A free school in the heart of the politically contested “red wall”, XP has ditched the traditional curriculum and given pupils a say in how they learn
Its outcomes have been stunning
But why has it succeeded where other schools have failed?
thetimes.co.uk/article/no-uni…
What makes XP different?
At most secondary schools, teachers have little time to really get to know their pupils. But at this state academy, pupils are divided into small tutor groups of 12 or 13, known as a “Crew”
In their first week, Crews go on an adventure training course in Wales with their team-mates and bond over mountain hikes, abseiling and kayaking
Back in Doncaster, they meet each other and their Crew leader every day to discuss their emotional wellbeing and educational progress
Poncia, for example, has been with her class since they joined XP five years ago
She knows all their families and has helped them through psychological traumas, academic challenges and behavioural problems
There are no uniforms at the school and pupils do not have to stay in their classrooms throughout their lessons. When they are doing their own research, they can work on laptops in the open-plan common room rather than in rows at desks
Most radically, the traditional curriculum has been torn up
There are no history, geography, chemistry, physics, biology, English or maths classes
Students instead learn through academically rigorous interdisciplinary “expeditions”, based on real-life issues
They pick up all the knowledge they need to meet the requirements of the national curriculum and take their exams, but the education is delivered through a prism that makes it seem relevant to their lives
It seems to work
🧑🤝🧑 The school is 11 times oversubscribed, with 550 applications for every 50 places
👨🎓 In 2018, Ofsted judged XP to be outstanding in all categories.
🙋♀️Attendance is way above the national average and so are exam result
Caiden, (second left) whose father works in maintenance for a hotel, says the school has shown him the point of education
“Instead of trying to build you all into the same person, they try to build you how you want to learn”
The students the Times met are all articulate, engaged and animated by their studies
Summer has just recorded a TEDx Talk about the pressures on young people and is putting the finishing touches to her first novel, which the school is helping her to publish
XP was founded by Gwyn ap Harri and Andy Sprakes, two teachers from Doncaster, after researching similar successful models in the United States
“We thought, how could we go back and carry on doing what we were doing when we’ve seen what’s possible for our kids?”
Creativity and curiosity should not be the preserve of the middle classes or private schools, they insist
“Some people want working-class kids to conform. We want them to be able to express who they are and have the same chances as everybody else”
thetimes.co.uk/article/no-uni…
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