Wow! What a night!! 

Over 70 students were involved in our Summer Recital concert on Thursday 18th June at Stoke Damerel Church. An array of incredible recitals were performed across 2 and a half hours, and we are so proud of the high level of performance shown at this Music celebration.

Ticket prices included drinks and wonderful canapés made by our Year 9 Food, Preparation and Nutrition students, who also waited on guests, handing the canapés round so professionally.

All students were smartly dressed and the recitals were stunning. The evening’s performance was dedicated to Mr Adams, Deputy Headteacher, who has strived for the place of Music and Creative Arts during his 30+ years at DHSB and is retiring at the end of the term. The evening concluded with a heartfelt song for Mr Adams, our inspiration in Music at DHSB. 

Thank you to the dedicated staff, talented students, and the volunteers who worked hard to bring this music event to life.

Mrs Luing-Holmes

Director of Creative and Performing Arts

Thank a Teacher

Wednesday was National Thank a Teacher Day 2026 and we celebrated our wonderful teachers and support staff. We would like to say a big thank you to our colleagues who make a difference every day by teaching, supporting and inspiring our students and thank you to the parents and students who sent in messages of thanks.

Visit from Former Student

One of the greatest privileges of working with 6th form is watching our alumni grow, thrive, and carve out their own unique paths in the world. This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming back former student Ollie Bennett MNAEA.

Ollie returned to speak to our Sixth Formers about the diverse opportunities within the property sector and to share his own inspiring journey since leaving school.

In a world where young people often feel immense pressure to have their entire lives mapped out by 18, Ollie’s core message was both refreshing and deeply reassuring. He reminded our Year 12s that it is completely normal to still be undecided about your future at their age.

While many of our students prepare for the traditional university route, Ollie spoke candidly about his decision to step straight into the world of work after Sixth Form. He highlighted how vocational routes and on-the-job training can be just as valuable, prestigious, and rewarding.

During his session, Ollie broke down:

• The different entry points into the property industry.

• The critical importance of gaining real-world experience alongside professional qualifications.

• How the skills learned during his time in our Sixth Form helped lay the foundation for his career today.

Our Year 12 students were fantastic; highly engaged, full of great questions, and eager to learn from someone who sat in the exact same classrooms just a few years ago. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many students noting how eye-opening it was to see a tangible, successful alternative to higher education.

A huge thank you to Ollie for taking the time to give back to his old school and open up new horizons for our students. 

Physics Problem Solving Online Fun Quiz Awards

Photo shows [will show - to be taken tomorrow] presentation of British Physics Olympiad Junior Physics Challenge Gold and Silver certificates to Andrew, Emerson, Charlie, Oliver, Zach, Alex, Ken and Jia, at this week's DHSB Physics Society meeting.

Out of over 15000 entrants to this online fun quiz of physics problem-solving ability and science general knowledge, Gold is awarded to the top 2500, and the mark achieved by our one Silver certificate was only 1.7% below the next DHSB student, our best ever results in this competition.

After the certificate presentation, Emerson gave a short seminar on the . After today's certificate presentation, some of the year 10 students stayed to hear Emerson's presentation on Second Law of Thermodynamics and Entropy, which was also assisted by Luke. They chose a low-entropy seating arrangement (as we subsequently learnt) by sitting Y10 on one side and Y12 on the other, but all asked questions and got involved in the discussion... which somehow got from thermodynamics to quantum physics!

Dr Colvile

Head of Physics

Year 8 Police Cyber Day

On Wednesday we held a Cyber Day for Year 8 students – an exciting opportunity to explore the world of cybersecurity and develop essential digital awareness skills.

Across all seven tutor groups, students worked with staff from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU), alongside teams from Devon and Cornwall Police and Avon and Somerset Police, taking part in engaging workshops focused on cybercrime, online safety, and responsible use of technology.

Students explored topics including the Computer Misuse Act, gaining a greater understanding of how the law applies to digital activity and, importantly, how they can protect themselves from cyber threats both now and in the future.

As a school holding CyberFirst Gold status, opportunities like this are a key part of our commitment to developing digital literacy, raising aspirations, and connecting learning to future careers in Computer Science and cybersecurity.

The day also supports a number of the Gatsby Benchmarks, helping students understand pathways into industry and bringing learning to life through meaningful employer engagement.

A huge thank you to the team from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Devon & Cornwall Police, and Avon and Somerset Police for giving their time, expertise, and energy to inspire our students.

Quotes from some students:

Adam: "This opportunity has helped me learn cybersecurity skills to possibly use in the future. We used aspects of teamwork."

Riaz: "It was very hard and interesting, it took a quite long time but we still finished first.

Rufus: "I really enjoyed this experience, and I feel that it really tested my abilities as a computer scientist. I particularly liked the code-breaking part of this challenge."

He Xuan: "It was really fun to do and was challenging at one point but we pulled through."

Yosab: "This was great fun to work with my friends as a team and develop my cyber skills. It challenged me greatly and hopefully I get to do this some other time."

Mr Scott

Leader of Careers & PSHE

Head of Computer Science

DHSB Sparx Impact Report for 2026

We are delighted to share our Sparx Impact Records for this year. Well done to all students.

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!

DofE News

This week our Year 10 students have been planning for their final expeditions on Exmoor in July. Some students will be taking part in a cycling expedition, whilst others will complete their 2 day, 3 night expedition on foot.

Last weekend, the groups renewed their navigation and teamwork skills across Dartmoor, with one group opting to cycle. They overcame challenges from varied weather, difficult terrain, insect bites and the effects of the sun. The feedback from the Dynamic Adventures instructors was again overwhelmingly positive, and I thank the students - and their families who have supported them - for returning their borrowed equipment clean, dry and on time earlier this week.

On Wednesday, we started looking ahead to their assessed expedition, with each team learning the skill of completing a route card during an after school planning session. Fifty Bronze D of E students also completed a route planning session this week, looking ahead to their assessed expedition in July.

Finally, good luck to the Year 12 students taking part in their canoeing expedition on the River Wye next week.

Mr Guy-Fierens

Duke of Edinburgh Award Manager

Year 9 students Evan and Dylan, played in the Inter Counties State School Hockey Championships at Cambridge University on Saturday 14th June 2026. The twins played for Somerset as Devon didn't enter a team.

A win in the first game against Northumberland was the highlight of the day unfortunately as Somerset lost their next matches and finished fourth.

Well done, Evan and Dylan!

Last weekend, Year 8 student Ethan, competed at the South of England EMMA Championships and was crowned the South of England Champion in the Cat C -44kg division, winning his fight by unanimous decision and bringing home the championship title belt.

Ethan has also been reselected to represent England at the IMMAF Youth World Championships in Abu Dhabi. This is a fantastic achievement and reflects the hard work, dedication, and discipline he continues to show both in his training and competition.

Well done on your continued success and your incredible achievements, Ethan!

Last Saturday, Year 7 student Alfie, represented DHSB at the Devon Schools' Track and Field Championships. He ran extremely well in the Year 7 Boys 800m event, finishing in 1st place and becoming a County Champion with a Personal Best time of 2:29!

Well done, Alfie!

Ex student Oisin Smith has just signed a 2 year contract with Exeter Chiefs. He will study Sports Science at Exeter University, combining study with club commitments.

Well done, Oisin!

Softball Cricket

Well done to our Year 8s who travelled to Chudleigh on Wednesday and finished Runners Up in the Devon Softball Cricket competition.