Science department
This year the Science department has taken the opportunities provided by the Prince’s Teaching Institute to promote the STEM subjects across the whole school.
During the year, students at Devonport High School for Boys enjoyed an opportunity to work with academic staff from local universities.
Dr Lorna Dallas from Plymouth University led a workshop for Year 8 boys exploring the different varieties of marine life and their adaptations.
The workshop highlighted the issues faced by endangered species such as polar bears, and the different adaptations the wide range of marine animals have. The hands-on activities gave students the chance to look at and hold different skulls such as those of a Polar bear, Sea lion and Manatee and compare the features of each species. This included holding the jaw of a tiger shark and interacting with some of the live wildlife from our local coast, such as sea snails and mussels.Dr Dallas also outlined the ‘Trojan Horse’ project (funded by the Natural Environmental Research Council) which is researching the impact of nano-particles such as Carbon-60 on marine life
Students were also joined by Dr John Chilton from the University of Exeter. Dr Chilton created a workshop for the boys to explore how the human brain works and how, using different techniques, scientists can now make a brain glow in order to map the neural pathways to further develop our understanding of how the brain works.
To help further promote the essential investigative skills needed for Science, the department has supported various teams of students to enter a wide rage of national and international competitions. Currently we have two teams of Sixth Form students creating a experiment that could then be tested using the Beamline at CERN. Meanwhile another team of students are currently creating a series of video tutorials to explain difficult concepts in Physics to then submit to the Khan Academy. Lower down the school we have a team of Year 9 students who will be competing at the National Big Bang Science Fair finals, with their project to design a self- sustained school that is situated on a remote island. All of these activities are invaluable to developing the skills that are essential to creating well-rounded scientists.
As well as promoting STEM subjects and concentrating on literacy across the school we are also working with our local primary schools to provide a unique learning experience during National Science and Engineering Week.
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.
Devonport High School for Boys is a foundation grammar for boys aged 11-18, located in Plymouth, Devon. It has around 1,100 pupils.