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Old Elizabethan Piers Martin was part of a relay team that successfully swam the English Channel and raised more than £6,000 for Autism East Midlands.

Yet, even though the team were eminently suited to the challenge – Piers (OE 1987–1994) is a high-performance sport and business consultant and a former national-level swimming champion, while two of his fellow team-members are water polo coaches – the swim almost didn’t happen.

The authorising organisation – the Channel Swimming and Piloting Association (CSPA) – gives teams such as Piers’ a window of only just over a week, he explains. “After the glorious weather we have had this summer, the winds and swell broke and we spent our window waiting for it to clear. On the last couple of days, the CSPA told us that the weather was getting worse and we would have to look for a date in September, perhaps even next year.”

Devastated by the disappointment after more than a year of training to swim the 21 miles to France, the team packed their bags and left Dover.

A reprieve came unexpectedly. “As we arrived home we got a call for a small window, but it was going to be rough.” The ‘window’ started at 11pm, which meant the team faced the additional challenge of swimming at night.

“We returned to Dover and went for it. And rough it was. We started the swim at midnight from Shakespeare Beach, and the initial hours in the dark were against fairly strong swell. The waves did calm a little as the sun rose and we started making good time. Our pilot got us to within metres of Cap Gris Nez and we finished in 13 hours and 3 minutes.”

They had successfully negotiated the world’s busiest shipping route – among ferries, container ships and tankers – swimming against tides and in cold water without wet suits.

The team, comprising Piers, Sarah Dunsbee, Tim Dunsbee, Cara Saunders, Anna Lord and Jack Overtoon, was named Hayley’s Channel Relay Team. “I have known the Dunsbee family for a long time through water polo,” says Piers. “Tim and Sarah are both water polo coaches. One of their twin daughters, Hayley, is severely autistic and lives in a home which is run by Autism East Midlands (a leading autism charity), which is why we swam to raise money for that cause.”

Currently Managing Director of the Podium Performance Group – a consultancy that supports organisations, teams and individuals to develop optimised performance – Piers has also led and advised a range of Olympic and Paralympic sports.

He is the founder of GuruBox, a video-coaching platform that shares ideas and experience in less than a minute, and co-founder of the Sports Influencers (SP.IN) sports business network. Piers is Chair of UK Deaf Sport, a Director/Trustee on several Boards and Performance Advisor to various sports and performance programmes. He is also a member of the Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators for Sports Resolutions UK and the Institute of Directors (IoD) Cheshire Committee.
He is a keynote speaker and guest lecturer and sits on the Sports Advisory Board of Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

Piers has a Masters degree and an MBA from Manchester University and is currently undertaking a PhD in Psychology.

QE is the country’s top boys’ state school for GCSEs, according to The Times, and its A-level results were better than any 11-18 independent school, a table published in the Daily Telegraph reveals.

The Times ranked schools according to the proportion of top grades achieved, taking account both of the percentage of grades 9 & 8 achieved (both deemed equivalent to an A* under the old system) and the percentage of grades 9,8 & 7 (A* and A equivalents).

QE’s 78% for 9 & 8 grades put it ahead of the next-placed state school, Colchester County High School for Girls, on 72% and only slightly behind the top-placed state school, The Tiffin Girls’ School, on 79.4%.

The Telegraph published a table compiled by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) which ranks schools with more than ten A-level candidates by the proportion of A* and A grades achieved by their Year 13 pupils in last week’s results. Of the 304 independent schools across England and Wales who released their results to the ISC, only a specialist private post-16 provider – Cardiff Sixth Form College – bettered QE’s total of 84.7%.

The Times also published its own league table based on A-level results. In this, QE vied with Wilson’s School in Sutton for the spot as the country’s top state school: QE had a clear lead in terms of the proportion of A* grades achieved (45.2% to 38%), while Wilson’s was marginally ahead in the percentage of grades at A*–B (96.8% against 96.7%) – the main measure used in compiling the table. [Subsequently, QE’s figures have risen to 46.9% A* and 97.3% A*-B.]

Overall, QE was in fourth place in The Times’ A-level league table, behind Wilson’s and two independent schools (Brighton College and City of London School for Girls) – up from 13th place last year.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It is encouraging to receive this independent corroboration of the outstanding performance of our boys at both GCSE and A-level. A small number of independent schools were listed with slightly higher GCSE figures than QE, although many of their pupils sat IGCSEs, whereas state schools such as QE have had to make the transition to the reformed, more rigorous new GCSEs.

Mr Enright added: “Although I am delighted by the performance of our boys this summer, it should be recognised that the QE experience is about much more than examination results, important though these are. We seek to ensure the rounded development of all our boys, and their happiness and wellbeing are of paramount importance to us.

“Our academic focus, therefore, extends well beyond examination syllabuses in that we encourage boys to pursue their intellectual interests, nurturing an environment of free-thinking scholarship. We also strongly encourage all pupils to find fulfilment in their free time by engaging in our wide range of stimulating extra-curricular activities.”

• This story was updated on 25th August to include information about the league table published in the Daily Telegraph.

Well over three out of every four GCSEs sat at QE this summer achieved the top grade – a new School record. Of the 1,817 examinations taken, 78% were awarded A* or 8–9 (the numerical equivalent of A* for the new-style GCSEs).

The total represents a 6.9% leap from last year’s 71.1%, which was itself a QE record.

After last year’s national introduction of new-style English and Mathematics GCSEs marked on a 9–1 scale, 2018 saw the reforms extended to many more subjects: all but three of the 19 GCSEs offered at QE this year followed the new format.

QE’s results demonstrate strong academic achievement across the board, with 92.2% of examinations given an A* or A (9–7) grade and 100% of the 180 Year 11 boys gaining the Government’s benchmark of at least five GCSEs including English and Mathematics at grades A*–C (9–4). In Mathematics, 76% of boys gained the highest-possible result, a grade 9 – equivalent to an upper-end A*.

In total there were 970 grade 9s achieved by the boys, averaging over five per student.

There were also many outstanding individual performances: 15 boys (some 8% of candidates) gained straight grade 9s in all their new-style GCSEs, while a quarter of QE’s boys recorded all 9s and 8s (A* equivalent).

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My warmest congratulations go to all our boys on breaking through the 75% threshold with a truly remarkable set of results. This Year 11 was a happy year group who were great to teach; we are looking forward to welcoming them into the Sixth Form. Their results are the reward for many months of consistent hard work both on their part and on that of their teachers, who have adapted their teaching splendidly in response to the changes.”

“The introduction of a new grade 9 has provided our very able boys with a harder, more ambitious target to aim at – and they have relished this additional challenge.”

Analysis of QE’s results for the new-style GCSEs reveals some remarkable figures for individual subjects. For example, 100% of Latin candidates gained a grade 9. For Mathematics, it was the second year of the new qualification. Last year, 71% of boys achieved the highest-possible score, grade 9, but this year the total has risen still further, to 76%.

The GCSE results add to the celebratory atmosphere at QE that followed last week’s announcement of A-level results that included a record number of A* grades.

Highlights of this year’s GCSE results include:

• 78% of all examinations taken were awarded A* or 8–9
• 92.2% of examinations were given A* or A (9–7)
• 970 grade 9s were awarded in the reformed courses
• 15 boys achieved a clean sweep of 9s
• 100% of Latin candidates achieved grade 9
• 76% of boys gaining grade 9 in Mathematics, which was taken by all 180 boys
• 100% of pupils achieved the Government’s measure of five A*-C passes (or equivalents) for five GCSEs, including English and Mathematics.

Sixth-formers at QE achieved the School’s highest-ever total of the very top A-level grade – crowning an unbroken 13-year record of performance at the highest level.

Of the 482 A-levels taken, 46.9% were awarded A* – easily outstripping the previous record of 42.2% set in 2015.

Further analysis of QE’s results reveals that there is strength in depth, too: this is the 13th consecutive year in which the benchmark figure for the proportion of examinations awarded A*–B grades has topped 95%. The 2018 figure of 97.3% improves further on last year’s 96.0%.

Twenty-eight leavers have received offers from Oxford and Cambridge this year, while over the previous five years 144 boys from QE won Oxbridge places. The overwhelming majority of QE boys – more than 90% in 2017 – secure places at Russell Group universities, while a small but growing number have headed to Ivy League colleges in the US.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our boys have exceeded even our own expectations and I am absolutely delighted by these results, especially given the national context.

“To put our boys’ achievement in perspective, it is frequently noted that when major changes to examination systems are introduced, there is typically a dip in performance. This is often explained by the fact that teachers cannot use previous teaching materials and that there are no past papers for pupils to use in their preparation.

“The fact that there has been no such dip at QE – in fact, quite the contrary – is testament both to the boys’ exceptional efforts and to the dedication of our staff in preparing teaching and learning materials of the very highest order to make sure that the pupils did not lose out, despite their being ‘guinea pigs’ for the new system.

“There has also been speculation in the press that the introduction of these changes – which involve much greater emphasis on performance in examinations, rather than in coursework – would result in boys doing well at the top end. That has certainly been the case here.”

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, recently told the Times Educational Supplement that this year’s significant increase in the number of unconditional offers from universities could damp down top A-level pass rates.

Mr Enright explained why there had been no such effect at QE. “Our advice to the boys – which has indeed been the approach they have taken – has been that they should go for their optimal university place and not be swayed by any unconditional offers they may have received.

“We have urged on them the importance of understanding that their A-level results reflect their ability and hard work over the seven years they are at the School. They are also aware of the evidence concerning the most prestigious graduate jobs – that A-level outcomes are one of the first things that future employers will look at when considering applicants. In short, we believe that A-level performance remains absolutely critical.”

The Headmaster also welcomed recent indications that Ofsted will be placing a greater focus on the overall educational experience provided by schools, with a concomitant reduction of emphasis purely on examination results.

“At QE, although we regularly appear at or near the top of examination-based league tables, we emphatically do not want either Ofsted or the families of prospective pupils to judge the School by A-level or GCSE grades alone. The very strong results of our boys at A-level should be seen as a by-product of the whole QE experience, rather than the sole purpose of an education here.

“That experience includes, of course, high-quality opportunities in fields such as sport, music and drama. But also important is the spirit of scholarship that prevails at QE – the electric atmosphere generated by the presence of so many bright and ambitious people, both boys and their teachers, all working to cultivate habits of independent learning and deep academic curiosity.”

QE’s Year 13 pupils sat A-levels in 16 subjects this year, including a full range of the sciences and humanities. The most popular were Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Economics – taken by 116, 58, 48 and 46 boys respectively – while this year saw increases in the numbers taking French and German A-levels.

The School’s Year 12 boys also performed strongly at AS-level: the proportion of top grades (A) was up from 75.3% in 2017 to 79.7%, while the A-B figure also rose, from 91.5% to 92.8%.

Twelve sixth-formers heard two lectures from mathematicians chosen for their distinction in the subject and their communication skills.

The Year 12 boys heard Dr Jennifer Rogers, from Oxford University, and Dr Katie Steckles, of schools outreach organisation, Think Maths, deliver this year’s London Mathematical Society Popular Lectures at Bush House.

In her talk, entitled Living is a Risky Business, Dr Rogers explained that we are bombarded with statistics every day and that it is therefore important to be able to discern the truth behind a shock headline.

She discussed, for example, the statistics behind the newspaper headlines about bacon sandwiches causing a higher risk of cancer and being equally as bad as smoking. She explained that there is a 1 in 80 lifetime risk of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer so scaling this up, this is the same as a 5 in 400 risk. A 20% increase would therefore mean that the lifetime risk of getting pancreatic cancer is now 6 in 400.

The headlines only considered statistical significance without quantifying it in any way. For comparison, there is a 4 in 400 chance of being diagnosed with lung cancer if you have never smoked. Smoking more than 25 cigarettes a day increases that to 96 in 400 as you are 24 times more likely to be diagnosed with cancer. Both results (bacon and smoking) are statistically significant but they do not pose the same risk as each other.

Afterwards, one of the QE Year 12 audience, Nico Puthu, said: “I’m really pleased to find out that it’s perfectly safe to eat as much bacon as I want!”

Dr Rogers finished by explaining her dealings with Ryanair. As Vice President of the Royal Statistical Society, she was asked by the TV programme, Watchdog, to investigate the claims by Ryanair passengers that if they did not book seats in advance (and pay for this privilege), then they were always given a middle seat. Four researchers booked four different flights and all were allocated middle seats. She calculated that this would have a probability of 0.2% which suggests that seat allocation is not random. Ryanair, after many denials, finally admitted that their seating algorithm was not random.

QE attendee Sahil Shah said “I enjoyed hearing about her battle with Ryanair,” while Mudit Tuslianey added: “Dr Rogers’ talk linked well to what we have been studying at A-level.”

For her lecture, Dr Steckles spoke on The Greatest Unsolved Puzzles in Maths. One of her demonstrations involved taking a piece of A4 paper and folding it three times, always folding along the longest edge, and then cutting off all four corners of the resulting shape. How many holes will you have made in the A4 paper when it is unfolded? she asked. (Answer: three). This led on to the introduction of the Euler brick which is a cuboid which has integer lengths and integer face diagonals. Some examples are shown in the image here.

Mathematicians are currently searching for the perfect cuboid which is an Euler brick that also has an integer body diagonal, Dr Steckles explained.

QE’s Assistant Head of Mathematics, Wendy Fung, said: “She finished by saying that all the unsolved problems that currently exist will be solved by people who, when they see a puzzle, don’t give up.”

Akshat Sharma and Aadi Desai spoke afterwards of their appreciation of the puzzles she set. Their classmate, Kiran Aberdeen, said: “I found Dr Steckles’ talk very amusing.”