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Underne emerged as victors in the close-fought inter-House World Book Day quiz, defeating the boys from Stapylton on a tie-break question.

And the competition was equally ferocious among the staff teams, with some (not entirely serious) dark mutterings being heard from teachers when their own result was announced!

Simi Bloom, of Year 7, Hamza Mohamed, of Year 8, along with Year 9’s Aryan Patel and Year 10’s Amin Mohamed, formed the winning team, with Hamza first off the mark for the all-important tie-break question: Who was the poet Laureate before Simon Armitage? (Answer: Carol Ann Duffy).

The questions covered a gamut of authors from Charles Dickens to Ruta Sepetys, and from Chaucer to J K Rowling, with a special Shakespeare round included for good measure.

The House teams were joined by five staff teams and one Sixth Form team in the event held in the Main School Hall, which was organised by English teacher Panayiota Menelaou.

QE’s Head of Library Services, Surya Bowyer, paid tribute to her work and reflected on the event as a whole: “What struck me was how universal the event was. There were boys from Years 7 through to 11 in the House teams, along with teams comprising sixth-formers, teachers and non-teaching staff. It was brilliant to see how literature can be such an effective unifier. The universality of the event was reflected also in Ms Menelaou’s careful curation of the questions, which produced a real mix of niche versus populist, and ensured that every participant knew at least one answer.”

When the winning staff team of Dr Corinna Illingworth, Mr Robert Hyland, Ms Audrey Poppy and Mr Jonathan Brooke was announced, there were rumblings from other competitors. Helen MacGregor, Head of History, said: “The History department was robbed of victory! We are already in training for next year…” while Mr Bowyer added: “With Mr Hyland’s team claiming victory, there is some chatter among the staff body that perhaps the contest was fixed….” Ms Menelaou countered she had distributed the English department staff and two librarians as evenly and fairly as possible among the staff teams!

Below is a selection of the questions and answers:

1. Which two cities provide the setting for Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities?
2. Which book by Ruta Sepetys won the 2017 Carnegie book award?
3. How many Canterbury Tales were written by Chaucer?
4. Who split his soul into horcruxes?
5. Which Shakespearean play features the characters of Goneril, Regan and Cordelia?
6. Which two Shakespeare plays are translated into Klingon?

Answers

1. London and Paris
2. Salt to the Sea
3.  24
4. Voldemort
5. King Lear
6. Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing

More than 60 boys received prizes for commitment and excellence across a wide field of endeavours at the 2020 Senior Awards Ceremony.

Guest speaker Professor Shearer West, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Nottingham, handed awards to boys from Years 10, 11 and 12.

In a break from recent tradition, prizes were not awarded to pupils in their final year at the School. A new valediction ceremony has been instituted for Year 13 in June instead, to take place immediately following their A-level examinations.

Explaining this “conscious uncoupling” in his speech, Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This provides us with more opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the current Year 12 tonight, and a timelier juncture at which to say goodbye to those boys and their families who have reached the end of their seven years at the School.”

Mr Enright told the prize-winners from Years 10–12 that they should be proud not just of their performance, but also of their attitude and of their contribution to School life. “You have stood out for the levels of commitment and excellence that you have displayed over the last year – in your academic studies, the performing arts, in the sporting arena and in your service to others in this community. Your hard work and application have seen you make yourselves role models for your peers and for those younger boys in the School who look up to you.”

He also paid tribute to the staff, observing that their own dedication, attention and care had enabled the boys to fulfil and further extend their great potential. This potential may lead boys down many different paths, noting the different expressions of scholarship as witnessed among Old Elizabethans.

He told the boys in the audience: “I am conscious that we need to make sure that we celebrate the diverse involvements and talents of pupils throughout the School; to encourage you to follow your interests and passions, to try out new enrichment activities, and to support you to develop and communicate those new ideas and new solutions that are the evidence of the free-thinking scholarship that we hope to inculcate.”

Scholarship could seem like a “heritage brand”, with its associations with old professors, dusty books and ancient libraries. While there was nothing wrong with any of those things, it was important to recognise that scholarship comes in many different forms, he said, spanning the sciences as well as the arts, featuring creativity and the emotional, as well as the empirical.

Mr Enright spoke of the need for young people to be able to communicate their views “away from the cauldron of social media”, to encourage independence of thought. “We need safe spaces, less to protect young people from ideas, but to allow them to try out bold new ones – to offer those new insights and new solutions.”

He concluded by reassuring the boys present that they were on track: “The awards you are about to collect are evidence of this. We want to ensure that you are best equipped to adapt to the modern, changing world and, perhaps, to help adapt it for the better; to help you to be open-minded, as we need to be, to the full diversity of options available to you, and to reflect and to celebrate the different expressions of scholarship and achievement as we now find them.”

Guest speaker Professor West was born and raised in a small town in south-west Virginia, where her father was a factory-floor supervisor and mother a high school teacher. She was the first in her family to attend university, thus mirroring the experience of many Old Elizabethans and the aspirations of many current pupils.

She obtained her BA degree in Art History and English at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and her PhD in Art History at St. Andrews.

Following her PhD, Professor West worked as an editor for the Grove Dictionary of Art, before taking up her first academic post at the University of Leicester. In 1996, she moved to the University of Birmingham as Head of the History of Art Department, then becoming Head of the School of Historical Studies, and Acting Head of the College of Arts and Law.

In 2008, Professor West was seconded to be Director of Research at the Arts and Humanities Research Council. She was appointed Head of the Humanities Division at Oxford in 2011, where she oversaw the launch of the Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities. In 2015, she became Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sheffield, before taking up her current post at Nottingham in 2017.

Professor West began her Senior Awards speech by quipping that she had almost, but not quite, matched QE’s School colours with her bright blue robe – noting that it was her St Andrews’ doctoral robe. She described her own journey from a community where most people worked in a factory or on tobacco farm, to her current role. “I realised that education could lift me out of a life of limited opportunity,” she said. She said her own parents had been very supportive and she stressed the importance of parents and families encouraging their children’s aspirations.

She advised boys to follow their passions: “This will set you up well! Do this and things will work out… Take me as an example. History of Art is supposed to render you unemployable, but I have had a great career!”

She adjured boys never to underestimate the value of hard work and also to consider seriously any chance to study abroad. “It’s a really great opportunity and experience. I came to St Andrews for a year as an undergraduate, returned to do my PhD and then never left the UK!”

She spoke of some of the challenges in the world today, such as climate change, AI and its potential disruption to jobs, political extremism and social media, but declared herself very hopeful that the young generation’s values of equality, diversity and service would help society address those issues.

Among the guests were the Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Barnet, Councillor Lachhya Gurung, the Deputy Mayoress, Mrs Shova Gurung, and the Representative Deputy Lieutenant of the London Borough of Barnet, Mr Martin Russell, as well as Governors.

The evening’s proceedings were punctuated by musical interludes, which included the March from Handel’s Scipione, as well as a song, Fauré’s Au Bord de l’Eau, sung by Year 12’s George Raynor.

“The whole event was very enjoyable,” said Mr Enright afterwards. “The music was excellent – it is rare that one of the musical interludes is a vocalist, but George did very well.”

Giving the vote of thanks, School Captain Ivin Jose said: “As we sit here today, it is important for us to question how we can best contribute to our society. How can we fulfil our great potential? And how can we strive to be honest, selfless and compassionate human beings?” He asked the boys to consider: “How do we move from being gifted amateurs to active participants and game-changers?” He suggested that what they must do is to try.

“Our society is not perfect, it has its fair share of flaws and problems but, maybe, all it needs is a little inspiration, a little spark of creativity from those brave enough to try. Why can’t that be us?”

Year 12 geographers on a field trip to Suffolk and Essex tested out in real life the theories they had learned in the classroom – while staying in a field centre that forms one of the most famous scenes in world art.

Despite freezing temperatures outside, the boys completed their fieldwork successfully during their stay at the historic Flatford Mill Studies Centre (FSC) at East Bergholt, Suffolk, on the River Stour, last month.

A cottage in the grounds of the mill features in John Constable’s iconic painting, The Hay Wain, which shows a farm cart crossing the river.

Deputy Head Anne Macdonald said: “I am really proud of them; they behaved impeccably and were a credit to the School. They were complimented on their positive attitudes, excellent work ethic and manners by the FSC staff and teachers from other visiting schools.”

The 14-strong group stayed in the centre’s Valley Farm, a 600-year-old Grade I-listed building.

An outing to the coastal town of Walton-on-the-Naze across the river in Essex enabled the boys to look at the different social, economic and environmental thinking behind the variety of coastal management approaches.

They also saw how coastal management affects the processes and landforms, as well as the impact of coastal erosion and mass movement on a rapidly retreating coastline.

“It was a hugely successful trip to a beautiful stretch of coastline,” added Mrs Macdonald.

“This is a very hard-working group of students who not only enjoyed the fieldwork day, but particularly the hunt for fossilised shark teeth on the beaches!”

The fieldwork completed by the boys is examined as part of the AS examination.

They were also able to acquire techniques and skills to support the completion of independent fieldwork for the non-examined assessment that they will take in Year 13.

Several fieldwork techniques were used in different exercises – cost-benefit analysis, an environmental impact assessment, beach profiles, and infiltration rate and sediment studies. Graphical, cartographic and statistical tests that had been covered in the classroom were also revised.

Daniel Cobban, an aficionado of the gothic genre, has had a horror novel published, based on a ghostly tale from Lancashire folklore.

The 251-page book, The Curse of Peg O’Nell: or The Demon of the Well, has already been attracting five-star reviews online.

According to the local legends, Peg O’Nell was a servant who worked at Waddow Hall, home of the prominent Starkie family, in the 1800s. A spirited girl, she often argued with her mistress. On one occasion, her mistress sent her to fetch water and added that she hoped Peg broke her neck. Some time later, on an icy night, this wish came true, with Peg falling into the nearby Ribble.

After that, not only did the Starkies suffer hard times, with many believing it was Peg’s curse on the family, but other ghostly stories also entered local folklore.

Daniel (OE 1994–2001), who currently lives in Clitheroe, Lancashire, said: “Peg O’Nell is perhaps the most talked-about and iconic piece of folklore in the county. She is a mysterious water spirit who dwells in the River Ribble and, although usually dormant, is said to return every seven years, demanding her septennial sacrifice – animal or human, she doesn’t mind – but either way, no one is guaranteed any safety on Peg’s night.”

“I’m a big fan of the Victoriana and gothic genres of literature, and I couldn’t resist fleshing out a full gothic/folk story about Peg O’Nell,” said Daniel, who wrote under the pen name, Daniel Nicholas Cobban and was published by Scottish house, Beul Athris Publishing, who specialise in folklore, among other genres. “It took a lot of research and patience!”

Looking back at his school days, Daniel especially remembers his A-level English classes with great fondness. “Mr [Eric] Houston and Miss [Victoria] Maule were both amazing at helping us get to grips with challenging texts such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience and Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

“Also, as a writer, I deeply appreciated the fact that the School encouraged creative writing: I remember participating in a creative writing competition in Year 8 (or the second year, we called it back then!) and I achieved the runner-up position.”

After QE, Daniel studied English and film at Glasgow University. He qualified as a TEFL teacher and spent some time teaching English to elementary school children in Mexico a few years ago.

“I’m currently a supervisor at a restaurant in my home town Clitheroe, and the flexibility of the hours helps me to continue embracing my passion for writing.”

The guest speaker at the Year 12 Luncheon was Sonita Alleyne OBE, who in October 2019 became the first black Master of an Oxbridge College.

On taking up the role at Jesus College, Cambridge, she also became the first woman to lead the college in its 524-year history. QE is the first school she has visited since becoming Master.

After the luncheon she met with Year 13’s Bhiramah Rammanohar, Reza Sair and Drew Sellis, who all hold offers for Jesus College. The trio are among 40 QE Oxbridge offers this year – a School record.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This luncheon is the first event for Year 12 at which they can gain experience of the type of formal social occasions that they will encounter at university and in their professional lives. Sonita gave a terrific and inspiring address that was perfectly adapted to the occasion. Boys will certainly have gone away with a greater awareness of what life at Cambridge is like and of the exciting intellectual and personal development opportunities available.

“During her speech, she spoke of how the very experience of applying for, and then studying at, a university such as Cambridge, brings together people of different backgrounds, giving them that experience in common.

“This will have resonated with many of the sixth-formers present, since QE provides a state school pathway for boys from very different backgrounds (many of them the first in their family to enter higher education at all) with the opportunity to go to some of the world’s leading universities.”

The luncheon featured the customary toasts, led by School Captain Ivin Jose, who fulfilled an MC role. Grace was said by Guy Flint, Senior Vice-Captain, and the vote of thanks given by his fellow Senior Vice-Captain, George Raynor.

Sonita Alleyne was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, and brought up in Leytonstone, East London. She attended a comprehensive school before going to Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge, where she read Philosophy. A career in radio followed, and she founded production company Somethin’ Else, which she led as Chief Executive from 1991 until 2009. She is a Fellow both of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts and of the Radio Academy (FRA).

She began her speech to the sixth-formers with a word on examinations: “Exams can’t tell the world how funny you are, or how kind, or how much you love manga or wine…” But what they are, she said, is a metric that the world uses to judge success, and so for that reason they do have some importance.

One of her key pieces of advice was about keeping options open: “In life, you need to keep doors open for yourself,” she advised. The difficulty was in knowing which doors they should be. Other people would not always open doors for them, so the boys needed to be active in this regard.

For her, one such door had been Cambridge itself. In her letter to Jesus College in relation to becoming Master, she wrote: “I left Cambridge over 30 years ago, but it never left me.”

As an undergraduate, she had a real interest in artificial intelligence, so, she told the boys, she had planned to read Computer Science after an initial year of Philosophy (joint courses being more common at that time), but ended up studying Philosophy alone throughout.

She recalled that to help sixth-formers prepare for the university application process, her secondary school had just made them talk – about ideas, news, science, indeed about anything. She found she relished this and thus greatly enjoyed the Cambridge interview process and the intellectual stimulation it brought. Not only did she find the discussions “challenging in a way that GCSEs weren’t”, but they helped provide her with a sense of belonging.

Once at Cambridge, she threw herself into many enriching activities which she had not had the time or opportunity to follow at school, including Music, singing, theatre and student politics. She was even secretary of the college Mystical Science Club. (“There were only two of us!”)

She noted, however, that it was the informal shared conversations around college – and outside of these activities – that most helped her develop deep friendships and formulate her views: “[That was] where I discovered my sense of agency.” She graduated as a “free-thinking” person – a recurring phrase during her address.

After university, she had a series of jobs (“a zig-zag career”). “Don’t stress about finding a career for life, or knowing what you want to do when you graduate…take things one step at a time,” she counselled, adding that she is still taking her career one step a time.

Setting up Somethin’ Else at the age of 24 was, though, a watershed moment for her, she said. Today, she enjoys running her business, her media work, and her regeneration work as part of the London Olympic Development Corporation.

She also now takes great satisfaction from supporting other people in getting through challenges or making progress in their lives: “I am always proud to say that I help people.”

Her final advice to the boys was to be free-thinking, to challenge themselves, to “push open a few doors and to follow your ideas, because they matter”.

In a question-and-answer session following her talk, she was asked about her views on lowering grade offers for students from the state sector or disadvantaged backgrounds. “Cambridge should be a bastion of excellence, not of élitism,” she replied, but said she feels that the systematic dropping of grades does not work.

Her preference was to encourage more people to apply (“It’s one of five options and costs no more than any other university – what have you got to lose?”) and to improve access that way. Bright students such as those from QE neither want nor need entrance requirements to be lowered. “If you get the grades, you belong,” she said, adding that it is important to debunk a sense that people from certain backgrounds might not fit in. “My job as Master is about community – and it’s the best job in the world.”