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QE debaters have reached the European Youth Parliament national finals after putting in an excellent performance at the South East regional round.

Eight Year 12 boys headed to the European Commission’s London building in Smith Square for the EYP South East forum, where they and teams from two independent schools – St Paul’s and Guildford High – were chosen to go through to the national event later in the year.

Congratulating the team on its success, Academic Enrichment Tutor Helen Davies said the jury had given them very positive feedback: “The boys worked exceptionally well as a group, having done their research well; they made interesting points, often bringing new lines of argument into the debate.”

The QE sixth-formers defended a Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE) resolution which proposed steps towards greater integration and co-operation between the armed forces of European Union countries.

The 40-minute debate began with an opening speech from Akshat Sharma in which he stressed that, in view of the aggression it faces from countries including Russia and North Korea, the EU needs both to increase its spending on defence and to improve the level of co-operation between EU countries, so that the increased funding is spent effectively.

His stance was duly opposed by a speaker from Haberdashers’ Aske’s Girls’ School, to which Mipham Samten then responded. After further debate, Mipham gave a summation of the QE team’s arguments: “Mipham put a great deal of work into the team’s preparation and gave a leading contribution,” Miss Davies said.

The subsequent vote on the resolution was 63 against, and 14 for; Miss Davies pointed out that, in fact, no resolutions were passed throughout the whole day.

After the debates, the jury provided general feedback to all the teams, praising them for their enthusiastic participation and their research.

As well as Akshat and Mipham, the team comprised: Ibrahim Al-Hariri; Parth Gosalia; Shivam Masrani; Laurie Mathias; Anake Singh and Mudit Tulsianey.

QE pupils achieved another record-breaking performance in this year’s UK Intermediate Maths Challenge – with every boy entered winning a certificate.

A total of 310 boys from Years 9 to 11 took park in the competition. Of these, 175, were awarded gold certificates (up from 143 in 2017 and 124 in 2016). A further 100 were awarded silver and the remaining 35 received bronze awards. Nationally, it is the top 40% of competitors who receive certificates: gold, silver and bronze are awarded in the ratio 1:2:3.

Twenty-seven boys (19 last year) have qualified for the Intermediate Olympiad and a further 140 (133 in 2017) for the other follow-on round, the Intermediate Kangaroo. James Tan from Year 10 was awarded the Best in School with his score of 130 out of 135.

Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung said: “We are delighted with how well the boys have done and extremely pleased with the continued increase in the proportion of boys reaching the follow-on rounds. As the new GCSE has a strong focus on problem-solving, success in the Challenge will stand the boys in good stead for the new-style exams.”

Around 500 of the highest scorers in each school year nationwide are invited to take part in the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad papers. A further 5,500 pupils are invited to sit either the grey or pink European Kangaroo papers. These are one-hour papers with 25 multiple choice questions, taken by pupils from over 30 countries worldwide.

One of the boys who has qualified for the Intermediate Olympiad is Shimaq-Ahamed Sakeel Mohamed from Year 9, who said: “I’m really pleased with my result and I am looking forward to trying the Olympiad questions.”

A leading figure in the world of legal academia inspired boys interested in pursuing a career in the Law when he returned to the School to give a talk to senior pupils. Old Elizabethan Ishan Kolhatkar (1989-1996) is Deputy Dean of Education Services at BPP, a top private university dedicated to Law, business and other professions.

After studying Law himself at BPP following a degree in Computer Science at Queen Mary, University of London, Mr Kolhatkar’s career began at the Bar, before he returned to academia to the Bar Professional Teaching Course (BPTC). In addition to writing content and validation documents for a course to help BPTC students bridge the gap between the BPTC and the pupillage, he teaches advocacy part-time and takes on pro-bono work.

He spoke to the boys of the importance of asking questions, of mastering detail and of seeing the “bigger picture”. “Asking questions is the best way of learning,” he said. “Be the ‘brave one’ and ask questions in a learning environment. You will gain from it and so will the room, but you’ll also be the one directing where the discussion goes.”

He explained that being able to see the bigger picture is what sets the best apart. “You might be an expert in a narrow part of the law, but you need to be able to understand how things fit together, and understand the overall process.”

He told the boys that he himself had been attracted to Law because he loved talking and he advised them to practice the art: “Seek out people with different opinions; be willing to debate in the knowledge that they might not change their minds. Keep focussed on the issues – don’t just resort to shouting.”

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Ishan was an inspiring and engaging guest. The boys undoubtedly gain from the opportunity to hear from leaders in their fields. He touched on many of the themes germane to our boys: inquisitiveness and curiosity, intelligent debate, the development of a rounded personality and a desire to contribute to the wider community.”

In addition to his teaching role, Mr Kolhatkar is an External Examiner in advanced criminal litigation for The Bar Standards Board. This work takes in a number of BPTC providers, including City Law School, Cardiff University and Manchester Metropolitan University. His role is to ensure that assessments are properly set and marked in accordance with the intended learning outcomes of the module and the BPTC as a whole. He also speaks regularly at Middle Temple students’ events, on topics such as examination technique on the BPTC. (Middle Court is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers.) In his spare time, Mr Kolhatkar writes a blog for aspiring lawyers.

Year 13 pupil Dhruv Kanabar attended the talk and said: “Mr Kolhatkar provided a detailed insight into becoming a successful and effective advocate. It was particularly useful to hear his views on looking at the Law in the context of a bigger picture and how different elements are inherently linked.”

QE boys are aiming to repeat previous successes in a competition run by the Baha’i Faith Community in Barnet. The competition looks at how people can work together to solve the world’s problems, such as environmental crises, poverty and racism.

The focus of this year’s contest is on tackling anti-social behaviour – a topic with links to both Citizenship and R&S. Entries may be the form of a poster, an essay or a poem. The prizes will be presented by the Mayor of Barnet.

The School’s R&S department has done well in this competition in the past, with pupils having taken first, second and third places in individual and group categories of the competition over the past two years.

This year’s competition is sponsored by Department for Communities and Local Government. It is open to everyone in Years 7-9, with all Year 7 boys composing potential entries as R&S homework. Three winners will be selected from each R&S class and entered in the competition.

Boys are encouraged to enter and should see teacher Sarah Gibbons for further details.

QE’s innovative Thursday lunchtime Maths Club for Years 7 and 8 gives keen young mathematicians the opportunity to tackle puzzles set by Sixth-Formers, including proving that 2=1! Prizes are on offer.

Also on Thursday lunchtime is Maths Clinic. Space is currently available at the clinic, which provides individual help and attention for any pupil finding it hard to understand a recent topic. “Those who attend find that it is time well spent and much progress is made,” said teacher Christopher Murray.