Unlock your child’s musical potential at XP School!

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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

Applying for a place at XP – Fair Banding Assessment

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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

Crew AJA Outward Bound

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It’s been a few weeks since we boarded the adventure bus to Ullswater and spent an entertaining four days getting to know each other and stepping out of our comfort zones. Our crew have made a fantastic start to the school year and we’ve fallen quickly into the routines of crew time, social time and (most importantly!) sessions. As a now three time crew leader, it’s always wonderful to hear stories from my crew’s teachers but this year has been exceptional. I really want to appreciate and praise crew AJA for their awesome start to the year.

Anyway – coming back to outward bound is something that we will do throughout our time together at XP. It’s such an important experience, and the foundation of the work we do together as crew. in light of that, here are some of the memories that we built from our first week in school.

Crew VTA

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What an incredible start to the term Crew VTA X33 has had! We are so proud of everything they have achieved and the positive attitude they have shown from day one.

Our crew had an amazing experience at Outward Bound, where they challenged themselves, stepped outside of their comfort zones and worked brilliantly together. It was fantastic to see their resilience, teamwork and determination throughout the experience.

We also had the opportunity to visit Kynren as part of our immersion for our new expedition. This was a brilliant experience and gave Crew VTA X33 the chance to engage with something new, learn together and build excitement for what is to come.

But it isn’t just the big experiences that deserve recognition. Crew VTA X33 have been absolutely amazing day in and day out. Since the start of term, they have received lots of praise for their behaviour, attitude and effort. Their attendance has also been really positive, which is something they should be incredibly proud of.

It has been fantastic to see Crew VTA X33 settling into the new term so positively and demonstrating the values we expect from them.

Year 11 Brings the Energy to BTEC Sport & Ultimate Frisbee

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There is no slowing down for our Year 11s this term! We are incredibly proud of the resilience and work ethic this cohort is displaying, both in the sports hall and out on the pitch.

In Ultimate Frisbee, the energy has been phenomenal. Students are pushing their cardiovascular limits with spectacular catches and pinpoint passes, all while demonstrating brilliant sportsmanship and the self-refereed “Spirit of the Game.”

In BTEC Sport, students have been diving into the components of fitness by trying exciting new ways of learning. Working collaboratively together to grapple new key words and linking them to sporting examples.

Keep up the great work Year 11.

Bah, Humbug! Crew Peake Take On Charles Dickens!

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Talk about a morning where literature completely came to life! I had the absolute privilege of popping into Crew Peake’s English sessions this morning!

The atmosphere in Crew Peake’s was nothing short of extraordinary. Miss Buckley’s room was locked in a state of laser-sharp focus as Admiral took on their latest assessment. You could hear a pin drop!!!

Skipper have also been exploring the characters from a Christmas Carol! To help bring A Christmas Carol off the page, Skipper delivered some mind-blowing (and some quite questionable) sketches, literally exploding the Ghost of Christmas Present into the room.

A massive shoutout to Admiral for their incredible work ethic today, and to Skipper for making classic literature feel larger than life. Crew Peake is absolutely setting the bar high! Keep working hard, getting smart, and being kind!

Year 11 Working (and playing) hard!

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Last week I visited some Year 11 sessions, and enjoyed every minute. In PE, students were practising their basketball skills, including shooting, during a game. They showed energy and confidence in this.

Later that day, I saw true craftsmanship and quality in Science sessions. Students were challenged to think and speak like Scientists, using accurate scientific language.

The craftsmanship, quality and respect for work and learning was also obvious in student folders. Have a look at Lola’s fantastic start to Year 11!

Relish Ambassador Student Voice Group

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Last week, students from all year groups joined Jackie from Relish to check in about our lunchtime options. Bailey, Skye, Milo, Harley, Toby, Veya and Kayden all enjoyed sharing their favourite food, and what they would like to see on the menu in future.

Students will be able to participate in a Design a Dish competition later this term, and the successful students will have their very own dish named after them for a day! More information to come through Crew Leaders.

Y9 Crew Rock

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Crew Rock are an outstanding group of young people. Since starting at XP East in Year 7, they have shown how amazing they are. Year on year, week on week they have lead on praises, and on attendance. This week, crew rock have gone even further, they have not only been in the lead across their year group on praises, but they have also managed to receive zero conducts.

I cannot understate how immensely proud I am of all of you, you are truly wonderful students and I look forward to seeing just how much you can all achieve.

Mrs Goddard