The DHSB School Captain for the coming year is James (12RNC).

I was delighted by the high volume of applications and extremely proud of every student who applied and interviewed. It was wonderful to learn more about their accomplishments and contributions inside and outside of school. With only one position available, James' strong record and varied experiences make him well-suited to represent our school community and I look forward to working with him this year.

Thank you, Josh, for your service over the last year and for providing guidance to James as he settles into the role over the next few weeks.

Congratulations James!

Recognising our Cadets

This week the school celebrated National Cadets Week. We were proud to see so many of our cadets wearing their uniforms with pride, including Year 12 student Alfie who has been appointed His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet for Devon. We had students representing the Royal Marines, Royal Navy, RAF and Army.

It was wonderful to recognise the commitment, dedication and achievements of our students who take part in the cadet forces. Their involvement helps develop valuable skills such as leadership, teamwork, resilience and confidence, and we are incredibly proud of the responsibility and enthusiasm they demonstrate.

Recruitment and selection for DHSB Ten Tors 2027 teams has started!

Four groups successfully completed the Abbot's Way Walk 23 miles across Dartmoor last Sunday from Buckfast Abbey to Tavistock, with a chilly, misty start soon developing into sunny perfect walking conditions. One group of year-11 students who are not eligible for 2027 Ten Tors did it "just for fun"! We also welcomed back some of our 2025 team members who are now in Year 12 eligible for 45 miles this season, joined by a group of new students totalling nine walkers going for the six places in the team. It was good to see the new students pushing through adversity to reach the finish together as a team, as well as the excellent rate of progress across the moor we're used to seeing from our Ten Tors students. And of course we were glad to see our 2025 45-mile team returning to show they are ready to train for 55 miles.

Meanwhile, Years 9 and 10 have been set an optional homework to (1) submit a page of A4 in support of their application for a place in our 35-miles teams in 2027 (and 2028), as well as (2) completing a Google Form on Classroom providing some basic information. They have (3) a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday and MCAS will be opened on Friday for parental signup only for students who have completed these three application steps and been selected in our first long-listing cut. We are anticipating over 60 applications for the 6 team places!

Dr Colvile

Ten Tors Team Manager

DHSB Students Join Global World Record Reading Attempt

Students at DHSB contributed to a landmark literary event on Thursday, October 8th when they joined thousands of readers around the globe in an ambitious world record attempt. Over 140 students from Year 7 and 9 represented the school, contributing their focus to help set a new world record for the most people reading online in 12 hours. As it was a world record challenge there were lots of conditions to be met to evidence our participation but, as always, our students rose to the challenge with some students in Year 9 even sacrificing part of their breaktime to be part of the attempt.

In addition to completing the 10 min reading challenge, the participating students gathered together with their English teacher and were able to participate in an author’s talk. Frank Cottrell Boyce, the author of award winning novels ‘Millions’ and ‘Blockbusters’ spoke in the first session about books, cinema and their impact on society. The author leading the second session was Nathanael Lessore who, interestingly, is one of the authors we study in Year 8. He spoke engagingly about digital identity, the importance of family and developing your confidence.

Whether turning the pages of physical books or reading digitally via Sparx, DHSB students embraced the opportunity to pause their busy school day and immerse themselves in reading and we are truly proud of their commitment to this world beating event. Participants now have a wait until the end of October to find out if they are record breakers.

Dr Downes

Head of English

Well Done

Huge congratulations to our entire school community on being recognized in the top 10% of all FFT Secondary Schools in England, for attendance during academic year 2025-2026.

This wonderful achievement is a true reflection of the dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work of our students, staff, and supportive families every single day. Thank you for showing up, supporting one another, and making our school a vibrant place to learn and grow.

Sharing Our Reading

This week’s book reviews come from Shaurya in Year 9 and I have, rather cheekily, taken the opportunity to share a review of one of my favourite novels - Brighton Rock which was written in 1938 but still feels depressingly modern. I have read the novel many times over the years but my latest re-reading still provokes reflection at the deeply philosophical and ethical questions raised by Graham Greene.

The Song that Sings US by Nicola Davies

This book is not actually part of a series but readers might want to know that there is a companion book about one of the latter characters in the novel which creates a sense of continuity.

Firstly, this book is a ‘must read’ for those who like books about war and fantasy as this is a fantastic mixture of the two! I thought the plot twists were really sudden and very unexpected; it gave me such a thrill that you will only understand if you actually read the book. The characters from earlier in the novel compared to later in the book, are like caterpillars metamorphosing into butterflies which is a clever technique that really shows how much a war can actually change people. The story line is very in-depth yet the author makes sure the reader knows what's going on at all times so they have no confusion as to what is happening. For me the absolute best bit of the book was the ending of Chapter 3 when all the characters were introduced, developed and even clashed against each other. One scene I think Davis wrote particularly well was an event when all the characters fought each other. This is because the author illustrated the book in a way that makes you feel like you're actually there experiencing the war going on.

This book's only potential flaw is that there is sometimes too much going on at once. For example, the chapter order means you could be reading a chapter about one character then the next chapter could be about someone different, in a different place, doing something completely off topic compared to what you were just reading.

Star rating: 4.5. out of 5

Shaurya (Year 9)

Brighton Rock by Graham Green

When we think of Brighton many of us probably think of its expansive sandy beaches, its Victorian pier, the innate grandeur of the Royal Pavillion … essentially reflecting on Brighton with a sense of nostalgia. However, in Graham Greene’s thriller ‘Brighton Rock’, written in 1938, we see an altogether different perception of Brighton as he focuses on the gritty backdrop behind the seaside town. The result is a fast paced and shocking novel which digs into deeply philosophical issues around what it means to be human and what is morality.

The plot is fairly straightforward. Pinkie Brown is a cruel and sociopathic seventeen year old gang leader who dominates the Brighton underworld. He orchestrates the murder of a rival and then manipulates those around him to hide vital evidence of the crime whilst Ada tries to expose Pinkie. Brighton Rock is a masterpiece of storytelling with a truly gripping plot and a thought provoking final twist. However, underneath this almost stereotypical noir thriller which explores the ‘gritty’ aspects of 1930s society, Greene embarks on a mission to explore the nature of morality through Pinkie’s behaviour and considers the role of faith in determining our actions. Like so many of Greene’s novels we are left asking ourselves questions about secularism and faith in the modern world.

Star Rating: 5 out of 5

Dr Downes

Head of English

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!

Mr Liddington, Teacher of Humanities shared some excellent work from students Andrei, Leo, Vincent, Henry, Daniel, Dawson and Samuel, who are in his Year 7 History class. "Year 7 have been looking at the three battles that happened in 1066. In particular how Harold Godwinson defeated Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. As seen here by these wonderful storyboards, Year 7 have got to grips with the task amazingly well. Showing their understanding through captions, speech bubbles and wonderful drawing. Next week, we find out who has become the new King after the Battle of Hastings!"

Well done!

Battleships in the Lab: Year 9 Master Atomic Structure

Engagement reached tactical heights in Chemistry this week as Year 9 students took to the high seas to consolidate their understanding of atomic structure.

Transforming the periodic table into a game of Battleships, students put their chemistry knowledge to the test. To launch targeted attacks and sink enemy ships, they had to master the relationships between energy levels, outer shell electron configurations, and an element’s exact position on the periodic table.

The competitive atmosphere was fortuitously heightened by the addition of our student cadets attending class in full military uniform. Their presence added an extra layer of tactical flair to the room.

Outstanding effort, brilliant teamwork, and impressive scientific thinking from everyone involved!

Mr Winstone

Deputy Headteacher - Teaching & Learning

Mrs McDermott, Teacher of MFL, shared this excellent work by 7S student Jeffrey, and said

"Four beautiful paragraphs of Spanish about where different people are from and their ages and birthdays".

Well done Jeffery!

We are delighted to celebrate Alfie Richmond, who has been appointed as His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet for Devon. This prestigious achievement recognises Alfie as the best cadet in Devon, reflecting his outstanding leadership, excellent skills, dedication and commitment. The appointment was presented by His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Mr David Fursdon on 8 October 2026.

Well done, Alfie, on this fantastic and well deserved achievement!

A reminder of our forthcoming EGM next Wednesday at 6.30pm. We want to update our constitution and it is essential for us to have a quorum at the meeting to be able to proceed. Please join us if you can, you may live nearby or be on your way home from work and could pop in? We will make the meeting as short as possible, hopefully no more than 20 minutes. It would be much appreciated if you are able to join us.

Our current governing document is the 2008 Parentkind Constitution. The governing document sets out the fundamental rules and procedures we must follow. We would like to replace it with the Parentkind 2021 version. The main difference being that online meetings are permitted. With the exception of a period during Covid, we are currently not able to do this. After discussions, we feel that this change would be beneficial to the PTFA. If we do not have a quorum, we will need to reschedule the EGM.

Parentkind states ‘Is your constitution older than your school’s WiFi? Time for an update!’

Mrs Kinsella

PTFA Liaison

Y9 Football - Ivybridge vs DSHB 2-8

The game kicked off and it was end to end before Charlie (9W) dribbled through most of their defence and keeper and buried it to make it 1-0. A few minutes after that Teddy (9W) took it past two players and then finessed it on the edge of the box top left to make it 2-0. Then in the next 10 minutes Noah (9W) scored two goals in quick succession and an amazing dribble goal from Zach (9A) put us 5-0 up. Then on the brink of half time a stunning free-kick from Charlie (9W) was placed over the wall and into the top corner to make the game at 6-0 going into half time.

Second Half

It didn't take long before we scored again as right after half time we received another free kick which Teddy (9W) smashed into the corner to get his second. Then Ivybridge struck back with 2 goals to make the score line 7:2 with 15 minutes left to play. With 10 minutes left Charlie (9W) ran through on goal and scored to complete his hat trick, and the game ended 8:2 to DHSB against a team who beat them last year on penalties.

Oscar

Captain, Y9 Football Team

Inclusion Football

Inclusion football that happened last week - the team played in a number of matches against other schools and ended up winning the tournament without losing a game. They were a credit to the school with how play acted on and off the pitch.

Mr Hill

Teacher of PE & Learning Manager

U18 Rugby

DHSB U18 rugby team played against Exeter School winning 50-19 scoring some great tries.

Well done to year 11 students Harry G, Blake M and Zack R for playing up an age group and being stand out players on the pitch.

Mr Hill

Teacher of PE & Learning Manager