13 November 2026
A Marvellous and Moving Remembrance Assembly
On Wednesday 11 November, the school community came together for a deeply poignant and memorable Remembrance assembly. From the moment students entered the hall to the resonant sound of Army Corps drumming performed by our Year 9 GCSE musicians, the atmosphere was set for a truly respectful occasion.
The dramatic opening immediately captured everyone's attention. Plunged into darkness with sweeping searchlights, air-raid sirens, and Winston Churchill’s historic broadcast announcing the outbreak of war, the performance introduced us to William and Thomas—two DHSB boys eager to enlist. Through evocative music, projected trench imagery, and powerful physical theatre, the audience watched their initial excitement give way to the exhausting reality of life on the front line, culminating in a tense, torchlit trench scene before going "over the top".
Following a powerful reading of Wilfred Owen’s 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Y12 student Theo, the hall fell quiet as slides shared the story of William’s promising life and tragic loss in the conflict—bringing the human cost of war directly home to our school. William, who is among the DHSB Fallen, tragically died just four days before Armistice Day.
As drama students took up solemn poses across the half-lit stage, Laurence Binyon’s 'For the Fallen' was delivered with great dignity by Year 9 student Henry, with the final four lines spoken in unison as candles were placed before our poppy centrepiece. A thoughtful address was given by School Captain, James. He reminded all students—regardless of faith or background—of the meaning behind the silence, asking us to reflect on the scrolling Roll of Honour of former DHSB students who gave their lives, and to remember them as we would our own. The two minute silence was brought to a moving close by the bugles sounding the Last Post.
A huge thank you and well done to Mrs Luing-Holmes and all the students and staff involved in this fitting tribute, for their hard work, sensitivity, and talent.
We shall remember them.
Special Delivery!
This week, we had the privilege of delivering our school’s incredible collection of cuddly toys to Plymouth City Council in support of the city-wide Foster for Plymouth Teddy Bear Appeal.
Following our letter home to parents and carers last month, our school community responded with overwhelming generosity. Throughout our collection week, the Houses office steadily filled up with an amazing variety of brand-new teddy bears, bunnies, dinosaurs, crabs, unicorns, and other soft animal friends.
Across Plymouth, there are currently over 540 children in care. Many young people enter foster care unexpectedly and often arrive with very few personal belongings. Leaving familiar routines and surroundings can be an overwhelming and confusing time, and having a brand-new soft toy to hold provides vital reassurance, security, and comfort during a difficult transition.
We were genuinely touched by the care that went into every single donation. Alongside the beautifully packaged, tag-on toys, so many families took up the invitation to include a slip of paper with a suggested name for their soft toy, giving each cherishable companion a special identity before meeting their future "forever" child.
Now safely in the hands of the team at Plymouth City Council, these wonderful donations will help stock Foster for Plymouth's special Bear Adoption Room. Once open, children coming into care across the city will be invited to visit the room and choose their very own bear to adopt and take home.
A huge thank you to every student, parent, and carer who donated and helped make today’s delivery possible. Your kindness will bring comfort, warmth, and smiles to children across our city when they need it most.
Miss Cunningham
Assistant Headteacher
Head of Houses & Community
Children in Need Cake Sale
Mrs Luing-Holmes shared that a total of £269.70 was raised at the Children in Need Cake Sale held today and said "Thanks so much to our performers and house captains for arranging and running this cake sale!!"
Celebrating Kindness at DHSB
Last week, we were once again delighted to receive so many wonderful kindness nominations from across the school. It is fantastic to see the thoughtful, caring and considerate ways in which our students look out for one another every single day.
Our Kindness Award winner last week was George in 9F, who was nominated for going out of his way to help another student and a member of staff clean up a spillage. It was a lovely example of someone seeing that help was needed and simply stepping in without being asked. Well done, George!
There were plenty of other wonderful nominations too. Students were recognised for supporting their classmates in lessons, saving seats for others on the bus, holding doors open and simply being a consistently kind and friendly person. We also had nominations for students who take the time to check in with their peers and those who go out of their way to cheer up friends when they are feeling a little sad.
These may seem like small gestures, but they can make a huge difference to someone's day. It is often the simplest acts of kindness that have the biggest impact.
Our school is excelling in the kindness we see every single day, and it is genuinely heart-warming. We feel incredibly privileged to be surrounded by so many lovely students who demonstrate compassion, thoughtfulness and care for those around them.
Keep looking out for one another, keep spreading positivity and, most importantly, keep being kind. You make DHSB a very special place to be!
Mrs McGowan, Success Hub Manager
& Mr Manley, Deputy Headteacher - Behaviour and Student Support
Sharing Our Reading
This week’s reviewers are Mr Anderson (Head of Year 8 and Geography teacher) and Rudy in Year 7. They have both chosen to review their recent reading and want to encourage others to share too. It is always interesting to see what books people choose to review. Mr Anderson’s choice of SAS Rogue Heroes comes with the sage advice to read the book before watching the television programme. Rudy’s selection of Eragon reawakened memories of reading this with my own children and their excitement in seeing the film based on the novel. Like Mr Anderson, I would always encourage the reading the book before seeing it on screen to develop your own opinion of the characters first… it also allows you to spot any and all the changes made by filmmakers..
If you have read a book recently which has entertained, inspired or challenged you why not share this with others? Book reviews can be shared with Dr Downes - tracey.downes@DHSB.org.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Out of all the books I have read, the Inheritance Cycle, starting with Eragon, is my all-time favourite book and has been at the top of my list for four years at least! Standing at a huge 157,220 words, and 544 pages, it is the exact type of fantasy and sci-fi any reader could want from a tale. It follows the quest of a young farm boy, his newly found dragon and the village story teller ‘Brom’ in the treacherous lands of Alagaësia. The tale of this young boy involves not only one but four different books in the series so readers have plenty to get engaged in. I think that this author, Paolini, has ‘it all’ - there are even, in the back of all the books, the languages of the different races of Alagaësia. In my opinion this book is targeted towards late teenagers and young adults but I’m sure any story-reader who likes fantasy is bound to enjoy this thrill gripping, nerve wrenching and stomach churning story. After you finish this story you can move on to the next three stories, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance!
Star rating: 5 out of 5
Rudy (year 7)
SAS Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre
Set in the summer of 1941, SAS Rogue Heroes tells the extraordinary story of the creation of the Special Air Service. The narrative follows eccentric British officer David Stirling, who conceptualised launching daring hit-and-run sabotage operations behind enemy lines in the North African desert. Assembling an unorthodox mixture of aristocrats, misfits, hardnuts, and adventurers including key figures such as Jock Lewes and Paddy Mayne, the book chronicles how a "small walnut" of an idea developed into modern special forces.
The narrative is structured into two main movements: starting with the high-adventuring early days of the Western Desert campaign, before moving into the grimmer, later operations across Italy, France, and Germany as World War II drew to a close. Rather than delivering a dry listing of military operations, Macintyre crafts a highly readable and unputdownable account by incorporating the firsthand words of those who were there and details directly from the SAS war diary. The writing balances thrilling derring-do with human enterprise, avoiding overly technical historical jargon while vividly bringing its remarkable cast of characters to life.
An exciting, deeply moving tribute to a group of extraordinary individuals, SAS Rogue Heroes stands out as a masterclass in narrative military history. Whether you are a dedicated history reader or simply love a compelling story of human courage, this book is unputdownable 5-star book.
Read the book then watch the BBC Series!
Star rating: 5 out of 5
Mr Anderson
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!
Mr Anderson, Teacher of Geography/Religious Studies shared this piece of classwork completed by Year 8 student, George (8W). "I asked the boys to make an infographic on Fairtrade following our lesson on the Geography of chocolate. He did the task set brilliantly, finished with time to spare and I asked him if there were any products that should be Fairtrade. He came up with Smartphones and justified it really well."
Excellent work, George!
A Night of Quizzing, Cakes and Community Spirit!
Saturday night saw more than 50 people come together for a fantastic quiz night, organised by Dexter (9J), to raise funds for his once-in-a-lifetime trip to Peru with Camps International.
Dexter did himself incredibly proud, taking to the floor at the start of the evening to thank everyone for their support, including his sponsors and all those who had made the effort to come along. Speaking in front of such a large crowd is no small achievement, and he did it brilliantly!
With a helping hand from his friend Oscar (9J), Dexter kept everyone refreshed throughout the evening, serving drinks and a delicious selection of cakes.
The evening was a wonderful example of community spirit, with everyone coming together to support Dexter on his exciting adventure. His trip with Camps International will give him the opportunity to make a positive difference to local communities in Peru, making all the fundraising efforts even more meaningful.
The evening raised an amazing £900 towards his trip - a fantastic achievement! Through this and other fund raising efforts, such as a car boot, building bird boxes and making homemade dog treats, Dexter has raised an incredible £2052.36. Dexter's fantastic fundraising is an incredible inspiration for us all. This level of dedication and organisation is really brilliant and it shows how enthusiastic he is for this exciting opportunity! We could not be more proud of Dexter and his efforts so far, keep going!!
A huge thank you to everyone who attended, donated, baked, sponsored and helped make the evening such a success. Your support is helping Dexter get one step closer to an unforgettable experience and an opportunity to make a real difference.
Miss Cooper
Careers Advice Officer
Year 12 student, Tayler, recently completed an Army Cadets Course and wrote about his experience and what was required to achieve a pass.
Tayler said "Master Cadet is a prestigious week long course, designed to push cadets to their limits. It is a highlight of an Army Cadets Career marking the end of a five year commitment.
Cadets begin by partaking in an arduous obstacle course and log run, designed to promote teamwork and test how they work under pressure.
From here they move onto a 4 night exercise. Packed full of high level section attacks and specialist serials, including vehicle checkpoints and CasEvacs, testing not only the cadets combat awareness but their situational awareness and communication skills.
Throughout these challenges the cadets are assessed on their ability to step up and take charge in command of their section. Where each action needs to be quick but thought through, culminating in the success of their team.
Across the exercise, cadets usually end up firing over 1000 rounds and using countless pyrotechnics such as smoke grenades.
The exercise concludes with a multi stage, three hour platoon attack. Where each section needs to be constantly aware of their surroundings, and their next movement. Overall having to assault 12 enemy positions, in one attack.
Once this is complete, the cadets get to return to CTC Frimley Park, and partake in a graceful graduation dinner. Before finding out if they passed or not, on the Friday morning and partaking in a ceremonial parade. To round off the week.
Throughout the course, all aspects of the cadets career is tested, from navigation to their fieldcraft wits and tactics. With 52 cadets starting the course, 44 finishing the exercise due to injuries. And more than 20 failing. It takes a lot of skill to become a Master Cadet."
Well done, Tayler!
A big thank you to everyone who came along on Wednesday. We had a great meeting - very full and productive. We’ve planned ahead until May - we all know what the big event in May is!
We were delighted to approve three diverse grant requests: 100 exam tables and chairs, a sound desk, and a visit from an Oxford academic - a grand total of £8620.00!
Please don’t forget to buy your Christmas Disco ticket - sales will close strictly on the 30th November (or sooner should we reach capacity). Unfortunately we will not be able to sell after that date, or on the door, due to the admin involved. From 30 November, we will be busy sorting the wristbands and finalising our lists.
Our next meeting is the 13th January, 6.30pm in the Conference Room (directly behind the Visitor Reception), please join us if you can, we’d love to meet you.
Mrs Kinsella
PTFA Liaison
Football
Congratulations to the Year 9 Football Team who progress to the next round of the National Cup, where they will play either Heles or Tor Bridge, after a great performance in their match against Looe on Monday.
Well done!
Badminton
Well done to the U19 Badminton Team who played brilliantly at the Plymouth Schools Tournament on Tuesday, with wins against Heles and DHSG!
Cross Country
DHSB had 28 students representing at the Plymouth and West Devon Schools on Thursday. Brilliant runs and efforts from all taking part on a nice day for cross country. Final team results are pending, however a brilliant silver medal for Alfie in the U14 category and an excellent gold for Tristan in the U16 capped a great day.
