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Boys from Years 7 and 8 were able to explore the huge and diverse range of extra-curricular activities available to them at QE’s Clubs & Societies Fair.

Whether pupil or staff-led, the societies used their stalls to seek new members: boys were encouraged to join at least three different clubs.

Among those showcased at the annual fair were ‘History Raiders’ and ‘Geo-explorers’, as well as religious societies and groups focusing on areas such as engineering, robotics, language games, wildlife photography and 3D printing.

Many of the clubs and societies provide opportunities for the boys to mix with others from different year groups.

Rebecca Grundy, Head of Extra-curricular Enrichment, said: “There is huge scope for boys to get involved, find new interests, hone their skills and eventually run societies of their own. A significant proportion of the clubs are run by the boys, giving them valuable experience in leadership, organisation and teamwork.”

These clubs and societies are in addition to those extra-curricular activities the School offers in sport, music, drama and public speaking. In addition, QE often works with outside organisations, either to provide specialist expertise in school sports such as water polo, or to offer wider opportunities, such as circus skills.

“What goes on beyond the classroom is of equal importance is and key to developing the rounded young men we seek to produce,” said Miss Grundy.

Many of QE’s senior players visited Canada on the School’s first-ever rugby tour to the Americas.

During the ten-day visit, the touring party took on several leading youth rugby sides, while also finding the time for some sightseeing.

Head of Rugby James Clarke said: “Canada is a rapidly developing rugby nation and, having twice visited Sri Lanka in recent years, we were keen to see another culture.”

Led by four members of staff, the 19 tourists spent seven days in Toronto and three days in Niagara.

They took on Ontario Provincial A, currently the second-best regional team in Canada, and were defeated 47-7. Against the Ontario Provincial B side, the QE boys came much closer, losing 17-15, while they scored a convincing 46-7 victory over Niagara Rugby Club.

Among the attractions they visited were Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario – the country’s first major theme park, which, at 134 acres, remains its biggest – and Toronto’s 553.3m CN Tower. They enjoyed watching the local professional baseball team, at the Rogers Centre, the club’s home ground. And they made the most of their visit to Niagara, not only visiting Niagara Falls but also jetboating on Niagara River.

Mr Clarke said: “The boys were able to experience a different culture, as well as enjoying the hospitality of the hosting sides and the international camaraderie after each game with opposition players.

“Furthermore, our boys really ‘gelled’ as a squad, which is already having a positive effect on senior rugby here at QE this year.”

The ‘stand-out’ players were Fozy Ahmed, Samuel Burgess and James Loebell, all of Year 12, and Samuel Wong of Year 13, Mr Clarke added.

Performance coach Kam Taj’s new book offers students his own innovative and detailed holistic approach to achieving success as a student.

Entitled The Ultimate Guide to Exam Success, the book is the latest in a series published through UniAdmissions, an education consultancy which helps students applying to Oxbridge and medical schools.

Announcing its publication, Kam (Kamran Tajbaksh, OE 2004–2011) told his Facebook followers: “In many ways, I wrote this book for my younger self – it’s everything I wished I knew as a student and teenager.

“For those of you who don’t know, I graduated from Cambridge University with a 1st class in Engineering. But my path was anything but smooth. I went from failing my A-level Further Maths mocks to getting an A* and meeting my offer. I only achieved my 1st class after getting 2.2 grades in my first two years at Cambridge. I tell my story in more detail in the book, as well as sharing the tools and techniques which helped me to transform my failures into success – and have helped many of my private clients since.”

The first four chapters of the 182-page paperback are on: time-management, study tools & techniques; mind-management and on-the-day performance.

“Unlike any other book on exams, the final four chapters are on optimising our lifestyle so we can stay physically and mentally healthy throughout our studies,” Kam adds. These chapters of the book, which is published by RAR Medical Services, look at: movement & physical activity; nutrition & hydration; sleep and support groups.

Kam studied Manufacturing Engineering at Churchill College, Cambridge. After graduating, he initially took up a post as a management consultant with a global company. However, he had begun doing performance coaching work while still at university and in 2016 left the consultancy world to concentrate fully on coaching and motivational speaking.

He works predominantly with students and young professionals, speaking at leading schools and universities. Last term, Kam visited QE to lead a workshop on Oxbridge preparation for 32 sixth-formers.

The content of the new book is similar to The 8 Principles of Exam Domination, which was self-published by Kam on Kindle last year.

Klimt’s Magic Garden, a virtual reality experience created by filmmaker and academic Dr Frederick Baker, proved so popular in the artist’s Austrian homeland that its run was extended by nearly six months.

The experience, which eventually ran from February until early October in Vienna’s MAK (Museum of Applied Arts), is also now being staged at a leading arts centre in Brussels.

Timed to coincide with the centenary of the Gustav Klimt’s death this year, Klimt’s Magic Garden is a virtual reality tour for which Fred (OE 1976–1983) was inspired by the series of three mosaics that the Art Nouveau doyen created for the Stoclet Palace, also in Brussels. To produce the experience, Fred used high-resolution digital photographic material to create a rich, shimmering virtual paradise.

Born in Salzburg but brought up in London, Fred studied Anthropology and Archaeology at St John’s College, Cambridge, Tübingen and Sheffield universities and went on to gain a PhD from Cambridge in 2009. He now lives in Vienna and London.

Fred was a Producer Director for the BBC, working for the corporation from 1994 to 2006. He is the owner of the Austrian film company, Filmbäckerei, and a College Research Association at the Centre for Film and Screen Media, Wolfson College, Cambridge.

He returned to St John’s in 2014 to create a hugely atmospheric screening of the film classic The Third Man, which became the first film ever to be mapped on to the college’s Bridge of Sighs.

A specialist in Austrian cinema, he has published extensively on The Third Man – the Carol Reed-directed film starring Orson Welles, which was set in Vienna and used a screenplay by Graham Greene, who had also written it as a novella. As well as examining the film for his doctorate, Fred made a 90-minute documentary about its making, entitled Shadowing The Third Man.

He is also the founder of Cambridge’s annual international research symposium, Picturing Austrian Cinema, and has lectured at universities in Weimar and Berlin as well as at Middlesex University. The winner of numerous awards at film festivals from Cannes to Hollywood, Fred has made acclaimed documentaries on subjects including Stalin and Rebuilding the Reichstag (about the reconstruction of the German parliament building overseen by the architect, Norman Foster).

• Klimt’s Magic Garden, which is experienced using virtual reality headsets, runs at the Palais des Beaux-Arts (also known as BOZAR) in Brussels until 20th January 2019. A sample of the experience is available on YouTube.

Akshay Ruparelia’s fast-expanding online estate agency launched a second crowdfunding round this week – and smashed its £400,000 target within seconds of the offer going live.

Doorsteps.co.uk has gone from strength to strength since its launch almost two years ago: by the end of 2017, it had listed more than 3,000 properties, or nearly 1% of the UK market.

Akshay (OE 2009–2016) made national headlines last year after the first fundraising, with the young entrepreneur’s age attracting journalists’ admiration. Now, as Chief Operating Officer and joint founder, he is fronting the fundraising drive, which will pay for more staff and additional investment in technology as the company grows.

“We are absolutely delighted to have hit 140% of the target within less than 30 seconds of going live,” said Akshay. “We will continue to overfund, allowing more aggressive expansion and a clearer path to becoming No.1 Estate Agent in Britain, so there is still an opportunity for Old Elizabethans to make an investment.”

In a promotional video on the Crowdcube crowdfunding site, Akshay explains the company’s core approach of offering its customers low prices, good service and a simple process. He also outlined Doorsteps’ philosophy of achieving growth through recommendation, rather than heavy spending on advertising. “Our online reviews just get better and better,” he adds.

“Our target for this year is 2% of the UK and I am pleased to say we are on course for just that – but we need to hire more account managers, more customer service agents and employ just a little bit of technology to help us cope with the level of demand, hence this fundraising.” Equity of 3.26% was offered for the £400,000 sought through crowdfunding.

Akshay revealed a little of the estate agency’s future plans. “We want to continue the Doorsteps way and offer even more services to make the house-buying and selling process even easier. Sadly, I cannot reveal all because we know that our competitors are watching, but I can say that we recently launched Doorsteps Conveyancing and Mortgages to make the process seamless.

“Last July we were in the top 50 estate agents in Britain; today we are in the top ten. Trust us again and help us to finish the job: let’s get to Number 1!” he tells potential investors.

• The fundraising continues on Crowdcube for another 28 days. Akshay is happy for alumni to contact him directly on [email protected]