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QE is the first UK school ever to win a world title in the Vex IQ Challenge international robotics finals.

The QE pupils emerged to take the Excellence Award at the finals in Louisville, Kentucky, which holds a Guinness World Record as the world’s largest robotics competition. The Excellence award is the highest presented in the VEX IQ programme, going to the team that exemplifies overall excellence in building a high-quality robotics programme.

They saw off no fewer than 400 teams from 40 countries – including leading schools from the US and China which have usually provided the winners throughout the competition’s 11-year history. It was only the second year that boys at QE had participated in VEX Robotics, having become UK national champions during their first season in 2017.

The QE boys were judged on their robot design, programming skills, driving skills and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) research project, with all of the judges in their division agreeing they were the overall ‘best of the best’.

QE’s Head of Technology, Michael Noonan, said: “This is a truly phenomenal achievement and far surpasses all our expectations. It is a hugely competitive event, which attracts some of the most intelligent young minds in the world. The Year 9 Gear Squad team were especially commended and, together with our Year 8 Technogear team, demonstrated a voracious hunger for success whilst retaining their humility.

“Gear Squad and Technogear greatly impressed the judges with their confident and student-led presentations and explanations. In fact, the most notable aspect of the VEX IQ programme at Queen Elizabeth’s is that it is entirely student-led.

“I am absolutely delighted and infinitely proud of the students involved, and this marks the ultimate testament to their hard work, dedication and countless hours refining their robotic solutions and programmes.”

It is estimated that there are 8,500 VEX IQ teams around the world. The VEX IQ challenge is aimed at pupils from Years 5-9.

Year 9 pupil Dillan Shah, of Gear Squad, said: “It was an honour to represent the UK as well as our School and meet all the fabulous people from around the world. It was a truly amazing experience.”

Despite nationwide challenges in getting young people to pursue STEM careers, QE and other teams taking part from the UK showed that British pupils can not only compete but be leaders in this field, supported in their preparations by both curricular and extra-curricular programmes, said the organisers. In fact, QE is ranked in the top ten UK schools for take-up and performance in the STEM subjects, and no fewer than 22 of last year’s leavers went on to read Engineering at university.

Bridie Gaynor, VEX Robotics Competition Manager (UK & Europe), said: “We are extremely proud of the work VEX Robotics does in the UK to encourage not only a passion for robotics but also much sought-after skills. To see Queen Elizabeth’s School, a UK team, on stage accepting the Excellence Award was a truly landmark moment for VEX Robotics in the UK. We are so proud that UK teams are now a force to be reckoned with.”

The 400 teams taking part were split into five divisions of 80. The VEX IQ competition is multi-faceted: in addition to the overall Excellence Award, within each division there were prizes for categories such as the STEM research project, design booklet competition, teamwork challenge and robot skills competition.

Mr Noonan added that the criteria for winning the Excellence Award included being “a shining example of dedication, devotion, hard work and teamwork”. The award took into account the performance and subsequent rankings of the winners in all competitions within the overall event, but was ultimately decided by interviews from the chief judges. He added that it was clear that both QE teams benefited from being pupil-led “as they demonstrated an outstanding amount of independence at the world stage in solving problems and performing to their optimum”.

Gear Squad consists of Year 9 boys Vihaan Jain, Varun Vijay Kumar, Shilacshan Lingakumar, Dillan Shah and Alex Woodcock. Technogear comprises five Year 8 boys: Arjun Arunkumar, Dylan Domb, Aditya Khanna, Anish Rana and Yash Shah. The boys were accompanied to the US by Mr Shane Ryan (Technology) and Mr Jonathan Leigh (Physics).

Younger pupils had the chance to explore one of the world’s most intractable conflicts when a Palestinian and an Israeli visited the School.

The two young women spoke during a Lower School Lecture Assembly led by the charitable organisation, Solutions Not Sides, which promotes open and positive engagement as the best approach to the long-running conflict.

Celia Hart, Outreach and Administration Manager for the organisation, introduced the session in the Shearly Hall, which was part of School’s lecture programme for Years 7–10 organised by Nisha Mayer, Head of Academic Enrichment. The boys heard from Rena, a Palestinian who grew up in Jerusalem, and from Tania, an Israeli from Tel Aviv. Both recalled vivid memories of childhood fears arising from the conflict, yet they were able now to agree about many aspects of what the way forward should be.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This was an engaging exploration of a very important, but often difficult, topic, with the two young women recalling experiences that are almost unimaginable for us in the UK, but were part of normal life for those growing up in the conflict.

“It was good for the boys to see how two people ostensibly on different ‘sides’ can work together. Although there was a clear sense that there is still some way to go, with divisions rooted in both communities, it was apparent that there is real hope things can be better for future generations. In today’s climate of polarised political debate, it is more crucial than ever that our pupils learn to consider the viewpoints of others and do not simply resort to tribalism.”

Rena remembered playing outside as a child and then fearing her mother was dead as bombs started going off around her and her friends. She recalled an Israeli soldier who pointed his loaded weapon at her in the street when she was outside during curfew.

For her part, Tania, who is finishing a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology, explained the system of compulsory military service for young Israelis – she served in Intelligence. She told the boys that the first time many young Israelis encounter a Palestinian is in this context, where they are viewed as hostile or enemies. As a child, the fear of suicide bombings was very real and limited some opportunities. There were regular bomb sirens, which gave people only 60 seconds to get to a shelter. She told an anecdote of how on one Holocaust Memorial Day, she mistook the siren sounded to mark the start of the period of reflection for a bomb siren and, startled, began running downstairs towards a shelter. When she realised it was a false alarm, she simultaneously laughed and cried.

Violence, said Tania, only adds fuel to the fire and cannot be the answer: “Israelis will only have a safe home when Palestinians have a safe home.”

Among the questions posed by the boys were:

• Would a single-state solution work? The visiting speakers answered that people were probably not ready; there was broader support for a two-state solution.
• How have foreign nations affected the conflict? The response was that there had been many impacts, and these had not always been helpful. Tania cited President Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem as something which added to tensions. However, foreign support could have a positive impact if it focussed on supporting the leaders of both sides to find a way forward.
• What was the main cause of the conflict – perhaps Hitler’s régime and World War II, or the Crusades almost a thousand years before? In response, the speakers pointed to further causes, including the fact that the ‘Holy Land’ is just that for all three Abrahamic religions, and that the region’s geography makes the territory strategically important. Any solution would need to take many factors into account.
• How had other young people of the two women’s generation viewed the situation growing up and had they taken sides? Yes, many Israelis viewed Palestinians as the enemy, never knowing them as children, said Tania. The conflict is very deep-seated, with hatred and fear common. Many Palestinians saw Israelis as soldiers and machines, not as people, Rena said. But, she added, people could get beyond that if they tried to understand others and reach out to them. The two speakers were clear that they didn’t view each other negatively.

Two QE boys who entered an international competition have had their work published in a new book.

Jonathan Ho, of Year 12, and Matt Salomone, of Year 11, drew on inspiration from the Trojan War for the poems they entered in a multi-disciplinary art competition organised by the University of Leicester.

The book, entitled Artefact to Art, was launched at the Annual Conference of the Classics Association in Leicester. During the ceremony, both boys were singled out for a special mention by the organiser of the competition, Dr Naoise Mac Sweeney, who is the university’s Associate Professor in Ancient History.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This is wonderful news; my congratulations go to Jonathan and Matt. It is very exciting to have a success such as this in our maturing Classics department. Such competitions provide excellent opportunities for our boys to display their creativity and express themselves.”

Jonathan and Matt received delegate passes, together with their parents, to attend the day, worth £240 per family. The boys, who are particularly keen on myths and have set up their own society at the School, also each received a copy of the book. The boys’ entries were judged by the poet, Dan Simpson, with whom they were photographed at the book launch. The prizes for the winners were given out by the well-known author of the Roman Mysteries series of historical novels for young people, Caroline Lawrence.

The competition, which attracted 200 entries from four continents, required participants to produce a piece of art, whether handicraft or poem, inspired by an ancient artefact. Both Jonathan and Matt chose the black-figured amphora by Exekias from 540 BC, which shows the two friends and heroes of the Trojan War, Ajax and Achilles, playing a board game in full armour.

The pair have recently been looking at Homer with QE’s visiting teacher of Ancient Greek, Dr Corinna Illingworth, who also attended the ceremony. “Every piece of work that was included in the book – whether poem or handicraft- was displayed in a beautifully arranged exhibition,” she said. “The variety of artworks on show was very impressive and it was moving to read what had inspired each young artist.”

She added that the competition, which was open to all pupils of secondary school age, gave the two boys the chance to explore art history, consider mythical literature and practise creative writing.

Jonathan said: “What inspired me was how battles and wars are always manipulated by a few men and this can be seen even in ancient history. One can compare a game of strategy to war.”

Jonathan’s poem:

As the pieces are place, the army is drawn up,
The players focused, the army terrified.
Dim lights are engulfed by darkness,
As the stars in the sky foretell the future.
Who will win? Who will lose?
Only the Fates can see.
As the ground rumbles with the feet of men,
Destiny is made.
However, only one side can emerge victorious,
The other drowned in sorrow and loss.
What will happen next?
Let’s see who wins, then I’ll tell you…

Matt was inspired by similar thoughts: “These famous generals are playing a game together – perhaps a strategic game like chess – which interestingly shows the similarities between a general in war and a leader in a game. There is a clear contrast in the piece, but it also reveals that these two have fewer differences than I first thought.”

Matt’s poem:

The nature of war and the thrill of games
Are no much unlike. A duet of heroes,
Armed and allied, set for any challenge,
Sitting down all the while. Finding peace in a board game.

“Four!” “Three!” Thus, the winner seems evident.
Yet the other does not back off. End has yet to arrive.

Looming, towering, threatening with helm and hand;

Nervously raised foot in response, but the battle ensues
Yet neither leader strikes. For their war attacks the psyche –

Victorious in spirit, soldiers in their fingers,
Strategy in mind, fate in fortune.
Perhaps soon they will take up their shields;
Until then, the real fight is in dice.

QE pupils beat off competition from 30 other schools to win the regional round of the Team Maths Challenge.

The four boys from Years 8 and 9 secured victory over Merchant Taylors’, in second place, and Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’, who came third. They now go through to the national finals in London’s Royal Horticultural Halls in June – the third time that a QE team has reached this stage in the prestigious UK Mathematics Trust contest.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I congratulate our boys on a resounding success, which demonstrated not only their mathematical prowess and their ability to think clearly under pressure, but also skills in communication and teamwork.”

The team was led by Year 9 pupil Dan Suciu and comprised Shimaq-Ahamed Sakeel Mohamed, also of Year 9, together with Year 8 boys Bhunit Santhiramoulesan and Agrim Sharma. They scored a winning total of 223 points out of 236 in the event, which was hosted by Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls in Elstree.

The competition aims to offer pupils a means of expressing and developing their enjoyment of Mathematics, with problems that are mostly accessible, yet still challenge those with more experience. The event involves four rounds:

• Crossnumber – one pair of contestants is given the ‘across’ clues and the other pair the ‘down’ clues
• Shuttle – pairs solve problems where the answer to the previous question feeds into the next question
• Relay – again working in pairs to solve problems, but also involves movement around the room in a race against the clock
• Group round – working as a team of four to solve ten problems.

Captain Dan said after the event: “We were delighted to win and really pleased that our hard work paid off, especially in the Shuttle Round. We’re all really looking forward to the next round.”

Boys experienced both the awe-inspiring power of nature and the man-made glories of Ancient Rome during a Geography trip to Italy.

Highlights included a walk up Mount Vesuvius – mainland Europe’s only active volcano – and a day in Rome, taking in the Forum and the Colosseum. The four-day visit also included plenty of opportunity for the boys to sample Italian cuisine in the shape of giant ice-creams and equally large helpings of pizza and pasta!

Geography teacher Natasha Cottingham said: “Overall it was a very enjoyable experience for all the boys involved. The weather was fabulous all week, which allowed us to fully appreciate the beauty of the volcanic landscape.”

The trip began with a boat ride to the scenic island of Capri, where many of the rich and famous own holiday homes. (“Unfortunately, we didn’t meet George Clooney,” said Miss Cottingham.) On their walk around the island, the boys had a close-up view of an old sea arch which has risen more than 30m because of tectonic uplift and now stands suspended high above the sea.

The following morning brought an early start as the group set off up Vesuvius before the sun became too hot. The first group of the day to reach the upper slopes, the QE party had the volcano to themselves for a little while. “Our guide showed us the sulphur gas emissions and demonstrated how the volcano is becoming more active,” said Miss Cottingham.

After walking back down, the boys tucked into pizza before heading into Pompeii, where they were given free time to explore. The evening was spent engaging in an entirely modern pursuit – ten-pin bowling.

The third day brought a coach ride to the Temple of Serapis in Pozzuoli and the chance to scramble through the caves beneath nearby Naples – another highlight for many of the boys, Miss Cottingham reports. “Our guide told us about the history of the caves, which were once an ancient Roman aquifer before becoming bomb shelters during World War II. The boys were able to appreciate the utter darkness and how narrow some of the tunnels were.”

They then had free time in the Naples Archaeological Museum, which holds many artefacts from Vesuvius’s past eruptions.

A coach ride on the final day took the group to Rome, where they enjoyed seeing the Forum and walking round the Colosseum before catching their flight home.