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From enjoying spectacular views near the summit of Mount Etna to learning how to make their own pizzas, QE’s younger pupils sampled Sicily’s best on a Geography tour.

Forty-one boys from Years 7, 8 and 9 took part in the five-day trip led by Geography teacher Helen Davies, who was accompanied by four other members of staff.

After the first evening spent ten-pin bowling, the first full day brought a coach trip to Mount Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano. The guide-led tour included travel, first in a cable car and then in jeeps, to reach a height of 2,900m, where the strong winds brought heavy windchill that was felt even through multiple layers of clothing.

Nivain Goonasekera, of Year 9, said: “Whilst the whole trip was incredible, my favourite part was probably reaching the summit of Mount Etna: we were all taken aback by the photogenic, breath-taking views, which totally compensated for it being -5C!”

After returning to lower altitudes and warmer temperatures, they visited the nearby Alcantara Gorge – a basalt formation created by Mount Etna’s volcanic activity.

On the following day, after getting up at 5:30am, the boys set off for a full-day visit to the Aeolian Islands, a volcanic archipelago visible from Sicily.

A short boat ride took them from Milazzo to Lipari, the largest of the islands, which boasts deep caverns, steep cliffs and attractive views. Then, on the island of Vulcano, the group sampled the mud baths, where a pool of brackish water and mud clay is continuously agitated by sulphurous bubbles, the olfactory effects of which are known to linger, as Nikhil Mark, of Year 7, discovered: “It was a bit ‘icky’, but the mud was warm. We were all stinking like rotten eggs when we got back.”

On day four, the group visited the Straits of Messina and Tindari Lakes, where they saw the linguetta di sabbia, a sandbank stretching 1.5km into the Tyrrhenian Sea. “It is an extraordinary sight, for which the correct geographical term is a ‘spit’,” said Miss Davies.

One evening activity popular with the boys was the visit to a restaurant, the Café Sikelia. There they not only learned about the history of the pizza and the different types available, but also had the chance to try their hand at making one themselves, before tucking into a pizza dinner.

On the final day, they headed for the amphitheatre at Taormina, which was built by the Greeks in the third century BC and expanded by the Romans. Robert Hyland, Head of English, was able to give the boys plenty of information about the history of the amphitheatre.

Richard Collins is now an award-winning composer writing bespoke music for film, TV and games, with his first musical release and collaboration with Universal’s Aurora Production Music label just out.

Yet, if it had not been for the sage advice he was offered by a teacher when in the Sixth Form, it could all have been very different.

Richard (OE 2005–2012) originally planned to study Law at university. “Although I really struggled to write my personal statement, I managed to get something together and got ready to send off my applications.

“It was only when I gave my personal statement to Mr Hargadon [Liam Hargadon, currently Head of Politics] that he made me realise I was heading in completely the wrong direction.

“Writing my personal statement to study Music was one of the easiest 500 words I’ve ever written.

“Also, there is no doubt my musical experiences at QE were instrumental in laying the foundation for my career.”

After achieving straight As at QE – where he had been a Music Scholar – Richard went on to read Music at Durham, where he first acquired a love for composition. He went on to take a first-class Master’s degree in Composition for Film and Television at Bristol University.

In 2016, his music featured in a Student BAFTA-nominated documentary film, A Lion’s Tale. The following year, he was nominated for the Monkey Bread Tree Award for best original score for the film Rambling On. And then, also in 2017, he won second prize at the annual film-scoring competition for the California Independent Film Festival (CAIFF).

A pianist and clarinettist, Richard has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Croydon’s Fairfield Halls and at one of the Queen’s garden parties. He gives private piano or music production tuition to students. In September, he will be joining QE as a peripatetic Music teacher (piano and composition).

He is the co-founder and director of White Square Films, a production company covering all types of video and media production. He has also worked as an assistant to leading composers Martin Phipps and Samuel Sim on productions including Season 3 of Netflix’s The Crown and the BBC’s Black Earth Rising (Phipps) and The Spanish Princess and The Bay (Sim).

In April 2019, Richard’s work appeared on Aurora Production Music’s latest album, Nature’s Way.

• Richard’s music can be heard on his website.

This year’s leading national Mathematics competition for Years 9–11 features a QE boy in each 50-strong group of the top prize-winners.

Across the whole country, only 50 young mathematicians from each of the three year groups competing in the 2019 Intermediate Olympiad won the top prizes.

Even to reach the Olympiad is a significant achievement – it is open only to the top 500 performers in each year group in the UK Mathematics Trust’s Intermediate Challenge – so it took very strong performances by Shankar Vallinayagam, of Year 9, Dan Suciu, of Year 10, and James Tan, of Year 11, to win a place among the country’s very best.

In fact, James’ score of 53 out of 60 smashed through the threshold for winning one of the sought-after book prizes by a full ten points. He said later that he had found the geometry question particularly interesting, while Shankar added: “I like abstract Maths and that’s what the Olympiad is.”

And in a related Mathematics competition, the European Kangaroo, Jude Hill, of Year 9, achieved a perfect score of 135 out of 135. This is a rare feat, achieved in previous years by only two or three internationally. (The total number of perfect scores this year has yet to be confirmed).

Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung said: “My congratulations go to these four talented young mathematicians on performing so well under pressure.”

In total, 30 QE boys took part in the Olympiad – an increase on last year’s figure of 27 – and almost all of them won book prizes, medals, distinction certificates or merit certificates. Year 9’s Aran Ismail, Ansh Jassra, Arnie Sahi and Mukund Soni were medal-winners. Abhinav Santhiramohan, of Year 10, was awarded a distinction certificate. And 20 boys won merit certificates.

A further 139 QE boys from Years 9-11 took part in the Intermediate Challenge’s other follow-on round, the European Kangaroo, with 47 of them awarded merit certificates. (This competition is organised by Kangourou sans Frontières, an independent association that was inspired by the Australian Mathematics Trust, hence the name.)

In addition to Jude’s perfect score, the top scorers in the other year groups were Year 11 pupil Rakul Maheswaran, with 112 points, together with Amudhu Anandarajah and Alexandre Lee, of Year 10, who both scored 106. Jude said afterwards that he enjoyed the opportunity the Kangaroo offered to “apply your knowledge in new contexts”.

Here is one of the ‘easier’ questions from this year’s Year 9 Intermediate Olympiad papers. The triangle ABC is isosceles with AB = BC. The point D is a point on BC, between B and C, so that AC = AD = BD. What is the size of angle ABC? (Scroll down for answer).

Answer: the angle ABC is 36 degrees.

Having swept other schools aside to win the regional round of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Top of the Bench competition, QE went on to take third place at the national final.

The team of four were competing against 32 other finalists – mostly from across the UK, but with some teams even travelling from schools in Belgium – at the event held at the University of Birmingham.

Chemistry teacher Charani Dharmawardhane said: “I was extremely proud of the boys, and it was great to see their talents being recognised.”

QE has a strong record in Top of the Bench at both regional and national level. This year’s team, comprising Year 9’s Amogh Bhartia, Bikiran Behera, of Year 10, Hari Gajendran, of Year 11, and Heemy Kalam, of Year 9, led throughout the Chilterns and Middlesex regional heat at St Benedict’s School in Ealing in the autumn to claim their place in the national final.

At Birmingham, they faced a two-stage challenge in the competition, which assesses competitors’ knowledge, teamwork, and competency when faced with unknown situations. This year’s event theme was Materials.

After a welcome from Dr Mark Read from Birmingham University and Steve Nelmes from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the competitors first had to sit individual tests designed to assess their knowledge of Chemistry in areas well beyond what they would normally learn in the classroom.

Then they faced a practical challenge – an experiment based on biodegradable plastics, particularly those derived from polylactic acid (PLA).

Following the experiment, the boys attended an interactive lecture from Connor Stubbs, a Birmingham University expert on plastics and the environment, and had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with issues surrounding the use of plastics.

Commenting afterwards, Hari said: “I really enjoyed the day and the chance to explore Chemistry outside of the classroom.”

Three Old Elizabethan medics are among a group of London healthcare students who have teamed up to sponsor a child’s education in Sri Lanka.

Raahul Niranchanan (2010–2017), Vipushan Konesalingam (2010-2016) and Athithyan Vijayathasan (2009-2016) are supporting a string of fundraising activities to raise £3,000 for Ocean Stars Trust – a UK charity working in Sri Lanka.

All three are studying at George’s University of London and are committee members of the St George’s Tamil Society.

“If there was one lesson we learnt from attending School at QE, it was the idea that everyone is capable of making a change,” says Raahul.

The team originally began as 17 people meeting in the living room of a house numbered 17A, hence the team name they adopted, 17A.

Their JustGiving page explains their motivation: “We appreciate that growing up in London…we often take what we have for granted. So, when uni got a bit tough for us and we started complaining, we took a step back: we realised we’ve actually got an opportunity to even get as far as studying a degree.

“But there are kids out there who don’t even know if they would still be in school tomorrow, or who can only dream of having an education.

“We know education is a gift that no one or nothing should take away from you, not even poverty.

“Our aim is to be able to give the opportunity we received so easily to another child. A child who dreams for a better education, a better future and a better life. We hope we can help make those dreams come true.”

The charity they have chosen works closely with orphans and other disadvantaged children in Sri Lanka.

The team got things off to a good start with a successful bake sale at St George’s University, London, which raised £500, followed by a Hot Wing Challenge – a spicy wing-eating contest in which OE courage featured prominently!

For more information, or to donate to Team 17A, go to their JustGiving, Instagram or Facebook page.