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QE’s Year 10 geographers worked hard during two field trips to the coast – but the lucky ones still found time to enjoy an ice cream!

Sixty-three students headed for Swanage in Dorset on each of the trips, accompanied by six members of staff.

They undertook field work and collected data for the completion of geography coursework, with the aim of investigating the urban characteristics of a coastal town. Coursework accounts for 25% of the GCSE grade. The field work included pedestrian counts, traffic counts, land use surveys, environmental quality surveys and questionnaires.

Head of Geography Anne Flook said: “All the boys and staff worked very hard and collected some really thorough data. There was beautiful weather for group 1, who enjoyed the sunshine and some ice cream. For group 2, it was cold and cloudy, which meant they had to swap the ice creams for jumpers! However, I think all the boys thoroughly enjoyed their trips.”

This year’s Geography tour for Lower School boys went to Sicily. In a packed programme, the boys saw Mount Etna, went paddling in the Alcantara River after descending the gorge and climbed on Vulcano, a volcanic island 16 miles north of Sicily.

“At Mount Etna we were able to see the lava flow that had happened the previous week,” said Geography teacher and Director of Assessment Neil Enright. “Some of the more intrepid QE boys were really quite keen to toast their paninis in the fumaroles!”

The trip also provided the boys with an opportunity to have fun on the beach – burying each other in sand – as well as the chance to pick up some Italian. “I think most of them can now quite confidently order ice cream,” added Mr Enright.

To view these photographs, click on one of the thumbnails to start a slideshow.

Year 7 QE boys swept the board in a competition about World Citizenship. The competition was run by the Baha’i community and was open to all the Barnet schools.

Pupils were invited to submit an essay, poem or poster drawing on their knowledge of what it means to be a good citizen. Niral Malde took first prize in the poster category; James Casey was first in the poem category, while Niraj Shah was adjudged to have produced the best essay. The QE boys won a cup for the School for best overall quality.

“The boys produced excellent work, which covered the causes of anti-social behaviour and ways in which it could be prevented,” said teacher Sarah Gibbons, of the Religion & Society Department. “All the competitors demonstrated their understanding of the need for unity to resolve world problems such as poverty, racism and the preservation of the environment. Their work and achievement was excellent and impressive.”

Sibelius have launched their Student Composer of the Year competition with three varied categories for entries: music for film, contemporary classical and jazz.

There are also two age categories: 10 – 16 and 17 – 18. Mr Howe, Director of Music, would love to see a number of entries from our talented composers throughout the School on this national stage. Further information and links to register for the competition can be seen at Sibelius’ website.

Prizes include master-classes with the judges who are some of the music world’s biggest names including composers, conductors, ensembles and film directors, plus a whole load of great hardware and software for music-making .

Envisage, one of QE’s 2008 Young Enterprise teams, reached the Pan London Finals of the competition and took the prize for the best presentation.

Led by Link teacher Vickash Seeburrun, Envisage developed the Bon Appetit Discount Card – a restaurant card that was adopted by some of London’s top eating places.

Both Envisage and the other QE team, QuEst, reached the North London round of Young Enterprise after success at the initial area round. At the North London round, the teams had to set up a display stand and deliver a presentation in front of eight other competing companies, five judges and parents. “Both companies delivered their presentations in a very professional and sophisticated manner,” said Mr Seeburrun.

QuEst, which developed an e-learning game called Destination Zero designed to make employees more environmentally aware at home and in the workplace, won the award for best display stand. Envisage took awards both for the best presentation and as the best company overall, which meant it went forward to the Pan London Finals as the sole North London school.

Held at the Credit Suisse building, Canary Wharf, the Pan London Finals featured inspirational presentations from Levi Roots, of Dragon’s Den fame, and from Dan McGuire, current Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Managing Director of Broadbean Technology.

The following Y10 boys represented the Envisage team at the Pan London Final: Jed Wilsher, Sergio Ronchetti-Carrete, Nir Shah, Kamran Tajbakhsh and Jonathan Flowers.