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Three QE boys have been selected for the GB Water Polo squad following trials in Cardiff.

Samuel Carling, of Year 11, Louis Waloschek, of Year 10, and Year 9’s Thushira Kumarage will now be preparing for a series of European competitions in 2015-18.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to these boys on their selection for the national squad – a considerable achievement which reflects both their natural aptitude and a great deal of hard work, as well as the expert support of their coaches and teachers.”

For the next six months, the three boys will train for a weekend each month in Cardiff; they will also attend an international camp over the summer.

PE Teacher Nicholas Bird, said: “The boys faced stiff competition – with, for example, more than 80 players taking part in the U17 trial – so their selection is no mean feat, further demonstrating the recent resurgence of water polo at QE.”

All players had been put forward for the national trials following the approval of their Regional Training Centre.

Sam, Louis and Thushira (pictured above and right) were among five QE boys who took part in the national trials. The other two – Alex Northcliffe, of Year 11, and Sahil Shah, of Year 9 – now hope to be chosen for the divisional teams for their age groups in the inter-region championships later this year. Alex will be hoping to replicate his success last year representing the East of England, while Sahil hopes to secure a place in the London squad.

A university-hosted Mathematics enrichment day gave Year 10 boys the opportunity to take part in interactive activities as well as to hear from some of the UK's top mathematicians. The day at the University of Hertfordshire (UH) was designed to allow students to explore how mathematics can be used in a variety of contexts – including some of the most popular games. Sixteen Year 10 pupils from QE attended the event.

The activities included a ‘circus’ run by Rob Eastaway, author and director of the Maths Inspiration enrichment programme, which included a game called Zequals, in which participants had to estimate answers to calculations by rounding up.

The lectures were:

Games with a twist; from Monopoly to Yukky Choccy presented by Mr Eastaway

• How long is a piece of string? which looked at how to calculate fractal lengths, presented by Dr Steve Kane, Associate Dean of School at UH
• How high will it bounce? on mechanics, delivered by Alan Davies, a professor of Mathematics at UH and a trustee of the Royal Institution of Great Britain
• The wisdom of crowds presented by Dr Hannah Fry, of University College London, who specialises in Complexity Theory.

The enrichment day was heartily endorsed by the QE boys.  “I thoroughly enjoyed the lecture on how to use simple Maths to win games! It was very educational and entertaining and gave everyone a greater understanding of how Maths is evident throughout the world. This is an experience we will never forget,” said Bushry Basheer.

“I enjoyed the lectures, especially the one on why birds fly in patterns across the sky, and the lecture about how Maths is involved in strategies to win games,” said Jonathan Beresford of Year 10. “However, my favourite part was the Maths quiz during lunchtime.” 

“We had the opportunity to explore Maths in a different way.  The lectures were very interesting and interactive.  It was an experience to remember,” said Ishanka Amarasinghe. “It was an interesting experience and it showed us a different side of Maths, in real-life use,” added Sanchit Agrawal.

QE's chess team has qualified for the national stage of the English Chess Federation Schools' Championship by reaching the competition's zonal final.

The team had to overcome stiff competition from a high-quality field of ten schools, reaching the final with victories over Dame Alice Owen’s School and Enfield Grammar School and a semi-final away win at Woodbridge School, Suffolk.

“It is a fantastic achievement for us to reach the national stages of this prestigious competition,” said teacher Geoff Roberts who leads chess at the School. “It is particularly pleasing to succeed with a 5-1 win against Woodbridge School, a strong chess-playing school.

“Coming through such a tough zone means the team is well equipped to put in a strong performance in the national stages. Well done to all the boys involved and particularly to Madhi Elango for leading the team to such an achievement.”

The zonal final against Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School will take place later this month.

This year’s squad has comprised: Captain Madhi Elango (Year 13); Rushil Sajip (Year 13); Joseph Levene (Year 12); Jake Breindel (Year 11); Ananth Balaji (Year 10); Rishul Karia (Year 9); George Ivanov (Year 7) and Federico Rocco (Year 7).

Four Year 12 boys have reached the regional final of a highly regarded national investment competition.

QE’s team, named the Naked Economists and comprising Ralph Flint, Paul Jung, Nathaniel Liu and Anthony Zhang, were competing against more than 30,000 students from across the UK in the ifs Student Investor Challenge. They made more than £40,000 trading in virtual shares in just three months of activity – out-performing the FTSE 100 share index in the process.

The team will now compete at the South East England regional final in London in March. If successful at that stage, they will have the opportunity of progressing to the national final in April, where the prize is an all expenses paid educational trip to New York and £2,000 for the School.

The competition, run by ifs University College and supported by Bloomberg, provides teams with £100,000 of virtual money to buy and sell shares in FTSE 100 companies. It gives teams of four students aged 14 to 19 years old the opportunity to experience the world of share-dealing and investing in the stock market. Now in its 20th year, the competition is the largest of its kind in the UK and is also open to international students.

“The competition gives our boys an ideal opportunity to gain experience of making investment decisions,” said QE’s Head of Economics, Liane Ryan. “It is only the third time that a team from QE has progressed to this stage of the competition; the boys are to be congratulated in overcoming such strong competition thus far.”

Alison Pask, Vice Principal at ifs University College said: “The competition also introduces competitors to core concepts such as risk, reward and diversification. This is a real achievement and many congratulations go to the team from Queen Elizabeth’s School.”

ifs University College describes itself as the “university for financial education”. It has a remit to provide the financial services industry with a skilled, effective and competent workforce whilst also promoting a better understanding of finance amongst consumers and young people.

Prince Charles has presented Queen Elizabeth's School's Chairman of Governors Barrie Martin with his MBE at an investiture at Buckingham Palace.

The MBE for services to education was announced in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List.

Just after returning from the ceremony, Mr Martin received a VIP invitation from Schools Minister Lord Nash to a special celebration for school governors at the House of Lords in April.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I would like to extend my congratulations once again to Barrie Martin on his MBE. It is an award that is very richly deserved: he has been an inestimable asset to the School over many years and a source of support and wise counsel to three headmasters, including me. I was delighted to hear that he and his family had a splendid day together at the Palace and trust that he will also enjoy his forthcoming visit to the House of Lords.”

Mr Martin was characteristically modest after the investiture. His elder son, Piers Martin, said his father wished to thank the School because he feels the School has done a great deal for him.

Mr Martin, who has been Chairman of both the Governing Body and of the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s (FQE) since 1999, spent the morning at Buckingham Palace with his wife, Perin, with Piers (OE 1987-1994) and with his younger son, Giles (OE 1992-1999).

Having driven into town, they were able to park in the Palace’s inner courtyards. During the medal presentation ceremony itself, Prince Charles spent quite a considerable period talking to each of the recipients, including Mr Martin, having clearly taken time to apprise himself of his details.

Mr Martin, who will be 80 in April, worked full-time in his own chartered surveyor’s practice, Martin Russell Jones, in Edgware until last spring. Having sold the firm, which looks after accommodation including almshouses and social housing for the visually handicapped, he now works there as a consultant.

He has risen from humble beginnings. His father was a part-time jobbing builder who also worked as a policeman during World War II, a bus driver and a chauffeur, while his mother was a countrywoman from Dorset who remembered meeting Thomas Hardy in her youth.

Mr Martin had to spend a great deal of time in hospital between the ages of 10 and 14, which had a detrimental effect on his education. Leaving school at 16, he went to work in an estate agent’s and chartered surveyor’s office and began studying at night school. His perseverance earned its reward when he qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1958 at the age of 24.

As his sons grew up, he supported their schools, firstly becoming a governor at St Paul’s C of E Primary in Mill Hill, where he continues to serve both as a governor and PTA committee member, and then at QE in 1987 when Piers became a pupil.

In his letter of invitation to Mr Martin, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools Lord Nash wrote: “Raising the profile of governors and school governance is one of my top priorities…By celebrating your achievement I hope we will also be able to send a wider signal to governors across the country that the Government recognises and values them.”

The House of Lords celebration for those who have received a national award recently for their work as school governors takes place on Wednesday 2^nd April.