ activities around the concept and practice of Crew:
These included:
We then moved into a Case Study entitled, ‘Building Crew’ and colleagues worked with experts and on purposeful activities to further strengthen their background knowledge of Crew at XP. The expert sessions were led predominantly by students and included an ambassador tour, the purpose of Crew from a student perspective and a service learning activity.
The afternoon session of a packed first day saw Gwyn apHarri, co-founder and CEO of XP Trust, working with delegates on the leadership of Crew. Gwyn encouraged our partners to reflect on some of the lessons we have learned in developing and embedding Crew leadership:
To finish the first day we continued our learning expedition by heading out into Doncaster on fieldwork. Colleagues were challenged with finding where our student work lives in the city centre of Doncaster and consider how this linked to our culture of Crew.
Here is a visual record of what they found:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
At the end of a long but rewarding day we met up at the Wool market for much needed refreshment and an opportunity to reflect on our learning.
The following day began with a debrief of our fieldwork activities. Our partners reflected on how they were blown away by the authenticity and impact of student work in our community and how this develops a deep sense of civic duty, community and compassion. All in tune with ‘building’ a culture of Crew.
After the debrief, we moved onto Case Study Two of our expedition which was called, ‘Being Crew.’ Starting the day with a Community Meeting, our visitors were able to experience students at XP East ‘being Crew’ as they made apologies, appreciations and stands, showing how this structure is culturally wrapped around our Character Traits and Habits of Work and Learning. Some of our Scottish Crew showed courage and compassion by stepping up and appreciating the staff and students at XP East for sharing their knowledge and expertise of Crew and how they would honour this work by using what they’d learned in their own settings north of the border.
The final session consisted of colleagues working in their school groups to reflect on what they’d learned about ‘building’ and ‘being’ Crew and how they could apply this knowledge and understanding to developing Crew in their own context.
What began to emerge was the importance of Staff Crew as a starting point for conceptual understanding and the strength of shared experiences and shared language to embed Crew and that:
Colleagues from each school worked on a collaborative document reflecting on the following prompts:
Each school then culminated the expedition, just like our students do, by delivering a Presentation of Learning where they shared their work and pledges publicly in front of an authentic audience. You can see some of the reflections below:
These reflections will now be repurposed into a beautiful product that will be shared across all the schools and act as a reminder of the pledges they have made, creating accountability by making the work public.
In conclusion, it was reinvigorating to welcome back our friends from the North East of Scotland. It always reminds us of the power of Crew and what we need to do to continue to embed and sustain a positive culture across our Trust. Thank you to the Wood Foundation for continuing to work in partnership with us and thank you to Claira, staff and students at XP Doncaster who made this experience so fulfilling and affirming.
In Crew, always.
Andy Sprakes
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust from this week. To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Every year, our friends and partners at EL Education invite schools across the world to take part in #BetterWorldWeek – a celebration of student work that makes a meaningful difference in the world.
Just like at EL, at XP this isn’t a one-off event – it’s the work we do every day. But this week gives us a moment to pause, reflect, and share the incredible ways our students have stepped up.
In the last year, they have:
…and that’s just the beginning.
You can read all about their beautiful, purposeful work here:
https://xptrust.org/betterworldweek-2025/
Class 8 Monarch Sketches @ Green Top
Weekly update for families @ XP Gateshead
If you go down in the woods… @ Norton Infants
Magnificent Magma @ Norton Juniors
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!
This video was created by the National Literacy Trust on World Book Day, shining a light on the incredible work taking place in EYFS at Plover School to promote early reading.
The aim of their work is simple but powerful: to help families understand the value of sharing stories with their children from the very beginning, and to inspire a lifelong love of books.
Children in Nursery and Reception were treated to special storytelling sessions and each received a book to take home – making reading part of life at home as well as in school.
The National Literacy Trust continues to be an active partner in Plover’s current Expeditions, supporting Nursery children with songs and rhymes, and helping Reception pupils create their own stories. They are also training our EYFS staff to become Early Years Literacy Champions, building confidence and expertise across the team.
This partnership is a brilliant example of how purposeful collaboration can enrich learning, support families, and spark a love of reading that lasts a lifetime.
At XP Trust, we’re proud to be long-standing partners and friends of EL Education. We take part in Better World Week every year – not as a one-off event, but as an extension of the work we do every day in our schools. Like EL, we believe that learning should be purposeful, rooted in community, and driven by the desire to make a positive impact. It’s a shared mission that sits at the heart of our relationship and everything we do.
In every XP school, students take on meaningful work that matters to real people. From campaigning for local change to producing high-quality expedition products that leave a legacy, our young people learn not just how to succeed – but how to contribute. Better World Week gives us the opportunity to shine a light on that work, celebrate the voices of our students, and stand alongside a global network of educators who are committed to doing things differently.
One of the ways our students made the world a better place this year was through the creation and celebration of community at our first-ever XP Arts Festival, hosted at XP Doncaster during our 10th anniversary year.
Our First ‘XP Live’ Festival!
All eight schools across XP Trust came together to share their creativity, compassion and craftsmanship – through music, movement, poetry and performance at our inaugural XP Festival! From samba rhythms and saxophone sets to spoken word and choreographed dance, over nine hours of joyful parades and performances showed what young people can achieve when given purpose, voice, and audience.
A standout moment came as primary students performed their original fundraising song, ‘Dear World’, written as part of an expedition focused on protecting the planet—reminding us all of the power of young voices to inspire action and hope.
The Doncaster Youth Jazz Association, now based at XP, delivered a show-stopping set, sharing the stage with student acts and even a parade of handmade birds. It was a day of joy, generosity and collaboration – rain or shine – and a celebration of the better world our students are helping to build every day.
What happens where the sea meets the shore?
Another way our students made the world a better place this year came from the very youngest members of our Trust. Last summer, EYFS children from all XP Trust Primary Schools explored the question: “What happens where the sea meets the shore?”
Through their Expedition, the children learned about sea creatures, the beauty of the coastline, and the importance of looking after our oceans. Their learning didn’t stop at knowledge – it led to action. After writing their own sea-themed stories and creating ocean-inspired artwork, the children made their learning into something lasting: a series of wheelie bin stickers designed to spread awareness and care for coastal environments in their local community.
This project was a powerful reminder that you’re never too young to make a difference – and that even the smallest voices can create ripples of change.
Is charity enough?
At XP Gateshead, students asked themselves a challenging question: “Is charity enough?” What followed was a rich and reflective expedition exploring inequality, compassion, and the deeper impact of human connection.
Inspired by A Christmas Carol, students considered both the historical and present-day realities of poverty and loneliness. They wrestled with complex ideas about justice, systemic change, and the emotional weight of being unseen. Their written responses, shared publicly at the end of the expedition, were powerful, personal, and deeply thoughtful. With honesty and maturity, they challenged the limits of charity alone, calling instead for lasting relationships, empathy, and structural change.
The expedition culminated in a heartfelt act of service: an Afternoon Tea hosted by the students for local community members and their grandparents, designed specifically to address isolation and foster belonging. Guests were welcomed with kindness, served by students, and invited to stay connected with the school and its events beyond the day itself.
This expedition wasn’t just about understanding the world—it was about shaping it. Through scholarship, service, and solidarity, the students of XP Gateshead reminded us that real change starts with care, connection, and action.
Safe Parking at Green Top
Sometimes making a better world starts with noticing a problem close to home – and doing something about it. At Green Top School, the Crew Council saw that parking outside the school gates was becoming increasingly unsafe for children and families. Instead of accepting it, they made a stand!
As part of their campaign, they created a powerful video encouraging drivers to think more carefully about how and where they park. Their message “Park smart, stay safe, walk more” calls for small, everyday choices that help protect others in the community.
By raising awareness and offering a solution, these students showed leadership, care and courage – proving that even the most local issues deserve thoughtful, purposeful action.
Baking for the Laurels
This year, Year 5 students at Norton Junior School showed that making a better world doesn’t always require grand gestures – just thoughtful ones, done with heart.
After learning about the importance of compassion and community care, the students organised a bake sale to raise money for those in need. With the funds, they purchased essential toiletries and donated them to a local outreach centre – ensuring their efforts made a real, practical difference.
They also extended their kindness to The Laurels, a nearby residential home. As well as baking and decorating handmade gift bags, the students delivered them in person and spent the morning talking with residents – sharing time, stories and smiles.
This act of service was more than a one-off project; it was an expression of values we hold dear across XP Trust – kindness, craftsmanship, and connection. Norton’s students reminded us that the smallest actions, when rooted in care, can ripple outwards and create lasting impact.
XP Trust receives international award for climate change action
One of the most significant ways our students worked to make a better world this year was through their commitment to environmental stewardship. In recognition of these efforts, XP Trust was honoured with an international award for climate change action.
This accolade, presented by prominent climate activist Dr Koen Timmers, celebrates the Trust’s innovative approach to integrating sustainability into education. Across our schools, students have engaged in projects that not only raise awareness about climate issues but also contribute to tangible environmental improvements. From local conservation initiatives to curriculum-integrated sustainability projects, our students have demonstrated that young people can be powerful agents of change.
Receiving this international award underscores the impact of our collective efforts and reinforces our commitment to fostering a culture of environmental responsibility. It serves as a testament to the hard work of our students, staff, and community partners who strive daily to make a positive difference in the world.
For more details on this achievement, you can read the full article here:
As we reflect on the incredible work our students have led across the Trust this year – from small acts of kindness to bold steps for justice and sustainability – we’re reminded that building a better world is not a one-week commitment, but a lifelong one. At XP, our young people continue to prove that with purpose, compassion and courage, change is always possible.
We’re proud of what’s been achieved – and we’re excited to keep going. Here’s to another year of doing work that matters, together.
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust from this week. To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Class 8 are Historians @ Green Top
Children dress up day @ Plover
Crowning the King and Queen of Carcroft @ Carcroft School
G31 Year 7 POL – Tonight! @ XP Gateshead
A Fairytale Tea Party @ Norton Infants
Fabulous Fieldwork @ Norton Juniors
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!
