Year 6 Transition Events – A Warm Welcome to DHSB

On Tuesday 13th and Tuesday 20th May, Devonport High School for Boys opened its doors to welcome 120 enthusiastic Year 6 students for two transition events. These events are an important part of helping students feel at home in their new surroundings and giving them a taste of the subjects and experiences they can look forward to in September.

The sun was shining, creating the perfect backdrop for an introduction to secondary school life. The students took part in a range of taster sessions across key curriculum areas, including Art, Computer Science, Food Technology, History, PE, and Science. Whether it was experimenting in the science labs, coding for the first time, or getting creative in the art room, there was something for everyone to enjoy.

These sessions not only helped build familiarity with the school’s facilities and staff, but also gave students the opportunity to start forming new friendships and build confidence for the journey ahead.

A huge thank you to the prefects and subject ambassadors who stayed to help and my fantastic colleagues who made the events such a success: Mr Head, Mr Scott, Mrs Ware, Mr MacLeod, Mr Callicott, Mr Spencer, and Mr Watling. 

I look forward to welcoming our new students for their Familiarisation Day in July and hope that they enjoyed their first taste of life at DHSB! 

Miss Walker

Transition Coordinator 

Thank you

On Friday 16 May, we held a mufti day to raise money for St Luke’s Hospice in honour of former teacher and beloved colleague, Mr Huq. 

Mr. Huq was a passionate Everton supporter and many students came to school wearing blue.

Thank you for your generosity. We raised a staggering £1233 for St Luke’s Hospice in Mr Huq’s memory.

Goodbye and Good Luck

Today, we said goodbye to Year 11. The students gathered in the Theatre to sign shirts, view a slideshow of images of their year group through the years and enjoy bacon rolls.

Mr Martin hosted a farewell assembly and shared memories and advice with the students before moving outside to enjoy ice-creams in the sunshine.

We wish them every success for the rest of their exams and beyond.

House News

The House boards have been updated...

DofE News

Last weekend, half of our Bronze participants successfully completed their qualifying Bronze DofE expedition. Well done!

This weekend, Silver DofE teams are out on their Practice 3 day self sufficient expedition wither students either walking on Dartmoor, or cycling near Totnes. We wish them the best of luck!

Well done Ethan!

Year 7 student, Ethan Stewart, competed in the prestigious European Kids International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Championship 2025 in Rome Sunday 18 May. After securing a place in the quarter finals, he just missed out on a place on the podium with a 2 - 0 loss.  

The IBJJF was open to children from around the world and the level of talent was incredible. Ethan previously won the title of IBJJF European Kids Champion at grey belt and is hoping to return at the end of the year, to once again claim his spot on the podium. 

Excellent Work

Babcock Visit

Miss Wright shared that James Tantam (10F), Charlie Croucher (9T), Edward Lee (9S) and Thomas Hind (9T) joined her and Mr Ames to attend a Babcock event at the Dockyard. They represented the DHSB Greenpower team who are designing and building an electric car, and spoke to the Base Commander, high ranking members of the Royal Navy and Babcock’s CEOs, to explain what they have been doing to their car. They also spoke to students of Goosewell Primary School Goblin kit car team and took them for a little ride around in the DHSB Greenpower car. It was amazing to see the students confidently explaining what they have done and what they are planning on doing next to the car. They have definitely inspired the Goosewell Primary students to continue with Greenpower in year 7. 

The students also had the opportunity to talk to Babcock's engineering team and learn about the Jackal. This is the military's new high mobility weapons platform vehicle which can move rapidly across varying terrain. They also tried out the virtual welding simulator and the new camera equipment being used by Babcock. 

The students represented the school very well and should be very proud of themselves. You can view a video of the event held by Babcock by following this link.

Student of the Week

Oliver Elford has been awarded student of the week for his efforts and research into the Old Boys who fought and died in WW1.

At History/Classics Club today Oliver in year 9 gave a special presentation about some of the Old Boys who had fought and died in WW1. This is for an entry into The Malcolm Doolin Award for the Western Front Association. Oliver has researched using the DHSB archives, the Imperial War Museum and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records amongst other sources. He then fielded a range of questions about the Old Boys in particular. A special thanks goes to Beverley Kinsella of the PTFA for her support in Oliver's research.

Can you help?

Are you conducting a spring clean or garage clearance this Spring bank holiday? If you are and you find floppy discs, large ornate frames, board games (complete or incomplete), playing cards or dice, you may be able to help our Year 7 to 10 Computer Science students who will be commencing a range of projects in the summer term. One group will be working on an art project where they will be painting famous computer scientists onto unused floppy discs and framing portraits of influential computer scientists, like Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, using large ornate frames and another group are looking to turn board games into computerised versions. 

Whilst rummaging around, if you find any unwanted LEGO or DUPLO, our LEGO Spike robotics club would like to have it. The club which is held daily is growing, so any donations would be most welcome by the group.  

And finally, if any Computer Science related books, including fiction such as Asimov, or any robots come to light and you no longer have a use for them, please feel free to donate them.

Items can be donated to A22 or via Visitor Reception which is just inside the main entrance gate. 

Many thanks

Mr Scott, Head of Computer Science 

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!

Sports News and Results

U15 Cricket - West Devon Tournament Tuesday 20 May

Well done to DHSB U15 cricket team who played in the West Devon Schools softball tournament on Tuesday 20 May. The team qualified for the County Finals again. 

Have a lovely half term and see you on Monday 2 June.