On Friday 11th July, the XP Festival of Arts and Culture returns to XP Doncaster, bringing together students, families, staff and artists for a joyful celebration of creativity and community.
Throughout the day, you’ll experience live music, powerful performances, vibrant art installations, and the beautiful work that defines XP. Students from every XP Trust school will be contributing, sharing their talents and passions through exhibitions, dance, storytelling, and more – all designed to connect, inspire and make a difference.
The festival is a key moment in our XP Live programme – a growing Trust-wide initiative that gives young people authentic opportunities to produce, perform and create. It builds on our commitment to purposeful learning and supports our belief that every child can do meaningful, creative work that impacts the wider world.
More details on the line-up will be shared soon – we can’t wait to welcome you.
At XP, we truly get to experience and learn the strength of community, both in times of celebration and challenge. And right now this means more than ever before.
Recently, a fellow former student who was part of the very first cohort at XP. School, as well as mine and Miss Scott’s best friend since childhood, has been diagnosed with lymphoma – a type of cancer.
It is a tough reality to face but we knew we wanted to do something to support and bring awareness!
Together, we have launched a fundraiser to raise money for the fight against cancer!
We are taking part in two different fundraising events for two charities. The first is the Bridges of London 2025 walk, run by the incredible Lymphoma Action charity where we will journey 7 miles across London to raise money. The second event is the Pretty Muddy 5k that is organised by the Cancer Research Race for Life team.
By doing these events we hope to raise money for these amazing charities in the hopes that we can support so many people, including our best friend.
The following links offer an abundance of great information on both charities and how your donations can help: Lymphoma Action and Cancer Research UK
We’re inviting our wider school community – staff, students, parents, and alumni – to get involved. Whether that means donating, sharing the fundraiser, or simply spreading awareness, every small act of support and kindness matters.
Already we have raised £2.5k, halfway to our current £5k goal! We’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve already received, and we know that this school community, past and present, has a huge heart.
At XP Gateshead, we believe that every child can achieve extraordinary things — and every adult in the building plays a part in making that happen.
We’re looking for a Learning Coach who is passionate about helping young people thrive. Someone who brings positivity and the belief that relationships are the foundation of great learning.
If you want to make a real difference, work in a strong and supportive team, and be part of a school that values kindness, collaboration and creativity — this is the role for you.
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
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,
“How can we continue to make progress in public health?”
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.
XPG Year 9 students lead an expert question and answer session about the risks of smoking and what we need to do to address this public health issue.
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?
Exchanges were frank, honest and solution driven. XP Gateshead students showing, yet again, that they are actively leading positive social change in their 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:
The Impact of Smoking on Respiratory Health
The Tobacco Industry Playbook
Is Smoking a Choice? The Link Between Poverty and Smoking
The market place underway
The Health Reports ready for presentation and discussion
XPG Public Health Conference 2025
As students presented their reports, invited guests were asked to consider a range of proposals such as, ‘Are smoking reforms having a positive impact on our communities?’ and to vote using a QR code. We were then invited back into the conference hall and students reflected on the answers given by the community.
The wide range of expert reports produced by Year 9 students at XPG
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 and Scarlet shared their thoughts with me about the importance of their work
Georgia commented:
“We showed the dangers and the impact of smoking and what it can do to yourself but also the people around you.”
And Scarlet built on this:
“Raising awareness and making sure people know the risks of smoking and if we are to continue to make progress as a society we need to address problems such as smoking.”
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!
