DHSB Ten Tors 2026

The school had two 45-mile teams allocated this year, while numerous Scouts, Cadets, and charities also had teams with DHSB members at all three 35/45/55-mile distances, such that a total of nearly 30 DHSB students took part.

Ten Tors Base Camp - Friday 8th May

After completing the Army's safety briefing in school and receiving delivery of the team shirts from Dan M in this year's bright blue colour, most of the team members travelled with staff in the minibuses up to Okehampton to register with the Army and complete final preparations, including full kit check and finalising details of the two allocated routes. Alongside staff, a small team of parents of current and former team members, who had already been up at the crack of dawn on Thursday to claim our space in the field and set up our Base Camp, were busy assisting with the kit check, running the catering to feed the teams ready for their walk, and ensuring everyone was well hydrated as this year's cool temperatures made it easy to forget how rapidly water is lost during 14 hours of walking in windy weather on exposed moorland.

We're especially grateful to the parents of students who, in extraordinary circumstances this year, had to get two of the team members to Okehampton from further afield - we were relieved when all were present. We are also grateful to our reserve, Tamsyn, who deserves special mention as she cheerfully stood by until dawn on Saturday, to ensure the required complete team of six to start, would be present.

Ten Tors Start - 07:00 Saturday 9th May

We were impressed that Mr Winstone and Mrs Parkes drove up from Plymouth to arrive in time for our 6 a.m. departure from camp and glad to hear they were so inspired by what they saw! Our staff and volunteer team had been up since 4 a.m. cooking porridge and bacon, so that each teenager emerging from their tent to the sound of "Chariots of Fire" over the tannoy at 5 a.m. would have a hot meal inside them, plus more water of course!

The track to the start closed around 6.30 a.m. to allow the parachute display team to land. There was a brief welcoming address and the Ten Tors prayer, followed by the countdown to the starting guns and a helicopter fly-by as 240 teams of six, headed off onto the moor in the largest outdoor youth event in the whole of the UK. DHSB-B Year 10 team, had one of the longest first legs out to Great Kneeset, so had a start position at the far western end of the crowd. They soon established themselves on the track at the head of a crocodile of over a hundred teams of six, all on the various routes that passed through Dinger Tor and other checkpoints in that direction. The Year 12 DHSB-A team meanwhile, on the opposite end of the start line set a cracking pace. The also had a punishing first leg to the summit of Cosdon Hill, but made such good time that some of us initially thought their arrival report at exactly 08:00 was a computer glitch as the feed of data from the moor back to Base Camp became established.

For the rest of the day, as parents and staff shared a second breakfast (it was barely 8 a.m. but we had been up for 4 hours!) and made light work of dismantling the parts of Base Camp that were no longer required, both the teams out on the moor were doing the real work of keeping on walking (and drinking, and walking, and eating, and drinking, and navigating), and walking... for 14 or 15 hours. After the preceding dry month, the ground underfoot was relentlessly hard, lacking the usual Dartmoor "squelch" that protects feet, ankles, and knees from blisters and impact, and remaining hydrated, as expected, was a continual challenge in the sun and wind. So as the sun set and darkness fell we were relieved to see the online report showing that the Year 10 team had walked as far as they were allowed on Day 1, with over 2 hours to spare before checkpoints closed for the night, enabling them to stick to their most ambitious plan to establish camp 500 metres away from Tor 8 for the shortest possible Sunday morning walk home on their route. Year 12 meanwhile, made a wise decision to camp a slightly shorter distance round their route to allow recovery from the wear and tear of a day's walking.

We were sad to welcome one of their member back at Base Camp, after they wisely concluded at a checkpoint earlier in the evening, that symptoms of dehydration meant the safest decision was for them not to continue with their team. We are grateful to the parents for making their late journey up to Okehampton to enable their brave son to have a night in his own bed instead of in a tent at Base Camp.

Ten Tors Finish - Sunday 10th May

Year 10 were up before dawn for the second day in a row and we saw online that they had checked through Tor 8 as soon as it opened at 6 a.m., having cooked breakfast, struck camp to leave no trace, and walked from their wild camping location! Year 12 also made an early start and checked in at the staffed location before their Tor 8 where, we later learnt, one of their member decided he had not recovered sufficiently overnight to complete a second day of walking, so four carried on to face the notorious descent into and ascent out of "Killer Valley" to cross the West Okement River. A final slog from west to east across North Dartmoor was then completed before retracing Saturday morning's steps back to the start.

Ten Tors is not a race, and success is defined as crossing the finish line before 5 p.m. Saturday. But, to have both teams back before 2 p.m., with over three hours to spare, is most impressive, Year 12 on probably one of the most demanding 45-mile routes ever set by the Organisers and Year 10 going round the moor like clockwork and arriving at 10:42 a.m.! With only two DHSB teams this year who arrived a couple of hours apart, we were a smaller group of staff, volunteers, and parents to welcome them in, than in previous years, but we were still part of the usual big crowd and there was a massive party atmosphere on the edge of the moor as the Leader of each team carried the DHSB flag through the finish arch. There was the usual celebration as they received their medals. The Year 12s were also greeted by the member who had left them earlier in the day and had arrived by road an hour or so before.

We were even more impressed to see so many team members back in school Monday morning looking like they had just had a relaxing weekend, only a couple of them exercising their right to wear whatever comfortable footwear would enable them to attend. As far as we know, they even stayed awake in lessons, possibly because they finished Ten Tors early enough to get 14 hours or more sleep Sunday night!

Preparing for next year

We are grateful to the teams and supporting parents for bringing back all the team and borrowed equipment dry and clean to be packed away for much of the summer. We look forward to getting it all out again in the autumn and welcoming back our 2025 45-mile team and their very capable reserve, who are currently in Year 11 taking a year off the Ten Tors Challenge to sit their GCSE exams, before recommencing training for the Ten Tors 2027 55-mile Challenge.

To be eligible for a place in DHSB's 45 and 55-mile Ten Tors teams, students must sign up for the annual Abbot's Way Walk which takes place on the first Sunday in October, as a sign of commitment and initial measure of starting levels of fitness, stamina, and potential team coherence; a second Sixth Form team with six places may be available for additional Year 12 students to compete for selection, these students may have completed the 35 mile Challenge with another establishment, or may be new to Ten Tors and eligible for the 45-mile Challenge.

2027 will also be an opportunity for DHSB's 2026-7 Year 9 and 10 students to compete for a place in one or two DHSB 35-mile teams. (Having not had a DHSB 35-mile team in 2026, we do not plan to have a Year 10 45-mile team in 2027.) We have already had expressions of interest from some of the keenest Year-9-to-be students (currently in Year 8) and Year-10-to-be (currently in Year 9); we expect those who are determined to get a team place to demonstrate this by paying attention to announcements and the invitation to apply in the Autumn term, and we look forward to seeing how they can develop their strength, stamina, organisation, skills, and sheer grit to prove to us, through 7 months of training, that they have what it takes to build the best possible team that DHSB can enter. Any enquiries can be sent to tentors@dhsb.org... but the students that get team places are usually the highly self-motivated students that contact us themselves, rather than their parents!

Dr Colvile

Ten Tors Team Manager

A big thank you to current year 13 student, Darcy.

Darcy has been highly successful in applying for degree apprenticeship opportunities this year, securing a number of offers and accepting a prestigious opportunity of working and training at US investment bank, JP Morgan.

She stayed in school today for a live Q&A with some of our current year 12 students, sharing her experiences of finding and applying for degree apprenticeships.   She provided a great insight into the organisation and preparation that helped her to shine in a highly competitive process.  Students learnt about where to find opportunities, how to prepare their applications, and how to develop and demonstrate the skills and attributes that employers are looking for.  Thank you Darcy, I am sure that offering to do things like this is part of why you were so successful, and I know that next year's cohort will have found your insights really useful.

Mr Alsop

Head of Business and Economics &

Deputy Head of 6th Form

Practical Chemistry

Following a stressful mock week, one of our Year 12 Chemistry classes got straight back into the swing of things by carrying out their first ever Heating Under Reflux practical.

Refluxing involves boiling a mixture safely with anti bumping granules, in a flask connected to a vertical condenser, which cools the vapours back into liquid and returns them to the flask.

It looked like they all enjoyed getting back to some practical Chemistry after sitting for hours in exam conditions.

Mr O'Hara

Head of Chemistry

DofE News

This has been another busy week for our students taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE). During Wednesday lunchtime, the Bronze A group worked with instructors from Dynamic Adventures to plan their route for their qualifying expedition, which will take place in June.

Later the same day, it was the turn of the Gold Award students, who this year have the choice of three different expeditions: walking in Chamonix or Eryri and canoeing the River Wye. These sessions were a chance for the students to put their planning and navigation skills to the test, with everyone taking part, expedition aims discussed, and excitement building ahead of expedition season.

Finally, 50 Bronze B group students are looking forward to their first practice expedition this weekend, with fingers crossed for dry weather!

Thank you to Mr Watling, Mrs Davidson and Mrs McKee for supporting our students this week. I would also like to extend my thanks to Rohan and Kenzou in Year 12 for their hours spent introducing an excellent, streamlined system for the kit issue and return process. Further thanks in advance to families for supporting the drying and return of borrowed school kit ahead of the allotted times next week.

Mr Guy-Fierens

D of E Award Manager

This week, we received this lovely feedback from the South West Unifrog Account Manager, about Mr Scott and the Unifrog provision that we use across the school. "I had the opportunity to meet with Paul Scott and was incredibly impressed by everything he is doing within the school. I work for Unifrog and account manage the majority of the schools in the South West.

Your careers provision is genuinely exceptional. The data shows that your Year 8–11 students all sit within the top three schools in the whole of the UK for progress on Unifrog, which is incredibly impressive given that we work with over 3,000 schools nationally...

The opportunities he is organising and providing for your students really do stand out, and it is clear that students are benefiting enormously from the time, care, and attention being invested in this area..."

Well done and thank you, Mr Scott!

This summer term, Year 7 have made a thoughtful and meaningful start to their Inspirational Leaders unit in Religious Studies. Through exploring the lives of individuals who have demonstrated courage, compassion, and resilience in the face of adversity, year 7 has been encouraged to reflect on the qualities that make someone truly inspirational.

Last week, students explored the life and legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer as part of the unit. In keeping with the commemorations for Victory in Europe Day, we created thoughtful concept wheels highlighting Bonhoeffer’s Christian faith, courage, and the sacrifices he made while supporting those persecuted in Germany during the Second World War.

Mrs Wardle, Joint Head of Religious Studies, said "While the standard was impressively high with many excellent examples, the attached pieces truly stood out for their depth, insight and care of display."

Year 7 also learned about Yusra Mardini and her remarkable journey from refugee to Olympic athlete. Students were challenged to design a new Olympic medal inspired by her story and achievements. Below is an excellent example from Barney in 7A, who carefully illustrated his medal design and provided a detailed explanation of the symbolism behind it.

Miss Taylor

Teacher of Geography

DHSB students from years 7 and 8 recently took part in the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge event. The event asks the students to answer 25 multiple choice questions designed to develop problem solving and mathematical reasoning skills, focusing on creative thinking and logic rather than advanced mathematical skills.

The results are now in and once again DHSB demonstrated their strength in these areas. A special mention to Samuel (7J), Tom (8L), Abdulrahman (8S), Jayden (8A), Le (8A), Julius (8T), Harry (8L) Oliver (8T), Stanley (8W), Moss (8T), Sebby (8A) and Marlow (8F) who have all qualified for the Pink Kangaroo round. A really special mention to Rufus (8F) who not only achieved 'Best-in-school' but also qualified for the Junior Maths Olympiad round.

Both the Pink Kangaroo and Junior Maths Olympiad rounds will be held on Tuesday 9th June and we wish all of the qualifiers the best of luck!

Mr Carne

Teacher of Mathematics

KS3 Maths Lead / ITT Mentor (Maths)

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!

The day we played in front of 50,000 people at Twickenham

"We both play for Devonport Services R.F.C. (DSRFC) and have done so for many years. The club is sponsored by the Royal Navy. Every year, when the Army and Navy rugby match takes place at Twickenham, the military invites their youth sections to play in a rugby sevens tournament on the day, with the final held at half time during the men's Army and Navy match. It is a huge occasion in the rugby calendar and one of the biggest occasions in the military calendar, with 50,073 people attending the match this year.

DSRFC arrived in the morning to play our tournament matches, and we are pleased to say we beat all the teams we met at the playoffs and reached the final against the Army Cadets. Going out onto the pitch in front of the huge crowds oddly didn't phase us as much as you'd imagine; our eyes were set on playing together to win the match. Thanks to the great talents of our rugby team and our coaches, we overwhelmed the Army Cadets side defensively with big hits, and using our drill and skill, we ran in seven tries to win the match.

It was only when the game was won that we noticed exactly how many people had been watching. We felt proud and ecstatic to have won on the hallowed turf of Twickenham! After the match we were presented with Army-Navy winners' coins by England World Cup winner and British & Irish Lions player, Jason Robinson. This was a truly once in a lifetime experience, but, we wonder whether we or other members of our team will get the opportunity to play there again... only time and hard training will tell!"

Henri and Bobby

Year 8

We had a great meeting last week. A big thank you to everyone who came. We were delighted to approve grants for four IR thermal imaging cameras, four art racks, a wheelchair, ramps and an EpiPen.

Our final meeting of the academic year will be on the 1st July at 6.30pm. Please join us if you can - we’d love to meet you. Refreshments supplied.

Mrs Kinsella

PTFA Liaison

Plymouth Tree People Visit

It was a pleasure to welcome Plymouth Tree People to DHSB as part of the annual Plymouth Urban Tree Festival, on Tuesday. Part one of their event took place in Stoke Damerel Church before crossing Paradise Road to DHSB.

Local historian Richard Fisher told the assembled group about the history of the military hospital before it became the school we know today. Richard had certainly done his homework!

Head of Computer Science, Paul Scott, proudly told us about how DHSB was given the Gold Green Tree School Award by the Woodland Trust and how we are now working towards the Platinum Green Tree School Award - two points towards this were gained with our group photo holding our award!

I was delighted to see three alumni in the group. Peter Fielding (1955 - 1972), Chris Hunt and Dave Curnow. Chris and Dave started as Peter was leaving in 1972!

It was lovely to meet Jane Farnborough too. She was a Science Technician at DHSB from 1998 until retiring in 2020. Jane was delighted to see that one of her bird boxes is still on a tree - she told me how she made it from a microscope box!

Martyn Butt told me all about his dad David, who started at DHSB in 1944 - spending his first year in Penzance as the school had been evacuated there in 1941. David wrote in his memoirs of the boys racing frogs in Penzance, and lowering notes on pieces of string from their windows, to girls passing by down below! David was a Plant Pathologist and was awarded an MBE in 1993. He sadly passed away in 2019.

We were very generously offered a Grand piano by one of the visitors, Chris Brown. All in all it was an eventful event!

Mrs Kinsella

Alumni Engagement & Archives

Softball Cricket

Our Year 8's are through to the Softball Cricket County Finals day, after winning the local competition at Ivybridge Cricket Club on Wednesday. Well done!

Football

Huge congratulations to the Year 8 DHSB Football Team who beat Clyst Vale in the Devon Cup semi final on Thursday. They will play Torquay Academy next Wednesday in their first Devon Cup final - well done to everyone involved, it was a brilliant performance!