Admiral have been further developing their mathematical skills by revisiting their Vitruvian Man ratio drawings. Previously, each student calculated the ratio of their head to their body to represent themselves in the style of the Vitruvian Man. Building on this, students deepened their understanding by learning how to use scale to create even more accurate representations. They carefully chose which parts of the body to measure, using this data to enhance the precision of their drawings.

As a class, we connected this work to our expedition theme, Being Human. Students engaged in thoughtful discussions about identity, historical beliefs around human proportions, and how shape played a role in these ideas. They reflected on how perceptions of human identity and physical ideals have evolved over time.

Their effort, creativity, and attention to detail were outstanding. They demonstrated excellent craftsmanship and produced work they can be truly proud of!

X31 Admiral used their knowledge of ratio to sketch themselves in the style of the Vitruvian Man after measuring their heads and bodies. They also discussed how this linked to their expedition and how we can further improve their sketches throughout the topic of proportion and scale.

The whole class showed amazing teamwork, integrity, respect and craftsmanship and quality in their work.

Mrs Barnes

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

The spirit of Crew really shone today in Crew Irwin’s first XPD sports day. It was so lovely to see them cheering each other on and working together as a team.

During the morning they took part in two events, either rounders or football and then either an athletics event or dodgeball. A huge shout out to the relay team for an amazing win for our crew!!

We then had some time to grab an ice cream or ice pop before going back to our crew rooms to design our crew mascots, recreate a sporting photo and tackle the 2025 XPD sports quiz.

To round the day off we all went out for the final results and to see XPD’s very own cheerleaders show off their skills, two of the squad being from our crew.

Overall we came a respectable 2nd in X31!

One very proud crew leader for the effort everyone has put in today and for making the day so enjoyable

Mrs Barnes 🙂

C31, Year 7’s current expedition ‘Hold Back the River’ has the guiding question, ‘How does water shape our world?’

During this expedition, our geography content is focusing on river characteristics from source to mouth, river processes, formation of landforms as well as the cause, impacts and responses of flooding. As part of this, we are applying the theory of river processes and characteristics to the field.

On 1st (XP)  and 2nd (XPE) of July, students will visit Endcliffe park in Sheffield. They will work together to collect data regarding the width, depth, velocity and load of rivers. We will also be capturing the beauty of a river by completing artwork. This data collection will allow us to accept or reject our hypothesis once we have analysed our data in our maths lessons.

Students will need to arrive at school no later than 8.00am so that the register and kit check can be completed before leaving school.

It is also essential that all students bring all of the kit on the KIT LIST so that they are fully prepared for the fieldwork; this includes a packed lunch and water to drink. Students who receive free school meals will be provided with a lunch.

Students will need to ensure they have suitable walking boots/trainers as well as wellies or a pair of trainers they can get wet – we’ll be going in the river to collect the data!  If there are any problems in getting the appropriate kit before this, please email your child’s Crew Leader. 

Students will be returning to school by the end of the school day (traffic dependent).

x31 are on their way back to Doncaster after a lovely sunny day at the Staffordshire Regiment Museum! Students have been awesome!

Our current ETA is 3.30pm but we will let you know if any delays!

see you soon.

This term we have been looking at mental health in our Wise Wednesday sessions in crew. All students have approached this maturely and we have had so really thoughtful and in-depth discussions.

This week crew made posters to round off our topic to display in our crew room.

Fab work from all!

Mrs Barnes