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Year 13 student Ramsey Kobeissi has accepted the offer of a place at Harvard on its Liberal Arts programme – the first QE boy to win a place at the prestigious American University.

Ramsey, who was also offered a place at Pembroke College, Cambridge, was attracted to the broad spread of the American programme in the first year and the opportunity to specialise at a later stage. In the offer letter, the Dean of Admissions, William Fitzsimmons said: “Your accomplishments are impressive…we think you would flourish at Harvard and we are eager for you to make it your college choice.”

A Young Enterprise scheme involving Year 10 QE students has found an innovative way to help busy people stay fit.

The company, Health4All, has launched a discount card which entitles users to a 10% discount on day membership at selected health clubs. A number of Barnet gyms have already signed up and talks are being held with the GLL group to offer discounts in the 90 more health clubs it operates around Greater London.

The project has been endorsed by Pradnya Pisal, a Consultant Gynaeologist at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals, who said: "The discount card is great for anyone who is reluctant to sign up to a monthly or annual membership fee for a particular gym. I think it will suit anyone who wants to use a variety of gyms and save money."

QE parents are able to buy the discount card for £5. It was also displayed recently at the Young Enterprise London trade fair at Brent Cross Shopping Centre. More information can be found at http://www.health4all.co.nr/

Five Elizabethans have received their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards in two ceremonies at St James’s Palace.

Akhil Amlani, Imran Khan, Christopher Brent, Yathushan Sivarajah and Hiten Morar were all presented with the prestigious award. To achieve it, the five worked through all five sections of the D of E Gold programme: Volunteering, Physical, Skills, Expedition and a Residential Section – a demanding process which takes at least 18 months.

For his residential project, Akhil Amlani, who was London’s Climate Change Champion 2008/9, took an eco-trip to the Netherlands to witness the impacts of climate change on a low-lying country and to see first-hand the the adaptation techniques used there. He then built an eco-garden on his return. Imran Khan took a Headstart Course in Engineering at Cambridge University, attending lectures and seminars to experience life as an undergraduate. Both spent time volunteering in a local primary school and a borough library, as well as learning and developing a new skill and completing physical recreation work.

Ninety boys at QE are currently working towards their Gold Award, many of whom have completed three of the five sections. The most recent group to join the Gold programme comprises 46 Year 12 boys, six of whom recently completed their residential stage at Trewern Outdoor Education Centre in Wales, where they spent four days white-water kayaking. Twenty-five boys are expected to take part in a five-day, 80km Gold walking expedition this summer in Snowdonia, preceded by a practice expedition in the Peak District. A further group have organised their own cycling expedition.

Teacher Christina Wu, who is in charge of QE’s Duke of Edinburgh programme, has introduced the Bronze Award at the School for the first time. Thirty Year 10 boys are working towards the award through QE, with an additional four external boys participating in the QE expedition. The practice expedition took place in Roydon, Essex, while the assessed expedition is over the May bank holiday, also in Essex. The boys will have to cover 30km over a weekend. They must map their own routes and then follow them by using a compass and finding grid references. They will be putting up their own tents and will cook for themselves using Trangia stoves. They will also have to complete a project while they are on expedition.

Year 13 pupil Makoto Takahashi has enjoyed a range of artistic opportunities under the Royal Academy Attract Programme.

In addition to guided tours of the Premiums and Van Gogh exhibitions and a life-drawing class led by a Royal Academician, he has been selected to take part in the Louis Vuitton Project for young artists. Joe Huber and Shyam Dattani, in Year 8, and
Aaron Tang and Matthew Rodin, of Year 10, were finalists in the Google 4 Doodle Competition, which attracted 60,000 entries.

The quality of entries to this year’s Geography through the window poster competition was outstanding, according to Geography teacher Geraldine Booth.

All the Year 7 students took part, producing an annotated poster of a place that they knew well. Each student had to find a photograph or image of a location and then describe it using the Geography Compass Rose tool (Natural, Economic, Social and Who Decides). The competition was won by Prahlad Patel, whose annotations contained detailed place-specific information.