Many thanks to Mrs Luing-Holmes and students who have been spreading Festive Cheer by sharing their music in and around Plymouth.

There is still time to hear some of our festive music at events taking place next week as you are invited to attend our Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at St Andrew’s Church on Monday 15 December and our Christmas Concert in the DHSB Edgcumbe Theatre on Wednesday 17 December.

The Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at St Andrew’s Church, Royal Parade starts at 7:00pm. This year, the doors will open at 6:00pm as the PTFA are running a bar which will be serving no alcohol mulled wine, tea, coffee and mince pies. Admission is free with no tickets required, however, we are supporting Shekinah by asking for donations via this link or the QR code on the Order of Service which will be available on the night. (We are unable to accept donations of cash either in school or at the Carol Service.)

Funds raised will help Shekinah to support homeless people and provide shelter and care to families in poverty.

The Christmas Concert which is being held in the Edgcumbe Theatre will be a magical evening of seasonal music from students across the school. Mince pies and mulled wine will be available from 6.00pm from the bar which is being run by the PTFA and lights down for the hour long performance will be at 7:00pm.

Tickets which cost £3.00 for a child and £4.00 for everyone else, can be purchased by following this link.

Celebrating The Staff Who Inspire Us Every Day

At DHSB, we are proud to foster a culture where students can show appreciation for the staff who make a real difference in their learning and daily lives. Our recent chance to “Celebrate a Staff Member” has been another wonderful opportunity for students to recognise the dedication, passion, and care of the school staff.

From lessons that make complex topics seem simple to lunchtime support, creative clubs, and encouraging words, the messages from our students highlight the incredible impact our staff have. Students have expressed their gratitude for teachers who make lessons enjoyable and engaging, who bring humour and positivity to their classrooms, and who go above and beyond to offer guidance and support, whether in academic work, music, sports, or personal development.

One theme that stands out is how teachers inspire students beyond the curriculum. Geography lessons that spark a love for the subject, science teachers who clarify challenging concepts with patience, and history lessons that are as entertaining as they are educational – these are just a few examples of the ways our staff go the extra mile. Several students also shared appreciation for staff who create a welcoming and supportive environment, whether in form time, in clubs, or through individual encouragement.

The diversity of support highlighted is vast – from helping with NEAs and UCAS personal statements to nurturing creativity in music and drama, offering kindness during challenging moments, and even helping save Chromebooks! Each message reminds us of the dedication, enthusiasm, and care that defines our staff community.

"I want to thank this member of staff because he goes above and beyond to help me with economics. His passion for his subject is obvious and it encourages me to learn more. I hope he has a lovely holiday and break"

"I would like to thank this teacher because of his sense of humour and the lovely way he teaches our science lessons. Due to him, science is one of my most favourite subjects! In fact, I didn't like science in KS2, however I really enjoy it now."

"I would like to thank this person as she was very supportive to myself and my peers during the lead up to work experience. She is a very impressive person and I respect her dedication to helping others"

Mr Winstone

Deputy Headteacher - Teaching & Learning

Christmas Jumper Day

Today, our students were encouraged to wear a Christmas jumper or non uniform to raise funds for the House charities.

Thank you to those that took part and thank you too for your generous donations.

SWAT Challenge

Devonport High School for Boys has recently formed its new SWAT Challenge team, comprising some of our brilliant Year 9 students. The SWAT team will attend events with other South West grammar schools to explore the theme of extracurricular challenge and bring this learning back to our school.

In February, our boys will be attending a challenge day at Parkstone Grammar School and from January, we will meet every two weeks to progress our in-school agenda. This could involve developing extracurricular resources for students, making digital escape rooms, creating websites to house our students' creative exploits or challenging ourselves through charitable giving and fundraising. What is so exciting about this project is that it is student-led and the ideas for how we proceed will be generated by the boys.

Ride Tandem Timetables and Information

Religious Studies

In this Year 12 Religious Studies lesson on Philosophy of Religion, students are engaged in a collaborative consolidation and extension activity focused on the Augustinian Theodicy.

The students first worked as a group to pool their prior homework reading on the strengths and weaknesses of Augustine's argument, using dual coding (combining words and visuals/diagrams) to capture their initial ideas directly on the tables. Following this, they were tasked with critically assessing their own notes to identify any scholarly arguments or key points that might be missing from their standard course textbooks. Finally, the students used AI as a supplementary research tool to specifically connect the views of various academic scholars (such as Plantinga, Schleiermacher, and Hick) to the specific strengths and weaknesses they had already recorded, ensuring they have a comprehensive, university-level understanding of the topic's critical reception.

Mrs Wardle

Joint Head of Religious Studies

Music

Year 9 GCSE Musicians have been working with external professional musicians to develop their composition skills. Students have developed a range of excellent compositional ideas on a variety of instruments, with the final performances taking place in February 2026.

We are incredibly proud of their professional conduct and musical accomplishments.

Miss Padlyevs'ka

Teacher of Music

English

Mrs Charlton, Teacher of English, shared that "Max Phillips in Year 12 produced a stunning response to an unseen novel extract for independent study - it closely explores methods used, incorporates critical statements and has integrated contextual points, which all accumulate into a conceptual, sophisticated analysis."

And, "Samson Evans and Zach Ross in Year 10 both produced a great independent written response exploring how Lady Macbeth changes throughout Shakespeare's tragedy 'Macbeth'. This was after structured talk activities where they debated her character and what Shakespeare's didactic message was to the audience in subverting gender expectations in this way for a Jacobean audience."

Computer Science

Mr Scott, Head of Computer Science, shared that this week our Year 13 Computer Science class presented their programming projects through a structured viva voce process, introduced by the department in 2024 to strengthen academic integrity and ensure all submitted work reflects each student’s independent understanding. During the viva, students verbally explain their design decisions, coding structures, testing processes, and evaluation of their solutions, allowing teachers to authenticate the work and rule out inappropriate use of AI or external assistance.

Students produce a wide range of high-quality projects, with many choosing to design games and mobile or web-based applications that align closely with their intended post-18 pathways, including university courses and degree apprenticeships. These projects often exceed 10,000 words in supporting documentation and require sustained independent research, development, and evaluation, helping students build the skills needed for higher education.

The viva process has been invaluable. It allows us to genuinely understand how well students know their own work and ensures that their submissions are authentic, while also developing their confidence and communication skills.

Year 13 student Kieran added: “I really enjoyed showcasing my project and having my peers challenge me on my code. It helped me think more deeply about my decisions and made me feel proud of what I’d built.”

Food Preparation and Nutrition

Miss Franklin, Teacher of Food Preparation and Nutrition, shared that Year 7 students enjoyed making Gingerbread biscuits today. (Regrettably, we didn't get to try them!)

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 students deserve a special mention!

Congratulations!

Year 8 student, Blake Whitby, produced a standout performance at the British Indoor Rowing Championships, held at the NEC, Birmingham on Saturday 6th December.

Blake returned home with two hard earned Bronze medals. Competing in the highly contested Year 8 Division, he claimed third place in both the 3-minute endurance race and the explosive 500-metre sprint. His performance showcased an impressive blend of strength, pacing discipline and competitive nerve, especially notable in a national field packed with emerging young talent. These results mark an exciting step forward in his development as a junior athlete and highlight his growing presence within the sport.

The photos tell the story, but what you won’t see is the hard graft behind the scenes: nine weeks of disciplined training, early mornings, tired legs, mental resilience and a commitment to turning up even when it was tough. On race day, every single rower hit a personal best — the clearest sign that they delivered exactly what they trained for.

Well done, Blake!

PTFA News

We had a fantastic Christmas Disco last Sunday evening! It was the same venue with a new name! Approximately 675 young people danced and sang to all the old classics, Abba, Village People and of course it wouldn’t be a Christmas Disco without a bit of Mariah, Shaky and Wham!

A big thank you to everyone who supported our fundraiser and to all the volunteers who helped - we can’t run these events without you. A special thank you to Sarah for leading the event. Some of our volunteers are pictured here.

Our next meeting is Wednesday 11th January, 6.30pm in the Conference Room (directly behind the Visitor Reception). Please join us if you can, we’d love to meet you. Refreshments supplied.

Please keep an eye on our Facebook and X feeds for all PTFA news and forthcoming events:

• Facebook

• X

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at the PTFA.

Beverley Kinsella

PTFA Liaison

Alumni News

Happy 100th Birthday Charlie! Alumnus Charlie Trevethan celebrated his 100th birthday this week with a surprise party at Home Park. He attended DHSB, after passing the scholarship, in its original location at the top of Albert Road. I had the pleasure of meeting Charlie for the first time in 2023. If I had to describe him in one word, it would be ‘POSITIVE!’ A few minutes in Charlie’s company is truly a tonic!

Charlie recalls having lessons in the church (because of a shortage of space in school) and having lessons on Saturday mornings. He told me that maths was his best subject and that he can still count in French and German, which he demonstrated, as well as giving me a rendition of ‘Frère Jacques!’

Charlie enjoyed his time at DHSB. At 18, he was drafted into the army, serving with the Devonshire Regiment during the war - his first stop was Scotland, finishing in India fighting the Japanese. He only had leave once during his three and a half years in service.

In 1947, he returned to the UK on the HMT Empire Windrush. Charlie told me that as soon as he reached Devon the air felt and smelt different! He went on to work at Farley’s (rusks) for 35 years, taking early retirement at the age of 60.

After family, the love of Charlie’s life is Plymouth Argyle! He has been an avid supporter since the 1931/32 season - when, along with several friends, they would nip through the turnstiles to get in. Charlie sends the team a card and gift every Christmas so I think he has redeemed himself! He thinks he is possibly the only person alive who saw Jack Leslie play for Argyle. He had a special invitation to the unveiling of the Jack Leslie statue at Home Park, where he was delighted to meet Jack’s granddaughters and some of the team. Charlie didn’t hold back when chatting with Argyle’s then manager, Steven Schumacher - he told him that he didn’t think they should be playing out from the back!

Charlie says, ‘if you can spread a little joy as you go along then it’s a life worth living.’ I don’t think we can argue with that. Let’s all ‘Be More Charlie!’

Delving into our archives from 1925, I can see that the Debating Society discussed ‘that Art rather than Science has civilised the World (Art won by a narrow margin of one vote!), the London branch of the Old Boys’ Association endeavoured to raise funds for 200 children ‘in one of the poorer parts of London’, it was the 10th anniversary of the Cadet Corps (affiliated to the 5th (Prince of Wales’s) Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment), we were encouraged to ‘lend our whole hearted support to any effort to establish a degree-conferring University in the South-West’ and Mr W Curtain qualified to manage a coal mine!

At the 1925 Speech Day event, guest of honour, Brigadier-General The Lord St. Levan, CB., CVO., distributed the prizes and gave the advice ‘to work hard, play hard and play fair, and stick to it always.’ He felt that if this was kept to it would keep up the character and reputation ’that has been so well earned by the Devonport High School.’

Headmaster Mr Treseder MA also reported that ‘the boys are, generally speaking, keen and happy in work and play. The Prefects carry out their duties with zeal and devotion, and the staff are efficient, hard-working and loyal.’ I am proud to say these values are still at the core of DHSB, 100 years later.

Beverley Kinsella

Alumni Engagement & Archives

Sports News and Updates

Football

It was a great game on Tuesday for the Y8 B team who played Sir John Hunt. From being 6-1 down at HT, the team showed unbelievable fight to bring it back to 6-5 but couldn’t quite complete the comeback in a thriller of a game!

Congratulations to the Year 8 football team who beat Heles 3-2 in the Plymouth Cup on Wednesday. It was another tight game with both teams taking and losing the lead - credit to both teams for a great game and thankfully no penalties again for us!