XP East

What a start to the year for Crew Ardern!

We’ve welcomed a new student into Crew, gained a new (but very familiar!) Crew Leader, Mrs Watson, who will be guiding us alongside Mr Currie through this final year at XPE.

We hit the ground running on day one with a beautiful walk at Langsett – the perfect way to reset as a Crew, reconnect, and remind ourselves of the importance of supporting one another.

By Wednesday, Crew Ardern were showing their competitive edge in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? – taking joint first place, of course, because that’s how we roll. We also took on Taskmaster, putting our creative and problem-solving skills, working together to the test to scoop another fab day in the bag.

Thursday was all about getting ready for the challenges of Y11: resetting norms and expectations, learning effective revision techniques, building revision timetables, and even hearing from our alumni, who shared valuable guidance and tips.

On Friday, we wrapped up the week by creating our Crew wall planner – our roadmap to success – and presenting it proudly in community meeting.

What a way to kick off Year 11 Crew Ardern – we’re ready to smash this year!

On 03.09.2024, year 7 students will be taking part in fieldwork to Murton Park Museum, York. 

This fieldwork has been planned to support their learning in Humanities and is a brilliant opportunity to bring the students’ learning to life in an exciting and engaging way. The experience will be used to support learning back in the classroom to help the children better understand the content and develop a deeper understanding of the Vikings and how they influenced how we live today. This will also support us to develop our historical knowledge and see change over time. . 

Students need to arrive at school for 7:45am. We will depart school at 8:15am and our expected arrival time back at school is 4pm. We will provide updates on our expected arrival time back at school via the school website as this can be impacted by events out of our control such as traffic. 

Students will need a packed lunch for this fieldwork. If your child is in receipt of free school meals, a lunch will be provided. 

In addition to a packed lunch, students will need the following equipment:

• A water bottle 
• Appropriate footwear
• Comfortable clothing

It is advised that students do not wear brand new clothing/ footwear as the ground is quite dirty and the nature of the tasks they will be doing means they may get dirty! Outward Bound clothing/ shoes may be a good choice!

If you have any questions about this fieldwork, please contact me on [email protected] / [email protected] or get in touch with your child’s crew leader. 

As predicted, traffic has hindered our progress. Our arrival time to XP School is going to be closer to 17:00 as a result.

You should still expect a call from your child roughly 30 minutes before.

We would appreciate it if you could meet us in Car Park 3- leaving space for the coaches. Again, we would like to remind you and your child to check out with their Crew Leader before leaving the car park.

Thank you.

We have departed the Outward Bound Centre in Ullswater and are headed straight to Doncaster, with no intended stops.

Our current estimated time of arrival is 16:30.

This is subject to change due to anticipated traffic. Please continue to check the blog for regular updates.

We will be returning students phones to them around 30 minutes before arriving back at school for them to contact home to arrange travel plans.

Please ensure you check out with your child’s Crew Leader before leaving the school site.

Thank you!

This week, as a crew, we have worked hard to answer our guiding question: “How can I show kindness to myself and my community and have a positive impact?”

We began by resetting our norms and expectations for the year ahead, making sure we all start on the same page and support one another in the right way. Midweek, we were joined by parents for a warm and joyful day of coffee, tea, games, and the colour run. It was a wonderful reminder that kindness doesn’t just exist within our crew, but also in the connections we share with families and our wider community.

One of the biggest challenges came yesterday when we tackled the Monsal Trail. For many of us, it tested our resilience, but with encouragement from those who love exploring and who kept spirits high, we pushed through—together. Even when it felt tough, we supported each other, and I’m truly grateful to crew for helping me get through it too.

Today, we took time to reflect on the week. Already, we can see changes in our crew: stronger bonds, greater determination, and a clearer sense of what it means to live out kindness in action. This week hasn’t always been easy—we’ve had to grapple and lean on each other—but it has shown us the power of crew.

As we look ahead, we carry with us the lessons of this week: kindness to ourselves, kindness to others, and the positive impact we can make together.

Thanks Miss Askin

In our first week back, each crew took part in a special challenge to support our local community. During their micro adventure on Wednesday, Crews headed to local charity shops to choose a mascot that would represent their crew for the year ahead.

Not only was this a fun way to kick off the term and build crew spirit, but it also meant we could give something back to local charities at the same time. The mascots are now proudly displayed in crews, reminding us of the importance of working together and supporting our wider community. We’re excited to see how these mascots inspire our crews throughout the year!

Cora Hatch, Crew Dufton: “For our crew mascot we bought a teapot, because having a cuppa brings us all together. This will be important as we head into KS4 because we don’t want to burn ourselves out from working hard all the time, we need to find time to relax too.”

Nicole Wilkinson, Crew White: “We bought Larry the Sheep because in Wales and DofE we had lots of interactions with sheep that made us laugh. We know that there might be tough times ahead, so we wanted something to lighten our mood”

Miss Ayre, Crew Windsor: “Bobby the British Bulldog is our crew mascot. We named our crew in honour of Queen Elizabeth II and wanted a mascot that linked to the British Royal Family”

Arda Aydin, Crew Spencer: “White Tiger’s are unique and everyone is Crew Spencer is unique too”

After a night out on expedition, all of our C32 Crews are safely back at the centre – tired, happy, and full of stories. Since they’ve been back, their time has been about the simple but important things: food, rest, and sorting out their own kit after life outdoors.

This evening, the focus shifts from physical challenge to reflection. Crews are now preparing their presentations to answer the guiding question: “What does it mean to be Crew?” Tomorrow morning, before heading home, they’ll share their thoughts and experiences with the whole school – bringing together everything they’ve learned about teamwork, responsibility, and belonging.

It’s been a transformative few days already, and we can’t wait to see how the students capture the impact of their journey in their final reflections.

TOMORROW’S JOURNEY BACK HOME

We plan to leave the centre as close to 12:30pm as possible. Traffic dependent and including the stop for the drivers/services we should be back at XP for around 4pm. 

However, the journey here took longer due to unplanned road closures and diversions –  so we will keep in touch via the school website and allow students to call home when we are close. 

Be sure to check back here for further updates tomorrow.