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A team of Sixth-Formers from QE reached the semi-final of a London schools quiz competition, hosted by the American School in St John’s Wood. ‘Quiz bowls’, as quiz competitions are known in America, are very popular in high schools and colleges there.

It is only the second time that QE have entered a team in the annual Quiz Bowl, and the team of Ryan Murphy, Rishikesh Chakraborty and Anantha Anilkumar improved significantly on last year’s performance by reaching the semi-final. Despite putting up an excellent fight, they lost by a narrow margin to The Latymer School.

Captain Ryan Murphy, who is a keen quizzer, attributed his team’s success to the practice they had put in beforehand and their familiarity with the format.

Year 13 student Henry Philips has been awarded a year-long paid work experience placement with the international energy and petrochemical company, Shell.

Henry had to complete a rigorous and competitive process to win the paid placement. After registering with The Year In Industry (YINI), part of the Engineering Development Trust, his CV was forwarded to Shell who invited him and eight others for interview at their Chester Technology Centre.

“At the interview, I was asked about a varied set of topics, from general chemistry to fuel science, and ending up with the rights and responsibilities of a large company when searching for oil. The main advantage I had was that I had carried out an immense amount of research, and my chemistry knowledge on the subjects I was asked about was sound. The next I heard was when YINI called me telling me I'd been offered the placement,” said Henry.

His role will involve laboratory work – including developing new fuel additives – as well as assisting in applying for patents and data collation and analysis.

“Henry has done exceptionally well to win this placement with Shell,” said Assistant Head David Ryan. “We are delighted to see many of our students recruited by leading companies for a gap year placement. Indeed in the past few years we have seen leavers from Queen Elizabeth’s succeed in rigorous selection processes for organisations such as The Bank of England, PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Rothschild Group. Henry’s success shows just what is possible with ambition and hard industry.”

Henry is studying Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Further Mathematics at A-level.

As he prepares for the 2012 outdoor athletics season, Year 8 pupil Nabil Haque is looking to build on his successes of 2011.

During last season Nabil recorded a number of strong performances in both track and field events. These culminated in him representing Middlesex at the National Schools’ Athletics Championships, where he won the shot put with a throw of 11.2m. He was a member of the Middlesex 4 x 100m relay team, which won the event in a UK record time for their age group of 49.48s. And he competed for Shaftesbury Harriers at a national club meeting, winning the 200m in 24.5s and the shot put with 11.5m.

Nabil also received a Jack Petchey Award for his athletics achievement, which was presented to him at Arts Depot in Finchley.

The Jack Petchey Foundation has invested millions of pounds each year in more than 2,000 schools across London and Essex. The organisation offers awards to young people aged 11-25 to recognise their achievements in a range of activities, from athletics to music. Nabil will now choose how to spend the £200 cash award from the foundation, which can be spent on additional equipment for a school or club, but not core administration costs.

Alumnus Sunil Tailor (1999-2006) has been nominated for the Eton Fives Player of the Year award, following an outstanding season.

Sunil, who first played the sport at QE, became the first old boy ever to reach the quarter-finals of the sport’s national senior championships, the Kinnaird Cup with Old Millhillian Joe Coakley.

Sunil’s nomination for the prestigious award is attributed partly to his success at the nationals, and also to the rise of the Old Millhillian Fives club in the last two or three years. Sunil is described as a key player at the club, which has quickly established itself with teams in both the 1^st and 2^nd divisions.

The winner of the award will be chosen by Eton Fives Association (EFA) members through an online ballot and will be announced at the EFA’s annual dinner in May. Members of the EFA can vote at www.fivesonline.net.

“I was delighted to learn that I had been nominated; it’s a very satisfying end to the season,” said Sunil. “I’m particularly to encourage people to become involved in the sport and hope, one day, that it might be possible to establish a Fives club for QE alumni.”

Sunil is training to be a chartered accountant and is a part-qualified ACA trainee with accountancy firm MHA MacIntyre Hudson LLP. He is due to sit his advanced stage examinations in July 2012.

The first Fives courts at Queen Elizabeth’s School opened at the old Wood Street premises in 1880, following a £10 grant from the Governors and a special fund-raising concert. The sport languished for some years after the move to Queen’s Road in 1932 and it was not until the post-war rebuilding programme in 1951-52 that plans for a new court were considered. By 1954, the court was complete and the following year the School was affiliated to the Eton Fives Association and entered the Public Schools Championships.

A Year 11 pupil has taken first prize in a prestigious national science essay competition. Daniel Fernando was placed first in his section of the Royal Society of Science Union’s Science Challenge 2012 competition. Year 12 student, Movin Abeywickrema, also reached the final.

Both boys attended a special presentation at the House of Lords, where they met Lord (Robert) Winston (pictured with Daniel), who had made the final adjudication and who presented the prizes.

“The boys did exceptionally well, in what is a highly regarded and rigorous competition,” said Headmaster Neil Enright. “We are very proud of their achievement, which displays their excellence in both science and essay-writing.”

The competition, which attracted hundreds of entrants from across the UK, was split into two categories – one for undergraduates and one for schools. Each category offered four essay prizes on different topics, with an overall winner chosen from the four.

The four essay topics were

• Ethical issues in science today
• The role of science journalism in the 21^st Century
• Providing sustainable food, energy and water
• How politicians should make best use of science

The requirements for the essays were particularly stringent. The entrants had to write 800 words in the style of a newspaper article or feature, rather than as a scientific paper. It also had to be written in a style that was accessible to the general public, not just a scientific audience.

Daniel’s winning essay was on What scientific breakthrough should we focus on to provide sustainable food, energy and water for nine billion people on a planet of apparently finite natural resources, and why? He received £250 and an RCSU Schools' Science Challenge 2012 Winners' Trophy.

Movin (pictured on the right) wrote on the five main ethical issues that face modern science and how they should be tackled.

At the final, the 24 finalists were given a tour of the House of Lords, followed by a reception in the Attlee Room, where they met: Lord Winston and the rest of the judging panel; Mark Henderson, Science Editor of The Times; Pallab Ghosh, Science Correspondent for the BBC and Peter Lacy, Managing Director, Sustainability Services – Europe, Middle East, Africa & Latin America, for competition sponsor Accenture.