DHSB Year 9 Lead the Way in the Green Tree Schools Award

This week, our Year 9 students have been on a real drive to promote trees across the school and beyond as part of the Woodland Trust’s Green Tree Schools Award. Through a range of creative and cross-curricular activities, they’ve helped DHSB achieve the SILVER Green Tree School Award. They now have their sights firmly set on achieving Gold and Platinum in the months ahead.

To make the most of each teacher’s expertise, classes took on different tree-themed activities linked to their subjects, allowing the project to be fully embedded into the Careers and PSHE curriculum. This approach not only strengthened students’ understanding of environmental issues but also connected to DHSB’s year-long eco focus, highlighting both green (land) and blue (sea) careers across the South West.

Our Science teachers led the way with the Visit a Wood with Your School activity, taking their classes to nearby woodland to explore biodiversity, habitats, and the importance of conservation first-hand.

In Art and Performing Arts, Mr Norris ran creative workshops where students shared their woodland words and images, producing a range of imaginative work inspired by nature.

Meanwhile, Mrs Corboy’s class brought vibrant colour to the school grounds through the Tree Dressing activity, adorning our trees with ribbons representing each of the seven DHSB house colours - a stunning visual reminder of unity and sustainability.

Over in English, Mrs Charlton’s students took inspiration from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, exploring the role of trees and plants in Shakespeare’s world. Their work culminated in a beautiful classroom display celebrating literature and the natural environment.

And in Maths, Miss Wheeler’s class took on a data-driven challenge - calculating the DHSB Tree Equity Score. Students learned about how tree coverage impacts communities, using real-world data to measure how our own site compares to national averages.

Each of these projects not only earned points toward the Green Tree Schools Award but also reflected the creativity, teamwork, and environmental commitment of our Year 9 students.

As the year continues, DHSB will build on this momentum - taking further action to celebrate and protect our natural environment as we work our way toward Gold and Platinum status in the Green Tree Schools Award.

Mr Scott and Mrs Flack

House Noticeboard Competition 2025

This week, C Block buzzed with colour, creativity, and collaboration as our new House Captains unveiled their very first noticeboards of the year. Each team brought their own flair and originality to the task, transforming last year's boards into their own vibrant reflections of their house identities.

Mr Roberts said "Judging the finished displays was a tough job"

The standard was impressively high across the board and the results are in:

1st Place – Attenborough

2nd Place – Johnson

3rd Place – Fleming

Every noticeboard stood out in its own way, showcasing not only artistic skill but also teamwork and pride in each house.

All seven boards can be seen below, capturing the enthusiasm and dedication that filled C Block throughout the week.

Reflecting on the event, Miss Cunningham said, “It was fantastic to see so many creative ideas and such genuine commitment from our House Captains and prefects. The excitement was contagious, and it’s clear we’re in for a spirited and successful year ahead.”

Diwali Celebrations

On Monday as we celebrated Diwali, we were reminded that every light no matter how small makes a difference in the dark.

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolise the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. It also marks the start of the Hindu New Year. This religious festival originating in India is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians and is also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists.

To celebrate Diwali, students played music at lunchtime, there were lights a plenty and a special food menu created by Lee Austin our Executive Chef and produced by the wonderful Refuel team was available for students to enjoy.

To all of our community, may the light of Diwali brighten your life and fill it with love, joy, and prosperity.

Farewell, you will be missed

Today, we said farewell and you will be missed to Ms Taylor, our Attendance Officer and Family Support Advisor for the last seven years who is retiring.

Mr Manley, Assistant Head said "As the Attendance Officer, Lorna has been nothing short of exceptional. One thing that I learnt quite quickly when working with Lorna is that she didn't just chase the Attendance figures, she understood that every absence represented a potential barrier and worked tirelessly to remove it. She ensured that our students were here, ready to learn, and giving themselves the best possible chance to be successful"

In her role as Family Support Advisor, Ms Taylor has been a lifeline for our students and families on so many occasions. She walked alongside parents facing some of the hardest moments and regularly offered compassionate bereavement support and was a steady, non-judgmental voice for those struggling with their mental health. And, when families faced hardship, she organised food parcels to ensure nobody went hungry. Ms Taylor also supported our service families.

We hope retirement is everything that you hoped for.

Message from Ms Taylor

If you haven't already heard, today was my last day as the Attendance Officer and Family Support Advisor at DHSB. I have decided to retire!  I have worked here for 7 years and over the years I have had some form of contact with many of you and your children.

I want to thank everyone who has been part of my journey at Devonport High School for Boys. It has been an absolute privilege to be the Attendance Officer and Family Support Officer, and to work alongside such dedicated staff, inspiring students, and supportive parents.

Over the years, I have had the pleasure of watching so many young people grow, overcome challenges, and achieve incredible things and these moments  have made this role so rewarding. I would like to wish every student success and happiness.

To all the parents and carers;  thank you for your partnership, trust and support. And to my wonderful colleagues thank you for your support, teamwork, and friendship. I am looking forward to my retirement but it is tinged with sadness saying goodbye to the DHSB family.

Looking forward, Hayley Evans will be taking over my role and she will be there to offer support and guidance whenever it is needed as well as keep you all on your toes attendance wise!"

Ms Taylor

Attendance Officer and Family Support Advisor

October Art Club

Miss Hicks, Teacher of Art and Design, shared that "around 30 students from across the year groups attended Art Club to create paper mache Pumpkin Sculptures this October. The students took inspiration from the Artist Yayoi Kasuma who often features pumpkins decorated with their signature dots in their artwork - photo attached of her work.

Thank you to PGCE student Ms Cayless and Ms Flack for their support, and our talented GCSE students who joined in to assist younger club attendees."

Letter of Thanks

This week, we received a letter of thanks from the Shekinah Mission. This was for a donation made by the school on behalf of Windsor House, from their share of the non uniform days and summer fair donations.

Thank you all for your generous contributions which are making a difference in our local community.

Revision@DHSB – Building Strong Study Habits for Success

At DHSB, we run a linear curriculum – the content you are learning builds each year in preparation for your final examinations. Revision, therefore, is essential for all year groups to embed the knowledge and understanding required to perform well, and it’s advisable that good study skills start as early as possible. We know that all students want to do well in their tests and exams, and in order to do so, you must revise – and the earlier you establish effective habits of revision and independent learning, the better.

However, some students aren’t always sure how to get started with revision or how to organise it effectively. To guide you and help you succeed, we have produced our Revision Revolution website — a dedicated area where you’ll find everything revision-related: helpful techniques, resources, subject-specific guidance, and much more. Many students have been using this resource for a while now but we thought it would be a helpful reminder for existing students and to also introduce it for students new to the school this academic year. Whether you are in year 7 preparing for a first topic assessment or Year 11 preparing for the Autumn mocks we are sure you will find it helpful.

The site brings together advice and materials designed to help you take control of your learning and build confidence in preparation for assessments. It’s a valuable tool not only for students but also for parents who want to support effective study habits at home.

You can access the site here Revision@DHSB and also through our school website under School Life.

Let’s make the most of this resource to ensure every student feels supported, confident, and ready for success.

Mrs Bunney, Joint Head of Religious Studies, shared that her Year 9 GCSE RS group have been working hard on understanding the AQA exam technique and applying their knowledge of Buddhism to exam style questions. 

And, class 7L have been working on their extended writing and using evidence to support their work. They have written about why religious believers might believe that we should help victims of climate change. 

Dr Colvile, Head of Physics, shared that 8S had great success making working models of a lung. The video shows students using their models to demonstrate how the diaphragm moves down and increases the volume of the ribcage, then the balloon inside (representing the lung) fills with air due to the pressure difference created. And, the lab was all tidy at the end of the lesson despite this practical involving cutting the ends off 15 balloons!

Well done 8S!

Student News and Achievements

Frazer Dalton in 10L has achieved a Distinction in his Grade 6 Drumming Exam. Frazer has been playing the drums for around 2 years now, since starting lessons at school with Mr Mapps. He is a keen participant within school bands as well as finding opportunities to play with bands when attending Livewire in Saltash. Well done Frazer!

Blake Whitby in 8W achieved a Silver medal at the National County Championships on Saturday 18th of October at Queen Ann’s Battery marina. Blake was selected to be part of the team representing Devon in the U14 age group Open category. Congratulations Blake!

25 Alumnus Emily Johns' first news story published today!

We are really excited to share that former student Emily Johns' first news story has been published today on the BBC News website. If you would like to read it, please follow this link.

Mrs Davidson, Head of Sixth Form, shared that since she left in the summer, Emily has also been so kind in her response to support current students who are interested in Journalism with their questions.

Well done Emily!

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

Rugby

Our U16 rugby side beat Coombe Dean School by 6 tries to 2 on Tuesday afternoon. Adair Jones and Jordan Hyatt scored two tries apiece.

Year 9 narrowly lost to Ivybridge 24-17 on Thursday. All were great and finished the game with a great try from Henry Howson!