Applying for a place at XP – Fair Banding Assessment

Geoff

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

D6- Get Ready for the Mock Exams!

Mirus Iwaskow

Day 6 (D6!) will continue this Saturday for our Y11 students!

The session will run from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. It’s a voluntary session where students can access additional support with learning or just have a relaxed space for focused self-study away from potential distractions at home.

Students can come and go as they wish and do not have to stay for the whole session; they’ll just need to sign in and out.

D6 is supported by six Student Coaches – ex-students of XP & XPE—who have returned to provide our current students with peer-to-peer academic study support. Please see two of their bio’s below. 

Please encourage Y11s to attend to squeeze in some extra revision time ahead of their mock exams which start in just over a week on November 16th. They’ll see the benefits on results day!

Sharing our Stories: 06/11/2026

Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful work this week

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.

Top of the Blogs

Year 3 War Hero walk @ Green Top

4N Beautiful Work on VE Day! @ Plover

Stranded! Our survival Experience Day @ Carcroft School

Passage Presentations @ XP

Expert Visitors who care @ Norton Infants

5SO Carpenters @ Norton Juniors

Calling all geographers and climate activists @ XP Gateshead

Share your stories with us!

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 comms@xptrust.org –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

Passage Presentations at XP

Geoff Hewitt

This video was created to support the Core Practice on Passage Presentations and features actual presentations from students from XP Doncaster and XP Gateshead. A huge appreciation to all those students sharing their stories and allowing us to create this piece of work to help future Year 9s shape their own presentations.

We’re looking for a great teacher of Mathematics at XP Gateshead

Geoff Hewitt

What if teaching Maths could be about more than covering the curriculum? What if every young person could leave school believing that they really are a mathematician? At XP Gateshead, that’s the ambition.

Joining XP Trust means becoming part of a community that does things differently. We believe education is about more than passing exams.

If you want to teach in a school where your creativity is valued and your work makes a difference, XP Trust is the place for you.

Find out more about the role here: https://xptrust.org/xp-gateshead-maths-teacher/

Reminder: Applying for a place at XP Secondary Schools – Fair Banding Assessment

Geoff Hewitt

To ensure a balanced intake of students across all ability levels, all applicants to an XP secondary school must sit a Fair Banding Assessment. Completing the assessment is a key part of the application and must be done to be considered for a place.

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.

Key Dates:

  • Registration Deadline: 31st October 2026
  • Assessment Date: 21st November 2026

Find out more and complete your registration here:https://xptrust.info/XPTFBA