Learning About Blood: A Hands-On Science Lesson

5th May 2026Hannah McLoughlin

In this lesson, Miss taught us about the four main components of blood. Rather than simply reading from a textbook, we explored the topic through a creative step-by-step “construct and demonstrate” activity, which made the concepts much easier to understand.

Miss explained that blood is made up of four key parts: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Each part has an important job in keeping our bodies healthy.

To help us visualise this, we carried out a fun hands-on activity by creating a blood model. We used water and yellow food colouring to represent the plasma, giving the liquid its realistic appearance. Marshmallows were added to show the white blood cells, which help fight infections. Cheerios represented the red blood cells, carrying oxygen around the body and giving blood its distinct red colour. We also included small pieces to represent platelets, which help our blood clot when we get a cut. Building our own “blood model” made it much easier to understand how all the components work together.

We finished with a kahoot to test our knowledge to exit out of the lesson.

Mapping character feelings to support our drafting!

5th May 2026Olivia Fox

In Crew White this morning, we have continued to build on our ideas by mapping feelings of the main character, Francis, in our writing. Once we thought about how the character was feeling, we then created phrases using ‘show me not tell me’ to challenge the reader to infer how the character is feeling, rather than telling them. The feelings map helped us to see how emotions change throughout a story, ranging from positive to negative. Watch this space for our drafting coming soon!

Crew Godley – Nature Ambassadors

4th May 2026Laura Godley

The whole of Crew Godley were absolutely fantastic during our recent presentation with Mr Sprakes. Every single pupil rose to the occasion and demonstrated just how much effort and dedication they had put into their learning. They showed real courage when reading aloud, supporting one another and taking pride in sharing their ideas, even when it felt challenging.

They spoke with growing confidence and clarity, articulating their thoughts in a way that truly engaged their audience. What stood out most was their ability to explain, in thoughtful detail, how they developed the quad area. They didn’t just describe what they had done – they explained the reasoning behind their choices, showing a deep understanding of how to create and sustain a biodiverse environment.

It was clear that they had developed not only their knowledge but also crew and communication skills throughout the project. Watching them present with such enthusiasm, ownership, and pride was a genuinely special moment. I was absolutely bursting with pride at everything they have achieved.

Building up our stories

1st May 2026Elizabeth Frost

During our expedition “When the Sea Meets the Shore,” we have been exploring the story The Singing Mermaid. The children began by sharing their ideas and predictions, thinking carefully about where the mermaid might travel next and what adventures she might have along the way. This gave them the opportunity to express their own thoughts and build on each other’s ideas.

We then used these suggestions to create visual prompts, which were taken to the water tray to enhance our play. The children used these prompts to guide their storytelling, developing their vocabulary and deepening their understanding of “who,” “what,” and “where.” Through this, they created imaginative and detailed narratives, bringing the mermaid’s journey to life in their own unique ways.

This activity supported their communication and language development, as well as encouraging creativity and collaboration. It was also a lovely way to engage in meaningful, hands-on learning, especially in the warm weather.

Well done for working so hard, Crew Frost!

Sharing our Stories: 01/05/2026

1st May 2026Geoff Hewitt

Beautiful work this week

Here’s a selection of beautiful work from across the XP Trust!

To read about other stories from across the XP Trust, visit xptrust.org.

Top of the Blogs

Class 8 Shared Reading @ Green Top

WOW Living Streets Active Travel @ Plover

Coral Reef @ Carcroft School

Practice what you preach Ms Tatters… @ XP Gateshead

Class Six are Artist Extraordinaires @ Norton Infants

Share your stories with us!

We now have a new dedicated news email so that you can send your stories, updates or ideas about potential news articles directly to us in Comms.

It might be something you or your students have achieved, a charity you’re supporting or anything at all that deserves a wider audience.

Write to us at [email protected] –  we want to hear about it, write about it and celebrate it!

P.E

1st May 2026Tracy Haddock

In p.e they had did super crew building skills . They had to use hoops to get round the hall without anyone falling out . After that they had a hoop taken away from them which then made it harder. But they smashed it