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Year 12’s Karanvir Singh Kumar has been named as one of three runners-up in a national schools competition run by economists seeking to challenge conventional thinking in the discipline.

His three-minute film won plaudits from judges for its ideas, its coherence and its clarity.

QE’s Head of Economics Shamendra Uduwawala said: “My congratulations go to Karanvir for his achievement. He formulated an effective argument and then delivered it to camera with considerable aplomb.”

The competition was entitled What’s the 8th Way to Think Like a 21st Century Economist? and was run jointly by Doughnut Economics and Rethinking Economics.

Doughnut Economics is the organisation and website run by Kate Raworth, of Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, whose 2017 book, Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist has been translated into 15 languages. She has presented her ideas to the UN General Assembly and has been described by environmental activist and Guardian columnist George Monbiot as “the John Maynard Keynes of the 21st century”.

Rethinking Economics is an international network of students, academics and professionals working towards “building a better economics in society and the classroom”.

In his video, Karanvir began by arguing that the very etymology of the word ‘Economics’ – it derives from the Greek word ‘οἰκονόμος’, meaning ‘household management’ – provides a good starting point for addressing the topic. “The way consumers manage their households is the main influence over what is demanded from the economy and what they consume,” he said.

“Traditionally it’s argued that ‘change demands, and supply will follow’.” But, said Karanvir: “I believe both aspects need to change in tandem to achieve any equilibrium goal. I believe that in  the 21st century we should finally re-centre Economics around the household, and not just by analysing consumer habits, but by aiming to change the deep, underlying human needs behind those habits to more sustainable ones.

“Valuing sustainability in supply, mindfulness in demand, and changing market incentives to reflect sustainability in change is the ‘eighth way to think like a 21st century economist’,” he concluded.

One of the judges, Naila Kabeer, Professor of Gender & Development at London School of Economics, praised his entry: “The different parts of the argument fitted together well. I liked: the focus on the household as a way of thinking about consumers; the need for innovation to make sustainable living easy; and ‘mindfulness in demand and sustainability in supply’. Congratulations!”

Fellow judge Nancy Folbre, Professor Emerita of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst added: “Good substance with a clear presentation!”

Year 9 boys enjoyed a successful trip to Amsterdam for one of Europe’s largest youth rugby tournaments, where they took on club sides from the UK and the Netherlands alike.

The 24-strong QE squad won three of their four matches in the U14 category of the 20th annual Hilversum International Youth Rugby Festival.

QE’s Director of Sport Jonathan Hart said: “It is great to support this ever-growing tournament; the boys played extremely well and should be proud of what they achieved in Amsterdam.”

Some 85 teams, with players aged from 7 to 18, played approximately 175 matches during the festival. Hosted by RC Hilversum, it attracts entries from England, South Africa, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Belgium, as well as the Netherlands. Ten teams competed in the U14 competition in which the QE boys were involved.

The QE contingent’s annual tour began this year with a warm-up game against Amstelveense RC, a club from the town of Amstelveen, near Amsterdam, which they won by one try.

“The squad were feeling extremely positive going into the tournament the next day,” said Mr Hart. They played group matches again RC’t Gooi (a club from the Dutch town of Naarden), Beaconsfield RFC, Basingstoke RFC and RC The Dukes (from the town of ‘s-Hertogenbosch).

“On a glorious day with blazing sunshine (a stark contrast to the previous year), the boys played extremely well and worked hard to secure their three wins out of four,” said Mr Hart.

He praised “notable performances” from Danny Adey, Victor Angelov, Muhammad Nayel Huda and Akhil Walia, but added: “The whole squad should be congratulating themselves for the way they conducted themselves on and off the field; it was a pleasure to take them, as they all created a great tour atmosphere.”

QE boys won three Plate competitions at the National Schools’ Eton Fives Championships, as the sport flourishes at Queen Elizabeth’s School.

More than 40 boys have represented QE competitively this year, with 28 pupils travelling to Shrewsbury School for the national finals, where more than 650 players from schools across the country gathered.

Oliver O’Gorman, Master in charge of Eton Fives, said: “We have more boys playing than ever before and this is starting to show when we play fixtures against other schools, with more competition for places driving up standards.”

Organisers from the Eton Fives Association commented that the Plate competitions at the national finals are becoming increasingly competitive.

QE Year 9 pair Abhijay Singh and Jamie Hoang “enjoyed a really good day in the sunshine” at Shrewsbury, winning the Plate B competition for their age group, said Mr O’Gorman.

The senior boys “also had a fantastic day”, with Razvan Rusu and Jay Nafade, both of Year 13, taking Plate A, while Year 12 partners Abilash Sivathasan and Thushan Mohan won Plate B.

“In our regular season we’ve had really competitive fixtures against Aldenham, Mill Hill, St Olave’s and Berkhamsted, which have all benefited our boys greatly,” said Mr O’Gorman.

He added that this year’s introduction of a new coach – Mr Jamie Shamash – had helped raise the QE players’ skill levels.

• Eton Fives is a hand-ball game played in a three-sided court by teams of two. The National Schools’ Eton Fives Championships are held in rotation at Shrewsbury, Highgate School and Eton College, where the game was invented.

Year 8 pupil Maxwell Johnson’s colourful and carefully researched poster about plastics won first prize in a Royal Society of Chemistry regional competition.

Entrants in the under-13 competition run by the RSC’s Chilterns and Middlesex Division were challenged to prepare a poster under the heading of The Chemistry Around Us.

Maxwell’s multi-coloured entry spelled out his title using letters from the Periodic Table and then set out the advantages of plastics – a ‘wonder substance’ – while contrasting these with the problems this ‘material mess’ causes.

He received a certificate signed by RSC divisional committee member Vanessa Nottage, together with £25-worth of Amazon vouchers.

QE Chemistry teacher and Extra-curricular Enrichment Tutor Keith Bugler said: “Many congratulations to Maxwell on the research and care he put into his entry: I thought his poster was awesome!”

Among the positive attributes of plastics that Maxwell listed were its light weight, durability and versatility, Dr Bugler said. However, Maxwell pointed out the problems caused in the oceans when UV rays make plastics crumble into microplastics less than 5mm long. These endanger many sea animals, including birds and whales, and also enter the human food chain, causing health problems such as hormonal dysfunction and cancers.

Ian Stern has risen to the very top of the legal profession, forging his reputation as a leading Queen’s Counsel in some of the country’s highest-profile court cases of the 21st century.

Ian (OE 1968–1975) returned to QE this term for a meeting with the Headmaster and, since he is keen to support the development of advocacy skills in schoolchildren, has agreed to host a visit to the crown court by the School’s entrants in this year’s Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial competition.
(In addition to his work as a barrister, he sits as a Recorder of the Crown Court, that is, a part-time judge.)

After leaving QE, Ian read Politics at Warwick and then went on to gain his Diploma in Law from City University. He was called to the Bar in 1983 and became a Recorder in 2000. He took silk (gained the award of Queen’s Counsel) in 2006.

His specialisms include professional discipline, judicial reviews, cases of murder & manslaughter and of fraud, coroners’ inquests and High Court appeals. Ian’s Chambers, 2 Bedford Row, are ranked in band 1 for professional discipline and band 2 for crime. He is a member both of the London Bar and the New South Wales Bar in Australia and is the Head of Chambers Regulatory team.

In 2014, Ian was named Professional Discipline Silk of the Year by the legal directory, Chambers & Partners. He has been involved in a large number of cases in this field, including conducting the Andrew Mitchell ‘Plebgate’ misconduct hearings on behalf of the Metropolitan Police. Recent cases include that of Dr Lyndsey Thomas, who faced an allegation of gross negligence manslaughter arising from the death of a patient. Mrs Justice Nicola Davies allowed the submission of ‘no case to answer’ put forward by the defence, which Ian led.

He also has been at the forefront of several high-profile inquests in which he represented armed police officers. These include:

• Mark Duggan: The 2013–2014 inquest followed the death which started the London riots. (Ian was also involved in the judicial review launched by Mr Duggan’s mother, Pamela, following the inquest’s verdict of lawful killing
• Jean Charles de Menezes: Ian represented the officers who fired the shots that killed Mr de Menezes on 22nd July 2005 at Stockwell Underground Station after he was wrongly identified as a fugitive terrorist involved in the previous day’s failed bombing attempts.
• Chandler’s Ford robbery: He represented the officers who fatally shot two men as they robbed a security guard outside a bank in the Hampshire town.

Among the murder cases he has been involved in is last year’s Old Bailey trial of retired specialist firearms officer Anthony Long, who was accused of the murder of Azelle Rodney, a 24-year-old suspected armed robber. Mr Long, whom Ian represented, was acquitted.

Chambers and Partners is fulsome in its praise, bestowing on him plaudits including:

• “A highly regarded silk who is consistently involved in the highest-profile and most complex regulatory cases. His expertise covers a breadth of areas, and he is particularly regarded for his knowledge on police and healthcare disciplinary matters.
• “Instructed by top solicitors and major prosecuting authorities alike” he is armed with “bags of common sense” and “excellent judgment” and has “the ability to handle the most complex of fraud trials”
• “Impressive advocate with a measured style and a delicate touch who always makes the right decisions”
• “Absolutely first class” and a silk “who will fight his corner for the client”
• He is noted for his advocacy, and for his ability to win over clients by “dealing with them with the necessary level of respect for their professionalism”.