School Performance

Leading by example

The 2019 School Captain, Bhiramah Rammanohar, achieved a clean sweep of A* grades in his Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics A-levels, securing a place to read Medicine at Jesus College, Cambridge.

Bhiramah excelled across many areas of School life and is an accomplished musician: he has been involved in a number of ensembles, including Symphonic Winds, Symphony Orchestra and the Barbershop singing group. “I am so grateful for the experiences I have managed to have at QE. Without QE, I don’t think I would be as interested in Music or would have been able to lead in the way I did. I was not particularly good at sport, but even then, there were so many different sports you could try out, and the teachers were so supportive.”

Through School friends, he has been active as a volunteer with the charity youthconnectionlondon, focusing on helping the homeless in the capital. He also volunteered with St John Ambulance and showed his initiative in putting this knowledge to good use in the Sixth Form, helping to organise First Aid training, including CPR. It is, he believes, “very important that young people should know how to deal with sudden situations, especially when they are making the transition to university”.

While Bhiramah would enjoy the physical interaction between doctor and patient and is interested in going into oncology as a clinical field, he is also drawn by medical research, having scored top marks in his Extended Project Qualification looking at biochemical indicators for autism.

When the lockdown forced the abrupt end to Year 13, he was upset that he could not finish his time at the School: “The people you meet there, both students and teachers, were such amazing people, and it was just a shame.”

Musical maestro

Drew Sellis’s four A* grades in French, German, Mathematics and Music topped his standard Cambridge Humanities offer of A* and two As, so he will be heading off this autumn to take up his place to read Music as an Organ Scholar at Jesus College – the School’s first Oxbridge Organ Scholarship since 2007. The role involves playing in the college chapel for rehearsals and for services such as Evensong for both the boys’ choir and the undergraduate choir. Such activities have recently been taking place on Zoom, but he hopes they will soon be live again. “I have found it quite inspiring to be able to help younger musicians at QE, so I am looking forward to being able to do that at the college, too.”

Long a mainstay of Music at the School, Drew has both sung with, and accompanied, the Chamber Choir, as well as: singing with the Barbershop group; playing percussion in the Symphony Orchestra (“really good fun”); playing in the Saxophone Ensemble, and performing with Symphonic Winds. He has led some ensembles, too. “In the lower years, I enjoyed the wealth of musical opportunities – recitals and competitions – that were available.” Drew says: “Music has always been a welcome break and a social experience at School – it’s good knowing you have a rehearsal at the end of the day. And I have also enjoyed experiencing so much new music all the time.” While he is not sure which route his career will follow he says: “Doing an Organ Scholarship at somewhere like Cambridge does open a lot of doors: it’s a great springboard.”

Reflecting on his School experience, Drew adds: “I think one of things that I have taken from QE is being surrounded by a lot of like-minded people, especially in our A-level groups.” His Music class of just four pupils provided an ideal learning environment, although he says this applied to his other subjects, too: “Everybody is motivated to do their best.”

In the good books

Needing an A* and a pair of A grades for his place to read Economics at Clare College, Rishi Shah has met the requirements with room to spare, receiving A*s for all his A-levels – Economics, Further Mathematics, Geography and Mathematics. He enjoys both the essay-writing and the mathematical modelling that Economics involves, and, having found lessons in the subject at the School consistently interesting, it was , he says, the “natural choice” for his degree. Rishi was part of a QE team who were runners-up in this year’s prestigious Institute of Economic Affairs Budget Challenge competition.

Beyond his studies, Rishi has also been active in supporting QE’s long-established Sai School Appeal, which works to support a school in rural India, taking a leading role as a senior pupil after the appeal first drew his interest when he was in the Lower School. He also enjoyed serving as a QE peer mentor, helping younger boys by “giving them tips on how they could better cope with the classwork and homework”. Rishi was among the first group of Pupil Librarians recruited when The Queen’s Library opened at the School in 2014 and he remained a Library stalwart. One proud memory is of his reaching the final five in the National Pupil Library Assistant of the Year competition in 2017.

Looking back on his time at the School, he says: “I have made some good friends. We help each other with work and bring out the best in each other, working hard. I would definitely not have achieved what I have achieved without QE.” Rishi has not yet decided on his future career, although consultancy and investment banking are both possibilities.

International scholar

Aly Sayani, who received three A* grades, will be heading off to the University of Toronto as soon as his study permit – delayed because of the coronavirus crisis – comes through. He is the recipient of a coveted Lester B Pearson International Scholarship, covering his tuition, accommodation, materials and living expenses across the four years he will spend there reading Social Sciences (and taking a ‘Specialist’ in International Affairs). Aly is believed to be the first-ever QE boy to study as an undergraduate at a Canadian university. “I would encourage QE students not to limit themselves to universities in the UK because there are lots of opportunities abroad.”

Aly was born in Karachi, but his parents moved to London as economic migrants when he was three and then worked hard to establish themselves. Aly himself “only just” got into QE. Securing the place in Toronto and the scholarship has been a major milestone for him: “It has certainly made me proud that I could do that after being born in Karachi and after the long struggle for my family.

“The School certainly put the academic rigour in me, teaching me how to teach myself – that’s one thing that QE does very well.”

In his home community, he supports the Ismaili community, acting as a youth club team member and chairman, and working at a refugee centre. It is this experience, coupled with his academic accomplishments, that secured him the “amazing scholarship”: those responsible for awarding it were seeking “leadership in the community and the potential to contribute globally – a holistic approach”.

Positive signs for aspiring surgeon

Aryan Wani comfortably exceeded the one A* grade and two As he needed for his place to read Medicine at Imperial College, securing straight A*s in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Looking back on his seven years at the School, he says good foundations were laid early for him. “The discipline which they instil in the junior years helps students in the senior years to work independently.” Teachers also go beyond the examination specification in their lessons, which means that when boys come to sit their exams, they are unlikely to face any questions that cause them serious problems, he adds.

Notwithstanding Aryan’s confidence in his teachers, he confesses that the national decision to cancel A-level examinations this year, and instead to base results on schools’ evaluations of their pupils and on previous results, did cause him some anxiety: “It’s been very uncertain because at the end of the day, we don’t have any direct control over the grades we receive. If a student has worked hard for two years, they feel unsure leaving it all in the hands of someone else.”

Aryan hopes eventually to go into surgery. He has helped lead QE’s Medical Society: “That has been very rewarding because it creates a sense of community among the students who aspire to study Medicine.”

A former junior cricket captain at the School, he still enjoys the sport. Other extra-curricular activities he has been involved in over the years include leading a Sign Language Club – something he took up after undertaking voluntary work at the Royal Free Charity, where some of the patients had hearing disabilities.