Cambian Devon School

At Devon School, we have a new kid (or5) on the block!

We have recently welcomed 5 kid pygmy goats to our Project Compass site. Project Compass is our vocational centre where students are involved in both agriculture and horticulture projects as part of our Projects, Technology and Development curriculum.

The Duke of Edinburgh students should be incredibly proud of completing the expedition section of their award, which involved canoeing down the beautiful River Dart and camping at Buckfastleigh. Throughout the expedition, they showed great determination, resilience, and teamwork, supporting one another every step of the way.

One of the highlights of the trip was the group successfully cooking their own spaghetti bolognese over the fire, demonstrating both independence and cooperation. The students also enjoyed some memorable moments along the way, including spotting a seal during their journey down the river and having an amusing encounter with a particularly grumpy goose while canoeing, which certainly kept everyone entertained.

The training team complimented the students on how exceptionally well they worked together, even commenting that their teamwork was of such a high standard that they would have been capable of completing and passing the Gold Award. Everyone at Devon School is extremely proud of their achievements, and we look forward to seeing the students complete the rest of their award and progress onto their Silver Award in September.

Our recent student excursion to Wildwood Devon’s Saxon Village offered an exceptional, hands-on journey into early medieval history. Stepping into the authentic wattle-and-daub settlement, students transitioned from classroom theory to practical archaeology. Interactive workshops allowed them to experience historical metalwork at the forge, operate a traditional Saxon pole lathe, and craft bespoke jewellery. The historical immersion concluded with a culinary workshop, where students baked bread over an open-hearth fire.
The educational experience continued in the wildlife conservation park. Students observed native apex predators, including European wolves, brown bears, and Eurasian lynx, deepening their ecological understanding.
The day concluded with high-energy outdoor recreation. Students developed teamwork and spatial awareness navigating the challenging Beech Hedge Maze and testing their confidence on the thrilling Tree-Top Drop Slide. This memorable trip perfectly integrated rigorous historical inquiry, environmental science, and active physical literacy.

Three of our Year 11 students enjoyed a fabulous day at Harling’s Farm, Bere Alston. The students completed a Woodland Quiz Trail, learning about Biodiversity, which features in their GCSE Biology syllabus. They also enjoyed spending time with some of the farm animals.

Congratulations to Elberry House who achieved the highest number of House Points in the Spring term winning themselves the end of term House Point trip.
Each house was given a budget and the students had to work together to plan their trip within the budget.
The four school houses have been in close competition all term but after receiving the most house points, Elberry took the prize and spent the day at Clip N’ Climb in Exeter, followed by bowling and Dominoes pizza.

Students at our Project Compass site recently celebrated the arrival of spring with an energetic Easter scavenger hunt, making full use of our expansive outdoor space. The sun was shining as students eagerly explored the grounds, working together to decipher tricky riddles and track down hidden clues tucked away in every corner. It was great to see them so engaged with the fresh air and natural surroundings, combining critical thinking and team building with plenty of active fun as they raced to solve the final mystery of the hunt.🐣

Every term Devon School have a cultural day, where we celebrate the history and culture of a different country or community. For our Thailand cultural day we had some visitors from Fightworx Academy teaching the students the basics of Muay Thai, the students made some paintings of coy fish, had the opportunity to have a go at batik paintings and completed a quiz with a food round in which students had the chance to try some pad Thai and some bugs!

The students then went to evolve where they played a game of sepak takraw, which they all loved.

🔴To raise money for Red Nose Day students at Devon School made cakes in their catering lessons last week and we then held a bake sale on Friday. Students also had the opportunity to buy their own red noses and then decorate them.🔴

To celebrate British Science Week Devon School went to 'We the Curious' in Bristol. The students were tasked, during an hour-long session, with solving clues using various aspects of Light Science (eg Infinity Mirrors and UV light), in order to gain an entry ticket to the final challenge, making their way through a Laser Maze to reach a Gold Bar. After lunch, the students had time to explore some of the hands-on exhibits, including ‘Grinding sandstone in a giant hamster-wheel’ and ‘Shooting staff with a hand-powered air-cannon’. The students had a fantastic day experiencing hand on science and were fantastic representatives of the school.