Viewing archives for

Year 8 pupils took advantage of specially devised university workshops to build on their mathematical knowledge and skills.

The boys attended two Masterclasses led by Professor Alan Davies, of the University of Hertfordshire; one looked at geometrical constructions and the other focused on Applied Mathematics.

Topics included: Heron’s formula for calculating the area of a triangle; the Euler Line (the line in any triangle on which the three triangle centres of the centroid, circumcentre and orthocentre always lie), and the physics behind comic book superheroes.“The workshops were inspired by the Royal Institution of Mathematics Masterclasses,” said Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung. “The demonstration of how Superman could leap to the top of the Empire State Building and how Newton’s cradle could help Spiderman swing from building to building particularly caught the boys’ imagination.”

“The standard of Maths was challenging but, if anything, this added to the boys’ enjoyment of the day, as can be seen from their comments,” added Miss Fung. These included:

• It was entertaining, informative and interesting. Although it was hard the fact that it was fun diverted us!
• I liked learning how Maths is in everything – even comic books.
• I really enjoyed seeing my friend’s face when the ball wouldn’t bounce!
• It was interesting to see how different theorems work together.

Three Year 13 leavers – Jamie Mui, Abhishek Mukherjee and Vajin Patel – accompanied the visit. “They added a great deal and we are very grateful that they gave up part of their holiday to help us,” said Miss Fung. “Year 8 certainly gained a lot from attending these workshops and we are enormously indebted to Professor Davies and Dr Steve Kane for giving up their time and putting together workshops which both challenged and entertained the boys.”

Year 13’s Madhi Elango has crowned his chess career at QE by leading the School’s team to second place in the National Schools’ Chess Competition.

The team beat Enfield Grammar School, Dame Alice Owen’s School and Woodbridge School to progress to the quarter-final stage. There they beat renowned chess school Eltham College to progress to the finals at Uppingham School.

Along with captain Madhi, the boys chosen for the final were: Rushil Sajip, also of Year 13; Joseph Levene, of Year 12;  Jake Breindel, of Year 11; Ananth Balaji, of Year 10 and George Ivanov, of Year 7. They beat Newcastle-Under-Lyme School 6-0 in the semi-final only to lose narrowly to Wilson’s School 4-2 in the final. Ananth Balaji was the stand-out individual player, winning both of his games on Board 1.

“Second place in a national tournament is an excellent achievement, although we were slightly disappointed not to win,” said Geoff Roberts, teacher in charge of chess. “I would like to celebrate Madhi’s contribution to chess over the last seven years, as he leaves us to pursue the next stage of his career at university. He has created a strong team environment, which has underpinned our success.”

Madhi and fellow-leavers Kiran Modi and Rushil Sajip have all played significant roles in organising internal chess tournaments as well as preparing teams for external events, passing on their expertise and experiences to younger boys.

The other boys who participated in earlier rounds and helped the team to the finals were: Ashwin Ravichandran, of Year 11; Rishul Karia, of Year 9, and Federico Rocco of Year 7.

Year 12 boy Terrell Okhiria has won a special award for the work he does as a volunteer in an old people’s home.

Eighteen months ago, Terrell walked into Rubens House, run by Jewish Care, offering to help out and “do something useful with my weekend”. Since then, he has given up his Saturday mornings to chat and play board games with the residents and has even brought along friends and family members to volunteer as well.

His voluntary work at Rubens House in Finchley amply fulfils the requirements of QE’s Year 12 voluntary service programme, under which all boys must complete at least 40 hours of volunteering during the academic year.

Rubens House selected Terrell as one of its three nominees for the 2014 Betty and Aubrey Lynes Volunteer Awards. The awards honour around 40 volunteers annually out of Jewish Care’s 3,000-strong volunteer workforce.

The awards were presented at a special ceremony attended by VIPs including Jewish Care’s President, Lord Levy, its Chairman, Steven Lewis, and Ninette Levy, daughter of Betty Lynes.

During the event at Jewish Care’s Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Campus in Golders Green, Lord Levy spoke of how impressed he was at Terrell’s commitment to helping the elderly, while in a letter, Rubens House Volunteer Co-ordinator Hermy Godins wished Terrell well in his studies and said: “We really are most appreciative of the time you have given Rubens House and do hope you will continue if possible.”

Head of Year 12 Liam Hargadon said: “At QE, we see our volunteering programme as an important aspect of developing young men who contribute to society. As a school, we are therefore very proud of Terrell’s achievement: to serve such a worthwhile cause with great distinction over a long period reflects very positively on his character and responsibility.”

For the Year 12 voluntary service programme, boys organise their own work and serve in locations including hospitals, schools, charity shops and care homes for the elderly or disabled.

Former School Captain Jason Breslaw has been making headlines in his career as a distillates trader for BP.

Jason (OE 1994-2001), who was School Captain in 2000, was interviewed and photographed for a Daily Mail recruitment feature looking at the breadth of careers available in the oil and gas industries.

Having read Natural Sciences at Cambridge after leaving School, specialising in Chemistry, Jason has spent the last nine years working on BP’s Oil Trading Floor in London. In an email to the School’s alumni office, he said it is a career choice that he would highly recommend to other Elizabethans.

His work involves buying and selling products such as gas oil, diesel, heating oil and jet fuel from refineries, as cargo or in storage tanks.

He told Daily Mail reporter Linda Whitney: ““Many people do not realise that oil and gas careers can include commodities trading. I found out…at a careers fair and joined the BP graduate scheme. As a Natural Sciences graduate, it meant trading in a commodity I could understand.

“Information comes in to me constantly to help me make decisions about future prices, and I buy and sell accordingly: one news story can impact on demand.

“It’s fast-paced, intellectually stimulating and based on reality – I’ve seen ships that carry the fuels I deal in, and what I do helps provide people with heat, light and mobility.”

The Year 7 Science trip to Whipsnade Zoo gave the boys the opportunity to learn more about the role of the modern zoo and climate change – as well as seeing the animals.

“The macaws that formed part of the birds of paradise exhibit and the sea lion exhibition were particularly popular with the boys,” said Science teacher David Crouch, who led the visit. “They were also able to choose from six lectures by zoo research staff on topics such as taxonomy.”

The zoo is one of Europe’s largest wildlife conservation parks, covering 600 acres in the Chilterns. It is home to nearly 3,000 animals, many of which are from species endangered in the wild.

“Although the majority of the animals are kept in enclosures, others, such as the peacocks and wallabies, roam freely around the park,” said Dr Crouch. “We packed in as much as activity we possibly could. The boys went round in small groups, each with a teacher, investigating lions, tigers, cheetahs and white rhinos, amongst many other creatures. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and highly informative day.”