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Pupils of all ages served up a Christmas musical feast, ending the year with a virtual concert of festive favourites. 

Building on the success of the November concert, the 2020 Christmas concert again featured high-quality audio recordings of socially distanced ensembles, and this time there was video, too. 

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I am delighted that even amid the current restrictions, we were able to give our musicians the opportunity to play together in ensembles and to perform for a concert. I pay tribute to them for the high standards they achieved, and I trust that the recordings will lift the spirits of the entire Elizabethan community at this difficult time. 

“I congratulate our Music department staff, who have worked hard to master both the extensive logistical considerations of bringing ensembles together in a Covid-safe manner and the technology that has made all this possible.”  

During the last week of term, singers and instrumentalists were recorded performing carols and other traditional and contemporary Christmas music in an empty Chipping Barnet Parish Church and in the School’s Shearly Hall.  

Both venues were chosen because they were large enough to allow full social distancing. To make the experience as close to a live concert as possible, boys were asked to turn out in ‘concert dress’, where available – white shirts, instead of the normal light blue, and Music ties.  

Some of the recordings by the senior musicians in the church were played to Year 7 at the School in an end-of-term Carol Service which also included readings and some live carol-singing. Later, these recordings, together with those from the Shearly Hall, were uploaded to YouTube as separate videos, each with its own opening and closing titles and credits. These eight Christmas Concert videos are now available on the QE Music Department YouTube Channel.  

The programme is:  

School Choir Trebles and Altos: Once in Royal David’s City – Gauntlett arr. Willcocks 

School Choir Tenors and Basses: O Come All Ye Faithful – J F Wade arr. Willcocks 

Junior Wind: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Martin and Blane arr. Edmondson  

Junior Strings: Silent Night – traditional arr. Morgan 

Senior Orchestra: Trepak – Tchaikovsky arr. Story; Tidings of Comfort and Joy – traditional arr. Story; Jingle Bells Forever – Pierpont and Sousa 

Barbershop Quartet: We wish you a Merry Christmas – arr. Julien Neel 

Year 13 Choir I: The First Nowell – W Sandy’s Christmas Carols 1933 arr. Dan Forrest 

Year 13 Choir II: Personent Hodie – arr. Holst. 

Siddhant Kansal takes up the reins from today as QE’s 2021 School Captain, supported by a twelve-strong Senior Prefect Team and more than 100 additional officials and prefects.

Siddhant will be working closely with the new Senior Vice-Captains, Sultan Khokhar and Paul Ofordu.

The transition from the 2020 team started towards the end of last term, when Headmaster Neil Enright announced the 2021 appointments in a special meeting, during which he handed ties to the Senior Prefect Team (pictured top), consisting of Siddhant, Paul, Sultan and ten new Vice-Captains. As part of the transition arrangements, the whole team were given training last month, with an additional training session also held specifically for the vice-captains.

Congratulating them, Mr Enright said: “Siddhant is an excellent choice, with leadership skills that are readily apparent, combined with good humour, charisma, thoughtfulness and the ability to inspire. I am sure he will discharge his duties with great distinction. I am confident, too, that Sultan and Paul will provide Siddhant with great support. Sultan has a reputation for excellence in all he does, while Paul has been outstanding as a peer mentor, bringing warmth and reflectiveness to the role.

“I also thank our outgoing School Captain, Ivin Jose, and his team for their hard work and impressive leadership during the most unusual of years.”

Head of Year 12 Simon Walker said that the Senior Prefect Team personify the very best of the School community. “These 13 students have, over the course of their time at Queen Elizabeth’s, earned the respect of peers and staff alike through the way that they apply themselves to all that they do and the way they conduct themselves in doing it.  All have shown consistent dedication to excellence in their studies, commitment to a wide range of in-school activities, and courtesy, integrity, responsibility and public-spiritedness in their conduct.

“The range of exceptional qualities within this diverse team is particularly striking. There are students: who have shown dynamic and imaginative leadership of a variety of in-school clubs and activities; who have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities on the sports field, or within their form groups; who have enriched their peers’ experiences of School through their superlative contributions to peer-mentoring or music; and who have stood out in the way that they have embodied the School’s values in the way they treat other pupils – those who have always shown kindness, sensitivity, patience and generosity of spirit towards others. In their different ways, all of them have the qualities to set the tone for and to lead the student body as a whole to the very highest national, indeed international, standards.”

And Mr Walker added his own words of praise for the new School Captain and his vice-captains. “Siddhant brings a fantastic range of qualities to the role. He applies himself with enthusiasm, energy and positivity to all he does.” Extolling Siddhant’s “first-rate skills of leadership”, Mr Walker said that his “clarity and engaging and open manner make him an exceptional communicator with natural presence. He is also a reflective thinker who is highly adept at collaborating with others – he makes others feel that they and their contributions are important and valued. He will be able to inspire the whole prefect team, and his graciousness, supportiveness of others and dedication to all he does will set a hugely valuable example, both for the prefect team and within the student body.

“What is impressive about Sultan, above all, is how he sustains the same exceptional level of care and attention to detail across such a wide range of activities. This mentality of excellence is reflected not only in his many involvements but, importantly, also in the way he always conducts himself around the School. He has a flair for organisation and strategy that will be invaluable in coordinating the activities of the prefect team, especially at a time when swift, smooth and calm implementation of procedures can be vital in ensuring the safety of everyone within the School community.

“Alongside him, Paul is a paragon of the School’s values: his purposeful and self-disciplined work ethic is matched by his commitment to and distinction in many areas of school life.” Paul’s work as a peer mentor had “illustrated his passion for supporting other pupils in order to enrich their experience of School and enable them to flourish”, he was bringing great skill to his new role and his “admirable character” encompassed “sensitivity, care for others, patience and the ability to listen empathetically”, Mr Walker said.

The vice-captains are allocated responsibilities in specific fields, such as community & charity, form involvement and equality, diversity & inclusion.

The vice-captains are: Raphael Herberg, Saalif Jilani, Aadarsh Khimasia, Manav Khindri, Manomay Lala-Raykar, Alexandre Lee, Mark Markov, Miguel Nieves, Shivas Patel and Shay Raja.

For the six Houses, the House Captains and Deputy House Captains are as follows, with captains listed first:

• Broughton: Prajish Kannan & Dillan Shah
• Harrisons’: Romansh Gupta & Yuvraj Manral
• Leicester: Ethan Solanki & Devarya Munshi
• Pearce: Nirmay Jadhav & Beuran Kannan
• Stapylton: Thilakshan Thayalan & Jay Vasireddy
• Underne: Christan Emmanuel & Dan Suciu.

In addition, there are 92 other prefects in 2021.

Coronavirus restrictions may have forced major changes to QE’s normal Christmas arrangements, but there was festive spirit aplenty in the final week of the Autumn Term.

Boys and staff enjoyed tucking into a Christmas lunch with all the trimmings. Year 7 boys enjoyed an adapted version of the carol service, held this year at the School, instead of at the parish church.

And QE’s commitment to service and the community was not forgotten: the normal Christmas collections for charity went ahead, with parents, boys and staff giving generously to support local people in need.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations and thanks go to everyone who has worked hard to ensure that, Covid-19 notwithstanding, the final week of term was as festive as ever. I wish everyone in our Elizabethan community a restful Christmas holiday at the end of this difficult year, and a healthy and happy 2021.”

In normal years, QE’s Service of Lessons and Carols takes place in St John the Baptist Church in Barnet, with a congregation including staff and all the Year 7 boys, as well as musicians and readers drawn from other year groups.

That was not possible this year, so QE brought the church to the School instead! Last week, a small group of senior musicians went to St John’s to pre-record two anthems.

These were then played between the carols, readings and antiphon performed live in this week’s Carol Service for the Year 7 year-group bubble.

“This gave our Year 13 boys a chance to sing at St John’s, and our Year 7s got to see what the church is like – on video at least,” the Headmaster said. “Hearing the carols ringing out from the Main School Hall lent a wonderfully festive atmosphere to the School, and our Year 7s savoured the opportunity to become part of this well-loved QE tradition.”

Readers included senior staff and 2020 School Captain Ivin Jose, with the Headmaster as usual giving the final Scripture reading, the famous prologue to John’s gospel.

The video segments featured the Year 13 Choir singing The First Nowell and Holst’s arrangement of the carol, Personent Hodie, from the Piae Cantiones collection of mediaeval songs.

The service also included performances of the popular traditional carols: Once in Royal David’s City; O Little Town of Bethlehem; O Come all ye Faithful, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing!

The Year 7 boys were mostly seated in the main floor area.

Social distancing was carefully observed: readings were given from the stage, while the musicians from other year groups – the choir, trumpeters and Year 12 Strings – were well spread.

Earlier in the week, pupils relished their Christmas lunch, with the catering team pulling out all the stops to serve up a festive feast of roast turkey or wild mushroom filo pastry crown, with pigs-in-blankets, stuffing, carrots, Brussel sprouts, parsnips, cranberry jelly and gravy, followed by Christmas pudding or yule log.

QE also continued with its annual collection for local charitable organisations, choosing this year to support Homeless Action in Barnet and Hornsey Parish Church, which is acting as a foodbank hub.

Parents, pupils and staff have been donating non-perishable food items, clothing and blankets over recent weeks, and yesterday a group of Year 9 volunteers helped to load a record number of bags into a QE minibus, ready for delivery.

Head of Extra-Curricular Enrichment Rebecca Grundy said: “We are very grateful to everyone who donated, and to our prefects and Year 9 helpers.

“This support will make a huge difference to vulnerable people this Christmas.”

Year 7 boys enjoyed the cut and thrust of competition as teams met in a charity quiz, held last term, to raise money for QE’s long-running Sai School Appeal.

The School’s youngest boys have been learning all about the appeal, which began in 2002 and supports the rural Sai School in Kerala, India, funding projects there such as a new computer room, and helping with a move from rented accommodation to a new two-acre campus.

Appeal president Tashane Akarawita, of Year 13, who organised the event jointly with his deputy, Sai Puppala, also of Year 13, said: “Our projects in the past have allowed remarkable developments on the Sai School site to be made possible, and it became my mission to continue this legacy. Unfortunately, the coronavirus has had an enormous impact on lives in India so our fundraising for the Sai School this year is more important than ever.”

The appeal is a year-round QE charity activity run by a team of sixth-formers who are currently supported by Languages teacher Katrin Hood. Tashane explained that COVID had restricted QE’s fund-raising in the 2019–2020 academic year, with a number of events cancelled because of lockdown – another reason to redouble efforts this year, he said.

He showed the younger boys an illustrated PowerPoint presentation to introduce them to the appeal and to the school, whose full title is the Sri Sathya Sai English Medium School. The school educates children from kindergarten through to Year 12.

In previous years, several recent QE leavers have visited the Sai School and undertaken work experience there.

The current fund-raising target is to secure sufficient sponsorship to support 30 pupils – the equivalent of a QE form – throughout their full-time education at the Sai School.

After eight teams competed in two lunchtime rounds in the Main School Hall, the two highest scorers – Stapylton House’s Pixellated Ice Cream (Daniel Zhu, Yang Song, Rahul Wimalendran and Akshaj Vyas) and The Master Minds from Broughton (Shreyas Iyengar, Oscar Kaltenbronn, Tunishq Mitra and Vyom Srivastava) – fought it out in a classroom final. Saransh Gupta and Chinmaya Dave had also been part of the Broughton team for the heats.

The quiz comprised mostly general knowledge questions, although there was also a Spot the hidden word round and a problem-solving round.

It was a lively final, with even the spectators taking part, supplying the answers when the two teams drew a blank and enjoying some ‘just for fun’ Mathematics riddles at the end while the scores were being added up.

In the end, The Master Minds lived up to their name and emerged as the winners. The event raised £139. The boys were charged £2 to take part in the quiz and £1 to spectate at the final.

Tashane added: “I was very proud to be elected as the President of the Sai School Appeal, allowing us to continue the amazing fund-raising QE students have achieved over the last eighteen years.

“The appeal is an immensely worthy cause and we strive to ensure our events are always meticulously planned to be able to support those who are less fortunate than us.”

• Here is a sample of the general knowledge questions asked in the quiz. Answers below.

1. Who played James Bond in the film Quantum of Solace?
2. How many capital cities does South Africa have?
3. What is the boy in the DreamWorks logo holding in his hand?

Answers:

1. Daniel Craig
2. Four
3. A fishing rod.

After gaining a Master’s in Engineering and qualifying as a Chartered Management Accountant, Zeeshan Khalid has forged a career in international consultancy – with a distinctly forward-looking slant.

Zeeshan (OE 1996–1998) is a Partner with a boutique consulting firm, Trestle Group, and is the only member of its seven-strong management team currently based in London.

Along with several of his Trestle Group colleagues, he is involved with Fourth-IR (‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’), a firm established in 2016, which harnesses new technologies including AI to help clients transform their businesses. A recent example is its partnership with a large dental-imaging software provider, where AI is used to provide augmented diagnosis, precision treatment and a better overall patient experience.

“Reflecting on my career, I would advise my fellow Elizabethans not to just follow a traditional career path, but to look at the diversity of your learning, as this is what will help differentiate yourself and open more doors,” he said.

“Life presents many opportunities; sometimes one is unable to realise that a challenge or a setback may in fact turn into an opportunity. Always make use of the opportunities given to you and leave the rest to God.”

After leaving QE, Zeeshan went to Imperial College, where he gained a Master’s degree in Information Systems Engineering.

He then spent seven years with UBS, working across finance, risk and IT departments for the Swiss financial giant, before working for RBS Global Banking & Markets and then Credit Suisse. In total, he notched up more than 16 years’ experience at top-tier investment banks, working in both London and Zurich.

In 2007–2009, he undertook his training with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and then in 2011, he established Atlas Accounting, a niche accountancy business for contractors and consultants.

Over the years he has held a variety of senior roles, covering risk management, regulatory change, capital optimisation, risk analytics, finance transformation, programme management and enterprise-wide global IT delivery.

His work with Trestle Group involves him driving business growth and building teams for consulting projects on key accounts with leading global investment banks. Active projects include transformation programmes relating to Brexit and industry-wide Basel regulations, such as the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB).

At Fourth-IR, he is the UK Country Head. The firm offers clients a range of Virtual Team members, which are AI-driven products designed to be easily integrated into clients’ business operations. Fourth-IR works across multiple industries, including health, wealth, risk and legal, collaborating with product specialists, such as the dental-imaging software business.

Zeeshan has fond memories of his time at QE, in particular, of the then-Head of Sixth Form, Dr John Marincowitz (who became Headmaster in 1999), and his Mathematics teacher, Mrs Elizabeth Borland.

“Even though I was a new joiner to QE, I was able to establish new relationships with many of those who entered the Sixth Form from the lower years. I still vividly remember all the younger-year pupils carrying brief cases to School and the Elizabethan luncheons & debates.”

Outside work commitments, Zeeshan has been a long-standing primary school governor. Keen on the outdoors, he supports his local scouting association as treasurer.

“2020 has been a strange year, but an important one in re-setting goals and priorities,” he said. “It has made me realise the importance of focusing on friends and family, how to better manage the tricky balance between work and life (I follow the motto: ‘we work to live, not live to work’), and lastly not to take free movement & international travel for granted.

“For those wishing to get in touch, please contact me via LinkedIn; I am happy to help with any career advice or questions current pupils or alumni of QE may have,” he added.