Our Holocaust Memorial Day whole school assembly on Wednesday was a poignant and moving event for the entire school.
I am pleased to share the assembly slides and a summary from Miss Cunningham to give you an opportunity to discuss the theme at home as a family with your child.
The assembly, held across two locations with a live link to the Sixth Form in the Edgcumbe Theatre, and Years 7 - 11 in the Sports Hall, brought together students and staff to reflect on the atrocities of the Holocaust and genocides around the world.
The assembly featured a series of impactful elements designed to educate and inspire. Hard-hitting facts about the Holocaust provided a stark reminder of the scale of the tragedy.
Oliver Elford 9S delivered a mature and powerful reading of ‘Auschwitz’ by Charles N Whittaker, bringing a personal and emotional dimension to the incredibly thought provoking poem.
The atmosphere was further enriched by outstanding musical performances from Will Wooller 13ALG and Tristan de Rochefort-Roper 12CMC, offering a moment of reflection and solace.
A highlight of the assembly was the inspiring guest speaker, Arezoo Farazhad, chair of trustees from the Plymouth Centre of Faiths and Cultural Diversity who we welcomed to DHSB for the first time.
Her insights and message of hope resonated deeply with the audience, encouraging everyone to remember the lessons of the Holocaust and work towards a more inclusive and tolerant future. The combined elements of historical accounts, personal stories, artistic expression, and thoughtful reflection made for a truly memorable and impactful event.
Miss Cunningham

Plymouth's Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration
Many thanks to Oliver Elford 9S who has written this account of the Plymouth Holocaust Commemoration event.
On Tuesday 28 January, a day after Holocaust Memorial Day, five students, Oliver Elford 9S, Henry Davis 7J, Jakub Jones 7J, William Wooller 13ALG and Annah Ishimwe 13RWO, attended Plymouth City Council’s Holocaust commemoration event. In addition to the annual marking of Holocaust Memorial Day, the event marked eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz and thirty year since the Bosnian genocide.
Initially, a civic reception was planned, followed by a public commemoration at The Peace Garden on Plymouth Hoe. However, because of the weather both events took place in the Council Chambers. The students were accompanied by Mrs Luing-Holmes, Mrs Wardle and Mrs Davidson.
Oliver, Henry, and Jakub attended in recognition of their commitment to the 80 Acts of Kindness programme; William performed his A level music composition which musically expressed his reflections on Holocaust Memorial Day and his Jewish heritage, and Annah read the first verse of the poem 'Auschwitz' by Charles N Whittaker with the Young Poet Laureate for Plymouth and another guest.
The commemorations started with the Lord Mayor welcoming us into the Council Chambers and speaking on her thoughts and views about the Holocaust and why it should be remembered and never forgotten or distorted. After this the Holocaust Memorial Candle was lit by the Lord Mayor and a relative of a concentration camp survivor who themselves had fled from Europe to the UK at the outbreak of World War Two.
As well as the genocide and atrocities of Auschwitz and other concentration camps of World War Two, thought was given to the Bosnian, Rwanda and Dafur genocides. After the speeches there were a succession of videos and images of each of the atrocities as well speeches from survivors.
Personally, I found the event very thought provoking and moving, especially listening to the survivor testimonies. The musical elements complemented by montages of images and videos were very poignant.
Thank you to Mrs Luing-Holmes and Mrs Wardle for enabling us to attend and to Mrs Davidson who drove the minibus.
Oliver Elford 9S

House Assemblies

This week saw our wonderful team of House Captains deliver their first house assemblies of the academic year. These were virtual so the house teams had the added challenge of producing a smooth and professional video for their house. They certainly rose to the challenge and the quality of assemblies we have seen this week has been exceptional.
The theme was ‘Beyond the Textbook’ and most houses took the opportunity to highlight the benefits and power of extracurricular activities, both inside and outside school and how important these activities are for maintaining a positive and healthy mindset.
In addition, updates were given on the house competition which sees Turing with a narrow lead at the top overall.
There were also celebrations of students within their houses who had received a postcard home from the captaincy team to highlight the positive impact they have had on their peers this year so far. A massive well done to you all.
The assemblies have been incredibly well received and we are all looking forward to the next scheduled House assemblies which will see our teams deliver to a live audience.
Miss Cunningham
Bar National Mock Trial Competition
On Saturday, a DHSB team of Sixth Form and Year 9 students took part in the Bar National Mock Trial Competition held at Plymouth University. This is a unique opportunity for students to be able to play the roles of barristers, witnesses, court officials, and jurors. It allows students to see how a Crown Court functions, and it is great preparation for those who wish to go on to study law at university.
This year, the cases involved an overzealous security guard who had manhandled a rather stroppy individual outside an amusement arcade and a track cyclist who was caught with performance enhancing drugs. Our students, who played the defendants, were both found guilty!
We didn't win the competition but the performance of everybody who took part was exemplary. We have a lot of potential barristers studying at DHSB and some magnificent actors!
I would also like to single out Noah and Conrad who stepped in at the last minute to play the roles of the court usher and the court clerk and performed their roles perfectly.
Our next foray into the legal world will be the Magistrates Court Mock Trial Competition for younger students which will be held in Cardiff at the end of March. This one concerns a rather thuggish football supporter. I don’t know how we are going to defend him, but it should be a lot of fun!
Mr Riggs

Student News

Coronation Woods
As part of the King's Coronation and the development of the Coronation Woods, trees have been given to community groups to plant in gardens, woodlands and in the community. This week Saltash had a ceremony to plant their tree in Victoria Gardens.
Very well done to Finlay Marsh 13AMW, a member of the Waterside Explorer Scouts in Saltash who is currently working towards the King's Scout Award.
Finlay was invited to get involved with the Saltash Coronation Woods tree planting ceremony which was attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall and the Mayor of Saltash. Finlay's role was to look after the ceremonial spade and pass it to the Lord Lieutenant after he had given the speech. Finlay also helped to plant the tree.
Well done!


Speech and Drama
Many congratulations to Adit Sobti 8A who won four prizes at the recent Saltash Speech and Drama Festival.
1st Prize: Public Speaking
1st Prize: Prose Speaking
2nd Prize: Humorous Verse
3rd Prize: Solo Verse Speaking
Well done!

Careers Education
We are proud to share that our recent Compass evaluation shows Devonport High School for Boys has once again achieved 100% across all eight Gatsby Benchmarks. This success highlights our unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional careers education and guidance for our students. With a stable careers programme, meaningful employer encounters, and tailored personal guidance, our provision ensures that every student is supported in their career journey.
Our next step is to undertake the new Careers Impact internal leadership review, collaborating with other schools to further enhance our careers support and maintain the highest standards for our students’ futures.
My thanks to Miss Millman, Mr Manley and Mr Pickersgill for their unending support of our programme.
Mr Scott

Excellent Work

Thank you to Mr Alsop who has shared this example of Excellent Work written by Kieran Brookes 12RNC.
He said, “A number of Economics students entered the London School of Economics Politics Review essay contest. In total they had around 200 entries and Kieran's essay was shortlisted to the final 18 which is a great achievement”.
Kieran’s essay shows great evidence of his wide reading around the topic and was very well received by the judges who said, “The calibre of responses to this year’s questions exceeded our expectations, displaying outstanding analytical depth and writing flair. We extend our gratitude to every entrant who shared their insights through their essays".
Selfishness and morality: An investigation into Greenspan’s view on corruption
Greenspan believes the natural state of humans is rooted in our primitive desire for self-preservation, interpreted as corruption. He posits that humans are fundamentally selfish, competitive and innately immoral (leading to this corruption). This sentiment can be interpreted as a realist acceptance of innate human depravity or on the other hand, as an excuse for specific individuals' degeneracy.
Prepare to Dazzle!
Save the date and get ready to Dazzle!
We're delighted to be supporting Devonport’s Festival of Light, Creativity and Heritage and will be sharing more about this in the coming weeks.

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 Update
Indoor Athletics
Results from last week’s competition have been confirmed and we are pleased to let you know that the Year 8 team came first and the Year 7 team finished in second place.
These were joint teams with PHSG. Well done to all involved.
Football
A real tale of two halves for the Year 7 football team on Tuesday. The team was 2 - 0 up at half time against Hele’s School in the Plymouth Cup second round but went on to lose on penalties after a great comeback from Hele’s.
Mr Bunney said, “A great game nonetheless and a good learning curve for our students”.

The Year 7 B team got their Central Venue League football matches off to a start this week with two defeats to St Boniface and Sir John Hunt and a draw against Eggbuckland B in bitterly cold conditions
Mr Bunney said, “Well done for battling through it everyone”.
Congratulations to the Year 8 football team who have progressed into the quarterfinals of the Plymouth Cup. They won their match against Plympton Academy 4 - 1.

Well done also to the Year 9 football team - through to round three of the Devon Cup following a convincing victory against South Dartmoor Community College.
The team is likely to face Stoke Damerel in the next round.
Table Tennis
Well done to all students involved in the Devon Singles Table Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
Mr Callicott said, “A special mention to Hugo who won the U19s Championships and Leo who won the U16s Championships”.
Jack and Oliver also had a podium finish.

