Crew Irwin X31 – “I’ll be there for you! (When the rain starts to fall)”

What a fantastic first week back at XP! It’s been a week filled with reflection, teamwork, fresh air, and creativity – all rooted in our guiding question: “How can we support each other and act as role models?” Your children have returned with enthusiasm and maturity, and we couldn’t be prouder of how they’ve started the new academic year.

Day 1 – Rebooting Crew & Setting Intentions

We began the week by rebooting our crew, revisiting our norms, and reminding ourselves of what it means to belong to a strong, supportive community. Each student took part in a reflective solo, considering what they want to achieve and experience during their time at XP. This quiet time gave them the space to think deeply and intentionally.

Students then wrote a letter or email to their future Year 11 selves – a powerful exercise in goal setting and self-belief. Alongside this, they made personal pledges to guide their actions this year, setting the tone for a purposeful start.

Day 2 – Fieldwork at Sandal Beat Woods

Our second day took us out into nature with fieldwork at Sandal Beat Woods, where students explored the idea of stewardship in action. They took part in orienteering, mini-beast hunting, conservation work, and survival skills.

A special shout-out goes to Olin, who was the only student to successfully light cotton wool using a flint and steel – a true survivalist! And Alfie went above and beyond in helping clear areas identified by the rangers, showing incredible dedication to caring for our environment.

Every student demonstrated respect, responsibility, and teamwork – true XP values in action.

Day 3 – Inter-crew challenges 

On Thursday the gloves were well and truly off when it was time to take on our inter crew challenges. Crew Irwind competitive streak shone through but I was incredibly proud of how all students conducted themselves throughout each task. The level of compassion, integrity and respect from all crew members was amazing to see. Activities included, heads down thumbs up, red light green light, extreme rock parer scissors, jigsaw races, skittle sort rounders and tower building.

Day 4 – Reflection, Creativity & Celebration

We used Thursday to slow things down a little and reflect on our experiences. Students created beautiful products for our crew wall, including:

  • Collaborative colouring pieces
  • A photo collage capturing moments from our week
  • Hand-crafted origami butterflies

These calming, creative activities allowed students to connect with each other in a different way and celebrate their achievements.

Later, we joined up with other XP crews to present our week in our Community Meeting. Our crew shared highlights, reflections, and examples of how they’ve already started being role models within our school.

This first week has set a strong foundation for the year ahead. Your children have already begun to show how they can support one another and lead by example – both within our crew and across the wider XP community.

Thank you for your continued support. We can’t wait to see how our pledges and reflections shape the rest of the term!

Mrs Barnes

C29 are back with a bang!

C29’s First Week Back!

C29 have had a brilliant start to the new school year, full of energy, teamwork, and plenty of laughter!

Our guiding question for the week was “how can we ensure that our future selves thank us for the next two years?” – we also had 3 different things to focus on this week. The first focus was “How can I have a positive impact on myself and my community?” – Tuesday’s activities focused on this, as we reconnected with our crews.

We kicked off our Tuesday with a year group community meeting, where we focused on the norms and expectations for Year 10. Together, we discussed the important qualities we’d like to see in our crew leaders and phase leaders for the year ahead – and realised just how much we’ll be relying on them to hold us to account and help us achieve our very best. 

To round off the day, we came together for some light-hearted competition. Inspired by the TV show “99 to Beat”, crews faced off in a series of silly games and activities – we had to catch potatoes on a fork [including some attempted trick shots!], retract a tape measure and stop within 2 lines – and bouncing pencils in to cups using only the rubber on the end! From start to finish, it was an afternoon filled with laughter, teamwork, and just a little bit of friendly rivalry – with Crew Lovelace coming out on top!

Wednesday saw our microadventures; and crews in Y10 heading out into Doncaster. Armed with tasks beginning A-Z; with just a £10 budget, crews set out to complete a variety of exciting tasks. These included finding the most antique item, purchasing a crew mascot, heading to the remains of a Roman fort, going to locate Doncaster Racecourse and the Mansion House. At each stop, C29  were tasked with taking a photo or video of their crews doing something in those places – highlights included doing the Can Can in the corn exchange, Yoga at the YMCA, and racing like horses at the racecourse!

On Thursday, C29 moved on to learning about careers, interviews and life after Year 11. This helped us to zoom in on our second focus:  How do I present myself as a leader, not a passenger?  We worked with our expert, James, who discussed available careers in the NHS; and we also had the opportunity (and privilege!) to listen to five XP alumni speak about their experiences in sixth form, college and university, before engaging in a Q&A session with them – giving us a taste of what our lives may involve post-XP! After this, we took part in an interview skills workshop; before making a vision board showing where we wanted to be in our lives ten years from now. Hopefully we can look back on these and compare what we thought we’d want to do, to what we’re actually doing. 

Friday culminated our week perfectly;  we completed our vision boards; spent some time competing in some more crew games, and took part in a session on specific revision methods and tips, so we can head in to KS4 with some good techniques – meeting our third focus, How do I ensure I’m the best version of myself, so I can look after others, too?. After lunch we completed a 30 minute solo, looking back on our journeys through Year 9, and this week – we spent some time thinking about how we can become the best versions of ourselves by the end of Key Stage 4, before presenting our week to our whole school community. 

Crews have created their own VLOGS as products this week; and they are incredible. Some phenomenal memories made, great teamwork and sportsmanship have been shown this week, and as crew leaders, we’ve loved every minute of it!

 What a fantastic start to the year – and if this first week is anything to go by, C29 are in for an unforgettable Year 10 – and I cannot wait to work with them this year!

Miss Cocliff x

Crew Brunel’s First Week in Year 9

The first week of Year 9 was nothing short of incredible for Crew Brunel. From exciting challenges to moments of reflection, we came together as a crew and as a year group to set the tone for what promises to be an amazing year ahead.

Day 1: Rebooting Crew

Our first day began with a crew reboot, revisiting our crew norms and reflecting on our character traits and Habits of Work and Learning (HoWLs). It was a great reminder of how important it is to support one another and hold each other accountable.

Then, we jumped straight into our first round of crew-building activities:

  • The Egg Drop Challenge – Using sponges, plastic bags, straws, and tape, we designed protective shells to keep our eggs safe during a drop from the balcony. The tension was real, but the creativity was next level!
  • Plane Races – We crafted paper airplanes, attached balloons and straws, and launched them along a string to see which could travel the furthest.

Then we headed to the sports hall for a series of energetic team games — Rock, Paper, Scissors, Ice Cream Cone, and Marble Balance. These activities pushed us to think strategically, communicate effectively, and most importantly, never give up. It was amazing to see everyone encouraging one another, showing determination, kindness, and resilience.

The afternoon brought a welcome shift in pace with mindfulness activities:

  • Football – Everyone got involved, supporting one another and demonstrating excellent sportsmanship, even when things didn’t go as planned.
  • Yoga – Despite some technical glitches, Miss Mitchell stepped in to lead the session. Miss Mitchell and Miss Burnitt reminded us that yoga isn’t about flexibility but about finding calm and moving at our own pace. The session brought balance and focus after our action-packed morning.

We ended the day with mindfulness colouring and bubble making, the perfect way to reflect and relax after an amazing first day together.

Day 2: Building Community

Wednesday began with a community morning where we welcomed the families of our Year 9 students into school. Over refreshments, families, students, and staff connected while taking part in fun games like skittles, curling, parachuting, skipping, and bingo. It was inspiring to see everyone working together, trying new skills, and simply enjoying time as a community.

The afternoon brought one of the highlights of the week: our sponsored colour run in support of Age UK and Diabetes UK. These charities are close to our hearts — diabetes affects members of our school community, and supporting Age UK means giving back to the older generation in our area.

Running laps of the field while being splashed with water and vibrant paint was an unforgettable experience. Parents joined in the fun too, watching us laugh, cheer, and celebrate being part of such a supportive crew.

Day 3: Preparing For DofE

Thursday took us outdoors for an exciting adventure along the Monsal Trail, where we stopped at cache points to collect information for our learning booklets. The walk was tough in places, but our crew showed true grit, determination, and perseverance to complete the trail together.

This is just the beginning, as all Year 9 students will be taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award programme — an amazing opportunity for our students to try new things, challenge themselves, and have plenty of fun along the way! Throughout the programme, they’ll get to learn a brand-new skill, give their time to help others, get active and push themselves physically, and embark on an unforgettable expedition with their crew.

Day 4: Reflecting and Looking Forward

On Friday, we spent time in solo reflection — thinking deeply about the past year and how we’ve grown as individuals and as a crew. We then connected our reflections to this year’s guiding question:

“How can I show kindness to myself and my community and have a positive impact?”

It was a powerful moment of introspection, helping us set personal intentions for the year ahead and reminding us of the strength we have as a crew when we work together.

A Week To Remember!

Our first week in Year 9 has been full of learning, laughter, and growth. From building resilience through challenges to finding calm in moments of mindfulness, Crew Brunel has shown what it truly means to live our values.

If this week is any indication, Year 9 is going to be an incredible journey — one where kindness will guide us every step of the way. Here’s to Year 9!

Miss Mitchell

C32 Homeward Bound Update

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.

C32 Homeward Bound

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!

Crew Parton – First Week Back

What a fantastic first week back for Crew Parton! We’ve spent time rebooting our crew, reconnecting with one another, and reflecting on our new guiding question: “How can we support each other and act as role models?”

Our fieldwork at Sandall Beat Woods gave us the chance to show courage as we tackled orienteering challenges, built fires, and explored the woodland to discover mini beasts. Working together outdoors reminded us of the importance of respect for both nature and each other.

Back in school, we enjoyed a day of fun inter-crew activities. We focussed on the character trait of integrity, thinking about what it means to make the right choices, even when no one is watching. Through teamwork and collaboration, we also showed compassion in the way we supported and encouraged each other.

Throughout the week, we have been reminded of the value of craftsmanship and quality – taking pride in the way we work and holding ourselves to high standards, both in and out of the classroom.

It’s been an inspiring start to the year, and Crew Parton is ready to keep growing together as role models in our school community as we make our journey through year 8 together.