Apply to Devonport High School for Boys, in plain English.
Devonport High School for Boys is a selective boys' grammar in Stoke, Plymouth that fills all 180 Year 7 places in rank order of the selective 11+ score — its admission policy states plainly that the school has no catchment area. Your son sits the shared Plymouth selective papers (English and Maths) plus the school's own English composition paper, and you must register him directly with the school by 31 August 2026, then name the school on your council's Common Application Form by 31 October 2026.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these.
Two papers: the shared Plymouth 11+ and DHSB's own English paper — register by 31 August 2026.
Devonport High School for Boys selects on the shared Plymouth selective 11+ — externally-set English and Maths papers (provided by Quest Assessment from 2026) — plus an internally-set DHSB English paper testing composition skills. Your son must qualify on both. You register directly with the school; registration runs from 20 April to 31 August 2026 and each child sits the tests once.
Places go in rank order of test score — there is no catchment.
The admission policy states the school "does not have a catchment area". After looked-after children, the top 174 qualifying boys are offered places in rank order, then up to six reserved Pupil Premium places — every place is decided by score, wherever you live. Reaching the qualifying mark does not guarantee a place; it only makes your son eligible to be ranked.
Pupil Premium gives priority — up to six places — so flag it at registration.
Up to six places are reserved for qualifying boys who are registered for and in receipt of the pupil premium at the date of testing, ranked by score. Provide the evidence to the school at the time of allocation. The pupil or service premium, and being a child of long-serving staff, also act as tie-breakers between boys on identical scores — there is no sibling, faith or feeder-school priority.
Five steps — starting now.
If more boys qualify than there are places, this order decides.
Only boys who reach the qualifying mark in both the external papers and the DHSB English paper are considered. They are then placed in these priority groups; within each group, the highest test score comes first. Tap any criterion to see the exact wording.
In plain English: Boys who are or were in council care (including those adopted from care or under a special guardianship / child arrangements order, and children who were in state care outside England and were adopted) get the highest priority, provided they achieved a qualifying mark. This group is small in practice.
What the document says: (i) Looked after children and all children who were previously looked after who achieved a qualifying mark. (ii) Children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
In plain English: The bulk of the 180 places — 174 of them — go to the highest-scoring qualifying boys in rank order, regardless of where they live. There is no catchment area. Distance is used only to separate two boys with exactly the same score (see the worked example below).
What the document says: 174 candidates who achieve a qualifying mark in rank order.
In plain English: Up to six places are reserved for qualifying boys who are registered for and in receipt of the pupil premium at the date of testing, ranked by score. You will need to provide the evidence at the time of allocation — without it your son will not be counted under this criterion.
What the document says: Up to six students, who achieve a qualifying mark, who are registered and in receipt of the pupil premium at the date of testing. Evidence will be required at the time of allocation.
In plain English: Any remaining places, and the order of the waiting list, go to the highest-scoring qualifying boys in rank order, regardless of where they live. There is no catchment area.
What the document says: Other candidates who achieve a qualifying mark in rank order.
In plain English: If two boys have identical scores at the point places run out, the one registered for and in receipt of the pupil premium or the service premium (the funding for children of Armed Forces personnel) is placed higher. This applies only as the first tie-breaker — it is not a reserved set of places.
What the document says: To resolve any tied positions: (i) Students who are registered and in receipt of the pupil or service premium at the date of testing. Evidence will be required at the time of allocation.
In plain English: Still tied? Next priority goes to a boy whose parent is a member of school staff employed for two or more years, or recruited to fill a vacancy where there is a demonstrable skill shortage. After this come the DHSB English paper mark, then straight-line distance, then a supervised random ballot.
What the document says: (ii) Children of a member of staff who has been employed at the school for two or more years … or recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. (iii) The mark for the DHSB English paper. (iv) Distance from DHSB … (v) Finally, a random number generator … supervised by a member of the Local Authority.
Tie-breaker order: between boys on identical scores, priority goes (1) to a boy with the pupil or service premium; then (2) to a child of long-serving staff; then (3) by the DHSB English paper mark; then (4) to the boy living closest, measured in a straight line using Plymouth City Council's electronic mapping system; and finally (5) by a supervised random ballot.
No geographic boundary. Rank order decides everything.
Devonport High School for Boys has no catchment area and no geographic restriction — the admission policy says the school "does not have a catchment area". After looked-after children, the 180 places fill in rank order of combined standardised test score: 174 by score, then up to six reserved Pupil Premium places — regardless of where boys live. A boy in Plymouth, Saltash, Ivybridge or Tavistock competes on exactly the same terms. The circle drawn on our map is illustrative only — it is not a real boundary.
Distance is used only as a late tie-breaker between two boys with identical scores — after the premium and staff tie-breaks and the DHSB English mark. The boy living closer, by straight-line measurement using the council's mapping system, ranks higher, and if still tied a supervised random ballot decides. For everyone else, home address has no bearing on the outcome.
See the school's location on the GrammarBound mapTwo boys ranked by score — not by where they live.
Both boys qualified and are ranked together. Child A scored 238 and lives far from school; Child B scored 225 and lives close by. Child A ranks above Child B because score — not proximity — decides. Distance would only matter if their scores were exactly equal.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
Boys placed in Category B — a qualifying mark but below the 180th candidate — are eligible for the waiting list, ranked by the same published admission criteria, not by when you applied. Late applicants and waiting-list candidates are treated equally on one list. The list is maintained until 31 July 2028; when a vacancy arises it goes to the next boy on the list.
Responses and waiting-list requests are made to Plymouth City Council.
Appeal
You have the right to appeal to an independent appeals panel; DHSB has an agreement with Plymouth City Council to act on its behalf. For a selective school the panel must be satisfied your son reached the required standard, so successful appeals are uncommon. Appealing does not remove your son from the waiting list. Contact details are on the school website.
Joining Year 12 from outside.
Devonport High School for Boys admits external students into Year 12 alongside its own Year 11. Entry is by GCSE grades, not the Year 7 test — the selective 11+ criteria do not apply.
The grade floor.
You need an Average Points Score of 6.0 or higher across your best eight GCSEs, with at least grade 5 in both GCSE English and Mathematics. The same minimum applies to internal and external students. Individual A-level subjects may set higher or specific GCSE requirements, and an offer is to the Sixth Form, not a guarantee of a specific course.
Apply direct to the school.
Year 12 capacity is 150, with a minimum 20 external places for students new to the school. Complete the application form on the school website by 31 January 2027; notification is normally made by the end of May. If external applicants exceed places, priority goes to looked-after children, then those previously in state care abroad, then pupil/service premium, then boys with exceptional social or medical needs.