It has been such a busy start to our new academic year that we are still trying to catch up on all of the amazing events that happened over the summer holidays!

I want to start the blog this week by featuring some of these:

Costa Rica 2025

At 1am on the last day of the summer term, 17 DHSB students left Plymouth bound for London Heathrow. Meeting up with our travelling companions from Winchester at the airport, Team Clavel departed (after a delay for a new plane!) for San José, Costa Rica. The students and staff travelled together for four weeks, visiting three varied areas of the country, working on sustainable projects coordinated by Camps International and led by our fantastic expedition leader, Sian.

Our first stop was in the province of Salitre, where we were accommodated in the indigenous Bribri community, learning about their culture and efforts to reclaim their ancestral land from enormous pineapple monoculture plantations, as well as setting up new eco-tourism centres and small scale coffee plantations. The heat and humidity were both high here, with the students excelling in the varied project work at the local school, working with the community association and locals to reforest a hillside with native trees, whilst spotting huge red-winged grasshoppers, iridescent blue morpho butterflies and the yellow flash of the bananaquits. The evenings brought deafening cicadas, superb food, card games, werewolves, a chance to learn about how cacao is grown, harvested and processed and the opportunity to dance with locals!

Ten days in, we moved to the coast at Uvita, where the adventurous phase of the trip began. We were welcomed into our second camp by a chorus of scarlet macaws, black vultures circling on thermals and then a five hour tropical downpour. The volleyball match in the rain was some highlight! This camp is adjacent to the Parque Nacional Marino Ballena, a recently inaugurated National Park which includes 5,160 hectares of ocean, 171 hectares of land and is renowned for its humpback whales and dolphins.

All 24 students earned their PADI Open Water qualifications, but not without the unwanted interruption of a very real tsunami threat which resulted in a surprise early morning visit to a local waterfall, well inland and home to green and black tree frogs, huge tree ferns and luminous fungi. Other animals spotted off the coast include: sea turtles, white tip reef sharks, blue footed boobies, humpback whales, dolphins and so many tropical fish.

The team worked on an ongoing project to build a new ranger station at the coast, replacing the existing building which was not fit for purpose or safe for female staff. New skills unlocked included plastering and mixing concrete in 30°C heat, whilst being watched by howler monkeys and white-faced capuchins in the trees, sunset beach cricket, beach cleaning and iguana and gecko watching.

“I found the project work to be hugely rewarding, especially with the feedback and compliments from the local people.” - Year 12 student.

The final third of the trip was spent in the hills near the Panama border, on the fringes of Parque Nacional La Amistad, an enormous protected area home to elusive jaguars and pumas. Working in the cooler environment, the team completed a retaining wall at the local community centre which had been affected by landslides. This task was celebrated with a football match with the local staff and other UK based teams.

La Amistad brought far-reaching views, a tour of a community coffee plantation (with tasting, of course!), tarantulas in the showers, more gallo pinto, Latin dancing, local ice cream made from tropical fruits, and birdspotting: tanagers, toucans, aracaris, hummingbirds.

What a pleasure to be able to spend such a long time in a new country with a wonderful group of young people. The trip to Costa Rica was an unforgettable experience for all students and staff. From the first time long haul flights, to the work in the local communities, the students thrived in all aspects and demonstrated some amazing skills. They collaborated with another school, seamlessly transitioning from strangers into one homogenous group, while also demonstrating some wonderful leadership, resilience and humour. The boys were a credit to the school and it was a privilege to share this experience with them and to see so much personal growth from every member of the team.

Mr T Guy-Fierens

Mr T Liddington

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Expedition

This summer 19 sixth form students completed their Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award expedition tackling the stunning Laugavegur trail in Iceland trekking from Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk,.overseen by instructors from Dynamic Adventures alongside Mr Coombes and Mr Adams. As well as a couple of days exploring Rekjavik, the main expedition involved four days navigating Iceland's remote, rugged and volcanic terrain, crossing challenging landscapes with glaciers, steaming geothermal vents, bracing river crossings and vast black obsidian-strewn sand deserts. It was an amazing experience; the students were entirely self-sufficient, carrying all their equipment, food and tents through this beautiful, but potentially hazardous environment, and they all did brilliantly, as their DoE assessor Paul Mitchell explains in this clip:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1ASdhzXu2n/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Basketball success over the summer.

Aldo Larrieu-Price (Y10) won the JD Ball Out 3v3 tournament in Bristol, securing a bag of Nike goodies in the process.

He also won an award at the NBC camp for best defensive player and came runner up at the Future Stars tournament in London, beating the England team in the process!

Well done Aldo!

Student becomes a member of the National Children's Brass Band of Great Britain

Neythen Powell-Jones (Y8) was this year given the principal Baritone position in the National Children's Brass Band of Great Britain.

This is the fourth year that Neythen has performed with the National Children's Band, having been invited to join them when aged 7.

2026 will see Neythen joining the National Youth Brass Band as well as performing his final year with the Children's Band.

Well done Neythen!

Ex-student selected for the World Under 24 Ultimate Championships

Over the Summer Holidays Mr. McConnell was contacted by an ex-student of the school, Sam O'Connell to report that he had been selected for the Great Britain U24 Mixed team to play at the World Under 24 Ultimate Championships in Logrono, Spain.

Mr. McConnell says "Sam first played Ultimate Frisbee at DHSB in Year 8 and continued attending the club right through to Year 13 before continuing to play at Southampton University. He becomes the 10th player who I first introduced to Ultimate at the DHSB club to play for Great Britain. Whilst at DHSB Sam was selected to play for Great Britain at U17 level but unfortunately couldn't take up the opportunity at the time, so it was great to hear that he has finally been able to pull on the GB jersey."

Ultimate Frisbee is one of the few team sports that operates an Open, a Womens and a Mixed category (with Men and Women playing on the same team with both teams matching Men/Women ratios). The nature of Ultimate being non-contact facilitates this and also enables the Ultimate club at DHSB to have students from different year groups playing together effectively.

Ultimate Frisbee club at DHSB takes place on a Monday from 15:30-16:30 (or up to 17:00 for the more experienced players) and is open to all year groups. You don't need to have previous experience and most students have never heard of or played Ultimate before starting at the club. Sign up is on MCAS, the number of places is however limited. Mr. McConnell is keen to have most Year 7 and 8 students join the club.

DHSB Awarded ‘I Belong’ Certification for Supporting Gender Balance in Computer Science

We are proud to announce that Devonport High School for Boys has been awarded the ‘I Belong’ certification for our commitment to improving gender balance in Computer Science. This recognition comes after our participation in the ‘I Belong: encouraging girls into computer science’ programme, run by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE).

As an all-boys’ school, we are especially committed to ensuring that girls feel welcomed and supported in our sixth form. By promoting opportunities in A-level Computer Science for all students, we aim to inspire more young women to explore this dynamic and important field.

The programme has helped us reflect on our teaching, mentoring, and outreach practices to ensure they are inclusive, inspiring, and accessible to everyone. Achieving this certification demonstrates DHSB’s ongoing commitment to creating an environment where every student can thrive, regardless of gender.

We look forward to continuing to celebrate diversity in STEM and encouraging the next generation of talented computer scientists.

Mr Scott

Leader of Careers & PSHE

Head of Computer Science

Open Events Calendar List Reminder for Year 11 Parents

Mr Scott has recently emailed all Year 11 parents with details of how to sign up to the Open Events Calendar List. These calendar events provide direct updates about upcoming Open Evenings and Days across local schools, colleges, and apprenticeship providers.

If you haven’t yet signed up, we strongly encourage you to do so to ensure you don’t miss key opportunities that will help support your child in making informed choices about their next steps. Please check your email from Mr Scott for full details.

Clubs and Extra-Curricular Activities Begin

House Football

It has been a busy start to our activities this week, special thank you to Mr Callicott who coordinates this massive job. We have enjoyed watching the first House Tournament for Year 7 students on Monday, with nearly a hundred students competing in football. There was such a loud and positive atmosphere. Please encourage your child to sign up via MCAS to clubs for lunchtime or after school.

Congratulations to all of the Year 7 students who took part in the House Football competition, every single one gains house points for their house for participation with more points depending on how their house is placed. The results are as follows:

1st - Leslie 

2nd - Scott

3rd - Fleming

4th - Turing

5th - Attenborough 

6th - Windsor 

7th - Johnson 

Chess Club

Mr Anderson said it was a very busy start to our Chess club for 2025-2026

PTFA News

Wow! What a fantastic first meeting! A big thank you to everyone who came and a big welcome to the new parents! Mr Scott presented his three bids and we were delighted to approve them all! A big thank you to one of our new parents who came, as the three testicular checking kits will now be funded by the Chestnut Appeal. A big thank you to the Chestnut Appeal too! Our next meeting is on the 12th November. Please come along if you can, we’d love to meet you!

Please follow us on X and Facebook for news and future events.  Any questions, email ptfa@dhsb.org