With British Science Week happening this week, we have had lots of different science activities!

The theme this year was ‘Curiosity. What’s your question?'. To mark the week, we have hosted special guests, had our subject ambassadors offering their support to lower years, and lots of fun activities!

The week started out with our poster competition! Entries for the competition are open until March 26th, when the science department will crown year group winners, and pick the five best posters to represent the school in the national competition!

Revision Clinics:

The science department has been hard at work offering revision sessions for GCSE and A-level students. Our subject ambassadors have been instrumental to this, offering their expertise and subject knowledge to offer small group, and 1-to-1 study sessions for the year 11’s.

Biology: Monday (A-Level), Wednesday (GCSE)

Chemistry: Friday (A-Level), Thursday (GCSE)

Physics: Tuesday (A-Level), Tuesday (GCSE)

Monday:

Monday lunchtime kickstarted British Science Week with Biology Society using the iNaturalist app to identify the large biodiversity that can be found on our school site. Dr Little says the students found celandines, yarrow, and cuckoo-pint to name a few, and our observations will be recorded on the national iNaturalist distribution map.

After school, Dr Chapman Greig, Mr Spencer and Ryan Yu (8S) attended Stoke Damerel Primary Academy’s Science Fair to showcase the amazing science work our school does. The event went brilliantly, with primary school students and future DHSB students getting involved in making LED bugs, making a paperclip levitate and our magic colour changing liquid!

Tuesday:

The whole school used their DHSB Life Skills slot in tutorial time to investigate what ingredients and chemicals are in their favourite foods, as well as the dangers of Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF’s).

Our weekly KS3 Eureka club was brightly lit up by our excellent students investigating the electrical conductivity of play-doh! The students were tasked with making LED play-doh bugs, and along the way learned all about series and parallel circuits, short circuits, building electrical circuits.

Wednesday:

During our DHSB Careers slot in tutorial time students were able to discover different job roles and careers linked to science, including some unusual ones such as; VFX artist, acoustic consultant and sports scientists.

Thursday:

Today was our DHSB Digital slot in tutorial time and the students became citizen scientists! Identifying species of sharks off the coast of New Zealand and different animals in the wilderness of Kenya, whilst also looking further afield, identifying galaxies from James Webb Space Telescope.

Friday:

Ending British Science Week with a bang! We were pleased to host Dr. Roy Lowry, from the University of Plymouth. Dr. Lowry hosted our year 10’s for his Pyromania science exhibition. The year 10’s were able to explore the explosive and fiery side of chemistry. Dr. Lowry illustrated the effects of gunpowder, the science of fireworks and set fire to his most dangerous chemical, angel delight!

To end British Science Week, Year 12 student Ben Urbans, gave a great presentation on time dilation to the Physics Society. Time really does fly when you’re having fun (or staying stationary relative to the clock)!

A bumper-filled British Science Week at DHSB, with special thanks to the whole Science department, all the science technicians and Dr. Roy Lowry from University of Plymouth.

Mr Spencer

Teacher of Science, KS3 Science Coordinator &

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Coordinator

Westminster Abbey Trip

The students attending the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on Monday, had an amazing time. They participated in a wonderful service filled with thoughtful words and prayers, readings, music, dance and a parade of flags from around the world. The students enjoyed watching a host of celebrities arrive, and saw HRH the king, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and many others, pass within five meters of where they were stood! The message of unity, of acceptance and of positivity was abundant.

The students were exceptional, as commented on by members of the public, and the experience was once in a lifetime. We are all grateful to Mrs Cunningham for entering the ballot to win these tickets.

Mrs Luing-Holmes

Director of Creative & Performing Arts

Year 10 Professional Construction Visit to Stride Treglown

As part of both the National Careers Week celebrations and the Building Plymouth Open Sites programme, a group of 15 Year 10 students from Devonport High School for Boys enjoyed a fascinating visit to the Plymouth offices of Stride Treglown on Friday.

Accompanied by Mr Campbell, the students spent two hours at the practice, gaining an insight into the world of architecture and the built environment. The visit was organised by Morven Maclean, Construction Coordinator for Building Plymouth, working with Stride Treglown colleagues Sarah Lee and Georgie Rose.

During the session, Sarah and Georgie delivered an engaging presentation about their work as architects and the diverse range of projects they contribute to. Students learned about the many considerations involved in designing buildings - from functionality and sustainability to the unique challenges presented by different sites and communities. The session highlighted just how varied and creative a career in architecture can be.

The group also had the opportunity to explore the offices and see first-hand how a professional architectural practice operates.

Mr Campbell commented afterwards that the boys were “brilliant and engaged throughout,” which was particularly pleasing to hear.

We are very grateful to Morven Maclean, Sarah Lee, Georgie Rose and the team at Stride Treglown for giving up their time to inspire our students and help them learn more about careers in the construction and design sector, and to Mr Campbell for leading the trip.

Mr Scott

Leader of Careers & PSHE

Ten Tors News

The photos below show DHSB's two 45-mile Ten Tors teams returning to civilisation after their early-morning trek in very challenging conditions two weekends ago. They had set out at dawn from their wild camp in NE Dartmoor and proceeded over the top of Cosdon Beacon navigating using only compass, map and timing without being able to see any landmarks for much of the route. It was quite pleasant by the time they turned up at Belstone Village, but an hour previously those of us who were able to had retreated into cars waiting for them as heavy squalls of rain passed through. So we were especially grateful to three intrepid year-11 students from last year's 45-mile team (and their parents acting as chauffeurs) who had taken a break from GCSE revision leaving home at 5.30 that morning to walk up to the top of Cosdon Beacon ahead of the teams. They reported almost zero visibility up there in the cloud and rain, so we were pleased to have radio contact with the year 11s as they trailed our second team down safely off the hill. Meanwhile, one of our Trustees and a former parent had set off similarly early to staff a checkpoint further south; we're extremely grateful to the small group of adults who give their time over these last few weekends running up to the Ten Tors Challenge in May.

By the time the teams reached Okehampton Army Camp at lunch time, they had nearly dried out in time for the next band of rain showers.

Our next outing is a South Dartmoor Friday night camp on 20th March followed by another dawn start and walk towards Postbridge, then a final weekend training after Easter.

Dr Colvile

Ten Tors Team Manager

REFUEL Spring Menu

GCSE Computer Science students celebrate Mar10 Day with Super Mario Coding Challenges

On Tuesday 10 March, our GCSE Computer Science students celebrated Mar10 Day - an international celebration of the iconic gaming character Mario. The date “Mar10” resembles the spelling of Mario’s name, making it the perfect opportunity to explore the computer science concepts behind one of the most famous video game franchises ever created.

Throughout the lesson, students explored how the mechanics behind classic platform games are built using key programming and computational thinking ideas.

Algorithms and Game Movement

To begin, students took on the Mario Algorithm Challenge. Using a grid-based maze, they had to write step-by-step instructions to help Mario reach the goal while avoiding obstacles. The instructions were limited to simple commands such as: UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, JUMP

This activity helped students understand how algorithms control movement in games. They quickly discovered that even small changes to a game map can break an existing algorithm - mirroring the real-world challenge programmers face when maintaining and updating games.

Debugging Like a Game Developer

Next, students investigated a short piece of Mario-inspired game logic. The code tracked coins collected, interactions with enemies, and power-ups.

Students analysed the code to identify bugs and then rewrote an improved version. This task reinforced several core programming ideas including:

• Variables (such as coin counters and player state)

• Conditionals (what happens if Mario touches an enemy or power-up)

• Loops (the game running continuously while the player is alive)

• Game logic that controls scoring and outcomes

Debugging activities like this help students develop logical thinking and problem-solving skills that are essential for real-world software development.

Designing a New Mario Power-Up

Students then became game designers themselves by inventing a brand-new Mario power-up.

Each design had to include:

• A name for the power-up

• A description of what it does in the game

• The underlying pseudocode that explains how the game would implement it

Some of the creative ideas included time-freezing abilities, teleportation pipes, and invisibility powers. Iyad, Finn, Tom and Ali won Mario themed prizes for their work! This task encouraged students to think about how creative ideas in games must still be translated into clear computational logic.

Discovering the Computer Science Behind Games

In groups, students discussed the computer science concepts that appear in Mario games. They identified several key principles used in almost all video games:

• Algorithms controlling character movement

• Collision detection for interactions with enemies and objects

• Variables to store coins, scores, and lives

• Loops that keep the game running

• Conditionals that determine what happens during gameplay

Students were fascinated to learn that the original Super Mario Bros. game ran with just 2 KB of RAM, meaning developers had to design extremely efficient code.

Learning Through Games

Using a familiar and engaging context like Mario helps students see how the concepts they learn in Computer Science underpin the games they enjoy every day. From algorithms and debugging to logical design, video games provide an excellent way to bring computational thinking to life.

Mar10 Day proved to be a fun and memorable way for students to combine gaming creativity with real programming skills.

Mr Scott

Head of Computer Science

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!

We had a great meeting this week. Thank you to everyone who came. A special welcome to Rachel who answered our call to arms and volunteered to be our new Chair. And what a great job she did too!

We were delighted to approve grants from Chris Brown, Estates and Theatre Tech Crew, for £3222.00 for a new lighting desk, and £456.00 for weights and mirrors for the refurbished Fitness Suite from the P.E. Department's Mr Orkney.

Mr Scott came to our meeting to personally deliver his thanks and feedback on previous grants he’d received for the CanSat Competition Project, testicular checking kits and the condom demonstrators and condoms - serious stuff but update delivered with humour! Thank you Mr Scott!

Our next meeting is the 6th May, 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.

Mrs Kinsella

PTFA Liaison

A reminder that we are celebrating our 130th Anniversary with a reunion event, for all former pupils and staff, at 12.30pm on the 28th March.

Please join us!  Tickets include a delicious buffet lunch, an opportunity to tour the school and a talk by former DHSB student and now DHSB History teacher, Dave Riggs. You can even buy our own locally brewed DHSB IPA ‘Colonnade!'  Full details and tickets here:

DHSB Alumni Shop

A big thank you to everyone who has already bought tickets. You are coming from the length and breadth of the country! I have an update on the oldest alumnus coming! He is 96 years young!  

Please spread the word too!  Any questions email alumni@dhsb.org

Mrs Kinsella

Alumni Engagement & Archives

Cricket

Massive congratulations to the Year 8 DHSB Indoor Cricket Team who won the Devon County Finals tournament on Thursday. The team were unbeaten all day. They showed great skill with bat and ball as well as a brilliant tactical understanding throughout! Well done lads!

Football

Well done to to the Year 8 Football Team who are through to the Devon Cup Quarter Finals after a win against Uffculme on Friday 6 March. It was a great achievement from all involved - let’s hope they can get two more wins to get to the final!