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Deputy Head David Ryan (Pastoral) thanks all the parents and pupils who took the time to complete the online survey on eQE earlier this year.

He reports that while there were a few interesting gaps between parents’ and boys’ perceptions, in general, the current Personal Development Time curriculum tallies well with people’s biggest concerns, while the risks that boys in the younger years and their parents were most worried about are now being covered in the new Year 7 digital literacy curriculum. Work is being undertaken to improve resources in certain key areas of online risk, ensuring that the School educates pupils solidly in these before they discover them to be an issue.

The aim of the survey was to allow the School to evaluate the knowledge and understanding of both parents and pupils, giving them the opportunity to state what they feel are the biggest online risks and the areas in which they would like support.

Among the main findings were that:

• Despite smartphones not being allowed in the younger years at QE, it is clear that the majority of pupils do use them outside of School, particularly from Year 9 onwards;
• There is a stark difference between the proportion of students saying they own a games console that is connected to the internet (63%) and the proportion of parents who thought their son had one that was connected to the internet (42%);
• Parents largely agree (60%) that they would check usage of computers and smart phones, but very few (13%) said they would check a games console or tablet device. Similar results were reported for the setting up of restrictions, controls and filters;
• QE boys primarily use: YouTube (81%); WhatsApp (64%); Discord (37%); Snapchat (31% using it daily, or most days); Instagram (27%, but rising to a maximum of 63% in the Sixth Form) and TikTok (22%). They  have a good understanding of how to set up privacy settings and report content or other users on these platforms;
• Pupils in the younger years are primarily concerned about being targeted online by people with harmful intentions. They worry about being: bullied (57%); pushed into scams or dubious investments (55%);  tricked into clicking on fake links (51%), or simply being contacted by such people (50%);
• Students in the older years are more concerned by the risks posed in: spending too much time online (75%); having to feel perfect, popular and attractive online (39%), and receiving false information in the news (35%);
• Across all year groups, the overwhelming majority of boys felt confident that they could report an issue related to online safety.

The findings of the survey have informed the creation of a new eQE support page for parents and students, which signposts professional support and advice for online safety.

Online safety has been a key consideration in the planning of our 1:1 programme.

We are taking steps to protect boys from damaging or inappropriate material.

The rapid rise of AI adds another dimension: while it offers opportunities to enhance boys’ research and refine their thinking, it also brings risks of plagiarism, of pupils failing to acknowledge the use of AI, and of over-reliance, leading to a reduction in critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The QE curriculum – alongside public examination and course protocols – will educate boys about academic integrity and the responsible use of AI.

We have also undertaken measures aimed at helping our pupils avoid problems such as eye-strain and fatigue, both for their immediate well-being and to prevent any longer-term health concerns from arising.

One advantage of the Lenovo device selected for the 1:1 programme is that it offers more variety in the way it is used than a conventional laptop, with a stylus, touchscreen and keyboard all at pupils’ disposal. This encourages greater movement, with the physical benefits that brings. In general, tablets will be flat on the desk during lessons and used with the stylus. This means that, in terms of posture, using a device is similar to using paper and pen. (We expect that many homework tasks will involve pupils typing their answers, while classwork will generally be handwritten with the stylus.) In line with our emphasis on ‘blended learning’ – a combination of traditional and technology-dependent practices – QE boys can typically expect to be switching between their devices and pen & paper during the School day. The School will continue to monitor posture and ergonomics.

The Lenovo device is small and light enough to be easily carried, within the case provided, in pupils’ bags. For both crime prevention and road safety reasons, we strongly advise boys to keep their device both in its case and in their bag at all times when coming to School and on the journey home.

Whilst at School, the device is only to be used as and when instructed by a member of staff. Boys will not be using their devices unsupervised at break and lunchtimes, for example. It is important that there is time to socialise off-screen, run around in the playground and attend a range of extra-curricular activities.

The School is, naturally, concerned about online safety, too, and has taken steps to safeguard pupils and ensure that the devices are used only for appropriate educational purposes. QE has invested in monitoring and safeguarding software provided by education specialists, Smoothwall. Protections offered by the software include:

• The monitoring of pupils’ activity during lessons by teachers;
• The monitoring and retrospective accessing of pupil communications made through Microsoft 365 applications such as Teams and Outlook;
• An alert system, based on key words, that will automatically inform QE if a pupil has attempted to access inappropriate material, whether in or out of School;
• A block on pupils downloading additional programs to their device, such as streaming and gaming apps.

The devices should also prove useful in helping to maintain mental wellbeing: they can be used by the boys to organise their learning, thus helping them stay on top of their studies. And they offer access to personal organisation and self-reflection tools, as well as to the School’s online bespoke tutorial system, through which tutors monitor boys’ progress and wellbeing.

The curriculum will set out both appropriate and inappropriate uses of GenAI – Generative AI, a form of AI that uses prompts or questions to generate text or images which closely resemble human-created content. The former might include a pupil using AI to help brainstorm and explore ideas, or to provide feedback on his work, giving areas for improvement. Examples of inappropriate use might include: not asking teachers’ permission to use a GenAI; or, if permission is granted, not citing the use of AI when work is submitted, or not reviewing the work for inaccuracies and AI ‘hallucinations’.

• Further reading: the Joint Council for Qualifications recently published a paper entitled AI Use in Assessments: Protecting the Integrity of Qualifications. It can be accessed here.

QE pupil Hisham Khan has been named the UK winner of an international space competition and reached the top 5% of competitors from around 100 nations across the world.

In addition to taking first place in the UK, Hisham, who goes into Year 11 this week, won a Gold Honour in the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition for his performance internationally.

Other awards in the competition went to Shreyas Mone, who is entering Year 12, and to Queen Elizabeth’s School itself.

Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “Competitions are an excellent way of challenging pupils to give of their best and learn more about a field in which they are interested. My congratulations go to Hisham on his success – a reward for all the hard work he put in.”

The International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition (IAAC) is a science competition that attracts thousands of competitors annually.

To achieve his success, Hisham had to negotiate the qualification round (five astronomy problems) and pre-final round (six problems, two of which involve engaging with recent scientific research). These, he says, mostly involved Physics calculations relating to space.

The final round, a multiple-choice online examination with 20 questions, was more about astrophysics knowledge. To prepare, he looked at previous years’ questions and also read around the subject. The round was sat online at home, but recorded to prove there had been no cheating.

Hisham, who hopes to take Mathematics and Physics at A-level after his GCSEs next year, plans to maintain his interest in astrophysics.

In announcing the results, a representative of the IAAC team said Hisham had “achieved outstanding results throughout the tournament despite very fierce competition”.

Hisham himself was modest in victory: “This was a new topic, but one I find interesting. I was surprised to be the top performer in the UK, which went beyond what I was hoping for.”

The IAAC organisers also reward those who support the competition. Shreyas Mone, who is an IAAC ambassador, was the sole winner internationally of the Award for Most Finalists, while QE similarly took the sole School Award for Most Finalists.

QE musicians of all ages gave performances at iconic venues in the French capital during a summer Music department tour.

Fifty-two boys from Years 8­­–13 combined concerts with seeing the sights of Paris during their five-day tour.

Their performances included one at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, one at Disneyland Paris and a bandstand concert in the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “This was overwhelmingly a very successful and most enjoyable trip, and a great way for our musicians to celebrate QE’s 450^th anniversary year.

“The boys performed well, savouring this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

This trip was open to all pupils in Year 8 and above participating in two or more regularly rehearsing ensembles and to all boys taking GCSE or A-level Music, provided they were in at least one such ensemble.

Travelling by coach and ferry, the boys’ first visit was to the Chocolaterie Beussent in Normandy, where they were told on a guided tour how chocolate is made from cocoa beans and learned the history of the small company.

After arriving in Paris and a rehearsal on their first evening, day two saw the boys deliver a 20-minute concert at Disneyland Paris’s Videopolis Theatre, after which they had the chance to let their hair down. Their one-day tickets gave access to both Disneyland and the Walt Disney Studios.

On day three, the party walked up the steep hill to visit Sacré Coeur and enjoy the panoramic views across Paris.

Near the cathedral, they had the opportunity to stroll the narrow streets of Montmartre and see artists at work and selling their paintings.

On the same busy day, they went on a walking tour, seeing the restoration work going on at Notre Dame following the disastrous fire and visiting the Louvre, Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries and the Champs-Élysées.

They then gave their bandstand performance in the Jardin du Luxembourg – an historic attraction the origins of which can be dated back to 1612, when Marie de’ Medici, the widow of King Henry IV, constructed the Luxembourg Palace as her new residence.

The day’s activities concluded with ascending the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper.

Day four brought a cruise on the Seine, a visit to Versailles Palace and Gardens and a one-hour concert at the American Church of Paris on the Quai d’Orsay.

On the final day, they climbed the Arc de Triomphe before setting off home, where they experienced a four-hour delay – the only hitch in the packed programme.

Among the participants was Nikhil Mark, a pupil from Year 11, who said: “The experience was surreal: I absolutely loved it.”

QE’s Combined Cadet Force headed into East Anglia for their longest and most ambitious field exercise yet.

The five-day summer camp at the Barnham Training Area close to the border of Suffolk and Norfolk featured a wide variety of activities, from attacks on ‘enemy’ cadets to weapon-cleaning and administration.

Contingent Commander Mev Armon said: “This was a fantastic exercise, organised by QE staff, supported by Army Cadet Force (ACF) instructors, and with maximum effort and enthusiasm shown by all cadets involved.

“The sheer numbers of troops from the three schools involved made this the largest exercise for us since COVID, with a total number of 124 cadets and adult staff on the ground.”

The first two days consisted of further development of section and platoon-level tactics for those cadets who had already had training, together with a ‘recruit cadre’ for those who had not had field craft and tactics training. This brought the latter group up to speed for the 24-hour ‘tactical phase’ that began one night and continued through to the following evening.

It was during this phase that the QE group, (1 Platoon), and two rifle platoons from Forest School, Walthamstow, (2 Platoon) came together to form a ‘composite company’ and performed a ‘company attack’ on multiple enemy positions. The enemy platoon came from St Ignatius’ College, Enfield. The attacks were supported by the ‘recruits’, now trained, who formed ‘Fire Support Group’.

All the platoons then conducted ambushes on enemy patrols to complete the exercise.

The final day featured the battlefield first aid training and weapon-cleaning as well as general administration.

Cadets set up their own shelters and ate a mixture of operational ration packs and fresh food provided by nearby RAF Honington during the camp.

“The cadets administered themselves well in the field, maintaining their cleanliness and hygiene. We were very fortunate in not having the extreme weather conditions often found during UK summers,” said Major Armon, who is a Biology teacher.