Viewing archives for

Alumnus Greg White (2004-2011) has been awarded one of only eight Vice-Chancellor’s scholarships by the University of East Anglia. Greg, who last summer achieved A* in his Music Technology and Art & Design A-levels, A in English and B in Sociology, has taken up a place at UEA to read Creative Music Technology.

The Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship is worth £4,000 per annum for three years and is only awarded to students of “outstanding ability and potential”. The university only considers students who achieve at least three A grades at A-level whilst maintaining a high level of involvement in extra-curricular activities.

Greg paid tribute to the contribution his experiences at QE made to his success: “I am sure that the fantastic concert opportunities the Music department granted me around the country, and overseas, played a very large part in my selection for the scholarship.

Whilst at QE, Greg was a drummer and percussionist who also played bass guitar. He performed with the Concert Band, the Big Band and the Symphony Orchestra.

QE’s Director of Music Kieron Howe said “We place great importance on offering our students a wide range of musical opportunities and experiences at the School, whether that involves performing or working with our studio equipment. Greg was a talented and enthusiastic student and we are delighted with his achievement and wish him every success in his future.”
 

Two year 12 pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s School have been awarded prestigious Arkwright Scholarships.

Vignesh Gopalan (below) and Mehul Jesani (pictured left) secured the valuable engineering awards after a rigorous selection process in Year 11. Funded by a charity, the Arkwright Scholarship Trust, the scholarships are awarded to high-ability students to support them in their Sixth Form studies. The aim is to identify and nurture future leaders in engineering and related areas of design, encouraging them to pursue engineering at university and in their careers.

“We are very pleased that Vignesh and Mehul have gained Arkwright Scholarships,” said the School’s Head of Design, Simon Vincent. “The Arkwright Scholarship Trust encourages its scholars to act as ambassadors of flourishing Design and Technology departments in their schools, and the boys have joined a growing roll of QE pupils who have achieved that aim.”

The award is £500 per annum: £300 goes to the student and £200 to the student’s school’s Technology department to be spent on equipment or resources. The scholarship runs over two years and is reviewed at the end of the first year.

The selection process requires candidates to make a detailed application, to sit an aptitude paper and to be interviewed. During the interview, students present their GCSE project work to a panel of interviewers and discuss their commitment to design, engineering and technology.

The Arkwright Scholarships were established in 1991, when a group of committed headteachers decided to take action to increase the profile of Design & Technology. The charity was named after the 18th Century engineer, Sir Richard Arkwright (1732 – 1792), who perfected the water frame (a machine for spinning textiles that is powered by a water wheel) and is widely regarded as the father of the modern factory system. Last year the trust awarded 298 Sixth Form Scholarships nationally and introduced a new undergraduate Scholarship.
 

Ben Pugh (2002-2009) played a significant role in his team’s quarter-final victory in the BBC quiz show, University Challenge. Pembroke College, Cambridge stormed to a 145- point lead – a position from which fellow Cambridge team, Clare College, could not recover, despite a spirited fight back.

As in earlier rounds, Ben made his mark by answering a number of starter questions – covering a broad range of topics including politics, philosophy, the American constitution and geographical terminology.

After a brief lull in which Clare College edged closer, Pembroke picked up the pace to win 250 – 175. This second straight quarter-final victory saw them through to the semi-finals.

Ben, who is reading German and Russian, achieved top grades in his A-levels during his time as a student at QE.

A Year 11 pupil has been placed equal 15^th in the British Mathematical Olympiad. Gabriel Gendler is only the second QE boy ever to qualify for the second round of this competition.

He achieved his high position despite being younger than most of his fellow Olympiad competitors, many of whom were Sixth-Formers. Gabriel was invited to participate in the competition because of his outstanding previous performance in the Senior Maths Challenge. Both the Challenge and the British Mathematical Olympiad are run by the UK Mathematics Trust.

Along with five other QE boys – and around 1,300 strong mathematicians from around the country – Gabriel first sat the Round 1 Olympiad test. This consisted of six extended questions which had to be completed in three-and-a-half hours. Gabriel scored 50 out of a possible 60 marks and was awarded a silver medal, a book prize and entry to the second round.

Only 34 students nationally qualified for Round 2, in which participants had three-and-a-half hours to attempt four extended questions. Gabriel’s score of 12 points gained him joint 15^th position overall.

“We offer our warmest congratulations to Gabriel,” said Mathematics teacher Wendy Fung. “He performed very well in a competition which attracts the brightest and best of young mathematicians from across the UK each year. This experience will stand him in good stead for future competitions.”

Leading poet John Mole gave Year 7 boys plenty to ponder during a special visit to the School.

As part of the Year 7 enrichment programme, the Poetry Society’s Poet in Residence to the City of London was invited to QE to speak to pupils on writing poetry.  Mr Mole, who is also an accomplished jazz clarinettist and jazz reviewer, is renowned for poetry that seeks to make political themes accessible to young people.

The aim of the event, which was organised by English teacher Victoria Maule, was to inspire pupils to think more creatively and imaginatively about poetry.

Mr Mole has won several prizes for his work, including an Eric Gregory award, Signal Award and Cholmondeley Award. He began by introducing the pupils to a number of riddles, which they were asked to interpret using their creative thinking skills.

“Our Year 7 boys were undaunted by the challenge and came up with some inspiring and highly original interpretations that demonstrated their ability to think metaphorically and imaginatively,” said Ms Maule. “John went on to read a range of his longer poems, often enlightening us as to the planning and creative processes behind the finished product, and from where he found his sources of inspiration. The event was very popular and our boys clearly benefitted from the lively question-and-answer session which rounded off the visit.”

John Mole had to face a range of challenging questions, which he answered with a series of anecdotes that provoked much thought and laughter.

“Introducing our boys to this calibre of guest speaker is exactly the way to inspire them to engage more creatively and originally with the often neglected curriculum area of poetry,” concluded Ms Maule.  “John Mole’s immensely personal approach, and highly entertaining delivery, left our boys inspired, energised, and eager to go forward and create poetry of their own.”