Devonport High School for Boys

Devonport High School for Boys is a grammar school and academy, for boys aged 11 to 18, in Plymouth, Devon, England. It has around 1,135 pupils. Its catchment area includes southwest Devon and southeast Cornwall as well as Plymouth. Pupils are accepted on the basis of academic aptitude.

Devonport High School for Boys
Address
Paradise Road

Devonport, Plymouth
, ,
PL1 5QP

England
Coordinates50.374071°N 4.162273°W / 50.374071; -4.162273
Information
TypeGrammar school
Academy
MottoProrsum Semper Honeste – Forward always honest/proud
Established1896
FounderAlonzo Rider
Department for Education URN136496 Tables
OfstedReports
Head teacherDan Roberts
Staffover 100
GenderBoys (Mixed sixth form)
Age11 to 18
Enrolment1,135
Houses  Campbell
  Edison
  Newton
  Priestley
  Smeaton
  Winstanley
Colour(s)Green and white   
Former pupilsDHSB Old Boys[1]
Websitehttp://www.dhsb.org/

School history

The school was founded by Alonzo Rider on Albert Road, Devonport, in January 1896 to meet the needs of boys in Plymouth and district seeking a career in the Navy, as engineers and civil servants.

In 1906, the Devonport Borough Council took over the school and over the next thirty years it continued to teach boys who came from the city or in by train from the Tamar Valley and Cornwall. Old Boys went on to careers both locally and nationally – and especially in the MoD. In 1941 the school was evacuated to Penzance because of World War II and in 1945 returned to the present site, the former Stoke Military Hospital on Paradise Road, which had been built in 1797.[2] A book by former student and teacher Henry Whitfeld called A Torch in Flame, chronicles the history of the school from its founding to the death of headmaster Dr Cresswell in 1974. Since 1904, there has also been an annual school magazine made by pupils with the purpose of keeping students, parents and Old Boys informed about developments and information concerning the school.

Academic standards

In 2002, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) designated the school as one of the first four specialist engineering colleges in England. In 2006, it was judged to be a High Performing Specialist School (HPSS) and rebid successfully for a second 4-year period of Engineering Specialism. In April 2007, it took up a second specialism in languages. After the OFSTED inspection in October 2007, the school successfully gained redesignation for Engineering and, with its HPSS status re-affirmed, successfully applied a third specialism "Applied Learning" which commenced during 2009. This specialism encouraged subject teaching to make reference to relevance in the world of work.

The school was inspected again in February 2011, and was designated as an "Outstanding" school, paving the way for the school's conversion to "Type Two" Academy Status in early March 2011, under the Coalition Government's Academy scheme.

The school's academic performance can be assessed on the UK government's DfES website.[3]

DHSB headteachers

Devonport High School staff and pupils at Penzance in July 1945
Looking west along the Arcade
  • 1896–1906 AJ Rider
  • 1906–1932 AF Treseder
  • 1933–1941 HAT Simmonds
  • 1942–1948 WH Buckley
  • 1949–1953 SB Barker
  • 1953–1974 JL Cresswell
  • 1975–1993 JGW Peck
  • 1993–2008 NM Pettit
  • 2008–2015 KJ Earley
  • 2015– DJJ Roberts

School houses

Until 2009 the school consisted of four houses (Drake, Raleigh, Gilbert and Grenville) split evenly between the six forms (C,E,N,P,S,W). Prior to 2009, these letters were used as identifiers for the various forms in each year and were associated with compass points. These letters, and forms, then formed the basis of the new house names when, in 2009, the school's pupils were split equally between 6 houses, which continue to compete each year for the St. Levan's Shield. The houses are Campbell, Edison, Newton, Priestley, Smeaton and Winstanley.

School buildings

The school buildings are named after notable people with links to Plymouth:

Uzel House

The school had a residential centre in the French town of Uzel in Brittany. This offered pupils the opportunity for work experience with local companies as well as the chance to improve their French and enjoy activities like horseriding and canoeing. The house was bought for the token amount of 1 Franc in 1991, from the Mayor of Uzel. From opening in 1992, until its closure in 2009 over 250 boys visited the house each year. The Friday Choir also took pupils from two other Plymouth grammar schools, Plymouth High School for Girls and Devonport High School for Girls, to Uzel for an opportunity to sing to the locals. These, and many other Friday Choir tours, were organised by music teacher Trefor K Farrow. Mr Farrow joined DHSB in 1965 and completed his fortieth and final year in 2006. In 2010 there were concerns about the House's long term sustainability as a result of the recession. Ownership of the house was lost during the tenure of Kieran Earley.

Notable former pupils

Notable alumni include:

DHSB has a group of alumni called the "Old Boys Association", it was relaunched in 1996, on the school's centenary. There are more than 600 Old Boys registered on the DHS Old Boys Online web site. DHS Old Boys Online has no direct affiliation with the Old Boys Association, although it does provide some information on the Association and a form to apply for membership.

There was mild controversy in the school and the DHSOBA when the information that an Old Boy from the school had been detained in the now infamous "fake rock" case emerged. According to the BBC, Russia's intelligence agency, the FSB, accused British agents of storing and exchanging classified information using a fake rock on a Russian street.[14]

References

  1. "DHSOB Inaugural dinner". Dhsob.wordpress.com. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  2. "Devonport High School for Boys". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  3. "Devonport High School for Boys". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  4. 'BRIDGES, Stephen John', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  5. 'DAVIES, Roger Oliver', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  6. 'DYSON, John Alva', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  7. 'EDDY, Prof. Alfred Alan', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  8. 'FELWICK, Wing Comdr David Leonard', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  9. 'FOSTER, Richard Scot', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  10. 'HAMLEY, Donald Alfred', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  11. 'HARRIS, Prof. Sir Martin (Best)', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  12. 'HISCOCK Stephen John', Who's Who 2011, A & C Black, 2011; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2010 (accessed 24 September 2011).
  13. "Defence Management". Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  14. "Technology | Q&A: 'British spy rock'". BBC News. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
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