At XP School, we believe music has the power to inspire and shape young minds. Each year, we offer a unique opportunity for children with a natural flair for music to gain a place in Year 7 through our dedicated Musical Aptitude route.
Whether your child already sings or plays an instrument, or simply has a keen ear for rhythm, melody, and pitch, this pathway recognises raw musical potential.
With access to expert tuition, vibrant performance opportunities, and a culture that celebrates creativity, XP School is the perfect stage for your child to flourish musically and academically. Click here to see highlights from our recent annual XP Festival of Arts and Culture
Apply now, and don’t miss this chance to join a learning community where talent is nurtured and passion takes centre stage! Find out more about this here: https://xptrust.info/XPMA
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.
Year 7 (class of 2033) have had a great start to the academic year!
Our academic year began with a phenomenal immersive experience at Kynren in County Durham. Following a two-hour journey, students walked from the coach through a meticulously recreated Viking village and into an open-air theatre. As smoke rose and a low drone of music echoed through the venue, actors entered the arena. Before long, our students were captivated by a spectacular reenactment of a Viking battle, complete with swords, shields, and flaming weaponry!
Next, the students explored a Victorian-era exhibit, learning about the significant technological advancements of the period. This segment also featured a choreographed sword fight between two actors.
The itinerary continued at a second open-air theatre with a spectacular falconry display. Students observed vultures, owls, eagles, falcons, and parrots in flight across the arena, with some birds swooping thrillingly close to our heads!
Returning to the Viking village, students had the opportunity to interact with historical interpreters playing carpenters, farmers, and blacksmiths, gaining valuable insight into daily Viking life.
This was followed by a theatrical performance depicting folklore and village life, in medieval times, including a dramatic portrayal of a witch casting spells.
The final performance showcased an impressive display of horsemanship and medieval jousting. It was a long, action-packed day, but thoroughly enjoyable for all involved.
Upon returning to the classroom, students spent time reflecting on their experiences and the historical insights gained at Kynren.
On Friday, we revealed the Guiding Question and outlined the expedition plan, setting the stage for the next 12 weeks of our learning journey.
We look forward to seeing our students engage deeply with this expedition and are excited to witness all that they will achieve!
Time is flying past and somehow we are already into week 3. Everyone in crew CBO is back and getting involved with their new expeditions. I thought it would be nice to share some highlights of our 1st week.
We started off getting back into our crew norms and establishing why “crew is so important to our XP core values. We started by setting up our crew board now that we have moved to a smaller room on the top floor of the school. We let off a bit of steam by having a mini sports day where Crew CBO tried to take on the might of the other 3 crews. (we are not well known for our sporting prowess,} but I feel that we did give a good account of ourselves finishing in joint third place.
Day 2 was spent walking for what seemed forever to visit Sandal Beat wood where we were taught how to hunt for beetles and other mini beasts, simple map reading skills and helping to clear some over grown parts of the woods, we then had to make the 1.5 hr walk back again, there were a lot of very tired feet by the time we reached home.
Crew chips made a brilliant start during the first week back.
The pupils made a scarecrow which was showcased in last weekends scarecrow competition in Doncaster
The pupils completed a mini first aid course learning the basics of CPR and how to use defibrillators
The week culminated in fieldwork to the Monsal trail in Bakewell where the students made a start on utilising skills for D of E by reading maps and finding waypoints.
Crew Spencer have made a fantastic start to Year 11 and are settling back into school really well. We’ve enjoyed a walk to Langsett, explored revision techniques to help us succeed in our GCSEs, and got back into the spirit of Crew.
Students produced some fantastic work creating mind maps about how they are going to be successful in Year 11. It has been a brilliant start, and I’m really looking forward to the year ahead!
Our Year 7 cohort did a great job of leaving the Outward Bound Centre with no trace, cleaning down their dorms and repacking their own bags. However, there were some items left unclaimed before we left.
These have been shown to students in community meeting and where parents have emailed we have been able to return items. However, we would appreciate your support in reviewing the image below and asking your child to collect items from XP Office if they belong to them.
We will keep this items for another week, then in line with the degunge process in school they will be given to the charity shop.
Year 7 will be studying the History of England as part of their 7.1 Expedition ‘This Land is Your Land’. In support of this, you may wish to visit Conisbrough Castle for their Viking Open Day this Sunday 12th September.
Today’s immersion lesson with Mr Heslop offered a fantastic look into how mathematical concepts come alive when connected to real-world applications. Students confidently tackled standard form, mastering how to convert, calculate, and manipulate extremely large and small numbers.
What made today’s session particularly impactful was its intentional link to the upcoming science curriculum. By contextualising standard form through Tier 3 scientific vocabulary— prefixes like nano-, milli-, mega-, —students weren’t just practicing abstract math. They were laying the foundational skills needed to measure everything from interstellar distances to cellular structures which will support them with their science learning this term too!
In E31, in both Explorer and Pioneer the learning behaviours on display were exceptional. Students grappled with both fluency and complex reasoning. The classroom culture was defined by resilience, curiosity, and working hard.
Engagement across the room was beautiful, with every student actively contributing and taking ownership of their progress. Mr Booth, supported with targeted intervention and patience enabling students who found the concepts challenging to build confidence and achieve those crucial “I’ve got it” moments.
Well done to Mr Heslop, Mr Booth, and the fantastic students in E32 for such great lessons!
At XP, our first week back looks a little bit different. Across our Trust, students and staff have been working hard to build and reestablish the most important part of our culture – Crew.
At XP School, we believe music has the power to inspire and shape young minds. Each year, we offer a unique opportunity for children with a natural flair for music to gain a place in Year 7 through our dedicated Musical Aptitude route. Whether your child already sings or plays an instrument, or simply has a keen ear for rhythm, melody, and pitch, this pathway recognises raw musical potential.
With access to expert tuition, vibrant performance opportunities, and a culture that celebrates creativity, XP School is the perfect stage for your child to flourish musically and academically. Click here to see highlights from our recent annual XP Festival of Arts and Culture
Apply now, and don’t miss this chance to join a learning community where talent is nurtured and passion takes centre stage! Find out more about this here: https://xptrust.info/XPMA
