Throughout this month, students and staff have been raising awareness of men’s health issues including prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s suicide.

The charity Movember encourages people to either grow a moustache, to move more or to host an event in order to start conversations with family and friends. Men are less likely to seek help for both physical and mental ill health, leading to worse outcomes. This serious message behind the light hearted nature of Movember has also been championed by sportspeople and celebrities in recent years.

Well done and thank you to everyone who took part, you all look fantastic and for a great cause. More information about Movember can be found at https://uk.movember.com/.

Work Experience Week

This week marks an exciting milestone for over 200 of our Year 10/12 students as they take their learning beyond the classroom and into the workplace.  Work Experience Week is a core part of our careers programme - giving students the opportunity to explore professional environments, develop essential skills, and gain a real insight into the wide range of careers that await them in the future.

From local businesses here in Devon and Cornwall to organisations across the country - and even across the globe - our students are representing DHSB with pride, curiosity, and professionalism.

Some standout placements this year include:

• The Houses of Parliament, where Robyn got to see democracy in action at the heart of the nation - including this week's budget announcement

• International opportunities including placements in Thailand and the Cayman Islands

• Local standout employers such as engineers, creative studios, schools, tech companies, sports centres, legal firms, public services, and more

  
  

Whether students are helping customers, managing digital systems, shadowing professionals, or getting hands-on with tools and equipment, every placement offers valuable experience that strengthens their confidence and expands their ambitions.

We are immensely grateful to the employers - both near and far - who have opened their doors to support our students’ career journeys. Their time, mentoring, and willingness to invest in the next generation make a real difference.

We enjoyed visiting many students this week and are looking forward to hearing their stories when they return to school next week. We are confident they will come back with new skills, new passions, and perhaps even clearer visions of what they want to achieve in the future.

Mr Scott

Leader of Careers & PSHE

Plymouth Civic Centre – Exploring the City’s Future

A group of Year 9 and 12 students took part in an interactive, school-based workshop introducing them to the major regeneration plans for Plymouth’s Civic Centre, a key component of the city centre’s wider transformation. During the session, they learned about proposals for new homes, the Blue-Green Skills Hub, and the redevelopment of Civic Square, and were invited to give feedback on what would make the area an exciting and vibrant place to study, live, and visit.

Led by representatives from ECF and City College Plymouth, the workshop included a flythrough video to help students visualise the redevelopment and a series of structured discussion activities using visuals, post-its, and prompts.  Students shared their ideas on what would make the Skills Hub inspiring, the benefits and challenges of living in the city centre, and how Civic Square could become a welcoming public space for all.

The session concluded with pupils offering personal reflections on what changes or additions would best support young people in the future, helping inform the ongoing design and engagement work for the Civic Centre project.

You can learn more here: plymouthciviccentre.commonplace.is

Mr Scott

Leader of Careers & PSHE

Head of Computer Science

Pearson National Teaching Awards

An exciting weekend ahead for the DHSB IT Team as they travel to London for the glitzy Pearson Teaching Awards where they will find out if they have won gold in the Transformational Use of Digital Technology category, having already secured silver early this year.

The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration that honours the outstanding achievements and transformative impact of educators. Run by the Teaching Awards Trust, an independent charity, and sponsored by Pearson, the awards are an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the pivotal roles teachers, support staff, colleges, schools and early years educators play in inspiring young people, every single day.

We are very proud to have made it this far and are looking forward to the event. Fingers crossed!

Excellent Work

Mr Bunney, Head of PE, shared that 7J have been taking part in their Physical Fundamentals unit this half term. The unit looks at how to run, jump, throw, kick and strike an object effectively. These important sports skills are all transferable to other physical activities they will take part in both in and out of school.

These pictures capture three different activities the students were working on in a lesson on developing their throwing skills. There was a shuttle cock relay throw to develop proper technique to help throw for power and distance; a target throw to develop throwing for accuracy; and the finale was a game of Dodgeball to put it all into practice!

Well done 7J!

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!

Messages and Reminders

PTFA Disco

Just a reminder to buy your Christmas Disco tickets - the deadline is the 1st December, or sooner should capacity be reached.

Click below for full details and to buy:

https://www.dhsb.org/shop

Review of Student Records

Please can I ask that you take the opportunity to review your child's records on MCAS and update as necessary, particularly if you have moved home, or changed telephone numbers this term?

Records can be reviewed and amended in MCAS under 'Data Collection Form' or 'Admission Form', which is typically the first link on the MCAS menu.

A termly review will ensure that we have the most up to date details in case of emergency. Thank you.

Sports News and Updates

Rugby

The Year 8 Rugby team took part in the Plymouth Schools Rugby Festival on Friday and won three games out of five!

Netball

On Tuesday, a combined DHSB and DHSG team played in the last 16 of the National Netball Competition against Wycliffe College, a private school from Gloucestershire.

The combined DHSB and DHSG team won the game 39-26 and are now in the quarter finals!

Football

Another brilliant win for the first XI who beat Lipson 3-1 in the Devon Wednesday League.

Well done to our Year 7 Football team who put in a strong performance against All Sants School. It was a great game of football between the two schools, everyone playing with excellent attitudes.