20 March 2026
- 15 hours ago
- 9 min read
DHSB celebrates receiving Computing Quality Mark
Devonport High School for Boys has been recognised for delivering high-quality computing education to young people, developing their digital skills and preparing them for the future.
Devonport High School for Boys has achieved the national Computing Quality Mark after evaluating its computing education and demonstrating high-quality provision. The Computing Quality Mark is awarded by the National Centre for Computing Education and recognises excellence of computing education offered by a school as part of their curriculum development through the Computing Quality Framework (CQF).
Headteacher Mr Roberts said: “As a school community we are delighted for the hard work of our staff and students to be recognised. We are strongly committed to continue to strive for excellence in this area, thank you to our fantastic staff and students at DHSB”.
Mr Scott, Head of Computer Science at Devonport High School for Boys school, said: “Achieving the Computing Quality Mark is a fantastic recognition of the work taking place across our Computer Science department at Devonport High School for Boys. Computing is about far more than just learning to code - it develops problem-solving, logical thinking and digital skills that are essential for the modern world. We are particularly proud of the opportunities our students have to explore areas such as cybersecurity, programming, eSports and emerging technologies, helping them to understand the exciting careers available in the digital and technology sectors. Our aim is to ensure every student leaves DHSB confident, capable and inspired to play a role in shaping the digital future.”
Devonport High School for Boys completed all seven aspects of the CQF in order to receive the Computing Quality Mark, which recognises achievement in:
Leadership and vision
Curriculum
Teaching, learning and assessment
Workforce development
Addressing the needs of each pupil
Enrichment, destinations and careers
Impact and outcomes
Claire Garside, senior lead facilitator at the NCCE, said:
“Congratulations to Devonport High School for Boys on becoming an NCCE ‘Computing Quality Mark’ school! They’re among the schools leading the way to deliver high standards in computing education. The Computing Quality Mark recognises the quality of their provision to ensure all students receive the computing skills and knowledge so valuable for today and in their future careers.”
The National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) is funded by the Department for Education and supporting partners, to improve the provision of computing education in England.
Since the NCCE’s establishment in 2018, it has engaged with 60,000 teachers from more than 20,000 schools in England, created the Teach Computing Curriculum which has seen over one million downloads of lessons, engaged over 1,600 schools with the Computing Quality Framework and supported 54% of students studying AS and A level computer science through the Isaac Computer Science platform.
Mr Scott
Head of Computer Science
Cyber Explorers Cup Competition
This week, students at Devonport High School for Boys have been putting their skills to the test in the Cyber Explorers Cup, an exciting cyber security competition designed for 11-14-year-olds. This competition is new for us at DHSB, and builds on the work of our school achieving the CyberFirst Gold award and Quality Computing Mark.
Our team of students stepped into the role of cyber security experts, taking on a fast-paced, one-hour challenge where they became part of the “DHSB Cyber Squad.” Their mission was to save Cyber City’s Smart Mall after its AI system, SAM-U.L, malfunctioned and caused a complete shutdown. Working collaboratively, students tackled a series of cyber security puzzles, racing against the clock to restore the system and get the mall back online. The competition, linked to the Cyber Explorers learning programme, focuses on information security and real-world scenarios. This gave our students the chance to apply their knowledge in a practical and engaging way, developing key skills such as problem-solving, logical thinking, and teamwork. It was fantastic to see the level of focus, communication, and resilience on display throughout the sessions.
Students were able to draw on their prior learning from the Cyber Explorers platform during the competition, mirroring how professionals approach challenges in the real world. For many, it was a valuable insight into the growing field of cyber security and the wide range of careers it offers. We are incredibly proud of all the students who took part and represented DHSB with enthusiasm and determination. We now look forward to hearing how they performed when the results are announced on 1 April.
Mr Scott
Head of Computer Science
A massive congratulations to all our students who took part in this year's UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge! We are incredibly proud of the dedication and problem-solving skills you all demonstrated. A special round of applause goes out to those brilliant mathematicians who successfully qualified for the prestigious follow-on rounds that took place this week. Miles Beech, Alex Duddy, Jia long Wu, Otto Gibbs, Daniel Bott, Ayaan Chatterjee, Neel Shivane, all qualified for the Pink Kangaroo challenge, and Ollie Sargeant for the Grey Kangaroo. Furthermore, we want to give a huge, standout mention to Arley Walker, whose phenomenal performance earlier this term earned him an exclusive invitation to compete in the highly challenging Maclaurin Olympiad. We look forward to receiving the results back soon—your mathematical talent and hard work continue to do us incredibly proud!
Mrs Green
Deputy Head of Maths / KS4 Maths Coordinator
In English, Year 8 students wrote powerful protest poems that were inspired by our study of a range of poets speaking up against themes such as oppression, racism, war and harmful stereotypes. They chose a topic of their own that they were passionate about advocating for and performed their poems to the class. Amazing work!
Mrs Charlton and Mr Webb
Teachers of English
Seating Plan
The map is drawn,the seats are set
This is the worst test I've had yet
A classroom split, a bond undone,
Between two legends here we come
The silence haunts where laughs once grew
Because he separated me from you
I sit in the front, far away
While Jakub wastes an hour of his day
A desk apart is a desk too far
It dims the light of our twin star
Please hear our call, the end of the ban,
Put us together, that's the plan
Digital Divide
They try to explain
But they're held by a chain
We say its a spark
A type of digital park
Our parents deny the thought
So we sneak on and get caught
They use this as an excuse
Like an imaginary noose
We try and try
But they tower high
So we succumb to the wait
And we assume it must be fate
Climate Apathy
Life, more life, again it falls
As we grasp the world into our thrall
Ploughing down all for our gain
Mass extinction comes again
As we live in great excess
We do not care of all the rest
The great wild we try to tame
As if this is some cosmic game
While nature cries out for peace
But we power through with oil and grease
There is but one good solution
We end our endless needles pollution
We know exactly what is wrong
And exactly how to right it
But with our endless greed
We can’t be bothered to fight it
Year 9 have been using Molymods to help visualise the many molecules we study in Organic Chemistry. Great collaboration skills, 3D visualisation, and great fun!
Mrs Pearson
Teacher of Chemistry
A level students: Hassan, Tobias, Khushaal and Agsheyan expertly dissected the gills of a Cod. There are two sets of filaments for each gill arch and a total of four of these under each Opercular flap which they neatly extracted. Gill rakers are also visible in the image, these are for filtering plankton. The career link in today's lesson was from the company CEFAS, a work leader in Marine science and technology. You can try their podcast 'Unchatted waters' here. The students also took the opportunity to extract the lens from the eyeball intact!
Mrs Davidson
Assistant Head – Post 16
Eleven year 8 students completed their Industrial Cadet Bronze Award yesterday by presenting their project to a panel of industry experts. The two teams were given an initial brief back in November and they have had to research, build and develop a solution to the brief using all their STEM knowledge.
Group 1 (Connor Monteith, Edward Williams, George Irvine, Otto De Rochefort Roper, Lucas Busuioc, and Seth Greentee) detailed their design for a building to withstand the effects of climate change.
Group 2 (Aeron Orozco Lopez, Logan Orozco Lopez, Sam Blakebrough, George Kershaw, and Tom Croucher) gave a presentation for their sustainable boarding school situated on a sunny Mediterranean island, off the coast of Malta.
Both groups presented incredibly professionally and with a lot of confidence, as stated by the judges on the day. Well done to you all.
Mr SpencerT
Teacher of Science, KS3 Science Coordinator &
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Coordinator
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!
Exam Success
Congratulations to the following students for achieving their Music exams in Guitar, through our school instrument service lessons:
Adiv Devadas passed his Grade 1
Noah Reilly passed Grade 1 with Merit, and will shortly sit his Grade 2
Blake Whitby passed Grade 1 with Merit
James Kendall achieved a Distinction at Grade 1
Noah Woolley achieved a Distinction at Grade 1
Connor Paraskeva achieved a Merit at Grade 1
At DHSB we offer a wide range of very popular instrumental lessons that are taught during the school day. Students have the opportunity to learn an instrument 1:1 with a teacher and we offer these lessons in E Guitar, Bass, Drum kit, Strings, Brass, Woodwind, Voice and Piano. To enquire about lessons, please fill in this form and submit, whereby a teacher will contact your expression if interest back with further details.
Mrs Luing-Holmes
Director of Creative and Performing Arts
Dates for the diary...
March 31st - Spring Ensemble Concert and acoustic cafe - a lively evening of two platforms in Music, our acoustic acts and younger years followed by our GCSE Ensemble groups in the theatre. Tickets are available here.
Wednesday 1st April - 'The Animals' a public first performance of our National Theatre Connections play that will be shown in the Theatre Royal on Saturday 2nd May. The school presentation is free, the Theatre Royal is ticketed and tickets are available here.
Thursday June 18th - Our classical recital evening in Stoke Damerel Church, with fizz and nibbles from our Food Tech students. (Tickets will be available nearer the time.)
It’s the annual fundraising event you have been waiting for! Tickets now on sale for our Alton Towers trip which is on the 16th May. Open to students, years 7 - 10, of DHSB, DHSG, PHSG, plus their guests. STRICT TICKET DEADLINE OF 18th APRIL - ONE MONTH TO BUY TICKETS. Please note sales may close earlier if we reach capacity. Full details and ticket link below:
Not a PTFA event but our friends at Spirit nightclub have an under 18s rave coming up on Sunday 12th April. They have very generously offered a 50% discount to students of DHSB, DHSG and PHSG. The promo codes are DHSBdiscount, DHSGdiscount and PHSGdiscount respectively. Link below:
Our next PTFA meeting is on the 6th May. Please join us if you can - we’d love to meet you. Refreshments supplied.
Mrs Kinsella
PTFA Liaison
I am excited as there is just one week left until our 130th Anniversary event! I’m so looking forward to meeting many of you there. It’s not too late to get a ticket but be quick! Partners are also welcome. Details are in my latest Alumni Newsletter here:
Thank you to everyone who has already read the newsletter. In 28 countries! Thank you also for the lovely emails I have received in response. You have shared some great memories which in turn I will share in a future Alumni Newsletter.
If you have any questions about the event I can be contacted at alumni@dhsb.org or leave a message with our Reception team on 01752 202087 and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Mrs Kinsella
Alumni Engagement & Archives
Sports News and Updates
Football
A huge well done to the DHSB Year 8 Football Team who beat Paignton in the Devon Cup quarter final on Monday and are now one game away from the final! Brilliant effort from all the players.
Rugby
Wednesday was a great day for the DHSB Sixth Form Rugby Team who were away at Callywith College. The match finished 38-5 in our favour with some impressive tries scored! Well done!
Basketball
The DHSB Year 11 Basketball Team won against a plucky Eggbuckland side. The team has progressed so much this last few years. The game started with an emphatic Dunk from Nye!
Mountain Biking
Well done to all the DHSB students who took part in the Downhill mountain biking on Wednesday! A big thank you to Plymouth SSP for hosting such a great event.
