Crew Lovelace engaged in some in and out of school activities with links to team work and kindness during their first week back at school. We had a great week back navigating each other through obstacle courses, listening to ‘with me in mind’ visitors, making, creating characters then playing cluedo, visiting Age UK and gifting a kindness box and a tranquil walk along the coast at Flamborough as a crew. A great start to the new year, before immersing into their new expeditions.
What a fantastic first week back we had in Crew Sinfield!
On Tuesday we completed our crew norms and had a great check in finding out what everyone got up to over the holidays. We also created time capsules through looking for a newspaper article from this year and completing a solo where students wrote a letter to their future self. Wednesday we went to Sandall Beat Wood where we completed lots of activities including den building- where we had some fantastic shelters. On Thursday we completed crew activities including the floor is lava and minute to win it- crew worked really well- particularly with Line ball!
Crew showed each other fantastic compassion and really worked hard and together. I was so impressed with the hard work they showed and I am really excited about the year ahead.
Well Done Crew!
Mrs Burnitt
What a fantastic first week back crew have had!
We completed den building, time capsules and played some amazing team games.
Crew were respectful and helpful to each other. We had a fantastic time!
Crew Peake came closer together over the first week. Here are some of the highlights that they had!
As a Crew, we can’t believe it’s Week 3 already! Crew Pasteur have come back excited and positive about the challenges of Year 10, and it’s been a whirlwind since those first (mostly) sunny days since the first week back.
Crew Darling has kicked off Year 10 in style, showing true XP values!
Our first week was packed with team-building activities, including a blindfold challenge that tested trust and courage (well done Junior for leading Crew to safety!), and winning the Egg Drop, proving their craftsmanship and teamwork are ready for the year ahead!
During a micro-adventure around Doncaster, Crew spread kindness, delivering flowers to strangers, including staff at Sue Ryder and Cancer Research, who helped them collect antiques and a mascot. A huge thank you to the people of Doncaster for supporting and embracing our acts of kindness.
Back in school, we listened to expert speakers (XP Alumni) around careers, getting to grips with options for the future! We continued to spread Kindness around school and act as stewards of our community!
Crew Darling has started a scrapbook to capture these memories and achievements, and there’s plenty more to come! Most importantly, we had a fantastic week rebuilding Crew and the bonds which will support us through our GCSEs!
Watch this space for more awesomeness from Crew Darling!
Our Year 7’s have not disappointed! We have had another brilliant day!
Fortunately for us, life as Vikings has come to an end and we are on route back to school.
Our expected return time remains at 4pm. We will post an update should there be any changes.
Welcome to our first selection of beautiful work from the brand new 2024/2025 academic year!
At XP Trust we always use our first week back to establish and reaffirm our culture of Crew. This year has been another resounding success as young people across our schools have considered deeply the purpose of Crew through a range of opportunities and experiences and how Crew develops character and service so that they can help themselves, others and the wider community to be compassionate and successful.
At Carcroft we saw students engaging fully in a community meeting reflecting on their habits of work and learning and expressing what working hard, getting smart and being kind looks like every day at school. Students at Norton Infants Y5 visited local Care Homes delivering glasses cases they had made as well as treats! At Plover students were working alongside the RSPCA to capture and tell the stories of abandoned pets and, alongside drawing beautiful pictures of the animals, helping to find them homes as well as creating stunning murals in a street art style to promote the importance and legacy of Crew.
Students at Green Top took part in a fundraising Colour Run which was quite frankly spectacular whilst also creating kindness key rings that they gifted to members of the community! At XPG, Year 8 showed their qualities as leaders of their own learning by planning, organising and leading Year 7 activities including creating resources and fieldwork opportunities for their peers. Finally at XPD, students carried out acts of random kindness at the Lake side and welcomed past students who came back to school to talk about how Crew and their time at XP shaped the beautiful people they are today.
It was striking to hear a member of staff at Carcroft say, ‘I’ve been teaching for over twenty years and this is the best start back I’ve ever experienced.’ – I think that says it all!
In addition, our new Year 7’s from XP Doncaster and XP Gateshead spent their first days of secondary school building Crew together in the Lake District with Outward Bound. This is something we have been proud to do with our students for ten years now and it was inspiring to see students cultivating resilience, compassion and teamwork – especially through some very adverse weather! We are looking forward to seeing Crews grow together over the coming years…
Our Chief Academic Officer, Andy Sprakes was the keynote speaker at Spaghetti Bridge’s ‘BridgeFest’ earlier this week. He shared beautiful work and stories from our students at XP as part of their inspiring itinerary celebrating the last year. We are proud to be a part of their story and a key influence on the work that they do.
Alfie Lockey was part of the X22 cohort at XP and left two years ago to study for his A Levels at New College. His results of 3 A*s and and A, helped secure him a place at one of the oldest and renowned universities in the world – Christ Church College, Oxford. Alfie will be studying biology; a lifelong love and something that during his time at XP was actively encouraged and supported.
He created an allotment at school, had an opportunity to take part in an online conference organised by the Edge Foundation, which addressed climate change. That day Alfie spoke alongside the co-creator of the Eden Project in Cornwall, Sir Tim Smit KBE. An office at XP also became the perfect place for Alfie to experiment with growing a variety of plants for several years; bringing a touch of hot house greenery to XP!
CAO of the XP Trust, Andy Sprakes commented:
“Alfie is one of our many alumni who are already making a positive difference to the world. We’re always thrilled to hear about how our students are progressing and where they are now – they will always be part of our Crew.”
In Summer 2024, XP and XP East’s Year 8 students embarked on Learning Expedition called ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’, where they aimed to answer the guiding question: ‘Is migration worth the risk?’.
In Art, they looked at the work of artists who used imagery of birds to represent migration. Leonardo da Vinci studied anatomy and used that to design flying machines. The students took his ideas and constructed their own three dimensional bird designs. They then made large scale sculptures of the birds that you can see on display, here. Before culminating in the display, the sculptures were paraded at this summer’s inaugural XP Festival of Arts & Culture.
Find out more here to apply now and #JoinOurCrew
Music Composition in MI @ Carcroft School
We’re all in this together! @ XP School
Acts of Kindness @ Norton Juniors
Weekly Update for Parents @ 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!
Y11 have had an absolutely fabulous start to their final year and have not even been fazed by being thrown straight into preparing for and presenting their English speaking exams!
Academic Crew and Learning Labs will be running this week – full details in the Weekly Planner above.
We would also like to take this opportunity to invite all Y11 parents and students to our GCSE Revision Evening on Wednesday 11th September, 5pm-6pm. Again, details are in the planner.
As ever, if you have any questions please contact your student’s Crew Leader in the first instance or Y11 Phase Lead for your school: Angella Parker for XP East ([email protected]) and Mel Cocliff for XP ([email protected]).
Wow! After an action packed few days at Outward Bound where Crew KBA really had to learn the art of working together to ensure everyone (myself included) made it through the experience.
We had tears and lots of laughter through out the activities but I am proud to say that every member or our crew made it to Friday.
We completed a range of activities from packing our camping bags, to a jog and dip, rock climbing and boating. Each had its own challenges but we worked through these together.
This week Crew KBA have been navigating yet again but this time it was between their sessions and rooms. I have seen lots of praise being added and last time I checked every single crew member had at least one praise!
I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks hold for us as a crew and I look forward to seeing each of them grow and develop.
Mrs Barnes
