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Forty members of QE’s Chamber Choir sang Evensong at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle – last resting place of monarchs and scene of countless royal weddings and funerals.

The Evensong at the famous 14th-century chapel was only the sixth such choral service sung by the choir, whose first-ever Evensong came just two-and-a-half years ago at St John the Baptist Church in Barnet.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our Evensong at St George’s Chapel was very special indeed. It’s quite incredible how far the boys’ abilities have developed over the last three years.”

The day started with a picnic on The Long Walk in Windsor Great Park and time exploring the historic town of Windsor. The choristers were supported by around 50 staff, parents and members of the wider QE community.

Upon arrival at the castle, the choir received a warm welcome from the Virger, Vaughn Wright, and were taken on a short tour. This included seeing the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II.

There followed a rehearsal in the quire (the seated area for the choir), under the banners of the Knights of the Garter, with the choristers split across the aisle where Kings Henry VIII and Charles I are buried.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “As many noted, the choir did themselves proud in the service, delivering the high level of musicality and sensitivity that was appropriate for such a prestigious occasion.”

The music sung included Brewer in D as the canticles, Lead me, Lord by S.S. Wesley as the anthem, and Humphrey Clucas’s The Preces [prayers] and Responses.

Nikhil Mark and Joel Swedensky, two departing Year 13s who hold choral awards at Oxford and Cambridge universities respectively, sang solos.

The Chamber Choir was accompanied on the organ by Music teacher Jas Hutchinson-Bazely.

Miss Partington added: “We did our very first QE Evensong in November 2022 and have sung three at St John’s Barnet, one at Southwark Cathedral, one at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, and now this one at Windsor.  It has been an exciting journey of discoveries both in how to manage all the repertoire – such as how to sing preces & responses, and how to sing a psalm – and in improving individual and collective vocal ability.

“We had a highly successful day, and that is huge testament to the hard work put in by the pupils since that very first service to reach the standard they sang at in Windsor.”

• The photos here within the chapel were taken during rehearsals: photography is not permitted during the service. Click on the thumbnails to view.

Many of the School’s instrumentalists turned out in the sunshine to provide their classmates with a lunchtime concert as the nation celebrated the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Musicians from five ensembles performed for pupils and staff on the Stapylton Field lawn, with senior boys enjoying the chance to participate just ahead of the examination season.

The front of Main Building provided an attractive, historic backdrop for the celebration of VE (Victory in Europe) Day. There was Union Flag bunting, and the audience were invited to bring along mini-picnics.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “On the first anniversary of VE Day, in 1946, King George VI sent the nation’s schoolchildren a message: ‘I know you will always feel proud to belong to a country which was capable of such supreme effort; proud, too, of parents and elder brothers and sisters who by their courage, endurance and enterprise brought victory.

“May these qualities be yours as you grow up and join in the common effort to establish, among the nations of the world, unity and peace.’

“That royal message of peace – and the need to actively work for it and in its defence –resonates today,” said Mr Enright.

“It is vital that each new generation should understand the sacrifices that were made in order to protect our values and freedoms. We should remember that 65 Elizabethans were killed during the Second World War, among the huge number that served in different capacities at home and overseas.”

The concert featured a varied repertoire. There were musicians from:

• Junior Jazz
• Senior Jazz
• Junior Strings
• Junior Winds…
• And some from Senior Winds.

The concert came in a busy period for QE’s musicians, with the Chamber Choir spending the eve of the VE Day anniversary singing Evensong at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

In 1945, VE Day was declared a national holiday, so the School is likely to have been closed on that day, with street parties and church services taking place in Barnet.

School life had continued uninterrupted during World War II, but there were many changes because of the conflict: a dip into the School archives at QE Collections reveals that the ending of hostilities in Europe brought about a return to pre-war normality.

An editorial in The Elizabethan magazine of July 1945 states: “Schools that are in touch with their old boys are not likely to forget that the war in the Far East is a long way from ended. But the end of the European War, almost visible in its approach, has at last arrived and inevitably brought some changes in school routine. First, the obnoxious and rather archaic custom of carrying respirators to school on certain days, which must have caused the inhabitants of Barnet no little wonder, was discontinued. Next the throb of the flying-bomb was no longer to be heard, and then the occasional thud of a rocket became less frequent.”

With the threat of bombing lifted, protective boards on doors and windows were swiftly removed and sandbags discarded. Such activities seemed like “a production by the Dramatic Society – such as few of us can now remember”, the editorial continued.

“On top of all these novelties (novelties to the majority, to the aged a fascination) luxury returns, for some school teams now even make their journey to distant adversaries by aristocratic plush coaches instead of by jarring petrol-buses.”

Year 11 pupil Paarth Aggarwal was among the winners at the London Borough of Barnet Civic Awards.

AI enthusiast Paarth won the sole 2025 Young Citizen of Barnet award for his work on the application of technology to bring about improvements in education and the environment.

Among his many competition successes, last year Parth took the national title in his age category in the Intel Global AI Impact Festival for his multi-lingual Navigate Ninja app, which offers personalised learning to children with autism.

Also in 2024, he spent three days at a European Space Agency base in Italy after being named the UK winner in the agency’s international competition: he had impressed competition judges with an AI-driven study into reducing waste in Barnet.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I congratulate Paarth on winning a civic award – a very notable local success. He has taken the initiative to get involved in myriad competitions and sought out opportunities to develop his skills, while always at the same time seeking to provide public benefit from his proposed technological solutions.”

Parth was presented with his award certificate and medal at Barnet’s 25th annual civic awards ceremony in Hendon Town Hall by the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Tony Vourou.

The citation for his award for Outstanding Service to the Community highlighted his “innovative use of technology to drive positive societal”. It continued: “His dedication extends to developing AI-powered solutions for reducing fly-tipping, promoting technological literacy, and supporting non-native English speakers, showcasing his commitment to inclusiveness and sustainability.”

In his introduction, Councillor Vourou said: “For a quarter of a century, the Civic Awards have been a beacon of recognition, shining a light on the extraordinary efforts of those who strive to make the London Borough of Barnet a better place. We honour their dedication and unwavering commitment to service.”

Ten sixth-formers headed to the West End to see a dark comedy set at the time of the UN’s landmark climate conference at which the Kyoto Protocol was adopted.

They returned to the School full of praise for what they had watched, with several declaring themselves more motivated to play their own part in combatting climate change.

Accompanied by Deputy Head (Academic) and Geography teacher Anne Macdonald, they went to see Kyoto at @sohoplace – a theatre opened in 2022 as part of the Crossrail project.

Written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, the play is set in the Kyoto Conference Centre on 11th December 1997, with the world’s nations in deadlock, 11 hours past the time when the conference should have ended. With time running out and an agreement still seeming a remote prospect, the greatest obstacle is Washington lawyer and oil lobbyist, Don Pearlman.

Produced and acted by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Good Chance, the play was performed to great acclaim at the Swan Theatre last year before moving to @sohoplace in 2025.

It is not the first encounter by QE pupils with the work of Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson: the pair’s earlier play, The Jungle, which is about the unofficial camp for migrants and refugees in Calais, was the School Play in 2023.

Afterwards, Mrs Macdonald gathered the reflections of nine of the boys on the play.

Year 12
Simi Bloom: “Seeing Kyoto was a fantastic experience; watching a comic yet thought-provoking political thriller was a first for me but it did not disappoint. Every actor was extremely compelling – in particular, the delegate for Kiribati [actor Andrea Gatchalian] gave a sensational performance – and the ending has given me a lot of thought as to how I can do my part…[on] climate change.”

Felix Calder: “The performance was absolutely stellar. This play really helped me understand why diplomacy is fundamentally such a nightmare, and gave me a much broader understanding of the climate crisis. I’d love to see something like this performed at QE.”

Shailen Patel: “An amazing performance that was engaging and thrilling throughout. I left with a new hope and sense of urgency to make change on the world around us.”

Riyan Siyani: “The play was really good at highlighting just how much chaos and disruption the major oil companies caused in the progression of the world’s journey to a sustainable future, all for the purpose of increasing their own profits.”

Year 13
Andreas Angelopoulos: “Seeing the tension between economic interests and environmental responsibility portrayed so powerfully made me reflect on my future career path and how I can contribute to a more sustainable world.”

Ken Kajar: “The actors did an excellent job capturing the tensions between nations, highlighting why progress felt so slow. The endless bureaucracy engineered by the Seven Sisters [seven large oil companies] was a stark reminder of the power large corporations play through lobbying, and yet despite this, I felt moved by the performance to do more to reduce my carbon footprint.”

Saim Khan: “Whether it was the charming, suave demeanour of COP* Chairman Raul Estrada or the hard-headed and self-assured diplomacy of [former UK Deputy Prime Minister] John Prescott, the negotiations were brought to life in a truly spectacular way.”

Nikhil Mark: “The play was intensely interesting, full of humour but more importantly revelations about the true world of superpower negotiation and ugly truth about the response of the world to the growing climate crisis. I especially enjoyed its informative value and the crude but hilarious comments from Don Pearlman, a staunch climate change denier.”

Chanakya Seetharam: “I found the selection of Don Pearlman to be the most ingenious feature of the play. Pearlman’s mordant and deeply cynical narration offered a terrifying picture of the slow pace and frequent ineffectiveness of international climate negotiations. Particularly terrifying was his reminder at the end of the play that anyone who had driven a car or taken a flight had ‘paid [his] wages’. After a play which had largely highlighted the shortcomings of the international system, I think this ending, with its recognition of our collective complicity, was deeply important. I found Kyoto a brilliant piece of theatre and one which left me with all sorts of questions.”

*Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The results of a survey of pupils conducted by the School reveal that nearly four-fifths are ‘very happy’ or ‘quite happy’ at QE.

Conducted as QE undertakes the process of drawing up a new School Plan to cover the next five years, the survey showed that boys enjoy learning at the School and feel safe.

Almost 80% of QE’s 1,300-plus pupils responded to the voluntary survey, which featured 30 questions on subjects ranging from online safety to School trips.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “With wellbeing and mental health such an area of concern in society at large, it was hugely encouraging to read that the vast majority of our pupils are happy and get on well with each other. Friendliness between pupils is hugely important and I am delighted to see our boys reflecting so positively on this measure.

“We will now use this survey, as well as the results of a parental survey revealed last term, to inform our thinking as we prepare QE’s development plan for 2025–2030.”

Pastorally, 94% of respondents said they felt safe at School ‘all the time’ or ‘most of the time’, while 81% enjoyed learning at School most or all of the time.

Some of the questions mirrored those set in a similar survey in 2019. In most cases, the new pupil survey results showed a small, but appreciable, uplift over of the earlier survey.

The questionnaire responses were especially emphatic in answer to the question: Please tell us how you feel the School is helping you to develop the following qualities and skills. Listed were: honesty & integrity; mutual respect & kindness; personal moral code; resilience; responsibility; self-confidence; self-discipline; self-reliance & independence. All generated overwhelmingly positive responses, from 88% to 96%.

Asked which skills they felt they were actively developing at School, pupils gave as their top answers ‘critical thinking’, ‘communication’ and ‘resilience’.

One of the greatest changes since 2019 has been the development of QE’s digital strategy and 1:1 programme. In a new question, the statement QE encourages me to make effective and safe use of internet-enabled devices generated an 84% positive response rate.

Another key area of development for the School recently has been a focus on dialogic learning: 81% agreed that ‘classroom discussions support my learning’ in every lesson or most lessons. Out of lessons, 86% agreed that they ‘regularly take part in School activities…such as clubs, sports, music and art’ – another new question.

Other responses include the following, with the percentages indicating the proportion of pupils who ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ with the statements (2019 percentage in brackets):                                               

• QE encourages me to look after my physical health: 71% (64%)
• QE encourages me to look after my emotional and mental health: 78% (74%)
• There is an adult at School I can talk to if something is worrying me: 76% (56%)
• There is a good range of trips/visits made available to me: 63% (53%)
• I regularly take part in school activities outside of lessons such as clubs, sports, music and art: 86% (n/a – new question)

The survey also helps to identify areas of demand for further provision, such as more interaction with alumni for those in the Lower School to balance with the great many opportunities for support and guidance from Old Elizabethans available to those older students more imminently making decisions about their futures.