16 October 2026
Announcing Our DHSB House Captains for 2026/27
The energy around the House System at Devonport High School for Boys is at an all-time high as we officially announce our new House Captain cohort for the 2026/27 academic year.
This year's application process saw an unprecedented level of interest, drawing a record 45 applications from across the student body. While we initially planned to select 14 House Captains, two for each of our seven houses, the extraordinary standard of leadership, passion, and ambition shown by the candidates made for some exceptionally difficult decisions. Given the depth of talent, we decided to expand the leadership group and appoint three House Captains to each house.
Congratulations to our newly appointed House Captains for 2026/27:
Attenborough House: Lewis, Stanley and Zachary
Fleming House: Daisy, Zen and Oscar
Johnson House: Oliver, Tayler and Sophie
Leslie House: James, Favour and Arnav
Scott House: Freda, Neel and Vinnie
Turing House: Matthew, Nathan and Jessica
Windsor House: Ayaan, Joel and Isaac
Our new captains have hit the ground running from day one. Their first order of business in week one has been assembling the rest of their student leadership teams by appointing two Vice Captains per house:
Attenborough Vice Captains: Daisy and Tyler
Fleming Vice Captains: Isabelle and Nicky
Johnson Vice Captains: Zara and David
Leslie Vice Captains: Adham and Jun
Scott Vice Captains: Zack and Charlie
Turing Vice Captains: Solomon and Jonas
Windsor Vice Captains: Faith and Raef
In addition to finalising their teams, the house leaders have already rolled up their sleeves to redesign and update the House Boards, setting the visual tone and build-up for the upcoming house competitions.
It is going to be a packed, high-energy term for our student leaders, but this cohort has already proven themselves to be an exceptionally capable, driven, and creative group. We are tremendously proud of all 45 applicants who stepped forward, and we look forward to seeing the incredible impact this year's House Captains and Vice Captains will make across DHSB throughout 2026/27.
Miss Cunningham
Assistant Headteacher &
Head of Houses & Community
National Biology Week:
This week in STEM we have been celebrating National Biology Week. In tutor time activities, the school have done a range of activities relating to biology including:
Researching biology careers
Acting as citizen scientists by identifying animal trap photos in the EU
Reading about recent scientific news and developments
Participating in the National Biology Week Spelling Bee.
Biology Week Spelling Bee:
On Monday and Tuesday, all students from year 7-13 participated in the opening preliminary round of the spelling bee in their tutor groups. The top scoring students were then invited to the year group finals on Thursday. I am under the impression that DHSB had the most participants from a single school in the entire country, with just under 1,300 students getting involved.
On Thursday lunchtime, over 40 students from year 7-13 competed to be crowned their year group winner by trying to spell as many Biology-themed words as possible in 2 minutes. The words were chosen by the Royal Society of Biology and all students were asked from the same pool of words. Some familiar words (independent, microscope, enzyme) and some more unfamiliar words (atrioventricular, caecum, xiphophyllous) were attempted and all students gave it their best shots!
Year group winners:
Year 7: Archie
Year 8: Aaron
Year 9: Stan
Year 10: Liam
Year 11: Finbar
Year 12: Tyler
Year 13: Henry
Congratulations to all the winners, and all those that took part! A big thank you to all the form tutors that got involved and submitted their finalists. A special thank you to Mrs Pearson, Dr Little, and all the biology ambassadors that allowed this event to take place and run so smoothly. Certificates for all preliminary round winners, and year group winners will be given after half term.
Mr Spencer
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Coordinator
Sharing Our Reading
This week’s reviewers are Mr Liddington and Tom in Year 9. They have both chosen to review their recent reading and want to encourage others to share too. Tom’s review is of a youth adult thriller which was only published in 2022 and critically regarded as one of the best books of the year for YA readers. 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.
Nothing More to Tell by Karen Mcmanus
The novel is about a girl who used to go to a school, where a group of her friends discovered the dead body of one of their teachers. The girl’s friends are the main suspects, based on some stolen money in one friend’s locker. However, the book is set four years in the future of the murder, which is now labelled as a ‘cold case’ when the protagonist joins a true crime show. She mentions the mystery to her boss, which sparks her interest, leading them to re-investigate the case.
I particularly enjoyed this book because it was written very well, with many plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. My favourite part of the book was at the end, as tensions were high, and the way it was written. Happily, I solved the murder at the same time as the protagonist, which almost made me want to shout what to do to her. The characters all felt very real, and I enjoyed all the different characters and personalities that the author crafted; these lead to many different reactions to different situations, which felt quite realistic. I took this book with me on holiday, and it was so compelling and interesting, I barely put it down over the course of my 6 - hour ferry trip. Overall, I enjoyed the complexity of the book the most, with almost no scenes that I didn’t enjoy reading as much.
There was only one thing that I didn’t enjoy quite as much which was the uneven characterisation; some characters had too much description yet some of the main ones I barely felt like I knew them at all.
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy complex books, with themes of mystery, action, and a little bit of romance. However, I don’t think younger readers would enjoy it as much as older ones - perhaps a book for confident and mature readers.
Star rating: 4.5. out of 5
Tom, Year 9
A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
In August 1920, Tom Birkin returns to England after the First World War. Broken, stuttering and shell-shocked, Tom arrives in the torrential summer rain to Oxgodby, in Yorkshire. Tom will spend his summer in Oxgodby restoring a medieval wall painting of which he is one of a very few with this talent left in the whole of England. Alongside Tom, Charles Moon (Another broken WW1 soldier) works on an archaeological dig in the local church, the same church that is having the walls restored by Tom.
This is the essential plot to the novella, but what makes Carr's work so special is the nostalgic and vanishing feeling for a time past, for those long forgotten summers that we all know and want to have back but know we cannot have. From a momentary chance of love, to the healing of the protagonist, Carr is able to bring to the forefront of our minds those deep emotions of love, longing and loss. His soft touch and sparse-style prose allows the reader to imagine the fresh, hazy Yorkshire countryside in the height of summer embracing the reader of those long forgotten days our youths, for the summer days and evenings we all want to have once again but are forbidden to memory.
The mood and atmosphere of the novella conveys a great deal without saying too much because of the sparse prose. From the descriptions of fried bacon, the woodbine of Tom Birkin and the tobacco smoke of Charles Moon's pipe, Carr brings everything together in a poetic sensibility that really makes the reader wonder, how fleeting are these summer moments, the moments we all want and long for? It is this mood and atmosphere that makes the novella shine.
This wonderful sense of nostalgia and the beautiful writing style can be summed up in the final few pages where the narrator says 'We can ask and ask but we can't have again what once seemed ours forever... They have gone and you can only wait for the pain to pass... All this happened so long ago, and I never returned, never wrote, never met anyone who might have given me news of Oxgodby. So, in memory, it stays just as I left it, a sealed room furnished by the past, airless, still, ink long dry on a put-down pen. But this was something I knew nothing of, as I closed the gate and set off across the meadow'.
And so, in my opinion, there is no better 100 page novella to exist. It is well worth your time and your effort.
Star Rating: 5 out of 5
Mr Liddington, Teacher of Humanities
Celebrating Kindness at DHSB
This week, we are proud to celebrate two students who have demonstrated the importance of kindness and consideration for others within our school community.
Our Kindness Awards recognise students who go out of their way to help others, show compassion and make a positive difference through their actions, no matter how big or small.
Congratulations to James W. in Year 11 and Matthew O. in Year 7, who have both been recognised for their thoughtful and caring behaviour. Their actions are wonderful examples of how small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact on those around us.
It is particularly lovely to see students from different year groups being recognised for demonstrating these important values. Kindness is not about receiving praise or recognition; it is about making the right choices, supporting others and helping to create an environment where everyone feels valued and respected.
Well done to James and Matthew! You are fantastic ambassadors for kindness at DHSB, and we hope your actions inspire others to look for opportunities to make someone’s day a little brighter.
Remember, kindness costs nothing, but it can mean everything to someone else.
Celebrating our Wonderful Support Staff
World Teachers' Day is celebrated globally and recognized in the UK on October 5 and at DHSB, every member of staff was thanked for their contribution as without the contribution of all staff, the school would not be the school that it is. The Department for Education use the day to recognise the impact of educators and support staff. Well today, the challenge was finding staff to man Refuel 6. Thankfully Support Staff Phil and Russ, who are usually found in the Bursary, were happy to help.
Thank you Phil and Russ, I believe a Freddo will be incoming!
Year 9 Business students have been putting their creativity, teamwork and entrepreneurial skills to the test by developing their own water brands in an already saturated market.
Working collaboratively, students explored how they could create a product with a unique selling point that would help their brand stand out from the competition. They conducted primary market research by designing questionnaires using Google Forms, alongside secondary market research using the internet to investigate the bottled water industry and existing competitors.
The students then brought their ideas to life, producing their own logos, posters, bottle designs and merchandise stands to promote their brands. Some students went even further, creating their own advertisements in their spare time!
This has been a truly lovely project, showcasing the students' creativity, initiative and ability to apply business theory to a real-world challenge. The quality of the work produced has been outstanding, and the students should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.
Mrs Merren
Teacher of Business
Mrs Pyle, Teacher of Business shared "It has been a fantastic week reviewing Year 13 Economics Independent Study. Below are a couple of examples of the great work we have seen. Year 13 have completed a wide range of activities such as creating content specific flashcards and mindmaps, using a website called Gizmo, answering past paper questions and self marking. Some students have even been summerising Financial Times news articles. It was lovely to have positive conversations about the learning the students have completed and the additional benefits it brings to their progress. We are very proud of them - keep up the great work!"
Year 9 Put Lord of the Flies on Trial!
Mrs Charlton's Year 9C/En1 brought William Golding’s Lord of the Flies to life by recreating a courtroom drama, putting Ralph and Piggy on trial to determine whether they were culpable for Simon’s death. Taking on the roles of judge, lawyers, prosecutors, witnesses and jury members, every student played a vital part in the proceedings. They wrote their own scripts and witness testimonies, delivering convincing performances that captured the tensions between civilisation, savagery and responsibility at the heart of the novel. The courtroom was filled with compelling arguments as the jury weighed up the evidence before reaching its final verdict: not guilty!
This week 7S investigated diffusion in their science lesson. As Chlorine gets produced, it reacts with the spots and turns them a blue-black colour. The students investigated how quickly it took each spot to change colour in order to prove that chlorine was diffusing through the petri dish.
Mr Spencer
Teacher of Science
We are thrilled to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our students and alumni who recently competed at the 2026 Cornish Pilot Gig Association (CPGA) Gig Rowing County Championships. The event was held at Queen Anne's Battery on Saturday 10 October and brought together elite county squads from across the UK, to compete across multiple age categories.
Our DHSB rowers delivered stellar performances across the board:
Otto (Year 9) who was selected to represent Cornwall, and his crew rowed to victory in the U14 Open class.
Charlie (Year 12), taking part in his final competition as a junior competitor, went out with a bang. He and his crew secured a decisive victory to become Junior International Champions, finishing an incredible 13 boat lengths ahead of the silver medalists.
Tristan, Otto’s older brother, who graduated from DHSB Sixth Form earlier this year, also had success by taking 2nd place in the U25 category alongside his crew.
A huge congratulations to Otto, Charlie, Tristan, and their crews on these exceptional achievements on the water!
Mr Bunney shared that six of our Year 9 students have been selected for the Plymouth Schoolboys U14 representative side this year - the most from any school too which is amazing!
The Plymouth Schools U14 representative side, managed by the Plymouth Schools Football Association, is an elite youth representative team consisting of the top schoolboy players selected from across Plymouth and its surrounding districts. Players are nominated by their PE teachers and undergo highly competitive trials. The team will compete in regional and national schoolboy competitions.
Well done Oliver (9W), Oscar (9W), Teddy (9W), Charlie (9W), Hasan (9A) and Zach (9A)!
Year 11 student, Finbar, came second and third with two different entries in the South Hams Authors Network creative writing competition on Saturday 10th October. The prompt was 'Let the land speak. Let the water remember.' You can read Finbar's entries by following this link.
Well done, Finbar!
This is one of Finbar's entries...
Eventide
Adrift, I take the lonely river road,
Around me, aimless creatures take to flight,
I watch with envy their lives without load,
Whilst I am stranded in the dimming light.
As Venus climbs into the falling sky,
And Sol’s bright rays contend with eventide,
The stalwart Earth ignores this lone man’s sigh,
And centuries of silent truths it hides.
Mosaic stitched of silver overhead,
Celestial embers alight the dark stream,
One more rest alone, I face it with dread,
Till sleep’s calm harbour carries me to dream.
Now free from time, my mind wanders the trees,
To find the warmth that lives, in memories.
Finbar, Year 11
Huge congratulations to Year 8 student Noah, who recently delivered great performances in the pool at both the annual City of Plymouth Swim Meet and the opening rounds of the National Arena Swimming League!
Noah who has been a member of Plymouth Leander since 2024 and competed in competitions since joining the club, took first place in several events for his age group including:
400m Freestyle
200m Breaststroke
200m Backstroke
200m Individual Medley (IM)
Noah also took on the grueling 1500m Freestyle for the very first time, securing a fantastic 2nd place finish in his distance debut!
Well done Noah, look forward to following your progress in the upcoming rounds!
A massive well done to Year 8 student Seth, who has been officially selected to represent the Devon U13 County cricket squad following a successful county age group trial process.
Seth’s selection comes after a standout season on the county youth pathway. This summer, he represented Devon as part of their development team while making waves at club level—where he was named Best Fielder and awarded the club's ‘Champagne Moment’ for taking an incredible 4 wickets in the final over of a match to secure a dramatic win and seal the league title!
His selection for the main Devon U13 squad will see him take part in an intensive winter training programme at Blundell's School, preparing for inter-county fixtures next summer.
Congratulations, Seth! We look forward to following your progress with Devon over the upcoming season.
Staff Wellness Yoga Session
As part of our commitment to staff wellbeing at DHSB, colleagues were invited to take part in a relaxing after-school yoga session led by Claire Gimingham, a qualified yoga instructor.
The hour-long session focused on the love chakra, providing staff with an opportunity to pause, unwind and focus on their wellbeing after a busy week at school. It was thoroughly enjoyed by those who attended, with colleagues leaving feeling relaxed, refreshed and invigorated.
A huge thank you to Claire for giving up her time to come into school, plan and lead such a lovely session. We are very grateful for the opportunity to offer our staff some well-deserved time to relax and recharge.
You can follow Claire on Instagram at @flow.nourish.glow.
Mrs Merren
Teacher of Business
A big thank you to everyone who came along to our EGM this week - it was much appreciated. We reached quorum so were able to proceed with updating our constitution with unanimous approval. The meeting lasted just seven minutes - a record for us!
Our thanks to Mr Roberts too for accepting the role of Patron of the PTFA - our very first one!
Our next meeting is the 11th November, at 6.30pm in the Conference Room. Please join us if you can - we’d love to meet you.
Mrs Kinsella
PTFA Liaison
Rugby
The Year 8 Rugby team rounded off their successful Central Venue fixtures with a win against St Boniface and put in a good performance against a strong Ivybridge side. What was particularly pleasing, was the way in which the team conducted themselves on the pitch, showing an exemplary attitude and representing the school superbly throughout.
Well done!
The year 7 Rugby team travelled to Tor Bridge this week ready for a tough contest. All played some great rugby scoring four tries and not conceding one! It was a tightly contested match but a few break away tries were the difference for us!
Well done all!
Football
Year 7 have opened their national cup football with a good win away at Stoke Dameral CC. A tight game ended in a 5-2 win for DHSB who will go on to play Torquay Boys Grammar School in the third round.
