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Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Year 6 leavers party 2026 @ Green Top
KS1 Celebration of Learning @ Carcroft School
Powering the Future @ XP Doncaster
Colour run fun! @ Norton Infants
Year 6 raises money for local donkey sanctuary @ Norton Juniors
G29 Final product @ XP Gateshead
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!
At Plover School, our students have joyfully kicked off a beautiful new initiative called Planting the Seeds of Crew. As the first school in our Trust to launch this campaign, our young people have been pouring their hearts into packing special envelopes with a locally sourced, bee-friendly wildflower and grass seed mix. Each of these little packets is designed as a heartfelt gift to our community, complete with simple planting instructions, a warm message of care, and a QR code linking back to our school’s story.
Taking their work out into the world, our Crews have been eagerly walking their local routes to distribute these seeds directly to our neighbours. The students have been busy popping packets through letterboxes and even stepping into local shops, courageously and kindly asking business owners if they would display a handful on their counters for customers to take for free. It has been an incredible way for our young people to spark conversations, build connections, and share a genuine gesture of kindness with the people living and working right on our doorstep.
This joyful act of public service connects perfectly to our Protecting Our Planet curriculum seam, giving students a hands-on opportunity to act as true stewards of their environment. By preparing and sharing these wildflower seeds, they are actively working together as a Crew to do something deeply meaningful and long-lasting for their community. It is a shining example of how our children combine service and sustainability, literally planting the seeds of compassion, character, and respect across our local area.
We’re looking for Cleaners at Green Top School!
https://xptrust.org/xp-trust-cleaners/
Find out more here and apply to #JoinOurCrew
Year 8 students from XP Gateshead have collaborated with the Newcastle Hospitals Charity arts programme to create an immersive public art installation exploring the question: What does it mean to be human?
Now displayed at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, the installation combines artwork, written reflections and anatomical imagery created by students as part of their ‘Being Human’ Learning Expedition. The work aims to encourage conversations around identity, compassion and organ donation through a thoughtful and interactive experience.
Throughout the expedition, students explored the idea of what it means to be human through a range of subjects, including Science, History, Religion and the Arts. Their learning encouraged them to reflect on themes including resilience, empathy, creativity and collaboration, while also considering the role compassion plays in healthcare and organ donation.
The final installation features large-scale visual artwork alongside written speech extracts produced by students, inviting visitors to reflect on humanity through the voices and perspectives of young people. Anatomical illustrations and layered artistic responses encourage viewers to consider both the complexity of the human body and the emotional experiences that connect us all.
One student wrote: “A human is more than organs, skin and blood. A human is a person with feelings and emotion.”
Another reflected: “Being human is about using our creativity to help others in need. If we work together we can make a difference.”
The charity arts programme team were integral in the development of this project with representatives Katie Newell and Holly Richardson, coming into school to launch the brief with the students. We are incredibly grateful, as this gave the students an authentic experience of working as commissioned artists alongside a client; an invaluable experience. To further the collaboration, Dominic Manning, specialist nurse organ donation with NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) also visited the students in class to discuss organ donation and transplantation, not only from a clinical perspective but exploring the moral and ethical aspects further emphasising the importance of the students’ work.
Katie Newell, head of arts programmes of Newcastle Hospitals Charity said:
“Through the arts programme, we are delighted to have worked with XP Gateshead, to create an artwork for display in Newcastle Hospitals that promotes wider conversation around organ donation. Year 8 students met with staff in Great North Children’s Hospital and NHSBT to understand more about the work they do and have made a creative, large-scale mural, in the hope of normalising family discussions about organ donation and transplantation. It’s great to be able to share their reflections and drawings with patients, staff and visitors to the New Vic Wing, RVI.“
Dominic Manning, Specialist Nurse in Organ Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, says: “It was a real pleasure to work with the students from XP Gateshead and the Newcastle Hospitals Charity to explore the importance of organ donation and explain the work that we do at NHS Blood and Transplant. The artwork that the children has created is a testament to the conversations they have had and the reflections they have drawn on. It will serve to encourage people to take a moment to consider their thoughts about organ donation – and when they have, we encourage them to take two minutes to confirm their donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.”
Emmy Tatters, the Teacher who led the Learning Expedition said:
“This project gave students the opportunity to explore a deeply important and complex question through authentic and meaningful work. Seeing their ideas and artwork displayed publicly within the RVI has helped students understand the real impact their work can have beyond the classroom. We are incredibly grateful to Newcastle Hospitals Charity and the experts who supported students throughout the process.”
The installation is currently on display next to the pharmacy at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Year 3 to 4 Transition Days @ Green Top
Thank you Intake library @ Plover
Making our Final Product @ Carcroft School
Crew Irwin attending the ‘We Care’ event @ XP School
Year 9 Sporting Leaders Shine at Owston Sports Day @ XP East
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!
At XP Trust, we believe that education is about building our community and sharing our stories to cultivate a world filled with compassion, equity, and belonging. Recently, our long-standing partners at Right Up Our Street (RUOS) invited us to be part of something truly spectacular: the “We Are Donny” installation. This incredible event is part of the Inside Out Project, a global participatory art movement created by artist JR that unites people through the power of large-scale black and white portrait photography displayed in public spaces.
We are incredibly proud that students from both XP School and XP East were heavily involved in bringing this vision to life. RUOS visited our campuses to photograph our young people, adding their unique faces to a global tapestry that has already united over 600,000 people across 154 countries. Part 2 of this specific project features over 1,000 children, young people, and teachers from across Doncaster. Our students didn’t just step in front of the lens to have their portraits taken; they actively contributed to the physical installation, showing true craftsmanship, quality, and an unwavering commitment to creating beautiful work that matters.
The power of Crew was beautifully evident throughout this entire process. We always say that we are Crew, not passengers, and this ethos naturally extended beyond our school walls as our students rolled up their sleeves and collaborated with Stride Yorkshire, Harrison College, Yorkshire Rose College, and the 71st Doncaster Hunafa Scout Group. Together, this wider community Crew achieved something monumental in a very short space of time, transforming the runway at Doncaster Sheffield Airport into a stunning canvas of public art. It was a profound act of civic participation, demonstrating exactly what happens when we work hard and get smart to do good in the world.
The ripple effect of our students’ beautiful work continues to grow! We are incredibly proud to share that the We Are Donny installation – and the dedication of our community Crew – has been featured in the Yorkshire Post. It is a testament to what happens when young people are empowered to connect with their world and create work that truly matters. You can read the full story right here.
We want to extend our deepest appreciation to Right Up Our Street for continuously providing our students with platforms to elevate their voices and experience learning that connects viscerally to the real world. We also want to shine a light on the incredibly talented David8Photography for capturing amazing behind the scenes photos and videos used as part of this project’s storytelling – thank you for helping us share our student’s stories! When our community comes together with such courage and integrity, we truly see that there is more in us than we know.
To ensure a balanced intake of students across all ability levels, all applicants to an XP secondary school must sit a Fair Banding Assessment.
This multiple-choice test focuses on non-verbal reasoning and helps us place students into one of five ability bands. There is no pass or fail, and results are used solely to support a broad and representative admissions process.
Completing the assessment is a key part of the application and must be done to be considered for a place.
Please ensure your child is registered by 31st October 2026 and prepared to attend the assessment on 21st November 2026.
Find out more here – https://xptrust.info/XPTFBA
This term marked a significant milestone as we proudly hosted the very first XP Trust Primary Sports Day, bringing together pupils from Plover Primary School, Green Top School, Carcroft Primary School and Norton Infant School for a day of sport, teamwork and celebration.
The event was a fantastic opportunity for children from across our Trust to come together, build new friendships and enjoy a wide range of sporting activities in a fun, supportive and inclusive environment. Throughout the day, pupils demonstrated determination, resilience and excellent sportsmanship, encouraging one another and celebrating every achievement.
From exciting races to skill-based challenges, every event gave pupils the chance to challenge themselves, work as part of a team and experience the joy of being active. The atmosphere throughout the day was filled with enthusiasm, encouragement and smiles, with supporters cheering on every participant from start to finish.
The success of the event was made possible through the collaboration of staff from across the XP Trust, whose teamwork and commitment ensured the day ran smoothly and provided memorable experiences for every child involved.
As the first event of its kind, the XP Trust Primary Sports Day highlighted the strength of working together as a Trust. By bringing our schools together, we created opportunities for children to connect, compete and celebrate their achievements as part of a wider community.
We would also like to extend a special thank you to the Doncaster Rovers Academy for joining us to present the awards at the end of the day. Their support added to the occasion and reflects the exciting partnership that continues to develop between the XP Trust and Doncaster Rovers Academy. We look forward to working together to create even more opportunities for our young people in the future.
A huge thank you to all of the pupils and staff who helped make the day such a success. We are incredibly proud of everyone who took part and look forward to making the XP Trust Primary Sports Day an annual tradition for many years to come.
Well done to the winners Green Top Primary School.
Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!
To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.
Class 8’s fantastic presentation of learning @ Green Top
The big reveal of 2026 @ Plover
Celebrating Our Learning @ Norton Infants
Energy, teamwork and school pride! @ XP School
Inside Out: Beautiful Work at Doncaster Airport! @ XP East
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!
On July 1st, 2026, the runway at Doncaster Airport was transformed into a canvas for one thousand faces and one thousand unique stories. Partnering with Right Up Our Street and visionary artist JR’s global Inside Out Project, the Doncaster community (including XP!) helped reclaim this space to show that art truly belongs to the people. Joining a community of over half a million participants worldwide, this exhibition celebrates our shared humanity and perfectly reflects our curriculum seam of Cultivating Diversity and Belonging.
Watch the video below to experience the breathtaking scale of the finished artwork. This stunning installation is the result of immense collective energy, courage, and craftsmanship from our students, who worked together as Crew to help install the work. It is a powerful piece of beautiful work that ensures our community’s stories are seen, felt, and celebrated. We’ll be sharing the inspiring behind-the-scenes story of our students in action very soon – more on this later!
