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After joining the 50th Annual QE Rugby Sevens at the last moment, Maidstone Grammar School went on to set the tournament alight, beating last year’s winners in a thrilling final.

The Kent school received their place less than two days before the event, after another school dropped out. They certainly made their mark, triumphing 31-29 over Ipswich School, who were going for the ‘double’, having won the U14 title last year.

QE’s own U14 squad acquitted themselves well, playing brilliantly in the group stages (in which Maidstone were one of their competitors) and reaching the Plate quarter-final.

And for the 50th year of an event which has long attracted some of the country’s best-known rugby schools, there was a special presentation for legend of QE rugby, David Maughan – the tournament’s founder and a highly respected former national coach who was QE’s Head of PE from 1974 to 2003.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was a great day overall, with a very high quality of rugby played and a splendid atmosphere. The bonus was an exciting final worthy of our fiftieth-year tournament.

“Our U14 squad should be proud of their performance and it was lovely to see many of their parents cheering them on.

“It was also fitting to celebrate David Maughan’s stellar contribution to QE Sevens over its first half-century – what a record he has!”

Like the main Cup competition, the Plate contest was an exciting affair. Plate finalists Gordon’s School from Surrey were late entrants like Maidstone, promoted from the reserve list. Having knocked out the QE team in the quarter-final, they lost to Tonbridge School in the final. This meant that Tonbridge retained their Plate title from 2025.

In the group stages, the QE team won two of their matches and lost only to eventual tournament champions, Maidstone. They defeated Robert Clack School, from Barking and Dagenham borough, by 24-5, and eased out Norwich School 10-7, thus earning their progression to the Plate quarter-final, where they lost 26-0.

Director of Sport Jonathan Hart said: “Our QE line-up gave a real squad performance, ably led by captain Husain Jassim, and played some very good rugby.”

Marcus Ingal carried the ball brilliantly, his strength and speed making it very difficult for the opposition to stop him making significant yardage, ball in hand; Alex Fields-Bicar used his pace and footwork in the wider channels to finish off opportunities well; Rohan Mukherjee brought great physicality in attack and defence; and there was some good steering of the games from Andy Hasanaj, usually at first receiver.

Mr Maughan was presented with an engraved shield by the Headmaster in recognition of his founding of the tournament and the School’s appreciation for his ongoing support.

He has remained a constant presence at QE Sevens since his retirement back in 2003. He is also still seen in School most weeks, attending rugby and cricket for the lower years and also rarely missing a First XV game. He managed England U16s for a decade beyond his retirement from QE.

Mr Hart thanked: inspiresport, who sponsor the tournament; the referees; the catering team and Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s helpers; pupil helpers from Year 7, who faithfully delivered the scores from each pitch back to the operations hub; first aid crews; supporters from all schools; and, of course, his own PE department, including Head of Rugby Ollie Di-Lieto.

The QE U14 (Year 9) squad was:

1. Husain Jassim (captain)
2. Rohan Mukherjee
3. Saami Mansur
4. Alfie Enderby
5. Marcus Ingal
6. Emile Uju
7. Andy Hasanaj
8. Jerry Ju
9. Ishaan Bhosale
10. Alex Fields-Bicar
11. Leon L. Kariuki
12. Aryamann Wadhwani Sharma
13. Raphael Gbadebo

Coach: PE teacher Sam Marks (who is also their Head of Year).

Click on the thumbnails to view the images.

Year 12 geographers going on a field trip to investigate what shapes our coastlines received two vivid illustrations of one important factor – the weather!

Firstly, plans to take them to Flatford Mill Field Studies Centre in Suffolk for their field trip had to be abandoned because of flooding.

And when they went instead to Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, they saw a dramatic result of this winter’s intense rainfall – a large section of the Naze cliffs had collapsed on to the beach.

School Captain Tunishq Mitra, who was one of the group, said: “Our field trip was a great opportunity to do some hands-on work and develop a better understanding of our wider Geography syllabus in an enjoyable way. It was fascinating to see the complex interactions between all the natural processes we study in real time, including the partial cliff collapse.”

The group had two questions to look into on their trip:

• How do social, economic and environmental considerations influence how coastlines are managed?
• How do coastal management techniques affect coastal processes and landforms?

Geography teacher and Deputy Head (Academic) Anne Macdonald said: “With its rapidly retreating coastline – largely due to its less resistant lithology of London clay and unconsolidated deposits – Walton-on-the-Naze provided the perfect setting to investigate those two questions.”

The cliffs at Walton-on-the-Naze suffer from chronic erosion and have been eroding at an accelerated rate of 3–5 metres per year in recent times. The large fall, which took place around 18th–20th January, saw 1.5–2 metres of the cliff face fall at once. It was partly captured on video. The collapse has been attributed to the combination of high tides and elevated rainfall this winter saturating the London clay cliffs.

Braving the elements, the sixth-formers carried out a wide range of fieldwork exercises, including cost–benefit analysis calculations, environmental impact assessments, beach profiling, sediment analysis and infiltration studies.

Mrs Macdonald said: “Fieldwork is an essential geographical skill – it is how we measure and observe the world. Fieldwork is the means by which geographers test their predictions or formulate new theories about the world.

“Field trips are directly applicable to careers relating to the environment, while they also help students develop some of the six qualities set out in our Boundless School Development Plan, especially being ‘sustainability-literate’.

“More generally, day trips like these provide valuable learning opportunities outside of the classroom, helping our students develop skills, such as teamwork and communication, that are vital for any number of occupations.

“The Year 12s approached the day trip with enthusiasm, positively engaging with all aspects of the fieldwork and earning praise for their understanding and work ethic.”

Sixth-former Paarth Aggarwal’s defiant words about racism have drawn plaudits from the judges in an annual competition open to poets from around the world.

Paarth’s piece, entitled I know who I am, which was inspired by his reading of others’ experience of racism, was highly commended in the Black in White Poetry Competition.

He had the opportunity to present the poem at the competition’s awards ceremony hosted by The Transforming Words Foundation (TTWF) charity. It has been published in a new anthology of the winning competition entries, entitled White face, foreign hands.

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “Poetry is a powerful medium for looking at difficult issues, and my congratulations go to Paarth on his achievement in so successfully exploring complex themes of identity and prejudice in his poem.”

Paarth, of Year 12, said: “I wrote this poem to explore how racism can affect the way people see themselves, especially when they are constantly judged for how they look, speak, or where they come from. I was inspired by books of people who have been made to feel like they don’t belong simply because they are different, and that idea resonated with me.

“I wanted to show a journey: starting from feeling confused and pressured to change, and then gradually realising that those differences are actually a source of strength. The poem’s narrator begins by hearing insults and expectations from others, but eventually recognises pride in their heritage, culture, and individuality.

“The message I wanted to convey is that nobody should feel the need to shrink themselves to fit someone else’s idea of what is ‘normal’. Our backgrounds, voices, and identities are powerful, and embracing them is a form of resistance against prejudice. Through this poem, I hoped to encourage confidence, pride, and resilience in the face of racism.”

At the ceremony, Paarth was presented with a certificate by Cllr Tony Vourou, former Mayor of Barnet. TTWF was founded in 2020 by poet, communications leader and equality, diversity and inclusion expert Charlotte Shyllon.

Paarth is no stranger to competition success: in recent years he was won both local and international awards in connection with his success in using AI to develop apps to help visually impaired people and children with autism.

Paarth’s poem is set out below.

I Know Who I Am

They called me names I didn’t know,
Then laughed when I looked down –
Like being different was a joke
In this pale-painted town.

They said my skin was “too much sun,”
My lips, my nose, my hair –
Like beauty came in only shapes
That I would never wear.

They told me, “Speak like you belong,”
But I was always me –
My voice holds oceans, roots, and storms
That won’t bow to a sea.

They said, “You’re not like all the rest,”
As if that was a prize.
But I could see the lie they held
Still dancing in their eyes.

At first, I tried to scrub it off –
My name, my voice, my shade.
Until I saw the magic in
The things they tried to fade.

I come from warriors, song and stone,
From poets, drums, and flame.
And I will not make myself small
To fit inside their frame.

So let them whisper, point, or scoff –
I’ve heard it all before.
But every time they shut a gate,
I build a brighter door.

I know the power in my walk,
The fire in my skin.
And no one gets to dim the light
I carry deep within.

Sixteen players fought it out in QE’s first competitive table tennis fixture for many years, as the School responds to strong pupil demand for more opportunities in the sport.

The boys, representing Years 7, 8, 9 & 10, made the five-mile journey for an away fixture at Ashmole Academy – and returned with their first victory under their belts. Although Ashmole won two of the year-group battles to QE’s one (with one draw), QE had the higher points tally overall, with 17 games won to Ashmole’s 15.

The resurgence of inter-school fixtures has been driven largely by Year 10 table tennis enthusiast Habeeb Tharoo, who was instrumental in selecting the 16-player squad. He was the team captain for the fixture.

Senior PE teacher Richard Scally said: “Habeeb’s leadership helped set a positive tone throughout the afternoon as players across all year groups demonstrated resilience, skill, and great sportsmanship.”

The approach of the fixture and the squad’s preparations for it created a “genuine buzz around the PE department”, said Mr Scally.

“The players are already eager for a rematch, and with the commitment shown, future fixtures promise to be even more exciting.

“Pupils from Years 9, 10 and 11 are regularly developing their skills during PE lessons and, beyond that curriculum time, there’s a thriving lunchtime culture and an enthusiastic after-school club held every Monday and Wednesday,” he added.

For this first major table tennis outing, a new competitive format inspired by the Ryder Cup was adopted. It involved each side fielding their top four players in every year group. Matches were split so that the top two QE seeds faced their counterparts from Ashmole, while the third and fourth seeds competed in their own pairings.

Each match won contributed one point to the overall team tally for that year group, creating an exciting and fast‑paced scoring system.

Here are the results by year group, with Mr Scally’s comments on each.

Year 7: Drawn 4–4.  “The youngest squad showed impressive maturity and calmness under pressure, securing a hard‑fought draw. With several close games, Year 7 proved they have strong potential for future fixtures.”

Year 8: Won 7–1. “A comprehensive scoreline, but another highly competitive contest. Year 8 excelled against more experienced opposition.”

Year 9: Lost 5–3. “Year 9 produced some excellent rallies and tactical play throughout their matches. Falling just short of parity, they can take great pride in a performance that showed both development and depth.”

Year 10: Lost 5–3. “Led by captain Habeeb, the senior team delivered powerful performances with several confident wins. Though Ashmole edged the overall score, the attitude and quality displayed by the QE side were clear highlights.”

Reflecting afterwards on the trip, Habeeb said: “This was a brilliant first fixture against a strong Ashmole side. The boys are keen to give it another go!”

Forty-four Queen Elizabeth’s School pupils have secured offers from Oxford and Cambridge this year, further consolidating QE’s record of success in sending leavers to the world’s best universities.

Twenty-nine senior boys have received offers from Cambridge, with a further 15 offered places at Oxford. The figures lift the School’s total number of Oxbridge offers over the past four years to a remarkable 202.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to all these pupils: we are immensely proud of their success.

“At QE, we are committed to developing the Boundless potential of every student in a rapidly changing world. Through their ambition, application, resilience, and free-thinking scholarship, these 44 boys are well on the way to realising that potential: I wish them all the best in achieving the A-level grades they need to secure their offers this summer, and, further ahead, to hearing about their exciting careers and contributions to society.

“More broadly, I am also pleased to say that our pupils are continuing to enjoy very considerable success in winning places at other world-leading universities.”

The 44 Oxbridge offers have been made by a diverse range of colleges – from the ancient and imposing, such as Oxford’s Christ Church and Trinity at Cambridge (both founded by Henry VIII in 1546), to the relatively modern, such as Homerton at Cambridge, which, although founded in the 18th century, attained full college status only in 2010.

The offers are for degree subjects including English, Engineering, Modern & Medieval Languages, Music, Geography, Psychology and History, as well as famous courses such as Cambridge’s Natural Sciences and Oxford’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE).

James Kane, Assistant Head (Destinations and Progress), said: “These offers reflect academic excellence, intellectual curiosity and commitment of our pupils to going above and beyond. They also show the outstanding dedication and support afforded by our staff and families.”

The success of the QE Futures programme in guiding senior pupils appropriately through the university application process is shown in QE’s “impressive” application–offer rate of 40%, Mr Kane added.

In total, QE leavers have applied to 23 of the 24 Russell Group universities this year, with 90% applying to at least one QS World Top 10 university. (The ten include Imperial and University College London, as well as Oxford and Cambridge.) With the process by no means yet complete, more than four-fifths have already received at least one offer.

Last year, a record 15 degree apprenticeships were offered to Year 13 boys. Interest in these apprenticeships continues to be strong at QE: this year, leavers have applied to leading global organisations such as Freshfields, Airbus, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and Arup. The applications span disciplines including Law, Engineering, Finance, and Architecture.

Mr Kane highlighted the importance of the QE Essentials programme, which includes: QE Futures; the QE Flourish co-curricular activities; the School’s digital strategy; its emphasis on free-thinking scholarship; and the QE Connect alumni network. “It is through QE Essentials that our students build the academic strength, mindset and skills needed for future-ready success,” he said.