XP East

Thank you to those who have already expressed your interest  for our Silver Duke of Edinburgh (DofE). For those who have not yet responded, we’d love to hear from you. 

Your child has the opportunity to take part in the Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) this academic year. The Silver Award is a fantastic way for students to build independence, resilience, and teamwork skills, while enjoying memorable experiences with their peers.

Please take a moment to view the attached information slides which outline what the Silver Award involves. Once you’ve reviewed the details, we kindly ask you to complete the Expression of Interest form using the link below:

Expression of Interest Form

We ask that this is completed by Friday 26th September 2025 so we can plan effectively for the programme.

Thank you for your continued support.

Emma Watson
XPD DofE Manager

Last week was a whirlwind of activity, from 99 to beat games, revision techniques, former alumni chats and interview skills. Our students were set out into our city to discover things about Doncaster with each letter of the alphabet. There were visits to the Air Museum, Doncaster Racecourse, Doncaster Minster, North Bridge just to name a few! The students were tasked with making a vlog about their chosen letters – with each letter there was also a fun side to it with matching up something silly to the chosen letter, for example singing Umbrella in the Underpass or Hog Riding for Horse Racing. The students really came into their own when making the video to show in our whole school POL. The sound effects, the captions and the music were fantastic! E29 absolutely smashed it! WELL DONE!!

Please see letter below – Complete the forms for your child’s school by Friday 5th September

The C30 expedition team are excited to let you know that Year 9 will be taking part in a special Survival Skills Immersion Day on Thursday. The aim of the day is to give students the opportunity to build teamwork, resilience, and problem-solving skills in a hands-on, practical setting – themes that are explored in our anchor text.

From the very first session until lunchtime, students will be learning and working outdoors. They’ll take part in a range of survival activities designed to test their creativity, collaboration, and resourcefulness. This is part of our ongoing immersion programme, which gives students space to experience learning in new and memorable ways.

Key information for the day:

• Students will be outside all morning – please ensure they bring a waterproof coat, sturdy shoes/trainers, and layers suitable for the weather.
• A water bottle/sun protection will be needed.
• Normal school timings will apply in the afternoon.

Thank you for your support in helping them prepare for this exciting experience.

C30 Expedition Team

What a start to the year for Crew Ardern!

We’ve welcomed a new student into Crew, gained a new (but very familiar!) Crew Leader, Mrs Watson, who will be guiding us alongside Mr Currie through this final year at XPE.

We hit the ground running on day one with a beautiful walk at Langsett – the perfect way to reset as a Crew, reconnect, and remind ourselves of the importance of supporting one another.

By Wednesday, Crew Ardern were showing their competitive edge in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? – taking joint first place, of course, because that’s how we roll. We also took on Taskmaster, putting our creative and problem-solving skills, working together to the test to scoop another fab day in the bag.

Thursday was all about getting ready for the challenges of Y11: resetting norms and expectations, learning effective revision techniques, building revision timetables, and even hearing from our alumni, who shared valuable guidance and tips.

On Friday, we wrapped up the week by creating our Crew wall planner – our roadmap to success – and presenting it proudly in community meeting.

What a way to kick off Year 11 Crew Ardern – we’re ready to smash this year!

On 03.09.2024, year 7 students will be taking part in fieldwork to Murton Park Museum, York. 

This fieldwork has been planned to support their learning in Humanities and is a brilliant opportunity to bring the students’ learning to life in an exciting and engaging way. The experience will be used to support learning back in the classroom to help the children better understand the content and develop a deeper understanding of the Vikings and how they influenced how we live today. This will also support us to develop our historical knowledge and see change over time. . 

Students need to arrive at school for 7:45am. We will depart school at 8:15am and our expected arrival time back at school is 4pm. We will provide updates on our expected arrival time back at school via the school website as this can be impacted by events out of our control such as traffic. 

Students will need a packed lunch for this fieldwork. If your child is in receipt of free school meals, a lunch will be provided. 

In addition to a packed lunch, students will need the following equipment:

• A water bottle 
• Appropriate footwear
• Comfortable clothing

It is advised that students do not wear brand new clothing/ footwear as the ground is quite dirty and the nature of the tasks they will be doing means they may get dirty! Outward Bound clothing/ shoes may be a good choice!

If you have any questions about this fieldwork, please contact me on [email protected] / [email protected] or get in touch with your child’s crew leader. 

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.

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!