After a full day of Duke of Edinburgh walking, navigating and working together as Crew, we are pleased to let you know that everyone has arrived safely at camp.
Students have shown brilliant character throughout the day, supporting each other, staying positive and demonstrating the kindness and teamwork that sit at the heart of XP. These experiences help our young people build confidence, independence and a strong sense of belonging as part of something bigger than themselves.
Tents are up, everyone has eaten, and the site is calm. All is well and students are now tucked up in their tents for a well-earned rest.
We are incredibly proud of them all and look forward to another great day tomorrow.
The Year 9 Presentation of Learning is Thursday 25th June as part of the wider Arts Festival. We would ask that Parents and Carers arrive at around 3.50pm where students will be briefly outlining the expedition. Thepresentation from students will run between 4.30pm and 4.50pm.
Students will be presenting their learning answering the guiding question: What is our relationship with the natural world?
As the presentation is part of the wider Arts Festival we ask that parents/families book free tickets using the link below:
This is so that we have a record of numbers of people on school site.
After this time there will be opportunity for families to attend the other aspects of the Arts Festival if they wish to. If students are leaving school site at the end of the Presentation of Learning they will need to sign out with a member of staff.
Mark Your Calendars: The XP Trust Arts Festival is Coming!
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that all of the incredible pieces highlighted here—along with an expansive collection of stunning work from across our primary and secondary schools—will be officially curated and showcased as part of this year’s XP Trust Arts Festival on June 25th.
Our students have poured their hearts, minds, and immense effort into these creations, embodying our core value of craftsmanship. The festival will be a true celebration of their dedication, and we cannot wait to share these beautiful products with our wider community.
Whether you are a parent, a student, a neighbor, or a supporter of the arts, please join us on June 25th to witness firsthand what happens when we hold our young people to high expectations and encourage them to share their stories as they go.
Welcome to the first update of our journey! This week marked the official launch of our brand-new intervention programme, designed specifically to support, challenge, and empower a select group of Year 9 young men as they prepare for the road ahead.
Our ultimate destination? A grueling, high-energy Inflatable 10K in Bakewell on the 26th of September! But before we can tackle the physical obstacles waiting for us in September, we had to lay the groundwork for how we operate as a team.
Here is a look inside our very first session.
Part 1: Setting the Foundation & Facing the Facts
We kicked off the week by pulling back the curtain on exactly how the course will look over the coming months. Because this programme requires vulnerability, honesty, and grit, our very first task was to establish our ‘rules of engagement’. The boys actively collaborated to set out their own norms and expectations, deciding together how they will respect, support, and hold one another accountable.
Once the boundaries were set, we dived into some vital conversations about the current landscape of education for young men. We looked closely at the key issues they face today:
The Attendance and Engagement Link: How feeling like you don’t fit in can lead to pulling away from school.
Behavior as Communication: Realizing that challenging behaviors often come from unmet mental health needs or a lack of tools to express emotions.
The Mind-Body Connection: How physical health isn’t just about looking fit—it is directly tied to mental resilience, focus in the classroom, and entering their upcoming GCSEs with a positive, confident frame of mind.
Part 2: From Individuals to a Team
You can’t build a community just by talking about it—you have to experience it. In the second part of our session, we shifted from theory to action, putting our physical health and teamwork to the test.
The focus was entirely on group dynamics, leadership, and communication. Through a series of team-based challenges, the boys quickly realised that individual strength means very little if you can’t communicate under pressure. We saw early leaders step up, quiet voices find their confidence, and the beginnings of a genuine brotherhood start to form. They learned firsthand that to move fast, you might go alone—but to go far, you have to move together.
Driving Toward the Big Question
Every sweat-breaking circuit, every deep debate, and every mile we log between now and September is driven by one central, guiding question:
“How can we move together to create a community where every young man makes a positive contribution, feeling like he belongs and can be himself?”
Week one proved that these young men are more than ready to answer that call. They showed up, they engaged, and they took their first steps toward redefining what it means to lead.
Stay tuned for next week as we bring in external experts and start breaking down the internal barriers affecting youth wellbeing. Bakewell, we’re coming for you!
Want to know more about our upcoming milestones or the expert partners joining us? Keep an eye on our weekly blog updates!
I was invited into to the official relaunch of Embrace today — our dedicated hub designed to support wellbeing, foster connections, and provide a safe, structured environment during social times.
We are only a few days into the relaunch, and we are already seeing a massive, positive shift in how students utilise their lunchtimes. While unstructured free time is important, it can sometimes feel overwhelming or isolating for students. By providing a well-structured shared space, Embrace has bridged the gap.
We are already noticing;
1. A Sanctuary for Wellbeing
Navigating the school day can be draining for some of our students. Embrace offers a calm, regulated environment where students can decompress, take a breath, and reset before their afternoon classes. It has quickly become a cornerstone of our daily mental health support.
2. Meaningful Social Interactions
Because the space is structured with intentional activities, board games, and relaxed seating arrangements, breaking the ice is easy. We are seeing students from different year groups sit down together, share, and build new friendships that might never have formed.
3. Reduced Social Anxiety
The environment naturally invites participation, giving everyone a clear sense of belonging and a safe place to land. Staff and Students – Next time you pass by during lunch, take a peek inside!
From discussions about health, wellbeing and personal safety to debates around democracy, British Values and life beyond school, students across XP Doncaster have engaged in thoughtful and meaningful learning through Wise Wednesdays this term. This newsletter celebrates some of the beautiful work taking place in Crews and provides a preview of the important topics students will be exploring next term.
As we enter the final few weeks of year 7 (where did that year go?) I just wanted to make sure that everyone in my crew continues to bring their device every day fully charged as well as having the required equipment. I’ve noticed a real decline in students having a reading book on them at the start of session 1. Please make sure items like pencils pens etc are in their bags and that they are not bringing in energy drinks or sugary snacks and sweets.
We are working hard in lessons to get ready for this year’s arts festival, hopefully you come along and see just how much beautiful work has been produced during this recent terms work.
Today, witnessing our X29 (Year 10) students lead their TSLCs across the school with their subject teachers sat alongside them, was an amazing event!
With just 12 months between now and the culmination of their Key Stage 4 journey, today wasn’t just an ordinary check-in. It felt like a pivotal moment for our students as they begin to step into the final stretch toward their GCSEs.
Student Ownership
The “buzz” in the Lorax space this evening was unmistakable. It was the sound of authentic student voice in collaboration with their subject teachers.
What makes Student Led Conferences at XP so powerful is that adults don’t talk about the student; the student lead their narrative. Observing our students look their parents and subject teachers in the eye to articulate exactly their performance in mocks, where they stand academically and what they have identified they now need to be working on is incredibly moving.
Students gave sharp, honest, and self-aware reflections, identifying:
Their Successes: Celebrating the beautiful work they’ve crafted, the progress in their Habits of Work and Learning (HoWLs), and the concepts they have thoroughly mastered during their recent learning expeditions translated in their recent mock exams.
Areas to Focus Upon: Pinpointing the exact topics, exam techniques, and revision gaps they need to close. Hearing students confidently say, “I need to push my revision into higher-tier content,” and ‘” need to revise the key topics we studied in Year 9 which support the GCSE content” shows a level of maturity.
Culture is built together. Today simply would not have been possible without the shared culture of support for our students by both parents and staff.
The Final Countdown: 47 Weeks to Go
As positive as today was, it also served as a reality check. The clock to the GCSE exams is officially ticking.
Between now and the morning of their very first GCSE exam in May 2027, our X29 students have approximately 47 weeks.
The message leaving today’s TSLCs was loud and clear: Consistent, structured revision starts now.
Engagement in Sparx and Tassomai, utilising your Pinpoint booklets, reviewing your poetry anthologies, re reading your core texts, practicing 18 mark questions. I heard loads of other great tips from the staff tonight.
A pdf of our XP and XP East Study Guide is found below – check out some great tips, we’ll hand out tangible copies at our Y11 evening in September.
