Devonport High School for Boys
History Department
As result of our membership of the Prince’s Teaching Institute, we have arranged for a number of school trips to enrich our curriculum. In the summer holidays, we took 30 boys on a visit to China. We saw the major sights in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai, and this allowed us to deepen our knowledge of the history of China, as well as appreciating the way that China is growing socially, politically and economically.
At the end of November, we are also taking A2 students to Ireland on a trip specially devised by a member of staff to help students with their research module on Britain and Ireland to 1922. The development of this trip was one of our targets for the PTI programme.
We are hoping to arrange CPD for Historians in all Plymouth schools for the autumn term 2010 that focuses on subject knowledge.
English Department
This year the English Department at Devonport High School for Boys hosted a CPD day for staff from other Plymouth schools. We were joined by the poet Wendy Cope who entertained us with readings from several of her anthologies. She spent some time talking to us about poetic forms and a question and answer session that followed was engaging and informative.
There followed two teacher workshops: the first exploring ways into poetry at all three key stages, and the second a creative session.
The first session was very fruitful with a number of teaching ideas generated. Some ideas were tried and tested; but always worth revisiting, others were innovative and imaginative.
Teacher’s creative skills were than put to the test in a poetry workshop where groups were given tasks to write using specific forms. Wendy Cope gave advice and ideas and by the end of the session we were able to share some poems; and a few laughs.
It was a good day, with a balance of academic rigour, enrichment and subject enjoyment. Hopefully everyone left with ideas and a reminder of why we teach!
Devonport High School for Boys is a foundation grammar for boys aged 11-18, located in Plymouth, Devon. It has around 1,100 pupils and is a designated specialist school for Engineering and Languages.