GCSE Psychology students are on it!

15th September 2021A Parker

Our GCSE Psychology group have had a brilliant start to the year. Mrs Pulham and I have been super impressed with how focussed everyone’s been and how hard they’ve all been working.

It’s hard to stay on task for 2 hours, especially when the emphasis is on being leaders of your own learning and undertaking a series of self-study tasks, but these lot are absolutely smashing it!

It’s fantastic to see our Y10 and Y11 students supporting each other in these sessions, demonstrating that the power of Crew is embedded into everything we do.

Mrs Parker & Mrs Pulham

New College Taster Day Monday 27th September

11th September 2021A Parker

Posted on behalf of Mrs Burns, Careers Lead: 
Today again Scott Faulkner from New College delivered a presentation to our year 10&11 cohort.  I can now confirm that there is an opportunity for all our C24 & C25 students from both schools to attend the NCD taster day on the 27th September.
Could all students complete the form below for the taster day at New College on Monday 27th September. They need to choose 3 options and then a 4th standby. This information needs to be completed by Monday and prospectuses have been shared. The links to the college for both taster day  options and the online prospectus are below.
Please encourage your students to choose sessions they think they will enjoy or are intrigued by rather than in friendship groups, this is an important opportunity to try out before they enrol. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me. Crew Leaders will also be able to support and advise.
On the day we will be picked up by a coach at XP schools and taken to New College, we need to ensure all students leave from XP. Lunch is provided by college which I am excited about. They will attend 3 sessions and return to school by the usual finish time.

E24 (Y11) Visit to New College

3rd September 2021A Parker

New College Doncaster were invited to speak to XP East students today as part of their careers programme.

Scott Faulkner, Assistant Principal gave a presentation to E24 in advance of a taster day they will be attending on the 27th September (postponed from July). Students were asked to choose 3 options for the taster day which will be submitted to the college next week after looking at the prospectus they were given.

XP East is the first school to receive this talk and Scott made it clear to students that they should visit and research all local Post 16 provision so they could make an informed choice.

There is an open day on 16th October where students can have a look around and speak to staff and students. Both myself and Scott advised E24 students to apply to several colleges/schools or apprenticeships in their educational journey to Further Education and to be fully aware of the results needed to get there.

As Careers Lead I am also actively engaged in working with other local post 16 providers to ensure the best outcomes for our students.

Today was a timely reintroduction to the purpose of working hard this year as our new year 11s are preparing their road maps to success in their GCSEs and beyond. It has been wonderful this week to listen to the enthusiasm and determination of our young people as they start their last year with XP East. My role will be to support them by giving them the opportunity to make informed decisions for the best outcomes possible.

(Posted on behalf of Mrs Burns)

Crew Finch: The Beginning of the Final Chapter

3rd September 2021A Parker

I can’t quite believe that we’re ready to begin the final chapter of our Crew Finch adventure.  I’m sure this chapter will include many more exhilarating twists and turns as we step onto the final road of this epic journey, overcoming obstacles and celebrating triumphs, which will ultimately lead Crew to GCSE success.  We’ll end as we started: Together (I do love a happy ending!)

We’ve spent our first few days together regrouping and refocusing on Crew.  We’ve had some to time to reflect on our Y10 results and map out what our Y11 learning journey will look like.  This hasn’t been a solo activity; we know we can’t get there without the support Crew so we’ve been focussing on our Guiding Question:

How can we can everyone to the top of their mountain?

This generated a very mature and compassionate discussion about how everyone’s journey to the summit will look and feel different, but we need to respect each other’s journey and be on hand to support those who need it and respectfully challenge those who may be holding others (or themselves!) back.  Crew have also created some amazing learning journey maps, which I will share with you next week.

We also had some time in sports hall playing dodgeball and even snuck in a bit of yoga!  And can you spot our new crew pet??  (I’ve pledged to buy a souvenir from every place we visit together this year and will raffle them off at the end of the year!)

On Tuesday we travelled to Flamborough Head, where we hiked from North Landing to South Landing.  This featured as the highlight of the week for most of us, especially as we were lucky enough to spot a cove full of seals!  We reminisced about some of our other hikes and Malham Cove is still a firm favourite!

The nicest thing about this week for me has got to be the fact that it’s “business as usual” at school (albeit with some extra precautions in place). It’s been absolute joy to see different year groups mixing at break times.  Y11s talking to our new Y7s at break times.  Lots of excited chatter and activity around the school. What a buzz!

I’m also excited that we can start having parents back into school and I can’t wait to see you all soon at our first face-to-face SLCs for a while! I’ll contact you all soon with more details and other key dates for your diaries.

E24 (Y10) Fieldwork Thursday 1st July (warning – it’s an early start!)

By A Parker25th June 2021

We are super excited to be taking C24 out on fieldwork on Thursday, 1st July.

We have arranged to take the whole of Y10 to Shrewsbury Prison, to support our final expedition of the year: Karma Police – have we got justice right?

Shrewsbury Prison was decommissioned in 2013 and now provides an “interactive prison experience” for visitors. It was also recently used as the location for BBC’s drama ‘Time’, which gave a harrowing picture of prison life.

We’re not giving too much away about the activities we’ve got planned for students, but we promise not to leave any of them locked in the cells 😉

We are booked in at the prison at 9.30am meaning that we do have to set off between 6.45am-7am at the latest.  If this is a problem for anyone, please let your Crew Leader know as soon as possible.

We will be leaving the prison at approx 1pm, so hope to be back at school between 3.30-4pm, traffic dependant. We will update socials on the day.

Please make sure students wear comfortable clothes and take a jacket as it can become cold in the prison and sensible shoes. Students will also need a packed lunch and sufficient water for the day. Please don’t pack any products containing nuts in packed lunches as we are a nut-free school!  If your child is in receipt of free school meals, a packed lunch will be provided for them.

Sun Safety and Hay Fever

By S Mitchell15th June 2021

UV rays are most intense from 10 AM to 4 PM, and this is when students are usually outside for break, lunch and Physical Education. XP offers the following recommendations for keeping students sun-safe during the spring/summer months:

  • Clothing is the single most effective form of sun protection for the body, so send kids to school in densely woven and bright-coloured fabrics, which offer the best defence. The more skin you cover, the better, so choose long sleeves and long pants whenever possible.
  • Send children to school with a wide-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses, to protect their face, neck and eyes. If they won’t wear a wide-brimmed hat, a baseball cap is better than nothing.
  • Make sunscreen part of the morning routine: At least 30 minutes before children go outside, parents should apply a broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher to their skin. Older children should learn to apply sunscreen themselves and make it a routine habit. To remain effective, sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours or immediately after swimming or sweating. At a minimum, remind children to reapply sunscreen before outdoor activities.
  • One ounce of sunscreen (about the size of a golf ball) should be applied to the entire body. Remind children to cover those easy to miss spots, such as the back of ears and neck, as well as the tops of the feet and hands.

You should also note that windy, warm, and sunny days can increase levels of pollen turnout.

If you’ve ever suffered from a snotty nose, watery eyes, or itchiness, then you know exactly how annoying allergy season is for many – especially when it’s finally warm enough to enjoy the outdoors again.

Allergies can be especially frustrating in a year like 2021, when most people have been limited to the confines of their homes for months on end. Plus, thanks to climate change, it turns out that people’s allergies are actually getting worse over time. Temperature increases lead to more pollen production, which can be a major irritant for those with respiratory issues like asthma. This might be the longest, most intense allergy season yet.

But knowing when exactly allergy season will start this year, and how to prep your body for any allergen invaders, will help you fight back. To get specific information around this, Pollen.com has a National Allergy Map that provides an up-to-date allergy forecast in different areas around the country and an Allergy Alert app that gives five-day forecasts with in-depth information on specific allergens.

Allergists recommend you start taking medication a couple of weeks before the allergy season arrives, or at the latest, take them the moment you begin having symptoms. Taking them early can stop an immune system freak-out before it happens, lessening the severity of symptoms.

If your child requires hay fever medication, please ensure you fill in a medical form and hand their medication to a staff member at reception. We must not have medication in students’ bags.

Any questions, please email [email protected] or [email protected].

#StaySafe

E24 Science Mock Exams – May 17th and May 18th

By J Smith8th May 2021

Students in Year 10 have their Science mock papers on the afternoons of Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th May.

We have started revision in class and each student has been asked to join a group in Seneca where they can work through some revision activities.

The papers will be on the areas of study from their expeditions this year.

Paper 1: Monday 17th May PM – Communicable and non-communicable diseases

Paper 2: Tuesday 18th May PM – Magnetism and electromagnetism, hydrocarbons, electricity and alternative energy sources.

Information on effective revision in Science can be found here.

Students have access to a digital textbook through Kerboodle. There are some hard copies of textbooks which we can loan out if students prefer. They can get those from me.

C24 Spanish mock exams: additional information

By D Pearson7th May 2021

Recently our Year 10 / C24 GCSE Spanish group has been preparing for the forthcoming mock exams in speaking and writing. As our students were routinely exposed to the format and content of the role play and photo card tasks in sessions throughout year 9, they are already accustomed to their rubrics and are aware of the need to respond spontaneously to unexpected and unpredictable elements. This year we have additionally practised the general conversation task, that requires students to develop and extend their answers to a series of questions based on a general theme.

In terms of the Foundation Tier writing exam, our students are required to describe a photo in Spanish, write a 40 word paragraph using 4 bullet point prompts, translate 5 short sentences into Spanish and respond in writing to one of two 90 word tasks, again to the four bullet points that are provided. Each week since September, one of these tasks has been the focus of a full session, so that students have become familiar with what is required, and practised with a rubric according to exam criteria.

Our students will undoubtedly find these mock exams challenging, as opportunities for meaningful spoken interaction with others have been limited by the confines of distance learning, whilst retention and spontaneous recall of key grammar and vocabulary used in written Spanish has not been practised with anything like the regularity of previous years. However, we are confident that our students will continue the revision and preparation started in school over the last three weeks at home, and be well prepared for the two Spanish exams.

It would be fantastic if parents and carers could support during this time, even if it’s something as simple as listening to your son / daughter saying their General Conversation (either on School or Holidays.) As we said in class, students are completely in control of this part of the speaking exam. Please encourage them to spend time on this, along with drilling of verbs in the three main tenses (preterite, present and near future). Again, as we said in class, revision should be “little and often”, to help embed this current learning into long term memory. 

Finally, thank you for your support during this period; please do not hesitate to contact me at school should you wish to discuss any of the above further.

E24/Year 10 Day 6 Invite

By J Smith11th April 2021


D6 is our voluntary sixth day of school which will take place each Saturday during term time. D6 is led by ex-students of XP who are returning to provide our current students with peer to peer academic study support. There will be additional support from our school learning coaches and members of the Leadership Team. Existing students in Year 10 will be able to come into school on a voluntary basis on a Saturday morning from 10.00-12.00 each week to access this additional support.

The long-term plan is to open this up to students in all year groups, but in light of the recent lockdown, we are currently only extending this invitation to students in Year 10 as an additional layer of support in response to the previous lockdown. Whilst we understand that there may be some concerns around coming into school on a weekend, we feel it is justified in light of ensuring our students are able to access the education and additional support they deserve. Therefore, all Year 10 students are welcome at XP from this Saturday 17th April. Sessions will usually begin at 10.00 until 12.00 for the time being.

Appropriate risk assessments and protocols around safe and hygienic working have been prepared, and we will ensure that rooms used in the school have been sanitised before and after use. Refreshments will also be provided.

We hope students in Year 10 along with XP and year 10s and year 11s can join us this Saturday! If there are any questions or concerns please email Mr Smith at [email protected]