We are delighted to announce the incredible achievement of two of our students, Rocky Travers 11W and School Captain Eden Hingston 12ESM, who have been elected as the Plymouth representatives in the UK Youth Parliament elections 2024.
This is a fantastic accomplishment, and the entire school community is incredibly proud of them. Both Rocky and Eden ran impressive campaigns that addressed real concerns facing young people today.
Rocky focused on the issue of public transport affordability, recognising the challenges students face in accessing essential services. Eden's campaign championed raising awareness of support available for young people during the cost of living crisis, demonstrating a commendable commitment to her peers' wellbeing.
Their dedication to these important issues reflects a maturity and understanding that bodes well for their roles as representatives for Plymouth at UKYP. We have no doubt that Rocky and Eden will be powerful advocates for the voices of young people in our city and we wish them all the very best in their endeavours at UKYP.
Our thanks to Mr Macleod and Miss Jensen, and the Sixth Form volunteers who made the polling day such a success.
Mr Scott
Comic Relief
Red Nose Day arrived at DHSB today with sweets and treats galore. The students came ready to dig deep for a great cause that they support so well each year. Our House Captains have been busy planning a range of activities for all of the students to enjoy.
We had a bake sale from Winstanley, a hamper raffle from Edison, Smeaton ran a guess the number of sweets in a jar competition, Newton had a prize winning darts game and Campbell and Priestley ran sweets and drinks stalls in two locations around the school.
All the proceeds from their efforts will be donated to Comic Relief. There were smiles galore and some eager anticipation with the competitions. Winners will be announced on Monday so keep your eyes peeled if you entered or bought tickets.
We will also announce our total raised on Monday when all the activities have finished.
Today also saw the culmination of the DHSB House Joke competition. It was so much fun reading through the many jokes entered and it was tough choice, well done to all who submitted a joke.
Miss Cunningham
The winners are:
Third place: Harry Foskett 8P
What did the triangle say to the circle.
You're pointless.
Second place: Oliver Lobb 8S
Why don't scientists trust atoms?
Because they make up everything!
First place: Jayden Ng 8S
Why do teachers wear sunglasses?
It's because their students are so bright!
Creative and Performing Arts Update
We’re delighted to invite you to two free evening concerts in the Edgcumbe Theatre.
Spring Ensemble Evening on Wednesday 20 March at 7:00pm
A level Recital Evening on Thursday 21 March at 6:30pm
There is no requirement to buy a ticket for these evenings, please come along if you would like to support our student performances. The concerts will each last for approximately one hour.
Excellent Work
Our examples of Excellent Work this week are from Miss Walker’s GCSE RS Class.
Miss Walker said, “Students were asked to draft and then improve an evaluation question on the Cosmological Argument. I have been thoroughly impressed with their ability to use a variety of philosophers to back up their arguments and use these arguments to make effective judgements and reach a conclusion”.
Please click on these links to read the students' work.
Student News
Well done to Maxim Smith 10S who has moved to a new Karting team who specialise a lot more on competing at national events.
Last weekend Maxim did especially well finishing in fifth place and getting a purple sector two on a grid of 28 drivers and in wet conditions.
He is preparing to start the National Kart Cup in April where he will compete at six different locations around the UK.
Plymouth Argyle Academy - Champions!
Many congratulations to DHSB students Cole, Joel, Sam and Jack.
They are part of the Plymouth Argyle Academy side which finished the 2024 Youth Alliance League as Champions.
A special mention for Joel whose goal in the all-important game against Swindon Town that clinched the Youth Alliance title has been nominated for the LFE Goal of the Month.
Please vote for Joel at this link.
Sparx Maths and Sparx Reader
Each week we celebrate our highest performers in both Sparx Maths and Sparx Reader, two of our core homework platforms. We are proud of all of our students who complete their homework each week to such a high standard but these six students deserve a special mention.
Well done!
Sixth Form Enrichment and Tutorial
Year 12 students have continued to consider their next steps in tutorial time over the last two weeks. They spent last week catching up with tutors and updating their unifrog. This week they looked at the recent documentary that was aired on the BBC 'Is University Really Worth It?' in which comedian and former teacher Geoff Norcott investigates the country’s higher education system.
Year 13 students had a practical session focused on payslips and what to expect from employers last week as well as being pointed towards the wealth of webinars that can be found on Unifrog for them to explore.
This week they talked about what's coming next for them, especially those going down the university path: accepting offers on UCAS, changing minds, going through clearing, applying for bursaries, support at university with disabilities and SEN, and what day to day life looks like at university.
Mrs Briars-Delve
Fit & Fed Teen Tasters
These taster sessions are for children aged 12 to 16 who are in receipt of benefit-related free school meals.
Young carers, looked after children, children with an EHCP and children from refugee or Ukrainian families can also sign-up for these opportunities.
To find out more and to see the list of teen tasters available during the Easter break please use this link.
Ms Weaver
Sports Update
Football
The Year 8 football team played Plymouth College this week in a friendly fixture.
The game was played in spring like conditions with DHSB winning convincingly.
The team's next match will be the semi-final of the Devon Cup on Monday.
Indoor Cricket
Mr Bunney said it was a tough day for the U13 Indoor Cricket team at the Devon Schools Finals on Tuesday.
The team came seventh overall after defeats to St Peter’s, Churston, Exmouth and Ivybridge but managed a win against Okehampton.
Lots of fun was had and this was a good learning experience for two years time at U15 level.
Rugby
Well done to the U16 Rugby team which beat Helen's School 39 - 5 this afternoon in a great game refereed by last year's A level student Mackenzie.
