DHSB Today
The Newsletter of Devonport High School for Boys September 2011
News from the Headteacher
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ur ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted this year has been followed up with an outstanding set of GCSE passes. 99% of students achieved at least five A* - C grades (including English and Maths). These are the school’s best ever results. In a year when the media has acknowledged that girls have increased their lead over boys in GCSE results, I am delighted and proud that our students have done very well. There was another year of sustained success at A level. 51% of all entries were graded at A* - B and the percentage of results graded at A* rose to 9.5%. Plaudits for students and staff for their hard work and dedication to success. In what promised to be a challenging year for university admissions Ms Davidson’s destinations spreadsheet was steadily ‘going green’ as the confirmations came through.
There will be exciting times ahead this year. The Sport for All campaign will see the first phase of our sports facility plan completed. The 3G Astroturf should be finished by Easter. Our refectory has been upgraded and there are many more exciting plans. As ever, read my Blog every Friday to find out what is going on and follow us on Twitter. Another way in which you can follow the school’s progress is by using our own App iDHSB, which has been developed by James Anderson and Ben Bate. I am pleased to welcome our new members of staff this year: Miss Croft, Mr Farley, Miss Ball, Mr Tucker, Miss Brown, Mr Knab and Mrs Graber pictured here with Mrs Sanders, our Induction Tutor.
I am delighted for the boys who can all step confidently into the future and I am equally pleased for our staff. Everyone at DHSB makes a contribution to sustained success. Efficiency and experience behind the scenes is crucial. Our examination systems leadership is second to none and I’d like to pay tribute to Mrs Waitt and her team of invigilators for ensuring there are ‘no surprises’ during what has become a perpetual exam season over the years.
Family Support Advisor
There is never a moment to lose at DHSB; I look forward to meeting you online and in person during the many forthcoming events. Mr Earley
My name is Amanda Moore and I am the Family Support Advisor here at DHSB. My role at school is to be available to all parents to provide information or support whilst your son is at DHSB. I am in school every day and can be contacted via the school office or emailed at amanda.moore@dhsb.org. Please do not hesitate to call or email with any concerns or queries you may have or to arrange an appointment to meet with me.
Welcome back to everyone after the Summer Break and a special welcome to all our new Year 7 students and their parents.
Large print copies of DHSB Today and other school publications are available on request. Please contact the Curriculum Support Centre on 01752 208787
Mrs Moore
DHSB Today is the newsletter of Devonport High School for Boys. Reports and photos should be sent to the editor, Mrs Nicholson at sarah.nicholson@dhsb.org. School news is also published weekly on the Head’s Blog at www.dhsb.org. Twitter: @DHSBoys and @DHSBhead
Refuel Refuel, our upgraded Refectory, has been very full and busy this term. The space is clean, bright and cheerful and one Year 7 student, Matthew Jones, commented that it is the ‘best dining space he has ever seen’. Callum Leach added that he likes the big screens which display a rolling programme of information and music. The menu is extensive and varied and the home cooked food prepared using fresh ingredients is delicious! The current menu is always available on the VLE for families to check what is on offer each day.
DHSB People Mr Higgins Catering Manager What do you listen to first thing in the morning? Radio One or, if I'm really tired in the morning, I will listen to trance to wake me up in the car! Who inspires you? Jamie Oliver for his passion and beliefs about fresh food, although I don't agree with everything he does i.e. pour lots of olive oil over every dish! How would your friends describe you? A laid back character with a sense of humour and a good listener. On a professional level other chefs that I have worked with would probably say I have a good attention for detail. Tell me something good about DHSB Our desire to be different and take a fresh approach. What are your plans for Refuel? To keep things interesting, plan themed days and chef specials which will give more choice, challenge pallets with new foods, and educate the boys on the benefits of healthy eating, balanced diets and nutrition.
Matthew Jones ‘best dining space’
Callum Leach ‘I like the big screens’
A Day in the Life of a Deputy Head
Mr Margetts Deputy Head Community 6.20am
Alarm goes off!
7.14am
Catch the train from Torquay. I find my time on the train to be very productive as there are no distractions. I am frequently amazed at how much I can get done in this hour!
8.12am
Walk the mile into school from Plymouth Station.
8.30am
Meet with the Leadership Group in my office. We have a daily briefing to discuss any urgent issues or matters arising for that day.
8.50am
Have my daily meeting with the Year 11 students I mentor. We briefly discuss what work they did the night before and what they will be doing for the rest of the day.
8.55am
I have commendation certificates to hand out to some Year 7 students during registration.
9.10am
Period one. I make a number of phone calls to parents to discuss their son’s progress. I spend the rest of the lesson walking through the school and pop into a number of lessons.
10.15am
Period two. I teach Year 12 Economics.
11.15am
Break time is a good opportunity to catch up with colleagues; today I see Mr Guy to discuss the VLE (virtual learning environment).
11.40am
Whole School Assembly. My theme for this week’s assembly is Excellence. I talk about the Olympics, introduce our new Sporting Colours awards and ask students what they need to do in order to achieve excellence in their subjects.
12.40pm
I take a walk around the school chatting with students and colleagues.
1.40pm
Period four. SLICT (Strategic Leadership of ICT) meeting. We meet every two weeks to address whole school ICT issues and needs.
2.45pm
Period five. I meet with Mr Earley, Headteacher. Our agenda today includes mentoring Year 11 students, the new refectory, iDHSB and “Get Ahead”, our homework club.
3.45pm
I am at the front gates of the school to ensure our boys leave safely. It is a lovely way to end the school day as I am able to catch up with many students as they leave.
4.00pm
Leadership Group Extra. The Leadership Group are joined by a number of other staff to take a creative approach to whole school improvement.
5.45pm
Catch the train back to Torquay. Another opportunity to have an uninterrupted attempt to reduce my to do list.
6.55pm
I get home in time to take my two sons up for their baths and put them to bed.
8.00pm
Have dinner with my wife and find out what the family has been up to that day. I then spend the evening working on my laptop either catching up on emails, preparing for the following day’s meetings and lessons, updating the VLE or continuing with my to do list.
Music Report
L
ast year proved to be a fantastic year for the Music Department with numerous individual and group successes. Group successes included the school production of Grease, a sell out Easter concert, a performance afternoon at Stoke Damerel Church, the DHSB house music competition and the school winning the Rotary School of the Year competition. Of the many individual successes experienced throughout the year the highlights include Tom Phillips being named as the Rotary Singer of the Year and Matthew George coming third in the Plymouth Young Composer of the Year competition.
“highlights include Tom Phillips being named as Rotary Singer of the Year” This term is already shaping up to be a busy one with the Pearl of Africa tour coming to DHSB on 7 October, students preparing for our Christmas Concert on 6 December, our annual Carol Service, Speech Day and of course preparations for the school production We Will Rock You in February. Mr Newton
Check our What’s On page and add our future events to your diary!
What I Am Reading
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have just finished reading An Act of Treachery by Ann Widdecombe. I bought this on a whim when I was in Waterstones one day over the holidays, saw Ms Widdecombe at a book signing desk, and went over to talk to her. I came away with signed copies of two of her novels! The first is an account of a French schoolgirl in occupied Paris who falls in love with a married German officer. Although ultimately a tragic story, it was historically very interesting, and told with an eloquent narrative style. I am looking forward to reading the sequel, An Act of Peace. Ms Moreton
Ms Moreton is our Information, Advice and Guidance Co-ordinator. Her role encompasses Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE), Citizenship and Careers, Work Experience and supporting our Peer Mentors. This will be a busy term covering not only Work Experience for Year 11 and the Work Experience Celebration Evening in October but also the Inspire event at Plymouth University and National Takeover Day. Ms Moreton can be contacted at sue.moreton@dhsb.org.
Ms Davidson Assistant Head - Post 16
WHAT’S ON
First post at DHSB KS3 Science Co-ordinator and running the Hockey Club (in wellies!) Current role Assistant Head - Post 16 Last film The Eagle of the Ninth
Talk with a Teacher
Last book A Long Long Way, by Sebastian Barry. The ruination and revelation of one Irishman's Great War Words of wisdom Live life to the full; be kind to others and, every day be the best person you can be! Tell me what you enjoy about working with Sixth Form students.
Friday 14th October 2011 Autumn Concert (in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support) Co-ordinator: Tom Phillips
Tuesday 6th December 2011 Christmas Concert Monday 12th December 2011 Carol Service
They’re inspirational, exciting, interesting and full of promise and potential. They are on the cusp of a journey that will be fulfilling and rewarding, and it is fantastic to help them take those steps out… They introduce us to new ideas and keep us refreshed in our learning too. If it wasn’t for Frances Salter’s extended project on composing music inspired by a poet, I wouldn’t have explored the poetry of Sylvia Plath. If Ali Gardner hadn’t been so excited about producing a documentary, I wouldn’t have the thrill I still get from the extended project work of our students, or an appreciation of the skill of Stanley Kubrick’s work (even though I don’t like it). Many years ago, I gained the confidence to challenge myself in the mountains through Geoff Underwood’s calm conversation as we climbed the north ridge of Tryfan in Snowdonia. Will Ames facilitated lots of enquiry in our Biology lessons and we have many students who keep us asking questions. We learn from each other and this is dynamic and refreshing.
Tuesday 13th December 2011 Speech Day 1st, 2nd, 3rd February 2012 We Will Rock You 21st, 22nd, 23 March 2012 Macbeth Executive Directors: Harry Samuels and Tom Phillips
The Prince’s Teaching Institute
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he Geography department has been part of the PTI Schools Programme for two years. It allows for a greater focus on developing our subject knowledge by giving us access to resources and the most recent research delivered by top academics.
We were also privileged to have Prince Charles visit us and although I only got a glimpse of him it was a wonderful atmosphere and reassuring to know that subject knowledge in education is so highly valued.
The English, History and Maths departments are also schools programme members and last term we went to London to renew our membership.
“The PTI allows for a greater focus on developing our subject knowledge.” We met at the Royal Institution, one of the oldest scientific organisations in the world. Having our first lecture in the Faraday Theatre was an inspired choice of venue to hear teachers and students talk about their experiences of being in excellent departments. Subjects then worked in separate areas to share good practice and develop their objectives for the following year.
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Mrs Sheridan, Mrs Green and Mr Riggs Subject Co-ordinators for English, Geography and History
ur Design and Technology Club was busy last year with students from all year groups dropping in to design and make products for family and friends writes Mrs Brown.
Turning Ideas into Reality
Following the club’s work and two enterprise days during Enrichment Week we ran a stall at the summer fair to sell our products. Students used the opportunity to collect valuable feedback. The majority of products were manufactured from scraps and costs were calculated to enable students to understand the net and gross profits.
Anderson (Year 10) and Ben Bate (Year 11) have worked J ames with Mr Margetts to design and code an iPhone App for the school called iDHSB. The App links with our VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) and provides a mobile platform for information about the school, timetables, commendations, files, letters and our weekly Head’s Blog. Please do download it and let us know what you think (search iDHSB on your iOS device). There have been over 300 downloads already and 25 five star ratings. James is looking at producing an Android version. We have an amazing depth of talent at the school and there is significant media interest in the boys' achievement.
Sports Report U12 Cricket The Year 7 cricket team has enjoyed a very successful season reaching both the finals of the Devon and Plymouth schools cricket competitions. Highlights of the season were the victories against Plymouth College, West Buckland College and Mount House School. In the final of the county championships Devonport lost a close game against Torquay Boys Grammar by eight runs. Regular training took place and was attended by a good number of students. U13 Cricket Despite losing in the group stage of the Plymouth Schools Cup, it was pleasing to see many of the less experienced cricketers involved in a competitive game of cricket and hopefully they will have learned a great deal from playing in this competition, what it takes to perform well, win a game of cricket and become more familiar with the game. The team had better luck in the Devon Cup where they beat Plymouth College in the first round and Heles School in the second round before meeting Blundells in the quarter final. We lost this game by just nine runs in a rain affected match and I trust the team will be raring to go again in this competition next year, when they will hopefully get past the quarter finals stage for the first time. U14 Cricket It has been yet another very successful year for the Year 9 cricket team. The boys managed to make the final of the Devon Cup beating a number of schools along the way including Shebbear College, Okehampton College, West Buckland School and Plymstock. The boys were eventually narrowly beaten in the final by Blundells School in an extremely competitive and close final. Locally the team has emerged once again as Plymouth champions after beating Ivybridge very comfortably in the final by eight wickets.
“Locally the team has emerged once again as Plymouth champions” U13 and U15 Tennis Both age groups competed in the Plymouth Schools Central Venue Tennis competitions and performed particularly well. The Under 13s finished fifth and the Under 15s finished second.
on the day by a very strong Ivybridge side who managed to make it to the final four of the national cup. The boys should be very proud of what they have achieved this year and we will be back next year to try and gain revenge. Year 10 Football A great year for the Year 10 team which saw them go unbeaten for the whole season. The year was rounded off with a fantastic win in the Devon final against Ivybridge. The team were 3 - 0 down with 15 minutes to play and managed to pull off one of the comebacks of all time winning 3 - 4 in normal time with the last kick of the game. The boys showed unbelievable team spirit throughout the year and a great deal of character to never give up.
“The boys showed unbelievable team spirit throughout the year and a great deal of character to never give up” Sixth Form Football Once again it has been an extremely successful season. This saw the team win the Devon Wednesday League Division 1 for the first time in the school’s history. The team also reached the league cup final in which they were narrowly beaten by Marjon. The league presentation evening was also successful as Henry Tank won the leading goal scorer for the league and Jason Hill won player of the league (selected by all the other teams in the league). The A team also won the respect campaign; voted for by the referees in the league, and won a brand new kit. Well done to all those involved in our extra curricular sports programme, and many thanks to the players’ families who have supported teams and individual students again this year.
What I am Reading Miss Croft Teacher of Psychology
Athletics We have enjoyed a successful season with Jim Blackford and David King representing Devon in the English Schools Athletics Finals in Gateshead. Special mention must go to David King who finished fifth in the final of the 110m hurdles. Another highlight of the season was the Year 8 athletics team winning the West Devon Championships held in May and Tom Blackford breaking the Year 7 1500m school record at Sports Day.
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.
Year 9 Football The Year 9 team was very successful this year reaching the final of the Devon Cup. However the team was beaten 2 - 0
I am enjoying the book because it combines my interests in science, psychology, evolution and long distance running, and has a cast of really interesting real life personalities.
This is a book about long distance running and a tribe who live in a Mexican canyon and run up to 80 miles a day for fun. The book leads up to an ultra marathon race between some of the world's best distance runners and this Mexican tribe, exploring the evolution of our physiology.
The Back Page - Sports Day Report
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ur recent Sports Day was another huge success with students competing hard and enjoying a very pleasant day at the Brickfields Arena. The weather turned out to be unexpectedly warm and the day was enjoyed by both spectators and competitors alike. The school record was broken by Tom Blackford in the Year 7 1500m; and Tom Tregillis equalled the Year 8 200m time.
Guest of Honour this year was the swimmer Antony James who achieved Commonwealth Games Silver and Bronze medals. Antony also represented England at the World Championships in Shanghai after recording the seventh fastest time in the world this year for 100m butterfly. As usual the school was delighted to be sponsored by Bradleys Estate Agents who presented the winners’ medals. Mr Orkney
Photo credits: DHSB Photography Club