Year 12 Students Design and Build Satellite in Global Competition

This week marked an extraordinary milestone for six of our Year 12 students - Luke, Kenzou, Ben, Tom, Leo and Rohan - who successfully designed and built their very own satellite as part of the CanSat project.  In completing this project, the boys also achieved Industrial Cadets Silver Awards.

CanSat is a European Space Agency (ESA) initiative that challenges students across Europe to experience a real space project on a smaller scale.  The mission is simple in concept but ambitious in execution: design and construct a satellite that fits within the volume of a soft drink can, complete with all the essential subsystems such as power, sensors and communication.  Once complete, the CanSat is launched to altitude before descending back to Earth, transmitting valuable data along the way.  It is a unique opportunity for students to engage in real-world engineering, programming and scientific analysis, guided by the same principles used in professional space missions.

Our team embraced every aspect of the challenge.  From initial design sketches to 3D printing components, from rigorous testing to coding the onboard systems, the boys demonstrated exceptional teamwork, resilience and technical skill.  Tuesday’s launch would have been the culmination of months of dedication - a moment that brought together innovation, problem-solving and a shared passion for science and engineering - but was sadly cancelled due to poor weather conditions, but the students received excellent feedback and can retry in 2027.

The CanSat project focused on two key missions.  The primary mission required the team to measure temperature and pressure as a function of time during the satellite’s descent.  By combining this data with ground-level readings and weather conditions, the students will be able to build a detailed picture of how atmospheric conditions change with altitude.

The secondary mission added an additional layer of complexity.  The team aimed to measure the Earth’s magnetic field strength and the satellite’s acceleration throughout its descent.  By analysing this data alongside established databases, they will be able to estimate altitude at different points and better understand how forces act on a falling object.  This physics-inspired investigation provides a valuable opportunity to explore concepts that are often difficult to replicate in a classroom setting.

The project also captured the imagination of younger students across the school.  Year 7 pupils were invited to design the external artwork for the CanSat, with the winning entry created by Georgian-Robert Ciurea in 7S.  His design was proudly displayed on the finished satellite, adding a creative and collaborative dimension to the project.

This achievement would not have been possible without the generous support of the DHSB PTFA.  Their funding enabled the team to access materials, equipment and resources essential to bringing the project to life.  We are incredibly grateful for their continued commitment to enriching student opportunities.

The success of this year’s CanSat team is a testament to what can be achieved when curiosity, creativity and collaboration come together.  We look forward to welcoming future teams in September 2026 building on this inspiring legacy.

Mr Scott

Head of Computer Science

Year 9 Students Take Part in Game Character Design Workshop

This week, Year 9 GCSE Computer Science students enjoyed an exciting and creative computer game character design workshop led by Isaac from Access Creative College.  The session gave students a real insight into how characters are created for the gaming industry and the skills needed to work in this fast-growing sector.

To begin the workshop, students rolled dice to generate different attributes for their characters, including strengths, weaknesses, powers, and personality traits.  Using the results of the dice roll as inspiration, they designed their own original game characters on paper. It was fantastic to see the range of creative ideas, from powerful heroes to unusual and imaginative characters with unique abilities.

The session finished with a fun “Top Trumps” style activity, where students competed against each other using the characters they had created.  This encouraged strategic thinking and highlighted the importance of balanced design.

A big thank you to Isaac and Access Creative College for delivering such an inspiring workshop this week.

Mr Scott

Head of Computer Science

Ten Tors News

DHSB's Year-10 45-mile team of five (for this walk in the absence of their usual lead navigator) worked collaboratively on their route planning via Google Classroom over several days, starting with a template that included fragments of a previous year's similar walk by a different team. They met a deadline to complete their draft in time to get feedback after checking by staff over the weekend before the walk, then responded to the feedback in time to have everything printed before the final Thursday lunchtime meeting. Carrying the routecard on the walk and using it alongside their marked maps, not only were they able to complete the walk efficiently, but most impressively to finish within minutes of the predicted time.

This young team (at the minimum age for experienced walked to enter the 45-mile Challenge) is now routinely performing to this standard every Ten Tors training walk, giving us grounds for confidence that they will be successful on Ten Tors 2026 in May.

Dr Colvile

Ten Tors Lead

Ten Tors 45-mile training continues to increase the distance walked each weekend, achieved this time by wild backpack camping Friday night then taking tents down and cooking breakfast before dawn to get to the first South Dartmoor checkpoint between 6 and 7 a.m.. The Year 10s and 12s kept overtaking each other all day as each team honed their teamwork and navigation, finally finishing at dusk within minutes of each other. They wore sunhats and sunblock by day, but there was ice on some of the tents in the morning. As ever, we are grateful to the small team of volunteers as well as staff who make the training possible, as well as the support of all the parents.

Dr Colvile

Ten Tors Lead

NatWest Thrive Trials at DHSB

This week, selected groups of Year 9 and Year 10 students took part in an exciting trial of the new NatWest Thrive programme for schools.  The initiative, developed by NatWest, focuses on building young people’s understanding of financial safety through interactive and engaging resources.

As part of the trial, students explored an online escape room-style game centred on fraud and scams.  The activity challenged them to think critically, solve problems, and apply their knowledge in realistic scenarios - skills that are increasingly important in today’s digital world.

DHSB was selected as one of a small number of schools to test the platform, giving our students a valuable opportunity to shape the development of a national educational resource.  Their feedback has been collected and will be shared directly with the NatWest team to help refine and improve the experience for wider classroom use.

We look forward to potentially incorporating NatWest Thrive into our Careers and PSHE curriculum from September, further strengthening our provision in financial and cybersecurity education and across all year groups.

Mr Scott

Head of Computer Science

Leader of Careers & PSHE

Staff Visit to the Tamar Bridge

This week, a group of our staff had the exciting opportunity to visit the iconic Tamar Bridge as part of our growing partnership with Tamar Crossings.

The visit forms part of our wider commitment to delivering meaningful careers education and ensuring we meet the Gatsby Benchmarks - particularly Gatsby Benchmark 4, which focuses on linking curriculum learning to real-world careers.

During the visit, colleagues explored the remarkable engineering behind the Tamar Bridge, gaining first-hand insight into the physics, mathematics, and design principles that underpin one of the South West’s most important transport links.  Staff were given exclusive access to areas not normally seen by the public, including the Anchorage Chamber and an unforgettable “under the bridge” tour, offering a unique perspective on the structure’s scale and complexity.

Beyond the experience itself, the visit sparked valuable conversations about how subjects such as Maths, Physics, and Engineering can be brought to life in the classroom.  By connecting curriculum content to real infrastructure and careers, we are continuing to strengthen our students’ understanding of how their learning applies beyond school.

This collaboration with Tamar Crossings is already opening up exciting opportunities for our students.  We are offering a series of curriculum-linked student visits in Summer 2026 for Year 12/13 - which can be booked now on MCAS.  These will provide students with a structured programme including an introduction to the bridge’s history and engineering, guided tours of key areas, and time to explore the visitor centre.

Experiences like this are invaluable in helping students see the relevance of their studies and inspiring future pathways in engineering and related fields.  We look forward to developing this partnership further and creating enriching opportunities that bring learning vividly to life.

Mr Scott

Leader of Careers & PSHE

Staff Visit to Google's EMEA Headquarters in Dublin

Mrs Parkes, Director of Learning Commons and Initial Teacher Training, shared that "Mr Berryman and I have recently returned from three days at "The Foundry," Google’s EMEA headquarters in Dublin. It was a hugely productive and inspiring trip, organised by Google and focused on the Reference Program for Education, of which we have been part of since 2015. 

The agenda was packed full for three days, it was inspiring to talk problems and solutions with educators from all around Europe and Nigeria. While our contexts are different, the challenges of the modern classroom are universal.  We also spent time hearing about innovative and outstanding practice and were able to share our work here at DHSB.

We spent a fantastic morning at Dominican College on Griffith Avenue. Their warmth and hospitality were a highlight of the trip, showcasing traditional Irish Dancing and sports, alongside cutting edge technology.

Considerable time was spent discussing AI in Education and its applications in the classroom, specifically looking at Gemini and Workspace Studio. The focus wasn't on flashy gimmicks but on the safest ways to integrate AI to reduce staff workload and continue preparing our students for the future. We looked at how we can use this technology to handle the more tedious administrative tasks to support staff well-being, as well as how to introduce AI literacy to our community.

On the subject of well-being, Google’s "Microkitchens" were a revelation. Googlers have free food and drink always available, including snacks. The cheese fridge was a particular favourite and we were well and truly looked after by our hosts in their incredible Dublin headquarters.

We have known for some time that we are a Premier Reference School, but the scale of that achievement only became clear during our celebrations on the final day. It turns out we are one of only 25 schools globally to hold this status.  We were presented with a trophy to mark the occasion—accompanied by a fair amount of cheering from the international crowd. It’s a huge recognition for the work happening here, and it’s reassuring to know we’re operating at a level that is, quite literally, world-class.

We return with fresh ideas, new global partners, and a reinforced commitment to keeping our school at the forefront of educational excellence."

FACE Family Advice and Support

Thank you for your positive engagement with the family support offer through FACE. As a school, we recognise all families can face various common challenges and so, in this age of long waiting lists and over-loaded services we have chosen to invest in FACE. FACE offers practical and accessible advice and information through online talks at different times each month. Each talk includes easy to apply interventions and the opportunity to ask questions.

We have received superb feedback from you as parents: 

“I have managed to join 3 talks thus far delivered by Jane and wanted to feedback how brilliant and informative I have found each and every one.

Jane is clearly very knowledgeable and experienced and manages to deliver the sessions with empathy and a good deal of understanding.

I have learnt so much from attending the talks thus far and wanted to share my sincere thanks for making the talks free to access for all parents.”

“I just wanted to feed back how good these sessions are, thank you for investing in the membership to make them available!”

320 sessions have been accessed since we launched the offer in December 2025!

Please do take a look and sign up if there is a topic of interest to you - all sessions are free for our parents who should have received a letter via MCAS advising how to book sessions.

Jo Weaver

SENDCO

DHSB Community Climate Challenge

As we move to the new expectations around Climate Change Education in Careers & PSHE, we're trying a data exercise in April (Earth Month) and asking all members of the DHSB community to log their steps/miles/km walked each day on this form: go.dhsb.org/earth

Our aim is to record everyone’s steps and distances, logging them using the Google Form (linked above), so together we can match the circumference of the Earth.

Our target is to walk 40,075 km before the end of April. 

You can use your mobile data, smart watch, or use Google Maps to measure the distance walked or run and there are lots of free apps that will log this for you automatically. Once calculated in steps OR miles OR km (no need for all three), you will need to log them on the form.

This challenge is a great motivator to go for lots of Easter holiday walks and we'd love to see photos of you clocking up the distance so please send them to headteacher@dhsb.org so we can share them when we celebrate completion of the challenge.

Mr Scott

Leader of Careers & PSHE

Excellent Work

This week, the year 8 chemists have been demonstrating excellent academic discipline during their practical investigations into exothermic and endothermic reactions. The students were tasked with measuring temperature changes, a challenge that requires both technical precision and keen observation.

I was particularly impressed by the students’ methodical approach and their commitment to working collaboratively.

Mr Winstone

Deputy Headteacher - Teaching & Learning

Mr Oliver, Head of Classics, shared a 61 slide presentation on the Battle of Crecy from Year 10 student James Whitehouse and said "He discussed the battle in depth for forty minutes at history club yesterday. He has drawn and animated the map on it himself, showing the movements of the troops. We are considering using his map for teaching it now in Year 9 history."

Well done!

Mr Macleod shared "a presentation researched and presented by Year 10 student Finbar Steven, for the school Amnesty International group. It was a fantastic lunchtime session with excellent supporting slides so I thought it would be perfect as an example of excellent  work for the Head’s blog. I hope you agree!"

Well done!

Celebrating Success: Akin Otebolaku Named Finalist in AI Futures Challenge 2026

We are delighted to celebrate the fantastic achievement of Akin Otebolaku, who has been recognised as a finalist in the prestigious AI Futures Challenge 2026, hosted by Northeastern University London.

The competition attracted an exceptionally high standard of entries from students across the field of artificial intelligence, making Akin’s success even more impressive.  His project stood out to the judging panel as a strong and thoughtful piece of work, earning him a place among the very best submissions this year.

While not selected as the overall winner, Akin’s accomplishment has been formally recognised with a £1000 scholarship towards his first year of study at Northeastern University London.  This is a significant award that reflects both his hard work and his potential in the rapidly evolving world of AI.

Akin said: "I’m really grateful for the opportunity and to have been recognised among such strong entries. The experience has helped me grow my understanding of AI, and I’m looking forward to continuing to develop my skills further."

In addition to this, Akin will receive a digital certificate and LinkedIn credentials - valuable additions that will help him showcase his achievement as he continues to build his academic and professional profile.

Feedback from industry experts involved in the competition highlighted the exceptional quality of entries this year, with particular praise for students who demonstrated deeper thinking and a strong understanding of complex ideas. Akin’s work clearly embodied these qualities.

This success is a testament to Akin’s dedication, curiosity, and ability to engage with cutting-edge technology. We are incredibly proud of what he has achieved and excited to see where his journey in artificial intelligence will take him next once he finishes his A-level in Computer Science at DHSB.

Congratulations, Akin - this is just the beginning!

Ms Davidson

Assistant Headteacher - Post-16

Table Tennis Championships 2026

Last Saturday, Hugo and Leo Nguyen qualified for the Quarter Finals in the Men's Doubles Table Tennis competition at the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships 2026, by defeating the 3 Seeds earlier in the day. You can find out more about the event by following this link.

Well done!

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 Updates

Rosslyn Park 2026

The U14s lost their first game on the last play to Claremont Fan Court, beat Canford School 37 -17 and Bournemouth Collegiate School 61-7 to win the group and play Barnard Castle in the eliminator to progress to the second day. After a sudden death game the U14's lost 33-28 to Barnard Castle. 

It was a tough day for the U16s who lost their first two games but finished on a high with a big win against Clayesmore, 38 -10.

Rugby

Massive congratulations to the Year 7 rugby team who are the winners of this year’s Cunningham Cup. The whole squad played excellent rugby all day and won every game, scored the most tries and conceded the fewest (0!) all tournament. A great way to end the week - well done to all involved.