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From the history of powered flight to the physics of theme park rides, Year 9 pupils covered a lot of ground on their four-day Science trip to Paris.

Travelling by coach and ferry, the 43-strong group not only literally covered many miles, but also made great strides in their learning as they took in real-life examples of scientific principles in action.

Physics teacher and Academic Enrichment Tutor Gillian Deakin said: “The tightly packed programme had been planned to, on the one hand, showcase some of the interesting applications of Science from the classroom while, on the other, providing discussion points for future lessons.”

The first stopping-off point for the group was the National Air and Space Museum of France, at Paris’s historic Le Bourget, still a working airport for private flights. With nearly 20,000 exhibits, the museum features two Concordes among its 150 aeroplanes. The boys sampled the flight simulator and learned about the development of flight, from air balloons to the modern day.

Pupil Aarush Verma particularly enjoyed this visit: “I attend air cadets outside of school, so it was nice to see a variety of different aircraft, from the first planes to modern passenger planes, such as the A380.”

The rockets there were a highlight for his fellow pupil, Vignesh Rajiv:“I was very impressed by the scale and size of them.”

Later, at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, the biggest science museum in Europe, the group were able to see exhibitions on themes from genetics to energy. “I found the robotics section especially fascinating as visitors could control the robots,” said Aarush. “It linked up really nicely with my personal interests at School, where I’m active with VEX Robotics.”

Another highlight of the trip was a night tour of Montparnasse. “We watched the illumination of the Eiffel Tower at 8pm and got amazing views of Paris,” said Miss Deakin.

The following day the group headed off to Disneyland Paris where they sampled various attractions, from Hyperspace Mountain (a Star Wars-themed ride), to It’s a Small World, a water-based boat ride with audio-animatronic dolls.

“The boys have been studying energy transfers in Science, and the rides have furnished knowledge which they will now have the opportunity to discuss in the classroom,” said Miss Deakin.

“We also got to watch the parade, which included several childhood favourites, and there were some exciting pyrotechnics, which showcased yet more interesting applications of Science.”

The final day included a quick stopover at the Cité Europe shopping centre for lunch and souvenirs. Although the ferry home was delayed by over an hour and a half because of poor weather, a free meal provided the boys with compensation for the hold-up.

An industry-led event to promote degree apprenticeships proved popular with Year 12 boys, with the 15 available places soon snapped up.

The Young Professionals Industry Event, held at the South Bank’s IBM building, comprised a number of workshops with speakers from organisations including Ernst & Young, PwC, Capgemini UK and the RAF.

Degree apprenticeships, which were launched by the Government in 2015, combine higher education and vocational training, enabling university study and the on-the-job training. Training costs are co-funded by the government and the employer, while the apprentices are employed and paid throughout the course.

Head of Year 12, Helen Davies said: “The event offered boys an immersive experience of what it’s like to work in different sectors and to hear from current graduates, apprentices and business professionals.”

Established through a crowd-funding exercise in 2018 by a then-teenage entrepreneur, Dan Miller, Young Professionals aimed to fill a perceived gap in careers advice, making young people aware of “amazing opportunities… right on their doorstep”.

Young Professionals now has links with at least 35 global brands and has launched an app to help young people identify apprenticeships and work experience opportunities.

Miss Davies added: “The boys were interested to learn that the RAF, for example, offers degrees in a number of engineering disciplines and even medicine, alongside sporting opportunities for its staff.”

“Many of the top companies made it clear they expect their apprentices to move to the capital, which put our boys in a strong position as they are already in London.”

PwC representatives highlighted psychometric testing, some of which involves virtual reality headsets. Some of the tests aim to ascertain how candidates deal with frustration. “This was something again which the boys found interesting,” said Miss Davies.

“Overall, they clearly enjoyed the event and found the keynote lecture and workshop from Ernst & Young particularly engaging.”

A capacity audience at QE’s Jazz Evening enjoyed debut performances alongside accomplished playing by some of the School’s more seasoned musicians.

There were ensemble and solo performances of works from classics and standards to new jazz-influenced compositions, as well as fusions of jazz with other styles.

Boys from Years 7– 13 enjoyed the opportunity to showcase their flair for everything jazz in the Main School Hall.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “The audience enjoyed a fabulous concert – a truly toe-tapping evening. The boys practised and rehearsed hard in the weeks running up to the concert and did not disappoint on the night, giving enjoyable and memorable performances.”

Symphonic Winds, performing for the first time in this annual concert, opened the programme with A Little Salsa Music by Adam Gorb and Jitterbug! by Robert Buckley. And Year 7’s Leo Sellis performed his first saxophone solo since joining the School in September last year, playing Sonata, Movement II by Phil Woods.

The QE Jazz Band played a number of sets, delivering, amongst others, the Theme from Hawaii Five-O by Mort Stevens and Cool from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein. “The Jazz Band proved themselves, once again, to be the backbone of the evening,” said Miss Partington. “The audience were continually impressed by their tight but exuberant playing. There were some excellent solos from all the instruments, with a special mention going to Conor Parker-Delves on tenor.”

The Jazz Lounge performed their own arrangement of George Michael’s Careless Whisper, while Friday Jazz took on jazz classic Birdland by Joe Zawinul.

“The audience enjoyed a real treat with the performances from Friday Jazz and the various Saxophone Ensembles, and were suitably impressed by the quality of the student-led groups, such as the Barbershop Group and QE Jazz Lounge. All the boys are to be congratulated for their enthusiasm and accomplished performances.” Miss Partington concluded.

The number of QE pupils receiving top awards in the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge has increased again this year, with one boy achieving a perfect score.

The IMC competition, run by the UK Mathematics Trust, is for pupils in Years 9 to 11; 317 boys from QE took part – 174 were awarded gold certificates (up from 172 last year), while 103 were awarded silver (compared to 91 last year), with a further 31 receiving bronze.

Ansh Jassra from Year 10 was awarded Best in School, scoring a maximum-possible 135 points.

With only 500 places available nationally across all schools for the highest scorers for the Intermediate Olympiad, Ansh and 22 other QE boys qualified. A further 174 QE pupils secured entry into the Intermediate Kangaroo, the competition’s other follow-on round.

Ansh said: “With its many challenging yet intriguing maths problems, sitting the IMC was fun, testing and overall a great experience. I am looking forward to the Olympiad!” said Ansh.

Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung said: “We are delighted with how well the boys have done and extremely pleased with the continued increase in the proportion of boys reaching the follow-on rounds. As the recently introduced 9-1 GCSE has a strong focus on problem-solving, success in the IMC will stand the boys in good stead for their examinations.”

Maxwell Johnson, who was named Best in Year 9 with a score of 130, said: “I hope that I will be able to improve on my score in the [Junior] Olympiad from last year. It will be challenging, but I’m sure I will enjoy it.”

Shimaq Sakeel Mohamed, who also scored 130 and was named Best in Year 11, said: “I am proud to be part of a School where I can achieve great things and the IMC is a great way to do this.”

Sample question:
The Knave of Hearts stole some tarts. He ate half of them, and half a tart more. The Knave of Diamonds ate half of what was left, and half a tart more. Then the Knave of Clubs ate half of what remained, and half a tart more. This left just one tart for the Knave of Spades.

How many tarts did the Knave of Hearts steal? A. 63  B. 31  C. 19  D. 17  E. 15

Solution:
Suppose that at a particular stage there are m tarts available for a Knave to eat and that there are n left after he has finished eating. Then n = m − ( ½ m+ ½ ) = ½ m – ½ . Therefore, m = 2n +1. As the Knave of Spades received one tart, then the number of tarts which the Knave of Clubs was given was 2×1+1 = 3. Similarly, the number of tarts which the Knave of Diamonds was given was 2×3+1 = 7. Finally, the number of tarts which the Knave of Hearts stole was 2×7+1. So the correct answer is: E. 15.

Award-winning speaker Robyn Steward told Year 10 and 11 boys of how she emerged from years of bullying to become a successful speaker, author, academic researcher and musician.

Delivering the Spring Middle School Lecture, Robyn, an Ambassador for the National Autistic Society, gave the boys insights into the particular problems faced by autistic people, but also suggested some ways in which everyone could benefit from what she has learned.

Pointing out that life does not always unfold in a straight line, she said it was important to make the most of the present: “Life is messy. All I’ve got is today – and when I realise that, it makes me a happier person,” she said.

“Find your tribe” – those people one belongs with – she urged the boys, adding: “Don’t worry if you haven’t found your thing yet; keep looking.” She, for example, had had no idea when she started out on her career that she would end up as a professional musician, yet she now plays the trumpet and has put on “inclusive-conscious” gigs entitled Robyn’s Rocket in London.

Head of Academic Enrichment Nisha Mayer said: “I would like to thank Robyn for giving a lecture that contrived to be both inspiring and humorous, while at the same helping to deepen the boys’ understanding of autism.”

In her talk entitled Autism from a person, not a textbook, Robyn told her audience in the Shearly Hall that she wished she had had the opportunity to hear an autistic speaker when she was at school, as she was just made to feel different and “weird”.

She had been widely bullied and called names such as “retard” or “spastic”. This was the result of ignorance and of her classmates being “jokey”. In her view, there were two types of bullying, she explained – the “jokers” trying to raise a laugh from their friends at the expense of someone else, and those who are “mean at heart’. The majority are the former, who, she believed, would be shocked to realise she was talking all these years later about the harmful effects of what they had said.

She was in a special needs class at primary school, but the bullying really started in high school, she said. Recalling the great insecurity she felt about visiting the toilets, she explained that she had been told the other pupils would “flush her head down the loo” and, as an autistic person, she had taken this very literally. Robyn has cerebral palsy, so she was also worried about not being able to operate the locks properly. She was, in fact, locked in the toilet, manhandled and called names. Fortunately, her mother supported her in this ordeal, she said.

Speaking about the effects of bullying generally, she said: “I don’t think anyone should have to feel like that. It is crushing for your self-confidence.”

In 2015, Robyn was joint awardee of the National Autistic Society’s Professional award for outstanding achievement by an individual on the Autism Spectrum for her work in raising awareness of the abuse experienced by autistic people. In 2018, she was listed on the Power 100 list of the most influential disabled people in the UK.

We can all do something to combat bullying, she told the QE boys. If they saw a friend saying unkind things, they could say: “Hey, stop it! That person has feelings,” and could also tell the target of the bullying not to worry about it. And since the boys comprise a community at QE, they should work together and support each other, recognising that everyone experiences low self-esteem at times.

At college, she had more freedom to protect herself – she could leave a room when she chose, for example. She studied IT – and “really enjoyed it”, despite further bullying – and then art & design. She learned at college about the concept of Theory of Mind, which was a huge insight: she realised that being autistic, she had struggled to understand someone else’s perception of a situation in the way that others do through empathy or reading facial expression or observing body language. All of this she had to learn from scratch.

Showing the boys her school photo, she asked them what was different about her (and stated that their age group is normally better at spotting the answer than adults!). Unlike her peers, she was not looking at the camera and was not smiling, she pointed out, adding that this is because many autistic people do not pick up on social cues.

In spite of all the bullying, she now has a full and varied life, Robyn said. “I have no GCSEs and yet here I am, aged 33, saying I’ve turned out all right.” She has a BBC podcast with fellow autistic presenter Jamie Knight – 1800 seconds on autism – and is also host of the Autism Matters podcast from Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. She works with UCL and the Wellcome Trust, conducting research to understand how we are all different. For more than 15 years, she has been travelling the world giving talks. She is the author of books providing guidance for autistic people.

Afterwards, Year 13 pupil Saifullah Shah complimented Robyn on her talk and then opened the floor up for questions.