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Old Elizabethan George the Poet played to an audience of many millions when he opened BBC One’s coverage of last night’s One World: Together at Home concert.

George Mpanga (OE 2002–2009) performed a two-minute poem, Our Key Workers, paying tribute to those working for the NHS “like my mum” and other key workers who are keeping the country going during the pandemic lockdown.

Global Citizen, co-organisers of the eight-hour globally streamed benefit concert with the World Health Organization, today announced that the show raised £$128m (£102m) for coronavirus relief efforts.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “As ever, George’s words were both thoughtful and inspiring, his striking turn of phrase perfectly capturing the sacrifices being made by front-line workers and expressing back to them the nation’s gratitude.”

The concert, curated by Lady Gaga, featured global music stars performing in intimate settings as they self-isolate at home. They included the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Billie Eilish.

Songs were interspersed with messages from actors such as Matthew McConaughey and Lupita Nyong’o, as well as world figures, including Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

George’s poem refers to a wide variety of people in key roles, including not only health workers but also bus drivers, teachers, cleaners, carers and those in waste management. Several of these jobs and those of other key-worker roles are depicted in George’s video, which also shows deserted city streets.

With the refrain “People are doing what needs to be done, But this fight won’t be easily won”, the poem appeals to the public to abide by the current restrictions: “We need to help the cause, By keeping ourselves indoors.”

He mentions his friend “Anoop” – believed to be Anoop Raghavan (OE 2002-2008). He is one of huge number of Old Elizabethans in key-worker roles playing a critical role in fighting the pandemic locally, nationally and internationally.

The poem concludes: “Every one of us was given a unique purpose, so let’s honour the service of our key workers.”

In only QE’s second year of entry, a School team has secured second place in a prestigious and demanding national Economics competition.

For the Budget Challenge, run by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the team had to put forward a budget with taxation and spending policies for the UK in the coming financial year.

And, since their progression to the final coincided with the explosion of the current pandemic in the UK, the four sixth-formers had to think on their feet to adapt their proposals to the fast-changing national conditions.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The boys should be very pleased with this outcome. They clearly demonstrated a mature understanding of the macroeconomic conditions and put together a coherent policy and strategy, at what has turned out to be a very challenging time in our country’s history. They are to be congratulated.”

Ayushman Mukherjee, Thapan Reddibathini, Tanishq Mehta and Hari Gajendran, all of Year 12, had been shortlisted as one of just ten teams to appear before a panel of judges for the final. Owing to the pandemic restrictions, they instead submitted their ten-minute presentation by video.

In it, they described their three-pronged proposals for investment in health, education and social protection. They proposed a tax system that promotes vertical equity, whilst “putting money in everyone’s pocket”. All four boys made contributions and talked through the details of their policies, which they presented in a series of slides.

They talked about the impact that the Covid-19 virus has had on the British and world economies, and reflected on how they had had to be responsive in their thinking: “We have had to significantly adapt our original budget,” said Thapan, while Tanishq spoke of the need to supply long-term, sustainable, investment for the NHS in addition to a short-term aid package.

They discussed the looming recession, recent stock market crashes, increasing unemployment, stagnant growth and a struggling economy, as well as the measures they proposed to help alleviate these pressures and challenges.

Head of Economics Shamendra Uduwawala said: “I am delighted for our team, who have certainly had to think on their feet. National competitions such as this help them to apply what they have learned about Economics in the classroom to real-world issues, and these are extraordinary times. It also helps them to develop their writing, research and analytical skills.”

The IEA’s Director of Education, Outreach and Programmes, Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, said: “This year we had a record number of entries and the overall standard was very high, so the teams that made it to the final have all done very well. Obviously, the final of the Budget Challenge could not be done in the usual way this time, so the teams all had to record their presentations remotely and there were several that were outstanding by any measure.”

Brighton College were placed first, with QE named runners-up alongside Withington Girls’ School, Manchester, and Fortismere School, Muswell Hill, London. Each of the second-placed teams receives £250.

Year 9 pupil Pratyush Dutta Gupta’s packed holiday programme of lockdown activities featured  sports, baking and making music, to name just three, while other Lower School boys getting creative include Aarav Agarwal, of Year 7, whose painting, above, is inspired by the work of modern impressionist Leonid Afremov.

Among the culinary creations mentioned in the  illustrated Quarantine Diary Pratyush has been keeping are seafood paella, brownies, quiches, quesadillas, gnocchi and cakes.

He burned off all the calories from those through a combination of running (5km), skipping (500 skips in one go) and cycling (two rides, 2km and 5km).

He also combined music and movement by dancing to a Bhangra video from QE History teacher and Extra-curricular Enrichment Tutor Akhil Gohil.

And his own music-making featured strongly, too: Pratyush made several recordings for his YouTube channel, while he also started work on coding his first video game.

Kiaron Lad, of Year 8, was another example of a Lower School boy getting busy during the holidays. In fact, he demonstrated his creative side both in the home and in the great outdoors.

Not only did Kiaron expertly fashion a delicate rose out of white chocolate, but he turned his hand towards making a shoe sculpture from the off-cuts of a tree that he himself had helped to fell.

In Year 7, the boys’ holiday endeavours were just as diverse, with some turning to the opportunities for creativity offered by modern technology and others heading into the kitchen.

The first-year boys’ activities included:

• Soham Kale making mango ice cream
• Aadam Aslam learning to cook and doing magic
• Akhil Potteti and Samhith Agganna getting to grips with video-editing
• Sai Murarishetty and Harshith Sharavana learning the Python programming language
• Kayilai Dinesh creating pop-up art.

School Captain Ivin Jose reports on how he has been spending his time since the virus-related restrictions hit.

“First and foremost, I have been prioritising my studies, at what would have been an important time of year in terms of AS exam preparation, completing the tasks set for me by my subject teachers and sticking, as much as possible, to my usual School timetable, to retain some semblance of order and routine.

Aside from the academics, I have been trying to use this ‘stay-at-home’ period to develop my extra-curricular skills, which are sometimes pushed to the sidelines during the normal School week. Thanks to the Music department, I have been able to transfer my violin lessons (which would usually happen at School with my teacher) on to Skype. This has enabled me to continue having lessons on a weekly, scheduled basis, and keep progressing to my goal of achieving Grade 7 in violin. A similar arrangement has been achieved with my piano teacher (with whom I used to have lessons outside of school). Sticking with Music I have also recently been told by Miss Grint [Caroline Grint, Graduate Assistant] that I have passed my Grade 5 theory exam with a strong merit, having sat the exam earlier this year. Fortunately, she has also taken the initiative to continue with our usual theory lessons in the Summer Term via tasks set through eQE.

In terms of super-curricular activities, I have used my spare time for reading around my subjects, both for academic purposes and for enjoyment. Currently I am reading: Your life in my hands: A Junior Doctor’s Story by Rachel Clarke, which is a powerful evocation of her life on the NHS frontline – a story particularly pertinent to, and resonant with, the current pandemic.

In order to supplement my AS subjects, I am reading:

• Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations: ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Harold Bloom
• Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress by Steven Pinker
• Biological Sciences Review and Chemistry Review magazines from the Philip Allan magazine series from the Library section of eQE.

Additionally, I now have more time to devote to my EPQ (which is on Preventive Medicine and its applications in the 21st century) and have therefore been doing research and reading into that. I am thinking of starting a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), but I have not yet decided what medical topic to do it on.

For pure enjoyment, I’ve delved back into one of my favourite childhood fiction series called His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman and started re-reading Northern Lights.

For the following weeks, I hope to carry on with my academic studies and my extra/super-curricular activities. Particularly, I will also be focusing on creating PowerPoints and activities for members of MedSoc (QE’s Medic Society, a Thursday lunchtime club I run with a few others). This is in response to the Clubs and Societies eQE page that Miss Grundy [Rebecca Grundy, Head of Extra-curricular Enrichment]  is planning to set up – a brilliant idea. Touching on my desire to go into medicine, in addition to my reading, I have started listening to the Royal College of Physicians’ RCP Medicine podcasts, which give in-depth analysis of certain medical conditions and diagnoses.

And, still with that career choice in mind, I’ve been really inspired by the heart-warming and heroic acts of selfless professionalism shown by all medical staff on the NHS frontline. Their courage and dedication to patient care, despite the risks to their own personal safety and well-being, never fails to touch my heart, and it has never been more apparent that they are fully deserving of every bit of gratitude and respect that the public are giving them at this difficult time.”

My name is Manomay Lala-Raykar and I am a Year 11 student, going into Year 12 this September. The announcement of school closures and exam cancellations has been a significant turning point for thousands like me.

The message did not come as much of a surprise, but it gave me a sense of foreboding. And though letting off exam stress was relieving, I did feel a bit deflated that we weren’t going to experience something that has been considered a rite of passage in British culture for so long. Many other Year 11 students nationwide would likely have echoed this sentiment.

The initial lack of clarity about how our grades would be decided resulted in some anxiety among my peers, but Ofqual soon assured all students that a variety of evidence would be used to produce a teacher-assessment grade, and I am confident that QE’s meticulous approach towards keeping an up-to-date record of our progress will mean the grades we are given are indeed a true reflection of the level we were on track to achieve. It is reassuring that exams will be available later, if students wish to raise their grades even further.

Home learning has always been a part of the QE experience, originally as an important supplement to the interactive classroom environment, and now at the forefront of our learning. This is where eQE comes in. Through its user-friendly, immersive and interactive interface, our virtual learning environment has offered unrivalled support – providing easily accessible resources for students, while keeping teachers in the know about our progress. It also allows us to fit our learning around other commitments. I’m glad that I can make use of eQE to guide me during these unusual times, a fitting new home for our world-class education.

We are close to finishing and consolidating the GCSE specification content for all our subjects. The transition to A-level in the subjects we are continuing with will begin soon, and the added time provides a huge opportunity to get a head start on bridging the considerable gap between GCSE and A-level. In due course, I also plan to take part in a few free MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) that will help boost my transition to A-level.

Of course, with less intensive study comes extra personal time, which can be used productively to develop extra-curricular skills. To name one example, I have been pressing on with my study of the ancient Sanskrit language and its associated culture, including weekly Zoom meetings with other members of our group, and the added time has given me the capacity to take my study to an even higher level.

It’s easy to forget the vast world of independence waiting for us. I have been setting aside the time to research, and discuss with my family, information on the world of work. I am especially enjoying the discussion with my father on our daily walk: staying two meters apart doesn’t stop me from learning from, and remembering, every word of wisdom.

But before we can reap the huge benefits of such things, there is a massive hurdle to be overcome, that being self-discipline. In term-time, I have been trying to use my School timetable to support my home learning: completing work set, as well as further independent work for each subject, while also taking breaks so I don’t overwhelm myself. It also means that I have time to rest, spend time with my family and pursue my extra-curricular enrichment.

In the holiday period, I did take some time off to rest and relax, and spend time virtually with friends and extended family, but I also kept going with preparing for the changes in my life at Sixth Form and beyond.

While it’s important I remain up-to-date about the latest news and information regarding the coronavirus pandemic, I try not to spend too much time dwelling on it, so it doesn’t affect my mental health – and that would be one of my biggest recommendations.

I was recently hit hard by the news that a few people I am close to have likely been infected with coronavirus. I try to stay in contact with and take care of them through the gift of modern technology. I know they’ll be grateful, even if they can’t express it now.

I keenly await the moment I can walk back into School, greet friends and family, and go out into the wider world again. But for now, I think it’s important to rest assured that we are all in this together.