Many congratulations to our Year 11 football team who played in the quarter-finals of the national cup against Hurstmere School.
To reach this stage in the competition is a huge achievement but unfortunately this was the team’s final match as Hurstmere won the game 2 - 0.
Mr Bunney said that the DHSB team was competitive throughout and never gave up from start to finish.
Thank you to Hurstmere for hosting us and good luck in the semi final.
National Careers Week
This week DHSB buzzed with career inspiration as we celebrated National Careers Week!
We were thrilled to welcome representatives from eleven fantastic companies across a diverse range of industries. From the world of medicine with the NHS and Derriford Hospital HR, to engineering giants like Babcock International and Hoare Lea, our Year 10 and 11 students gained invaluable insights into a variety of exciting career paths.
The week wasn't just about traditional professions. We also hosted the Bailey Partnership, a leading architectural firm, showcasing the world of design and construction. Students interested in finance learned about opportunities with Westcotts Financial Services, while those passionate about technology got a glimpse into the exciting realm of IT services with Magicka Interactive.
The interactive sessions were a huge success. Representatives engaged the students with presentations, Q&A sessions, and even interactive activities. From learning about the intricacies of submarine engineering with the Royal Navy to exploring the challenges and rewards of working in the prison service, our students were captivated.
National Careers Week provided a fantastic platform for Devonport High to bridge the gap between education and the working world. The event not only broadened students' horizons but also helped them develop essential interview skills and gain a clearer understanding of the qualifications and pathways needed for their dream careers. We're confident this week of exploration will spark a passion and inspire our students as they choose their future paths.
Mr Scott
Student News
Very well done to a group of students who competed at the National Junior Indoor Rowing Competition in London on Friday and many congratulations to Sixth Form student Sam Coates who took bronze in the U18 2km sprint event.
Year 12 Business
Year 12 Business students were invited to take part in the Tycoon in Schools enterprise competition this year. Ross Lightfoot and James Chadwick came up with the idea for their 'Rustic Coasters' business and secured £70 of seed funding.
They have used it to create coasters made from local wood, and they are now planning to expand to other wood based products and also looking at creating products combining wood and coloured resin.
Last weekend they organised their first day's trading at Tavistock Market. They really enjoyed running their stall for the first time. and getting to know the other traders, who were really supportive. The stall sold almost all of the stock they had created which was a fantastic first experience of trading for them and they have already managed to repay the seed funding.
Ross and James are now looking forward to designing some new products and seeing how much profit they can make during the trading window for the competition which will run until 29 April. They'll also be at Tavistock market again this weekend in case anybody is looking for a last minute Mothering Sunday gift.
It's been really impressive seeing how creative and resourceful James and Ross have been with this project. They have been independently motivated and shown real drive and determination when both developing their product and setting up the chance to trade at the market.
Mr Alsop
Student News
Congratulations to Jake Gamble, Ethan Stone and Matthew West who play for Saltash Colts who last weekend won the Cornwall Championship Colts League and League Cup.
Ethan scored a try and converted four tries. Matthew captained the squad in a hard fought victory against Newquay Colts.
Well done!
Performing and Creative Arts News
What a busy time we are having in Creative Arts! First of course, we couldn’t not mention the overwhelming success of our show ‘Les Mis’. We are so humbled by the strength and talent of the whole cast, band and crew, and the professionalism of all involved.
A large orchestra played spectacularly, actors gave gold standard performances and we are extremely proud of the passion and commitment to this musical. It was superb, thank you all and here's to starting planning the next!
Torbay Music Festival
We took 40 music students over to Paigton to compete in classes at the SW Music Festival. Our students were a credit to the school, and came out armed with medals and trophies!
Soul Band took Silver in Ensembles, with Year 11 Ensemble taking Gold.
Year 11 students have been asked back to perform in the prestigious gala concert for most outstanding performances.
Our Brass Band won Gold in their category, and our choir of Year 8 and 7 students ‘Noys’ won Gold and received the second highest mark in the whole competition. 94 out of 100 which is absolutely outstanding.
City College Coursework Recording
Year 11 GCSE Music students have had the opportunity to record their NEA work at City College this week, with the full works of sound and video to support and celebrate their performance work at a professional level. Pictures and video links will be available soon, our sincere thanks to Nolan Pearce and his highly adept students at City College Live Events for having us in to do this.
Dates for the diary
Thursday 14 March: Auditions for student led drama production ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ 1.40pm - open auditions Years 10 - 13.
Wednesday 20 March: Spring Ensemble Show with GCSE Music students and our triple gold winning ‘Noys’ performing their latest set. Also other creative arts performances in Music and Drama. This will be held in the Edgcumbe Theatre from 7.00pm - 8.00pm with a bar and snacks from the PTFA from 6.00pm. Admission is free.
Thursday 21 March: A Level Recital Concert in the Edgcumbe Theatre 6.30pm - 7.30pm. A stunning array of performances from our highly skilled A Level Music students. Free entry.
Monday 25 March: Marines Band Careers Day for orchestral musicians.
Tuesday 26 March: A level and GCSE students to take part in advanced jazz workshops given by the ‘Jim Hart Cloudmakers Trio’.
Tuesday 26 March: Year 9 Musicians performing at Livewire, Saltash 4.00pm - 6.00pm.
Steel Pan Sessions Every Wednesday in the Theatre from 6.30pm - 7.30pm. These sessions are open to all for no cost - well worth a try with the family! Run by PMEH.
Don’t forget - we have PQA, LAMDA and a huge range of instrumental lessons opening up for next term now, forms for both available by emailing emma.luing-holmes@dhsb.org
Mrs Luing-Holmes
Student News
Congratulations to Jack Stewart who competed last weekend in the British Junior Gymnastics Championships.
Mr Orkney said, “Jack performed exceptionally well in a range of disciplines and finished 11th overall. As you will see, his level of performance is outstanding for a Year 10 student”.
STEAM Update
Eureka! Science Club continues to run for Year 7 and Year 8 students after school on Tuesdays and has been very successful. Demand was high and there was a waiting list, so thank you to those of you who patiently waited for the next group to begin.
Dr Chapman-Greig has shared a recent 'Eureka!' Science Club investigation this week: 'Taking a candle for a spin'.
Students made a candle carousel to investigate the relationship between the number of lit candles and the carousel's rpm. Using their knowledge of lift and drag forces and energy transfers they were able to maximise the speed of the carousel. They found that the angle of the blade was important with 30 degrees being the optimum angle. They found a positive correlation between the number of candles and rpm.'
British Science Week is coming up next week and this year's theme is 'Time'. For details of a poster competition join the DHSB STEAM classroom using the code kuzdrfs. Remember to send your entry to Ms Davarian by Friday 15 March!
Excellent Work
Year 13 Biology
Ms Davidson said, “We are encouraging students to engage with the revision@dhsb area of the website and the class were tasked with experimenting with new ways of doing things. Rhys Thomas’ work was thorough and he had constructed it thoughtfully.”
Sixth Form Tutorial and Enrichment
Last week in tutorial time, Year 12 students continued to consider their next steps. They discussed the options that they have available to them as they move onwards and upwards to the next stage of their lives: university, apprenticeship, a gap year, or armed forces.
Discussions centred around where to find guides, advice and quizzes to help make these big decisions. They honed in on applications and writing personal statements. They also discussed key dates for those who are considering applying to university and looked at what this process involves too.
Year 13 students have had two weeks focused on finance. Last week's session focused on different types of borrowing and debt from mortgages and student loans to credit cards and overdrafts. After this, they looked at budgeting skills and applied their understanding to a particular case study. They have also had an informative session on finance in your 20s from James Mattherson, an alumnus of DHSB. He spoke about debt and credit and how it quickly snowballs negatively in comparison to making the most of saving using compound interest which can snowball in a positive way. Feedback from the students was really positive and they came away from the session feeling more confident about their financial futures.
In enrichment time last week both Year 12 and 13 students took part in one of our regular question times. The topics ranged from vaping to social media to the holocaust and, as always, it was a vibrant discussion full of well thought out contributions and some fantastic panellists.
Year 12 students packed out the theatre for a fantastic session from Learn2Live: a road safety partnership aimed at helping young people between 16 and 24 to stay safe on our roads. The students were spoken to by members of Devon and Somerset Fire Rescue, Devon and Cornwall Police and Plymouth City Council who explained why young, newly qualified drivers have an increased risk of collision involvement.
In addition to the year group experiences with Learn2Live and James Mattherson. We also were privileged to have Iain Ramsay from the Bank of England come and work with some Year 13 students.
PTFA News
We had a great PTFA meeting this week. We were delighted to approve three grants covering geography fieldwork equipment, text books for the Level 2 Certificate in Further Maths - a voluntary qualification - and text books for the new A Level in Classical Civilisation. There was a fourth grant request too which we are hoping to support in some way once we have more information.
We also heard feedback from previous approved grants including two great videos of students using the piano and double bass we funded, pictured here.
In other news, keep an eye out on our social media for details of our popular annual Alton Towers trip - coming soon!
The PTFA are supplying the bar at the forthcoming Spring Ensemble Concert on Wednesday 20 March (evening) - we'd love some help if you are able to. Please email ptfa@dhsb.org for further details.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday 30 April at 6.30pm in the Conference Room which is directly behind the Visitor Reception. Refreshments provided. Please come along if you can, we'd love to meet you.
Please follow our social media for updates on forthcoming events:
X (formerly Twitter) @DHSBPTFA
Mrs Kinsella
PTFA Liaison
Alumni News
Who remembers the DHSB School Song? This week I had the honour of meeting DHSB legend, Trefor Farrow!
Trefor taught music at DHSB for an amazing 40 years! My thanks to Trefor who kindly brought me in a transcription of the School Song, which he did from memory, and played it for me. Another photo shows Trefor with our current Head of Music Steve Newton who took over in 2005 when Trefor retired as Head of Music - that's a whopping 59 years of teaching music at DHSB between them.
Click here to read more and for a Facebook link to the video. Also the words in case you want to sing along - although from what I have heard it was embedded in memories.
Mrs Kinsella
DHSB Alumni and Archives
Sports Update
Football
Mr Strang says the Year 8 football team progressed to the final of the Plymouth Cup on Monday afternoon following a 2- 1 win against a very strong Torbridge High team.
DHSB showed real character to come back from one goal down to secure the victory. Both goals for school were scored by Freddie Edwards with special mention going to Seb Miskiewicz who had an outstanding game in goal. The team now has the opportunity to retain the cup which they won last year.
Exciting times indeed.
Indoor Cricket - Devon Finals
The Year 10 Indoor Cricket team enjoyed a fun day at the county finals in Exeter. All three games in the morning went to the final over, but not in our favour sadly, says Mr Bunney.
Wins against Tiverton and St Peter’s plus a walk over against South Dartmoor meant the team finished the day in fifth place overall.
