Thank you to all students, families, trustees and staff who supported our Speech Day celebration events on Wednesday.

This year's Speech Day events were held in a marquee on the site on the 80th anniversary of DHSB moving into the part of the current school grounds which were formerly Stoke Military Hospital.

In the afternoon we welcomed our former Year 7 to 10 students and their families with drinks on their arrival served by our prefects under the guidance of Mrs Cunningham, Head of Houses and Community.

Many thanks to former student Harrison Nash who presented the awards. Harrison works in the social care field in the UK and is the Director of Maranatha Care Children, a charity he founded in 2009 to transform the lives of children and young people in need of care and protection in South Africa. For his services to children he was awarded a British Citizen Award in 2016 which was followed by a British Empire Medal in the Queens Honours 2020. He is also an Honorary Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Plymouth and recently won their first Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. We look forward to seeing where the next chapter leads him!

During the afternoon Will Henwood spoke about his time as School Captain, the pride he feels in being part of the DHSB community and the opportunities studying here brings. He shared his sadness for the loss of Mr Huq earlier this year and celebrated the positive impact that this beloved teacher had on students and his charitable deeds. Will concluded his talk by sharing his intrigue as to how "the characters of the following generations of students will be shaped by what our school has to offer".

Later in the day we enjoyed the company of our former Year 11 to Year 13 students. It was really lovely to celebrate their achievements and catch up with some of them before they move onto their next steps at college or university, or take up employment or head off on a gap year.

Harrison also took part in our evening event, along with alumni James Morton and Alex Rapson, who returned to school to share their memories and experiences since leaving DHSB. James is now working for Babcock and Alex having attended flight school, is due to start a Second Officer position with TUI next month. They were able to pass on some useful advice and made themselves available to chat with our leavers during a fabulous buffet supper provided by Refuel staff.

During both events we enjoyed music performed by Tristan De Rochefort Roper (Y13) Ralph Haydn Davies (Y8) Alex Duddy (Y10), Elliot Mair (Y13) and Alex Boghia (Y11), accompanied by the strings teacher, Mrs Ashby and Mrs Luing-Holmes, Director of Creative and Performing Arts.

Celebrating Outstanding GCSE Success in… Where 9 is the Magic Number! 

We are incredibly proud to celebrate the remarkable achievements of a group of our current Year 12 students, who excelled in their GCSE examinations last summer. Each of these boys secured six or more Grade 9s – the very highest standard possible – a reflection of their exceptional commitment, resilience, and approach to their academic studies.

Most notably, two students- Luke Madgett and Ben Urbans achieved the extraordinary feat of securing Grade 9s in all of their subjects (12 and 11 subjects respectively), placing them among the very top performers nationally.

Our congratulations to Luke, Ben, Leo, Max, Agsheyan, Harshil, Thomas, Fiacre, Ivan, Harry, Jack, Owen, Lucas, Josh, Magnus, Theo, Tobias, Joseph, Arthur and Nicholas.

These results are a testament not only to the boys’ hard work but also to the support of their teachers and families. As they continue their studies in the Sixth Form, we are excited to see what they will achieve next – both academically and beyond the classroom.

Clubs and Activities

Mr Callicott has provided us with an extensive list of Clubs and Activities for this year.

Links to Clubs and Activities

If your child wishes to join a club or take part in an activity please sign them up using your MCAS account.

House Sport

We have introduced a new structure for the DHSB house sport programme which is hoped will enhance the experience for all students, increase participation, build a stronger sense of community and create an environment where representing one's house is a valued and exciting part of school life.

To facilitate this new house sport programme, please take note of the new timings and day for House Sport. Each year group will run on the following nights for the first half term:

Year 7 House Football - Monday 15th September - 3:30 - 5:00pm

Year 8 House Football - Monday 22nd September - 3:30 - 5:00pm

Year 9 House Football - Monday 29th September - 3:30 - 5:00pm

Year 10 House Football - Monday 6th October - 3:30 - 5:00pm

Year 11 House Football - Monday 13th October - 3:30 - 5:00pm

Please enrol your child for House Sport using your MCAS account.

If your child would like to find out more about any of our clubs and activities please ask them to speak to Mr Callicott.

Alumni News

80 years ago this week, on the 10th September, DHSB moved into the former Stoke Military Hospital after outgrowing its original premises on Albert Rd where it was founded in 1896 by Alonzo J Rider. From 1941 to 1945 the school was evacuated to Penzance. If you would like to read more about the first years at the Stoke Military Hospital, click below to read a first hand report from Barrington Cross - he started at DHSB on the 10th September 1945 and he has kindly documented his memories for us.  It’s a fantastic read! A big thank you Barrie! 

Barrington Cross' DHSB memories

PTFA News

We have our first PTFA Meeting of the year next Wednesday and we’d love you to join us if you are able as inevitably we lose parents at the end of each school year (although some enjoy it so much they have continued with us!). We are a small but very effective PTFA.  During the previous academic year we have funded entry in to the Magistrates' Court Mock Trial Competition, Greenpower car expenses, one year's work with the Plymouth Racial Equality Council team, the girls' netball team kit, aprons, saucepans and food processors, replacement goal nets, student leadership badges, tents and kit for DofE and even yo-yos for the new Yo-yo Club!

Meetings start at 6.30pm and are held in the Conference Room which is directly behind the Visitor Reception.  Refuel supplies us with lovely sandwiches - please email ptfa@dhsb.org if you are considering coming so we have an idea of numbers to cater for, mentioning any dietary requirements too.

Please check out our school lottery, you could win a £1000.00 Aldi voucher just for signing up.  Weekly tickets cost £1.00 and a percentage goes directly to the PTFA. Here is the link to Your School Lottery

We are always looking for volunteers, it does not have to be a big commitment - it can be just an hour at one event.  Please submit this Volunteer - expression of interest form if you are interested or have any questions.

Finally, keep an eye on our Facebook and X feeds for all PTFA news and forthcoming events.

Thanks and best wishes.

Beverley Kinsella (PTFA Liaison) and the PTFA