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Old boy Aaron Tan stressed the importance of seizing opportunities as they become available when he spoke to QE’s Entrepreneurs’ Club.

His very varied career has taken him all over the world and into widely differing business sectors. Aaron (OE 1996–2003) recounted his experiences, which range from successfully running his family’s restaurant business to training people in the Far East in presentation skills.

Head of Economics Shamendra Uduwawala said: “His insight as an entrepreneur was extremely beneficial, especially as the talk was run more like a lesson in business, with the use of real-life examples. He spoke of how easy it is to start a business and gave the basics on how to do this and then build upon it. It was very inspiring for the boys.”

After leaving QE in 2003, Aaron went to university in Manchester, where he studied Business with Marketing Specialism.  He then worked briefly in a road reinstatement company, where in his first three months he negotiated the payment of a £120k debt that was owed to the company.

He went on to spend six years with a multinational aerospace and defence company, before leaving to take over the family restaurant due to his mother getting ill. He managed to make a success of this family business.

Since then, Aaron has opened a photography studio and become a part-time lecturer at the University of Greenwich, as well as a presentation skills trainer: he has helped people in the UK, Vietnam and Malaysia. In addition, he is currently collaborating with others on several ventures, ranging from an educational ‘app’ aimed at GCSE students to an image consulting business which he will be starting soon.

The topics covered included valid reasons for starting a business and the attributes an entrepreneur needs to achieve success. “Stay humble and do not just chase money because that alone won’t help you be successful,” Aaron advised the boys.

He borrowed freely from a number of sources of business wisdom and included in his presentation a quotation from Sir Richard Branson, perhaps the country’s most famous entrepreneur: “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!”

Mr Uduwawala said: “I think Aaron has lived by that – he has taken on many opportunities and those risks that he has been willing to take have made him very successful.”

QE’s final-year A-level Art students took a trip to the Barbican to see the UK’s first large exhibition of the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat.

A pioneering prodigy of the 1980s downtown New York art scene, Basquiat worked with leading figures from the city, including Andy Warhol, the rock band Blondie and fellow artist Keith Haring.

Entitled Boom for Real, the Barbican show is an aggregation of pivotal pieces that chronicle the creative exploits of the young artist as he transitioned from teenage provocateur to international forerunner.

Art teacher Jillian McAteer said: “We were led through the exhibition by an informative tour guide who elaborated upon the wider connections of the work. We were shown how poetic graffiti, candid self-portraits, collaged postcards and playful bebop alluded to experiences of racism, consumerism, art history and fantasy.

“Basquiat’s practice is relevant to the current A-level class in a number of ways.  Some students are interested in his use of media, colour or text, while others are concerned with the aesthetic, social or personal questions he raised.

“The class are currently coming to the end of a significant body of research and the outcomes are both diverse and intriguing.” This year’s A-level work has several similarities with Basquiat, demonstrating the potential breadth and depth of artistic practice by encompassing diverse activities such as personal reflection and political debate, she explained.

Three sixth-formers have won places in the second round of the élite British Mathematical Olympiad.

They were among a total of 11 QE boys from Years 12 and 13 who had qualified to sit the first round of the Olympiad, which is one of the follow-on rounds of the UK Mathematics Trust’s Senior Maths Challenge. This compares with eight boys reaching round 1 of the Olympiad last year and three in 2015.

The round 2 qualifiers – Aneesh Chopada, of Year 13; Niam Vaishnav, of Year 12, and Kiran Aberdeen, of Year 12 – were all awarded certificates of distinction and bronze medals, having scored 49 marks out of a possible 60, 48/60 and 47/60 respectively.

Kiran said: “I really enjoyed the question about triangle numbers as it made me think ‘outside the box’,” while Niam added: “I enjoy the challenge of these problem-solving questions because they’re different from what we learn in class.”

Yuri Evdokimov, of Year 13, and Nico Puthu Parackat Biosca, of Year 12, also received certificates of distinction, scoring 37/60 each. The remaining six pupils all received a certificate of qualification.

A further 25 sixth-formers took part in the Senior Maths Challenge’s other follow-on round, the Senior Kangaroo (up from ten in 2016). The high scorers were: Karnan Sembian, of Year 13, (50 marks out of a possible 100); Aschwin Jegatheeswaran, of Year 13, (45); Ibrahim Al-Hariri, of Year 12, (40); Akshat Sharma, of Year 12, (40), and Oliver Robinson, of Year 13 (40). They were each awarded a merit certificate for achieving scores of 40 or more, placing them in the top 25% nationally. The remaining 20 boys received certificates of qualification.

Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung said: “Warmest congratulations to all our students and best wishes to Aneesh, Kiran and Niam for the next round.”

Round 1 of the Olympiad consisted of six long, extended questions to be completed in three-and-a-half hours.  Round 2, due to take place on Thursday 25th January, will involve four long, extended questions to be completed within the same timeframe. Success in this round will result in an invitation to participate in training for the International Mathematical Olympiad.

The Senior Kangaroo is a one-hour paper. All the questions require three-digit answers (using leading zeros where necessary) entered on to a machine-readable sheet similar to those used for the Senior Challenge. It is the first competition of its kind to be organised by the UKMT – that is, a challenge that is marked by machine but is not multiple-choice.

The three sixth-formers entered by QE in this year’s British Physics Olympiad all won awards – and one has been invited to take part in a related competition.

Aneesh Chopada took gold in the BPhO – and has been asked to sit the Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad this week – while Abhishek Balkrishna won silver and Milan Hirji received the bronze I award. All are in Year 13.

Physics teacher Georgina Garfield said: “Our three competitors are to be congratulated: these are excellent results achieved in a prestigious competition marked at a very high level.”

More than 1,740 pupils from across the country entered the Olympiad this year. Gold awards went to the top 9.2% of entrants (who will also receive book prizes), with silver to the next 12.1%, bronze I to the next 13.2% and bronze II to the next 13.5%. The remaining entrants received commendations.

BPhO administrative secretary Lena Shams said: “The paper was designed to stretch and challenge the top young physicists in the country in a national competition.”

Ramesh Paripooranananthan is forging a successful career as a London architect – interspersed with globe-trotting trips to attend the weddings of Old Elizabethans in the Far East!

Ramesh, who uses the surname Pari professionally, works with BB Partnership – a London practice specialising in mid to high-end residential projects. He was recently lead project architect on a £250m-plus mixed-use development in Brent, the largest in the firm’s 25-year history.

He is currently overseeing the construction of two largely subterranean houses in the capital. It is a solution that is being used increasingly in London, especially where space is at a particular premium. The design includes lightwells and courtyards cut into the ground to let light pass down into the spaces underground.

The project is, however, not without its challenges, as Ramesh explained: “This is a much more expensive method of construction; we only investigate this when we have situations where planners will not let us build up. Both houses have already made the architectural press due to the controversy over the application, and I am sure they will also make it again once they are completed.

He adds: “Digging into the ground in central London is always a tricky business as you never know what you will find. I worked on a job a couple of years ago where we found a World War II bunker underneath the offices we were refurbishing!”

Ramesh (OE 1997–2004), who was in Underne House, studied at Central St Martins and then at Nottingham University, where he qualified as a Chartered Architect after eight years’ working and studying. He credits QE for the resilience and perseverance necessary for that period.

He previously featured in Alumni News in 2015 when 12 OEs attended his wedding to Millie, whom he had met at Nottingham. (“There are still just the two of us, but starting a family in the near future is on the agenda, he says. “In the meantime, my hobbies – photography and running – and my nephews – four boys – keep me very busy!”)

Recently, it has been Ramesh’s turn to return the compliment: in November, he travelled with several old boys to Hong Kong for the wedding of his QE contemporary, Dennis Yiu, and then journeyed on to Thailand for the nuptials of Bimal Sualy, from the year below. Both grooms were in Stapylton. “I spoke to Bimal for the first time when we both attended the University of Nottingham and now I am one of his groomsmen – small world!” says Ramesh.

Ramesh is pictured above on the far left with other old boys from his year, left-right, as follows: Bhavin Shah (Stapylton); Paraag Gudka (Pearce); the groom, Dennis; Johan Byran (Stapylton); Kunal Shah (Stapylton); Sandeep Dasgupta (Stapylton) and Rahul Patel (Stapylton).

The second group photo shows, left-right, back row: Warren Balakrishnan (Underne); Rachita Lokubalasuriya (Leicester); Chivaar Gami (Leicester) and Ramesh. In the front row are: Ashish Gohil (Leicester); the groom, Bimal, and Dhanish Mahmood (Leicester). All except Ramesh are from the class of 2005.

Ramesh was among the alumni taking part in this year’s Careers Convention for Year 11 boys and their parents. “I try and give back to the School however I can.”

During the autumn, QE pupils came to his office for mock university interviews. “I was very proud last year to see that the three boys I worked with went on to study architecture at brilliant universities. I think it is fantastic the School is building this network for the students, as this wasn’t in place when I was there. This will only help the student body.”