Dr John Marincowitz, former Headmaster and author of a new history of Queen Elizabeth’s School published this month, was the special guest at the annual Senior Awards Ceremony – one of the highlights of QE’s academic year.
Current Headmaster Neil Enright said it was entirely appropriate that, as QE prepares to celebrate its 450th anniversary tomorrow, the place of honour should go to one of the School’s own. Dr Marincowitz was Mr Enright’s predecessor, holding the role from 1999 until his retirement in 2011.
“John’s new book, Queen Elizabeth’s School: 1573–2023, which was based on ten years of research, adds significantly to our understanding of the School. But of course John has not just written our School’s history; he has played a significant part in shaping it, too.
“In his years as Headmaster, and before that, in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, he was a key figure here. He was instrumental, firstly in the turn-around of a struggling, under-subscribed institution and secondly in laying the foundations for its emergence as one of the most celebrated state schools in the country.”
At the start of the evening, the VIP party processed into the School Hall to Byrd’s O Lord, make thy servant, Elizabeth, sung by the Chamber Choir.
Dr Marincowitz, who first arrived at QE to join the History department in 1985, then presented prizes – which this year included copies of his book – to scores of prizewinners drawn from Years 10, 11 and 12. There were awards for all the academic subjects, for overall academic excellence, for contribution & responsibility and for outstanding performance or contribution in extra-curricular activities such as debating & public speaking, chess, drama and the Combined Cadet Force.
In his address, he told the prizewinners in the audience: “You are the authors of your own stories.”
During his tenure as Headmaster, Dr Marincowitz not only oversaw steady improvements in academic results but also worked to improve the learning environment, making make good use of the money raised by the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s. Major new facilities including the Martin Pool and Shearly Hall were opened during his headmastership.
There were the customary musical interludes at the Senior Awards Ceremony, featuring performances by Music prizewinners. The interludes were: 20th-century French composer Paule Maurice’s Tableaux de Provence, performed by Year 10 saxophonist, Leo Sellis; Beethoven’s Romanze, played by violinist Jason Tao, of Year 11, and Rupak Kaida, performed by Year 12 pupil Isher Jagdev, on the tabla.
A vote of thanks was given by the 2023 School Captain, Darren Lee, of Year 12.
After that, the recessional was Offenbach’s Gendarmes’ Duet, performed by vocalists Year 12’s Arjun Patel, Koustuv Bhowmick, of Year 11, Joel Swedensky, of Year 11, and Robin Bickers, also of Year 11.
With the formal elements of the evening complete, prizewinners and their families were able to join staff for refreshments.
The three-day weekend ‘HabsMUN’ event, hosted by Haberdashers’ Boys’ School, saw a ten-strong QE team take on more than 500 delegates from other leading schools.
They fended off challenges from several powerful country delegations, including Habs (representing the USA), Royal Masonic School for Girls (UK) and North London Collegiate School (China).
Many leading rugby schools joined the fray, with Tonbridge and Harrow both unbeaten on the way to their U16 and U14 Cup victories, while Framlingham College and Ipswich School respectively took the U16 and U14 Plate titles. Tonbridge’s results included two victories by a margin of more than 50 points, while Harrow saw off Berkhamsted School convincingly in their final.
The tournament usually uses nine pitches, with games played at Barnet Elizabethans RFC, as well as at the School.
“My huge thanks go to everyone who made the day possible.”
“As for the U14s, they acquitted themselves brilliantly. Led by Victor Varbanov, they got off to a great start with a hard-fought 19-14 victory over Reigate Grammar School, Surrey. Caterham School, Surrey, proved too strong in game two, and it all came down to the final group game to decide whether QE would progress to the knockouts. An emphatic 40-0 win over Norwich School, Norfolk saw QE duly progress in second place and move into the Plate competition quarter-finals against local rivals St Albans School.
“Overall, some really competitive performances, though, among many of the best rugby schools in the country.”
His work on understanding the future prospects of the reefs has been presented at international conferences and published in international journals.
“I assessed how community dynamics and coral demographics (e.g., growth, recruitment, mortality rates) are influenced by global stressors (e.g., ocean warming, hurricane activity) and local anthropogenic pressures (e.g., nutrient pollution, increased sedimentation from coastal construction) to understand their recovery potential and viability under climate change.”
Having already achieved significant successes in recent years at in-person regional, national and international Vex championships – including a world title in 2018 – QE’s robotics teams have recently added online competitions to their repertoire.
One VRC squad – team number 20785X – was named winner of both the Theme It Up! Challenge and the Community Challenge, as well as being a runner-up in the Career Readiness Challenge. Another, 20785C, took two runner-up spots.