Sharing our Stories: 27/01/2023

27th January 2023web admin

Beautiful Work This Week

Welcoming Delegates!

We welcome delegates and visitors from all over the world across the XP Trust. This week 30 delegates from all over the UK joined us for the day, to find out more about what we do and how and why we do it. On these days, people from other schools or organisations that work in education join us and become Crew for a day. 

A typical delegate experience includes a visit to Crew, an Ambassador tour and interactive Q & A sessions on everything from expeditions and Crew, to how we publish our books and deliver beautiful work in our communities. It’s a wonderful opportunity to share what we do and enhance our own experience across all our schools. 

Thanks to all the staff and students who help to deliver and take part in these inspiring days. 

Vacancies

We currently have vacancies across our Trust! Visit xptrust.org/vacancies to find out more and #JoinOurCrew

Top of the Blogs

Martin Luther King – how did he change our future? @ Carcroft

Parents’ Update @ XP Gateshead

PE in action! @ Norton Juniors

I wish I could draw like this @ XP

AR Stars @ Plover

Partner reading @ Norton Infants

Chinese New Year @ XP East

Class 9 XP Outdoors @ Green Top

Sharing our Stories: 20/01/2023

20th January 2023web admin


Beautiful Work This Week

C29: From The Ground Up

In the Autumn term 2022, students in Year 7 studied a combined Humanities and STEAM expedition called ‘From the Ground up’.

Students had to answer the guiding question: What does Doncaster owe to mining? 

You are about to see our learning journey unfold, through a series of reports, experiments and drama performances. Join us as we dig deep into the stories of the millions of people for whom this industry formed a part of their past and present – and how it continues to shape our future.

XP Core Practices

The Working Draft Edition of our Core Principles at XP Trust was published this week in both a printed and digital version. All staff will use these documents, refine, add and edit so that we can publish an outward facing version in our 10th Anniversary Year in 2024!

XP University: Working with Comms

This week, Comms Crew launched their ‘Working with Comms’ course at XPU! Their guiding question for the course is ‘How can we work more effectively to share our stories?’ – so watch this space for yet more stories from across XP Trust!

Top of the Blogs

Fun in Crew MI @ Carcroft

Parents’ Update @ XP Gateshead

Gymnastics and balancing @ Norton Juniors

Crew Caldwell – a proud Crew Leader tests their integrity @ XP

Feature Finding @ Plover

Stan and Mabel @ Norton Infants

Year 11 Star Students in English @ XP East

Conductors and Insulators @ Green Top

Sharing our Stories: 13/01/23

13th January 2023web admin

Beautiful Work This Week

C27 Immersion

C29 Presentation of Learning: From The Ground Up

This Monday, C29 Students presented their Art work before the Premier of their film which answered the Guiding Question ‘What does Doncaster owe to Mining?’. After the film, the incredible Carlton Main Frickley Colliery band performed for us! What an incredible evening!

How should we talk about climate change in schools?

This week XP Trust was featured in an article written by Dr Richard Poutney, our Trust Chair – all about how schools are taking action and making climate change a crucial part of the curriculum. You can read the full article here.

Reasons to be cheerful: featuring CAO Andy Sprakes!

‘Hello! New year, new term and this week Ed and Geoff are going back to school. Too little has changed about our education system since the Victorian times, and for too many young people it can seem an outdated and rigid system – geared simply towards passing exams – which is letting them down. We speak to three experts who tell us that it doesn’t have to be this way: Dr James Mannion, clinical psychologist Dr Naomi Fisher and to Andy Sprakes, the co-founder of Doncaster’s most oversubscribed school, about how they’re already doing things differently and why it’s beneficial for everyone involved.’

Top of the Blogs

Active Maths @ Carcroft

Parents’ Update @ XP Gateshead

Fractionopoly @ Norton Juniors

Moore Masterclass v Whitworth @ XP

Circuit Roleplay @ Plover

Expert Visitor: Dr Teanby-Clark @ Norton Infants

Stewards of our Community @ XP East

Class 9 doing great ball skills! @ Green Top

Sharing our Stories: 16/12/2022

16th December 2022Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful Work This Week

Carcroft Year 5/6 Science Fair

G29 Presentation of Learning – ‘From The Ground Up’

‘What lies within the castle walls?’

Year 5/6 Green Top – Space Lectures at Thorne Trinity

XP Trust at #ELNC22

Matt Baer visits XP Trust!

Top of the Blogs

Christmas Party fun! @ Carcroft

Parents’ Update @ XP Gateshead

Christingle Assembly @ Norton Juniors

Pyjama Drama @ XP

Our Raffle Winners! @ Plover

Cosy Crew @ Norton Infants

Christmas Crafts @ XP East

Rudolph the Reindeer @ Green Top

From all of us here at XP Trust, we wish you all the best over the festive season! Thank you for being part of our story in 2022 – here’s to 2023!

Sharing our Stories: 09/12/2022

9th December 2022Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful Work This Week

Plover’s Science Fair at XP

C24 GCSE Presentation Evening

C28 Fieldwork to Harewood House

Year 5/6 Green Top – Space Lectures at Thorne Trinity

Top of the Blogs

Christmas crafts! @ Carcroft

Beautiful Work from an Elf called Ben @ XP Gateshead

Take a Sneak Peak @ Norton Juniors

Olivia Shaw – Swimmer Superstar @ XP

KS1 Celebration of Learning @ Plover

It’s Cold Outside! @ Norton Infants

C26 Celebration of Learning @ XP East

Year 5 Trinity Space Lectures @ Green Top

Sharing our Stories: 02/12/2022

2nd December 2022web admin


Beautiful Work This Week

‘How do we care for bear?’ – an Early Years Expedition

In the Autumn of 2022, EYFS pupils from primary schools across the XP Trust studied a cross-curricular expedition looking to answer the guiding question, ‘How can we care for bears?’

Case study one focused on ‘why are teddy bears special to us?’ Children explored their own family history in owning teddy bears by discussing with their parents and grandparents about the bears or soft toys that they cared for when they were young. They developed their knowledge of old and new by looking at different teddy bears and soft toys and were able to make comparisons and connections between them. Children enjoyed retelling the stories about the bears and hearing real life examples from people who visited school and shared their bear stories. This case study gave opportunities for children to talk about their immediate family and community and further explore how their personal experiences may differ from their peers.

During case study two children focussed their learning on bears in stories particularly the stories of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.’ They developed their expressive art skills by creating a performance of the narratives. This included singing, acting, creating props and playing musical instruments. The performances were recorded for part of the celebration of learning and included in the QR code on the final product. This case study also included drawing information from maps and creating their own representations of the narrative. Children also explored the changing states of materials by making porridge and the different textures and compositions of natural and man made materials.

The final week of this case study looked at the story of Paddington Bear and prompted children to explore him as an historical figure in literature. This book linked the fiction and non fiction elements of the expedition and led into case study three which focussed on where do real life bears live around the world.

Case study three focused on the location of bears around the world. The children learned about the polar bears rescued by Yorkshire Wildlife Park and why it is important to care for living things and the conservation of their natural habitat. This evidenced the climate emergency seam of the expedition. Children were also prompted to recognise similarities and differences between life in this country and in other countries for both humans and living creatures.

Final Products

The final product was a teddy bear gifted to every child. Each bear came with a tag around its neck including a QR code to the website showing the learning journey of the expedition.

The children created their own versions of ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’…

Plover’s Science Fair at XP

Congratulations to Year 5 and 6 pupils at Plover for a wonderful Science Fair at XPE this week! Stay tuned next week for a feature video of the whole evening!

C24 GCSE Presentation Evening

This week we held a presentation at XP East for C24’s GCSE Certificates – congratulations all!

Top of the Blogs

LKS2 Sketches @ Carcroft

Parents Update @ XP Gateshead

Doubling Experts @ Norton Juniors

Brilliant Badminton @ XP

Festive Front Doors @ Plover

Sumdog Superstars @ Norton Infants

E27 DofE @ XP East

Year 6 Athletics @ Green Top

Sharing Our Stories: 25/11/2022

25th November 2022web admin

Beautiful Work This Week

Darcy Rose’s debut single!

We are very proud to announce the release of Darcy from X27’s first single and I’ve been told there will be another release in just 10 days time – this release also includes artwork by Elizabeth in X27.

We look forward to watching the development and progress of Darcy. Watch this space!

XP University’s first Presentation of Learning

Last week, our first cohort of Staff have completed one of the first ever XPU courses – an Expedition Slice with the guiding question ‘Whose responsibility is poverty in our city and how can our community be part of the solution?‘. You can watch their Presentation of Learning here…

Top of the Blogs

Girls Football Tournament @ Carcroft

Beautiful Work from Arlo and William @ XP Gateshead

Sumdog Crew Competitions @ Norton Juniors

Feed the Birds – XP Outdoors @ XP

Our Student Ambassadors @ Plover

Dancing the afternoon away… @ Norton Infants

Crew White @ XP East

Our Week in Nursery @ Green Top

Sharing our Stories: 18/11/2022

18th November 2022web admin


Beautiful Work This Week

Welcoming our international visitors – Chris Dolgos

We welcome delegates to the Trust and our schools, from all over the world. 

Already this academic year we’ve greeted and shared our work and ethos with people from India, Denmark, Australia, Scotland and the United States.

We have had a wonderful and inspiring relationship with EL Education in the US for many years now. One of their schools, High Tech HIgh, was one of the catalysts for the creation of XP.

Last week Chris Dolgos from Genesee Community Charter School, Rochester, New York, spent time in Plover, Green Top, XP, XPE and XPG – as well as experiencing a tour of work from all our schools in Doncaster City Centre.

Chris enjoyed his visits and it was a joy for us to spend time with him. He tweeted about his experience – please come back and see us soon! 

XP University’s first Presentation of Learning

This week, our first cohort of Staff have completed one of the first ever XPU courses – an Expedition Slice with the guiding question ‘Whose responsibility is poverty in our city and how can our community be part of the solution?‘.

Staff from across the Trust presented their learning and made pledges about their engagement with Expeditions going forward.

‘As a learning coach, I pledge to work hard to ensure that children understand how their daily tasks connect to their expedition and their guiding question, not only to ensure they are understanding the lesson or tasks in isolation.’

Bella

‘I pledge to use my new knowledge of expedition to further challenge and support the curriculum offer at Norton.’

Andrea

For their Final Product, they looked at ‘Cooking on a Bootstrap’ by Jack Monroe and developed recipes to create affordable meals for families to make together.

You can view this recipe collection here!

Top of the Blogs

We Love Outdoor Learning @ Carcroft

Maths Week at XPG – Beautiful Work from all our students @ XP Gateshead

NJS Remembers @ Norton Juniors

Crew Pasteur Wise Wednesday @ XP

Dodgeball Tournament @ Plover

Thoughtful Thursday @ Norton Infants

C25: What a week! @ XP East

Year 5/6 Science Lecture at Trinity @ Green Top

Sharing our Stories: 11/11/2022

10th November 2022web admin

Beautiful Work This Week

‘Are We Really Free To Choose’ – Book Launch at D31 Gallery

In September 2021, students in Year 10 at XP and XP East School in Doncaster embarked on a joint Human and STEAM learning expedition which endeavoured to answer the guiding question ‘Are we really free to choose?’.

The work from this Expedition is currently being featured in a brand new art exhibition at the D31 Gallery in Doncaster. Last Saturday, students launched this Exhibition with families, friends and members of the public present – they read selected poems from their book and talked about their beautiful work.

EYFS Beach Day Celebration!

Year One are Actors!

Top of the Blogs

Keeping our community clean @ Carcroft

Beautiful sporting work from Harris, Arlo, Drew, Elyse, Ethan and Winnie too! @ XP Gateshead

Chance To Dance @ Norton Juniors

C28 Working Hard and Getting Smart in HUMS @ XP

Our Visitor from NYC @ Plover

Building Bear Caves @ Norton Infants

Brain Food with Crew Obama @ XP East

Reception Marvellous Maths! @ Green Top