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A Sixth Form team from QE fought off entrants from other top schools to win the international Ritangle Mathematics competition for the second consecutive year.

The eight-strong winning team from Year 12, called Pioneers, were the first of some 1,700 teams to submit the right answer to a series of three crossnumber puzzles. After meticulous checking by the judges in the competition run by education charity MEI (Mathematics, Education, Innovation), they were pronounced this year’s Ritangle Champions.

Furthermore, last year’s winning QE team, Flexangle, came second.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My hearty congratulations go to all who have done well and, in particular, to the Pioneers team. They demonstrated consistency throughout the various stages of competition, as well as speed and accuracy in the final round, in the process besting leading schools both from this country and abroad.”

Ritangle is open to pupils aged 16‌-‌18 studying for A-level Mathematics, or its equivalent. This year’s competition, launched on 25th September, attracted some 500 more entries than last year. It involved three stages.

For the first three weeks of Stage 1, one question was released every Wednesday. Every correct answer revealed a piece of information that helped solve the final task.

In part 2 of Stage 1, a question was released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, prior to the release of the final Stage 1 question. Again, every correct answer helped participants to solve the Final Task.

Stages 2 and 3 followed quickly upon each other, culminating in the final Stage 3 round of crossnumbers set by website Crossnumbers Quarterly.

Besides Flexangle, a further three QE teams reached the final shortlist, which comprised 16 teams from 12 schools who submitted completely correct solutions within 24 hours of the Pioneers team doing so.

The 12 included not only some familiar names, such as Haberdashers’ Boys’ School and King’s College London Mathematics School, but also Doha College (Qatar) and The English School, Nicosia (Cyprus).

It is also understood that all the QE teams were in the top 200. The 19 teams entered is itself thought to be a record from a single institution.

The prize for the overall winners included individual treats as well as a year-long subscription to the Integral mathematics support website and a trophy for the School. The prize was presented by John Brennan-Rhodes from MEI during Year 12 assembly.

The winning Pioneers team are:

• Aryan Kheterpal
• Samrath Sareen
• Sasen Kankanamge Don
• Hisham Khan
• Adithya Raghuraman
• Danyal Talha
• Eesa Malek
• Nayaenesh Jeyabalan

Runners-up (and last year’s winners) Flexangle, of Year 13, are:

• Anshul Nema
• Harik Sodhi
• Koustuv Bhowmick
• Joel Swedensky
• Shreyas Mone

The three other QE teams on the final shortlist are:

Los Desmos Hermanos (Year 12)

• Keshauv Sutharsaraj
• Rishik Siripurapu
• Rithul Shency
• Ayan Hirani
• Maitrayen Srikumar

Desi Derivatives (Year 13)

• Adyan Shahid
• Kovid Gothi
• Vijay Lehto
• Dinuk Dissanayake
• Panth Patel
• Rayan Nadeem
• Arka Gonchoudhuri

The Homeomorphs (Year 12)

• William Joanes
• Akhilesh Karthikeyan
• Pranav Challa
• Ram Chockalingam
• Yash Kedia

 

The School’s top chess players of all ages are looking forward to doing battle in the new term in the regional finals of the English Schools’ Chess Championships, after emerging triumphant from a qualifier. 

QE’s A team, comprising players from the senior years, successfully took on teams from Aylesbury Grammar School, the Lycée Internationale de Londres, University College School, and from the hosts, Harrow, to secure first place in the regional qualifier.  

The younger B team came fifth, with both the teams successfully going through to the regional knockout stages. 

The successes capped a term in which no fewer than 168 boys took part in in-School tournaments for Years 9, 10 & 11. 

Teacher in charge of chess Geoff Roberts said: “My congratulations go to our A team, who played superbly at Harrow, winning four matches, and to the B team, who also put in a very creditable performance, winning two and drawing one of their four matches.    

“There were particularly strong performances from the A team’s Daiwik Solanki and B team’s Hubert Bates, who both won three of their matches and drew the remaining one. Well done, too, to Nishchal Thatte, Joshua John, Jason Tao, Rithwik Gururaj, Callistus Bhattachrya and Karthik Kalairasan, who also notched up three wins apiece.” 

Eighteen teams took part in the regional qualifier. 

In QE’s own tournaments, Rithwik, of Underne House, and Nishchal, of Leicester, were joint winners of the Year 11 tournament.

Rohan Katkar won the Year 10 tournament and Yue Song secured first place in the Year 8 event. 

Tournaments for Years 7 & 9 will be played in the first half of the Spring Term.   

The School A and B teams were as follows:   

A team 

Joshua John, Year 13
Andreas Angelopoulos, Year 13
Jason Tao, Year 13
Daiwik Solanki, Year 12
Rithwik Gururaj, Year 11
Nishchal Thatte, Year 11 

B team 

Karthik Kalaiarasan, Year 12 
Callistus Bhattacharya, Year 10
Aayush Dewangan, Year 9
Bharat Jayakumar, Year 9
Elliot O’Donnell, Year 9
Hubert Bates, Year 7 

The Robert Dudley Studio, QE’s new facility for drama and the spoken word, has been demonstrating its flexibility in a string of events. 

The studio, created from two existing large rooms towards the rear of the Main Building, hosted early rounds of the English Speaking Union’s Schools’ Mace debating contest and of the national Performing Shakespeare competition. 

Two events were held there as part of a new partnership with the English National Ballet, while it was also the venue for a special English lesson exploring dramatic imagery and language. 

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “With the installation of audio-visual equipment, The Robert Dudley Studio has really begun fulfilling its potential for helping us develop oracy in our pupils.” 

At the Mace, the country’s oldest and largest debating competition for schools, a senior QE team – including School Captain Chanakya Seetharam, as well as Zaki Mustafa, and Koustuv Bhowmick, all from Year 13 – took on Haberdashers’ Girls’ School. Other leading schools from North London and Hertfordshire also competed.  The QE team won the event to progress to the second-round heats in January.  

For the Performing Shakespeare competition, every boy in Year 8 learns a speech to perform in class. The 12 winners from across the six Houses fought it out in the School final, held this month in The Robert Dudley Studio (RDS). 

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “There are some things which reading Shakespeare simply as words on the page can never give – so much of the impact of his work comes from how performers have chosen to interpret, following the rhythms and the imagery of the poetry to bring the words to life.  

“Year 8 have done a brilliant job this year in not only choosing a wide range of speeches from across Shakespeare’s plays, but in showing an audience how they understand the text in a way which essay-writing can never replicate.  

The top three performers were:  

• Param Jani, of Underne House, in first place with Is this a dagger I see before me?  from Macbeth 

• Sai Rushil Manchiraju, of Pearce, the runner-up, with Hamlet’s To be or not to be   

• Kavin Rajan, of Harrisons’, who took third place with Henry V’s Once more into the breach dear friends. 

 “The standard overall was very high,” said Mr Hyland. “Param’s speech from Macbeth was a worthy winner, allowing the audience to see and viscerally feel the conflicting emotions and feelings that Macbeth is experiencing at this point in the play.”  

The top two go through to the regional round in the Spring Term.   

The special English lesson held in RDS also focused on Shakespeare, looking at scene 3 from act 3 of The Tempest, where Ariel (under instruction from Prospero) is creating visions for the royal court. Some members of the court are responsible for deposing Prospero from his Dukedom in Milan before the play starts.

Mr Hyland said: “The focus was on the language of the royal court as it was expressing amazement at natural phenomena, and then on how tableaux could be used to depict the key visual moments of the natural world interacting with humanity (Ariel appearing as a harpy, the vanishing banquet, and so on).

“We subsequently returned to the language, thinking about the delivery of the speech which Ariel gives, and what key or words ideas come to light when presented dramatically.”  

Finally, the studio’s versatility came to the fore for the English National Ballet partnership events. 

First, a screening for 30 Year 9 boys of the ENB’s and choreographer Akram Khan’s award-winning production of the classical ballet, Giselle, was held in RDS. Then, the boys toured the ENB’s design and rehearsal studios in Canning Town, learning about the many jobs associated with ballet and meeting some of the creative team behind Giselle.   

ENB dancers and a musician later came to QE and gave the boys a two-hour contemporary ballet workshop, testing the RDS’s audio equipment to the full. They explored ways of moving, inspired by the plot, characters and choreography of Giselle – and all to live beats and rhythms. The boys gained an insight into the coordination, balance and agility needed in ballet. 

Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “It was brilliant to see the studio being used flexibly as both a fantastic surround-sound cinema and then, with the seats retracted, a fantastic dance studio!

“Best of all though was the enthusiasm and energy the boys put into their dancing. Who knows – maybe the next Akram Khan has just learnt his first dance steps? 

“Having a dedicated space for performing arts helps facilitate such work, but also provokes staff to seek out new and creative opportunities for the boys.” 

 

 

When QE’s First XV meet traditional rivals Haberdashers’ Boys’ School, expectations are always high – and this year’s game fully lived up to its billing. 

Finely balanced and hugely physical, the match at Barnet Elizabethans Rugby Football Club was played to the sound of loud support from the touchline. 

QE Director of Sport Jonathan Hart said: “While our First XV suffered a narrow 13-7 defeat, their performance deserved more from the game, and this was one to be proud of. The togetherness and physical commitment of the boys was notable, led by Captain David Hirtopanu [Year 13].”

Habs’ had the better of the first half in terms of territory and possession, and they were awarded a large number of penalties. After great resistance from the QE defence, Habs’ did eventually manage to cross over for their first try, taking a 5-0 lead into the break. 

The roles were reversed in the second half, with QE retaining the ball much better and exerting significant pressure. “Powerful ball-carrying and some exciting breaks in the wide channels did not, unfortunately, convert into points,” said Mr Hart.  

When another penalty was awarded to Habs’, the visitors kicked from the 22-metre line and extended their lead to 8 points.  

“Another Habs’ try, against the run of play, put the victory out of reach for QE. However, the boys were determined in their play and reasserted themselves, charging at the Habs’ line until sealing a thoroughly deserved try – scored by Year 13’s Daniel Ghorbanian, following more great work from Timi Banjo from Year 12 – in the final play of the match. An excellent conversion by Akaash Gill, of Year 13, brought the score to 13-7.”

There was strong support from current pupils, staff and a number of OEs (particularly from the 2024 leavers) – many with memories of playing this fixture in recent years.  

“From air horns and saucepan lids to their shouts of encouragement, there was a big match atmosphere created on a cold and muddy night,” said Mr Hart. 

 

Pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s School enjoyed themselves at the end of term with all the festivities, but also made time to remember those less fortunate than themselves during the season of goodwill.

The last few days of term featured the traditional Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in Chipping Barnet Parish Church; Christmas dinner at the School with all the trappings; and a trio of charity activities in the borough.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our carol service was magnificent – a spectacularly rousing evening. The music really was excellent, with a variety of arrangements used to make traditional tunes and texts feel fresh and resonate.

“The readers did well, too – and with the internal scaffolding above the chancel steps removed, following the completion of repair works following recent storm damage – the packed church was looking splendid.

“The carol service, combined with the charity work, made a fitting footnote to a year that has seen high success for the School. I wish all current QE families, staff, alumni and other friends of the School an enjoyable holiday and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.”

The service at St John the Baptist Church featured congregational singing of some seasonal favourites, starting with Once in Royal David’s City.  The School’s musicians played a full part, with the Barbershop and Chamber Choir performing some less well-known pieces, including carols from France and Austria. Members of QE’s growing cohort of organists took part, too, with Year 8’s Gabriel Ward, Zach Fernandez, of Year 9, and final-year student Joel Swedensky all playing before the start of the service.

The Barbershop were also in action at Barnet Grange care home, where they sang carols for the residents and then spent time chatting with them.

There were School-wide charity collections for Chipping Barnet Foodbank and Homeless Action in Barnet, and for Sebby’s Corner, a charity based just around the corner from the School on the Queen’s Road industrial estate, with which QE has formed a new partnership this year.

Pupils and staff donated non-perishable food, clothing and toiletries, as well as new toys for children who might otherwise go without this year.

Christmas dinner at the School proved as popular as ever, with Year 7 in particular eager to don their paper hats from their crackers!

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