Authentic Art making in Y8: Using Text and Portraiture to Define Humanity

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

Today, our Y8 students at XP School explored this guiding question in the most powerful, creative and authentic way — alongside the incredible Michelle Clarke-Stables.

Working shoulder-to-shoulder with Michelle, students created a legacy artwork that will live on in our school: a large-scale micrography portrait of Frida Kahlo, built entirely from handwritten words, reflections and quotes that answer our guiding question.

Every mark is a voice.

Every layer is a story.

Every word speaks to the messy, beautiful, painful and resilient nature of being human.

Frida Kahlo feels like the perfect muse for this work. Her life was shaped by courage, compassion and fierce tenacity — choosing colour in the face of pain, truth in the face of silence, and creativity in the face of adversity. She epitomises what we hope our students discover: that being human is about resilience, tenderness, and the bravery to tell your story.

Watching students collaborate, debate, write, paint and truly see one another was extraordinary. Michelle brought out the best of them — their empathy, their curiosity, their willingness to be bold with ideas and generous with meaning.

This is what authentic Art education looks like.

This is legacy work.

This is XP. 💙

Thank you, Michelle, for inspiring our students to make something deeply human, and deeply unforgettable.

#ArtEducation #XPTrust #ProjectBasedLearning #FridaKahlo #BeingHuman #LegacyWork #Creativity #Compassion #StudentVoice #MichelleClarkeStables

Friday 5 – X28 Ethics Debate

X28 Ethics have been keeping their Friday 5 sessions filled with energy and motivation! This new routine is already becoming a highlight of the week.

Each session, they tackle a 15-mark exam question together, planning, debating, and refining their responses as a team. Students earn points for hitting exam criteria, building strong arguments, and challenging powerful ideas, all while learning from each other and preparing to write their answers in full.

It’s been brilliant to see their confidence, critical thinking, and exam readiness grow week by week!

X32 – Year 7 XP: Authors in the Making!

Our Year 7 students have been working incredibly hard on crafting their historical narratives this week, and the creativity on display has been fantastic!

Students have been critiquing each other’s work, offering fab feedback, and sharing ideas to help one another improve. The atmosphere in sessions has been buzzing with collaboration and imagination as everyone pushes themselves (and each other!) to make their writing as powerful as possible.

We were also joined in Session 5 today by some of our Year 11 experts; Leo, Joseph, and Alfie, who spent time coaching the younger students, offering guidance, and providing expert critique. Their advice and encouragement really inspired Year 7 to keep raising the bar.

With so much talent, hard work, and support flying around, it’s safe to say we’ve got some future published authors in the making. Watch this space…

Creating Beautiful Work

Beautiful work and amazing products are an integral part of our story at XP but equally important are the ways that we achieve that work and those products.

Our students are encouraged to draft and redraft, to refine their ideas, to not accept work that isn’t excellent. In the Arts team this year we’ve seen exactly that with students starting new courses and new expeditions and being given new opportunities to excel.

None of the pictures above show finished products, instead we can see the beauty of the creative process. For some that means painstakingly drafting and redrafting photoreal images using only pencils. For others it may be that a session sharing ideas on the whiteboard is the best way to make progress. Creating models and maquettes in a range of materials can be the catalyst that a student needs to make their creative vision into a beautiful final product. What looks at first glance to be a random collection of scraps can be actually a carefully curated abstract vision. A messy workbench will finally reveal a beautiful relief sculpture.

We celebrate our students creative work not only for the final curation but for the whole process of exploration, experimentation, and growth that leads them there — the ideas tried, the risks taken, and the skills developed along the way.

Spotlight on Talent: Arina Exhibits at  Art Festival!

We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate the incredible artistic achievements of one of our own, X30 student Arina Barsukova! Arina recently had the fantastic opportunity to exhibit her artwork at the Barnby Dun Church Art & Craft Festival, and her pieces truly shone among the local talent.

Arina’s commitment and passion for art are truly inspiring. Her painting, which features a dimly lit, narrow street after rain, captured with striking, warm-yellow reflections from the streetlights, is a powerful example of her technical skill in handling light and mood.

Having your artwork framed and presented in a public gallery space like this is a massive achievement for any artist, let alone a student!

Celebrating 30 Years of Local Art

The Barnby Dun Church Art & Craft Festival, which celebrated its 30th year this year, is a cornerstone of the local community art scene. Participating in such a long-standing and respected event gives Arina invaluable experience, from preparing her work for display to sharing her creative vision with a wider audience.

An Inspiration to All

Arina’s exhibition at the festival is a brilliant testament to the talent fostered here at XP. It’s a powerful reminder that our students are not just learning skills, but are actively contributing to the wider community and pursuing their passions at a higher level.

Please join us in giving Arina a huge round of applause for this incredible accomplishment. We can’t wait to see where her artistic journey takes her next!

Have you ever exhibited your artwork or craft? Share your experiences in the comments below!

7 Skipper – Working Hard and Getting Smart!

This week, 7 Skipper have been showing what it really means to work hard and get smart as they prepare for their History skills check on the Norman Conquest.

Our class have been learning how to become more independent and reflective learners by focusing on revision strategies that help them remember and apply key knowledge.

We didn’t just say “go revise” — we learned how to revise. Skipper explored techniques such as:

  • Creating flashcards with key terms and dates
  • Using retrieval practice to quiz themselves and each other
  • Organising knowledge into mind maps to see the bigger picture

Good luck to 7 Skipper in their History skills check today, you’ve got this!

X29 Skipper – A Change Really is Doing You Good!

X29 Skipper are approaching GCSE English with the mentality of champions. Our expedition is called ‘A Change Will Do You Good’ and I cannot help but admire the change in you all. Your focus, hard work and positive attitude is shining in all our lessons and I cannot help but leave them with a big smile on my face.

All your effort is also reflected in quality of your books and the amazing Quality and Craftsmanship shown. This is how you get smart. Keep it up guys!

Mrs Desborough and Mrs Burnitt

Year 7 Stepping Back in Time.. X32’s beautiful work!

Year 7 have kicked off exploring their first case study, Raiders and Rulers! This has taken them back to 1066, a year that changed the course of British history.

In English, they’ve been exploring the themes of love and conflict in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, discovering how Shakespeare’s ideas still connect with us today. Alongside this, in History students have been debating who had the strongest claim to the throne: Harold, William, Hardrada, or Edgar.

We are super impressed with the HOWLS being displayed in Year 7. Take a look at some of their beautiful work below!

Year 8 Inspired by Artist Michelle Clarke Stables

This week, Year 8 students at XP were given an exciting opportunity to immerse themselves in their new expedition with a visit from professional artist Michelle Clarke Stables (MC Stables).

Michelle worked with all Year 8 groups, bringing energy, expertise, and a fresh perspective on what it means to live and work as an artist. She inspired students by sharing her personal journey and creative story, showing that art is not just about making something beautiful—it’s about expressing the human experience.

One of the highlights of the day was when Michelle introduced her original artwork and a powerful sculpture titled Entrapment. This piece explores themes of fear, anxiety, and the barriers we sometimes create for ourselves, sparking deep conversations among students about how art can communicate emotion and connect with audiences in powerful ways.

Students also had the rare chance to closely examine Michelle’s original pieces. This hands-on immersion gave them valuable insight into materials, processes, and the layered thinking that goes into creating professional artwork.

The workshops challenged Year 8 to explore expressive mark-making, colour, and words in new ways—laying a strong foundation for their expedition learning. By experiencing art firsthand, students began to see how creativity can give voice to complex ideas, emotions, and stories.

Michelle’s visit has raised the profile of Art across the school, showing students that the subject is not only about developing skills, but also about asking questions, telling stories, and making meaning. She has kindly donated, on loan, some of her pieces to be exhibited within the XP and XPE community which will enrich the arts experience for the whole school; its staff, students, parents and our visitors. 

The buzz in classrooms following her sessions has been undeniable, and it’s clear her visit will leave a lasting impression on our budding artists.

“Michelle inspired our artwork in class. I enjoyed that we were able to express ourselves freely through the marks we made. I think it’s good to have authentic artwork around the school. I added XPs Character traits to my own work.” – Jensen E31

What a wonderful start to the year with C31. I’m looking forward to seeing how their work progresses!

Mrs Hudson

Year 7 XP: Immersed in History and Launching Their First Expedition

This week marked an exciting milestone for Year 7 at XP: their very first immersion week in lessons and the launch of their expedition, This Land is Your Land. The guiding question is, “What’s the story of our community?”

Students have worked as historians, piecing together evidence and time-travelling through four key periods of history:

  • Medieval
  • Early Modern
  • Industrial
  • Modern

Each lesson gave them a snapshot of how people lived, worked, and shaped the world around them. Together, they began to see how the past connects to the story of our community today.

Immersion also included fieldwork to Murton Park, where students stepped into the past to experience Viking history first-hand. Immersion week has given Year 7 a strong start: asking questions, working as a crew, and beginning to think like historians. We’re excited to see where their expedition journey takes them next.

See photos from the week below! Some scary Vikings in XP Year 7!