Our latest collection of lost property from this week has now been logged and is available to be claimed. If you’ve misplaced clothing, shoes, or any other personal items recently, please stop by the office to check whether your belongings are here.
All items will be held until the end of next week. After that time, any unclaimed property will be donated to charity so that nothing goes to waste and others can benefit.
If you think something of yours might be among the current items, please drop in as soon as possible.
Our current expedition, “You Give Me Fever,” has seen Year 9 diving deep into the world of pathogens and medical history. To bring our study of pathogens, immunology, and history to life, Year 9 will be heading to the Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds later this month!
Dates & Times
XP: Wednesday 25th February (8:30 am – 3:15 pm)
XP East: Thursday 26th February (8:30 am – 3:15 pm)
Logistics
Dress Code: Normal school Dress Code
Equipment: Usual school supplies and fully charged iPads.
Lunch: A packed lunch is needed. (Students eligible for Free School Meals will have a lunch provided).
Contributions: To make this and future fieldwork possible, we are asking for voluntary contributions of what is financially suitable for your family. We aim to keep these opportunities accessible to everyone, so please contribute what is financially suitable for your family. The Parent Pay option will be added by half term.
We look forward to an purposeful and amazing fieldwork experience!
This week in Crew Brunel has been a great mix of rest, reflection, and preparation as we move closer to an important milestone in our learning.
We started the week with a staff day, which meant students had a long weekend. This was a brilliant opportunity for everyone to take a well-earned break, recharge, and catch up on any work that had been missed or not yet completed. It was great to see students returning refreshed and ready to learn.
As the week continued, we focused heavily on our Passage presentations, as this is our final week of preparation before presenting next week. Students have been working hard to refine their ideas, improve their structure, and make sure their presentations are clear, confident, and purposeful. The progress made has been fantastic, and we are really looking forward to seeing the final outcomes next week.
One of the highlights of the week was teaming up with Year 10 for a peer critique session. Year 10 students acted as our “experts” since they completed this process last year, and their feedback was incredibly valuable. It was brilliant to see older students supporting and guiding our Year 9s — a great example of teamwork, leadership, and our school community working together.
We ended the week with a whole school community meeting, celebrating and highlighting the excellent work being done by students across the school. It was a positive way to finish the week and a reminder of the high standards and ambition shared by everyone.
A huge well done to David, our standout student this week. David earned Spanish Star of the Week and was also placed in the top 3 Year 9 students across the trust for completing Tassomai tasks in his own time. An amazing achievement that shows dedication and excellent learning habits — well done, David!
Another strong week for Crew Brunel — keep it up everyone, and let’s finish our presentation prep strongly!
X32 have had an excellent first week back, throwing themselves into immersion with curiosity and purpose. Students worked hard to uncover what their new expedition will be about, following clues, asking questions, and heading out on fieldwork to support their enquiry.
This expedition focuses on World War One. From that point on, learning quickly moved from discovery to action!!
Students began crafting formal letters to the government, taking on the role of active citizens by lobbying MPs to support a project creating boards of commemoration for Hyde Park Cemetery. These boards aim to honour and remember those connected to the cemetery and ensure their stories are not forgotten.
In just one week, X32 have shown focus, maturity, and a strong sense of responsibility. A brilliant start to an expedition that is already shaping up to be meaningful and impactful. We are now starting our first case study: A Call to Arms! Take a look at the awesome work so far this term…
This week marked our first week back after the Christmas break, and Crew Brunel returned with a real sense of fresh beginnings and renewed focus. While it’s always an adjustment coming back after the holidays, it’s been a positive and productive start to the new year.
We kicked off the week with a whole school community meeting, giving everyone the opportunity to reset expectations. This session focused on revisiting our shared norms and non-negotiables, helping to re-establish routines and remind us of the standards we hold ourselves to as a school community.
Back in crew time, we continued our Passage work. Students spent time thinking carefully about who they would like to be present at their Passage presentations and why. This encouraged reflection and helped students consider the importance of audience and support as they prepare to showcase their learning and growth.
Midweek, we started our new Wise Wednesday case study work. Students were placed into new groups, giving them the opportunity to work with different peers, share ideas, and build new collaborative skills. The fresh groups brought new energy and perspectives to the case study discussions.
We also spent time looking through portfolios, focusing on selecting pieces of work to highlight in Passage presentations. Students checked that their work was in the correct order and reflected on which pieces best represented their progress and achievements so far.
To finish the week, we came together once again for a whole school community meeting. This final gathering was a chance to celebrate successes, including reviewing the praise leaderboard and the attendance league. Crew Brunel had a particular reason to celebrate, finishing top for Year 9 attendance with an impressive 97%.
Overall, it’s been a strong first week back. Everyone is understandably tired, but it’s the result of a week filled with focus, reflection, and a positive start to the term ahead.
This week, students in Crew Nightingale have been fully immersed in preparing for their exciting new expedition. In English, they have been exploring Micrography Art – a creative technique where pictures and patterns are formed using tiny words and letters. This inspiring work blends art and writing, challenging students to think differently about how language can be used. Through micrography, text becomes both visual and meaningful, allowing students to express ideas not just through what words say, but how they look too.
This week in Crew Brunel, we kicked things off in true festive style with our Crew Christmas party. Everyone arrived ready for a cheerful check-in, sharing positive moments and holiday spirit while enjoying some very Christmassy treats. The room was full of smiles, laughter, and seasonal cheer — a wonderful way to start the week.
After celebrating together, we shifted our focus to learning by revisiting the final reflective section of our Passage presentations. Crew members thoughtfully considered their journeys, recognising their progress, challenges, and achievements.
One of the week’s highlights followed soon after — Secret Santa! Gifts were exchanged with excitement and gratitude, and it was lovely to see how thoughtful everyone had been. Every gift was received with appreciation, reinforcing the kindness and respect that defines Crew Brunel.
Crew Brunel raised both money and awareness for the Coral Reef Alliance by hosting a successful bake sale for students. The event featured a variety of delicious homemade treats that attracted many buyers and encouraged generous donations. Through this bake sale, Crew Brunel not only supported an important environmental cause but also helped educate students about the importance of protecting coral reefs, raising a total of £68!
As the term drew to a close, we completed our final HoWLS assessment. Crew members reflected honestly on how they have improved this term and identified clear goals for the new year. Time was also spent ensuring our passage presentations had a set of slides to go along side our scripts, highlighting key pieces of work.
We finished the week by coming together for a whole-school community meeting, where we reflected on the many positives of the term. As part of this, we also celebrated our Crew Champions of the Term. A special congratulations went to Chloe, who was named Crew Champion for Crew Brunel. Chloe was selected for her consistent demonstration of XP character traits. Her resilience, positivity, and commitment are a true credit to herself and an inspiration to others. Another shoutout goes to Matilda for being one of just 10 XP students randomly selected for achieving 100% attendance, earning her an Amazon gift voucher. It was a proud moment to recognise collective achievements, resilience, and growth across the school.
Overall, it has been a meaningful and memorable week for Crew Brunel — full of celebration, reflection, and gratitude. We’re heading into the break feeling proud of how far we’ve come and excited for the opportunities the new year will bring!
Happy holidays to everyone — we hope you all have a restful and well-deserved break.
The School Immunisation Nursing Team will be visiting XP School on 20 January 2026 to administer the HPV vaccination to Year 8 students. Emails were sent this morning for parents consent or non-consent. It is very important that all parents/carers complete the form, even if you choose not to give consent, so that a response is received by the School Immunisation Team.
We kindly ask that this is completed by the end of this week. I appreciate your cooperation.
Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.
E30 Explorer have been grappling with the comparison of France and China’s population policies in Geography this week! Examining the strengths and weaknesses of arguments, and providing their personal opinion on the ethical and moral aspect of Governments regulating their populations. Super impressed with their grapple and craftsmanship displayed in their work and discussions!
What a brilliant week it’s been for Crew Brunel! Even though the week started a little differently, we certainly made the most of every moment.
Because Monday was a staff day, students enjoyed a longer weekend — and we kicked off Tuesday by checking in and sharing what we all got up to during the extra time off. From family days out to chilled time at home, it was a lovely way to reconnect and ease back into the school routine.
We then continued our important Passage work, focusing on how our character has grown through Years 7 and 8. Students took time to look inward, thinking about how they’ve changed, matured, and what they’ve overcome. These reflections are shaping their Passage presentations beautifully and helping them recognise their own development.
This week marked the start of our Wise Wednesday presentations, with our first two groups stepping up to deliver their topics. The rest of Crew Brunel listened carefully, shared thoughtful feedback, and offered WWWs (What Went Well) and EBIs (Even Better If) to help each other improve. We’re already excited to see the next two groups take their turn!
Later in the week, we reviewed our praises and conducts, then dug into our HoWLs (Habits of Work and Learning) assessments from Years 8 and 9. This helped students reflect on their consistency, their growth, and where they want to push themselves next. We also weaved these insights into their Passage presentations.
In Friday’s community meeting, we celebrated students who topped the praise leaderboard — a special shout-out goes to Rowena, who placed top of the leaderboard for Year 9! A fantastic achievement and well-deserved recognition of her dedication, hard work, and consistent positive attitude both in and out of sessions.
This Week’s Highlight
Without a doubt, the standout moment of the week was Thursday Night Live. Four members of Crew Brunel – Lily, Pippa, Brooke and Chloe – took to the stage as part of a band and performed in front of a live audience. With singing, guitar and drums, they absolutely smashed it. Their confidence, talent and teamwork shone through — true rockstars in the making. Well done, girls!
