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Five QE boys helped the Barnet Water Polo team to fifth place at the London Youth Games, held at the Crystal Palace Swimming Pool.

The boys from Years 8 and 9 took part in the all day event, competing in five matches of 12 minutes each. Dinos Caryotis, Freddie Flinn, Tom Segev, Rohun Valecha and Brian Kong all play for the Watford Water Polo Club, run by former Serbian International Nik Jovanovic.

“QE currently has 20 pupils attending the partnership and Nik has been impressed with their development which he described as fantastic,” said PE teacher Nick Bird. “Clearly the swimming pool [pictured] is a great asset to the School and it is very satisfying to see our boys progressing so well in the sport.”

A higher proportion of pupils from QE go to Oxford or Cambridge than from any other state school in the country, a leading education foundation has reported.

The Sutton Trust, in its recent report entitled Degrees of Success, also named QE as the country’s top state school for sending pupils to the UK’s 30 leading universities.

Nearly a quarter (22%) of QE boys who went on to higher education over the three years during which the research was carried out gained places at Oxford or Cambridge – a total of 88 boys. In the list of Top 100 Schools whose pupils progress to a ‘highly selective’ (top 30) university, QE was ranked 13th – the only state school in the top 37.

"I am delighted that the recent Sutton Trust research into top university placements ranks Queen Elizabeth’s so highly,” said Headmaster John Marincowitz.  “The School’s position as top state school and 13th in the country including Independent Schools, is best appreciated in the context of QE’s socio-economic profile. Ofsted ranks Queen Elizabeth’s as average for England in terms of social deprivation, yet the Sutton Trust found that 87% of the School’s boys go on to the most selective universities. This is a truly resounding confirmation of Queen Elizabeth’s contribution to social mobility."

The Sutton Trust was founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl with the aim of promoting social mobility through education.  It has funded a wide range of access projects in early years, school and university settings, with a focus on research, policy and innovative practical projects with a system-wide relevance.

A Year 11 pupil has had the rare opportunity to perform before the Nobel Peace Laureate and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.

Daniyar Ismailov was invited to perform in Limerick University – alongside his mother Dr Razia Sultanova, a Fellow of the University of Cambridge – where the Dalai Lama was giving a special address on The Power of Forgiveness.

Daniyar, who plays cello in the School’s Senior String Orchestra, plays both traditional Western classical music and also music from Eastern cultures. At Limerick he and his mother performed Tanovar, with Daniyar on doira – a frame drum – while his mother played the dutar – a long-necked plucked lute.

Following a performance at the British Embassy in Uzbekistan last year, Daniyar was invited to visit the Foreign & Commonwealth office in May where he had the opportunity to meet experts on Central Asia.

Year 12 pupils Ibrahim Faruqi, Shaun Kapur, Ian Leung and Ankit Mehta were awarded maximum marks in their Engineering Education Scheme project.

The boys’ brief, set by Lovell Partnerships, was to design a solution to the problems of fire safety in the construction of timber frame housing. Colin Clifton, regional director for the EES praised the team on their project and acknowledged he had only seen a perfect score once before in the 10 years he has directed the scheme.

The panel was so impressed with the team’s proposals that their report is to be sent to the Health & Safety Executive for the findings to be assessed.

The boys also achieved the prestigious CREST gold award for engineering excellence.

Artworks by two senior students have been selected for display alongside the work of professional artists at a summer exhibition.

Lower Sixth-Former Henry Yang, whose work is pictured top left, and Arjun Paliwal, of Year 11, have had their work chosen for artsdepot open 2011 at the artsdepot in North Finchley – the only professional arts venue in the borough of Barnet.

The selection was made by freelance art critic Estelle Lovatt (known for her work with BBC Radio 2’s flagship arts programme The Arts Show with Claudia Winkleman), by north London artist Anya Beaumont and by art history student Evgenia Bentchava.

The exhibition, which runs from Wednesday 20th July-Sunday 4th September 2011 primarily shows the work of professional artists but this year also encouraged participation by art students. It is curated by Alice Lobb.

Art teacher Stephen Buckeridge said: “Henry and Arjun are to be congratulated on their achievement, particularly since the selection of students’ work was limited to a couple of places. I’m pleased to say that both their pieces look at home in the venue.”

• A fractured post-modern vision of the landscape linked to a study of mirrors and reflections, also by Henry Yang, was one of only 40 pieces chosen for display in the Royal Academy’s A-level Summer Exhibition Online until 15th August. It may be viewed here (top row, far right).
• The Royal Academy also shortlisted Adrian Chua’s interpretation of the theme Mirrors, which may also be viewed online (4th row, middle). Adrian is also in the Sixth Form.
• Arjun Paliwal has been chosen for two weeks’ work experience this summer at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, the practice of world renowned architect Lord Rogers. Arjun and his classmates have been producing paintings on surrealism, exploring mixed media approaches taken by artists such as Jasper Johns as well as the varied graphic and fine art techniques of James Rosenquist, Richard Hamilton and Dexter Dalwood. Arjun’s piece, currently on show at the artsdepot, is shown to the right.
• Former pupil Tom Kikuchi (1999-2006), who took A-level Art at QE, has already had his art selected to show in a London gallery, following completion of his Fine Art degree at Chelsea College of Art and his final show in June.