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In one of the final special activities for QE’s 450^th anniversary year, historian Joanne Paul delivered a talk on the family of Robert Dudley – a figure of enormous importance in the School’s founding, second only to Queen Elizabeth I herself.

Dr Paul, author of the acclaimed 2022 book, The House of Dudley, delivered a lecture assembly to Years 8 & 9, before conducting a source-based workshop to A-level historians.

It was at the request of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, that Elizabeth I granted the royal charter founding the School in 1573. But, Dr Paul argued, the significance of the Dudley family extended well beyond the life and achievements of its most famous son: it was the Dudleys who shaped, defined and even made the Tudor dynasty.

An Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sussex who now works freelance on various projects, she specialises in the Early Modern Period, including both the Tudors and the Stuarts.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are tremendously grateful to Dr Paul for giving us her time and providing these insights into the family as we wrap up our anniversary year. It seems clear that without the Dudleys, not only would Queen Elizabeth’s School not exist, but neither would the Tudors – or not as we know them, in any case.”

In a lecture in the Main School Hall, which featured a presentation lavishly illustrated with portraits from the period, the younger boys looked at the rise, fall, rise, fall and rise again of the House of Dudley. Dr Paul identified five respects in which she considered the family particularly important:

• Edmund Dudley’s fundraising for Henry VII: enabled by his intimate legal knowledge of the King’s prerogative, and ruthless exploitation of these often-archaic points of law, this allowed for the grandeur of King Henry VIII’s reign, even if it made Edmund so unpopular that he was imprisoned and eventually executed.
• John Dudley’s success in building up the Royal Navy, as Admiral of the Fleet. He prepared it for the successes it was to enjoy in the second half of the 16^th century. He added to the fleet and to the armoury, while developing Portsmouth as a great port. His military experience and leadership were important at the 1545 Battle of the Solent against the French, which, Dr Paul said, was a greater threat to England than the later Spanish Armada. John Dudley was nearly on the Mary Rose, which famously sank, but had moved across to the larger Great Harry with the king, Henry VIII.
• Their involvement in the nine-day reign of Lady Jane Grey. At the point of Edward VI death’s, she was actually Lady Jane Dudley, having married Guildford Dudley (son of John Dudley and brother of Robert). John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, is considered to have engineered her accession. Jane, Guildford and John were all executed under Mary I.
• Robert Dudley’s role as royal suitor. It was widely reported among Europe’s ambassadors that the queen visited Robert’s bedchamber day and night. The death of Robert’s wife, Amy Robsart, in suspicious circumstances (a broken neck at the bottoms of the stairs – ruled an accident by the jury, but with suicide, and even murder, widely gossiped about) made it too scandalous for any marriage to go ahead. Robert would have known that such a reaction was likely – a good reason for doubting that he was responsible for the death, Dr Paul said. Robert Dudley was perhaps the one suitor Elizabeth seriously considered, and these events led to her remaining The Virgin Queen. Dr Paul said it was at Robert’s suggestion that Elizabeth made the famous Tilbury Docks speech in 1588 (“I know I have the body but of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too…”)
• Robert’s patronage of the arts. This helped culture to flourish. He commissioned some 20 portraits of himself in 30 years – “more than any prince in Europe, or the queen herself” – seven of which depicted him in a pair with the queen, showing his proximity. He also supported a troupe of actors, Leicester’s Men, which had direct connections to Shakespeare.

The boys asked many questions. One wondered why so many grammar schools like QE were established under Elizabeth. Because, Dr Paul said, men such as Robert Dudley and William Cecil, her chief adviser, had received a humanist education and sought to spread that widely. Another asked why Henry VIII had had Edmund killed, given that he had brought  so much money into royal coffers. She concluded that Henry probably had no personal animus against him, but that Edmund’s unpopularity made his death a good political move.

Dr Paul also spoke of her two favourite things about the Dudleys. Firstly, she relished the fact that a non-royal family could have so much power and influence, and liked the dramatic story of their ups and downs. Secondly, she appreciated that it was the women of the family who were so often at the heart of rescuing and restoring the family name when it had fallen.

With the A-level course including the Stuart period, the Sixth Form workshop focused on changing ideas of counsel under the Stuarts.

The boys looked at the XIX Propositions – the 19 demands made of Charles I by the Long Parliament in 1642 – and at the chapter on counsel in Hobbes’s Leviathan, and then came together to discuss.

A signed copy of Dr Paul’s book is now available for boys to borrow from The Queen’s Library.

The Forty Society’s autumn lunch saw a record turn-out for recent years. Guest speaker Matthew Rose (OE 2002–2009) said: “It was, I understand, a particularly high turn-out, and, happily, I was there to see it!”

The society, which is open to alumni who left the School at least 40 years ago, has gained an influx of new attendees over the past year to 18 months.

The lunches are held in the clubhouse at Gypsy Corner – the Old Elizabethans Memorial Playing Fields – and, in fact, many members have strong connections to the location, belonging to (or having previously belonged to) the cricket club or rugby club (although the latter has now moved).

Matthew is Head of External Relations, Executive Assistant to the Headmaster, and Clerk to the Governing Body. “It was a good-humoured and lively atmosphere, with old friends enjoying each other’s company very much the point of the gathering,” he said. “I talked about the School’s 450th anniversary year, some of the different projects that had been undertaken and my role within them – hopefully giving a mildly entertaining insight. Alongside this, I encouraged them to remain connected, or re-connect, with the School, and explained that they are always welcome.”

The society is part of the Old Elizabethans Association, though it has its own committee – with much effort put in by Peter ‘Scotty’ Yates (OE 1967–1974) and Mike Harrison (OE 1953-1961), to name a couple. OE President Eric Houston was the MC at the lunch.

“It was good fun to meet OEs new to me and to see friendships flourishing – the Society celebrates the importance of these relationships and the connection many have to the sports clubs within the OE family,” Matthew added. “As I said at the end, I look forward to returning on my qualification for the society in the autumn of 2049!” After the lunch, many repaired to the Black Horse pub, where the photo was taken.

Hugely influential OEs Mustafa Suleyman and Demis Hassabis have both spoken of their grave concerns about the risk to humanity posed by AI.

The pair were among the three co-founders of leading AI company DeepMind, formed in 2010. Mustafa (OE 1995–2002) now leads Inflection AI, a California-based ‘public benefit corporation’ that he founded last year, while Demis (OE 1988–1990), remains chief executive at DeepMind, which was acquired by Google in 2014.

In his new book, The Coming Wave: Technology, Power and the 21^st Century’s Greatest Dilemma, Mustafa argues that in the coming decade powerful new technologies will create immense prosperity, but also threaten the nation-state, the foundation of global order.

During an episode of The Rest is Politics: Leading – a podcast hosted by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart – Mustafa spoken about his book, which calls for the “containment” of the new technology with a ten-step plan. He also found time to remember to credit his alma mater: “Attending Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, changed my life.”

For his part, Demis spoke to the Guardian ahead of a recent summit on AI safety hosted by the UK Government. He said the world must treat the risks from AI as seriously as climate change and take immediate action to combat them. International efforts to oversee the industry could start with a body similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he suggested.

Demis has long been an influential voice on AI. Through a recent New York Times interview, it emerged that he had left Elon Musk “speechless” in 2012 by pointing out a flaw in Musk’s plans to colonise Mars – the risk that if AI were to surpass human intelligence, it could follow humanity to the red planet and pose a threat there as well.

In the same interview, he related how he had impressed veteran Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel with his knowledge of chess to win funding for DeepMind. It was the first time Thiel had ever invested outside the US. “He felt the power of Silicon Valley was sort of mythical, that you couldn’t create a successful big technology company anywhere else,” Demis told the interviewer. “Eventually we convinced him that there were good reasons to be in London.”

OE benefactor Tony Sherrard (1952-1959) enjoyed the chance to see the fruits of his generosity only a few months after making his substantial donation to the School. His gift was put towards work to completely refurbish two Chemistry laboratories in the Fern Building.

The project went ahead this summer after The Wolfson Foundation (an educational charity) provided its maximum £100,000 grant in January in response to FQE committing significant funds towards the £230K overall cost.

For his part, Tony decided to make his own substantial donation after reading the Headmaster’s article about the project in the Old Elizabethans Association magazine. Tony retired in 1997 after an illustrious career in the chemical and pharmaceuticals industries, so an investment in chemistry facilities was close to his heart.

Accordingly, he brought forward the donation he had planned to make in his will so that the current generation of boys could immediately benefit.

During his visit to the School this term, he called in on lessons in the labs, including a Year 13 practical, speaking to the boys and to Head of Chemistry Amy Irvine. Afterwards, Tony said how pleased he was to see so many taking A-level sciences, and Chemistry in particular.

Tony keeps in touch with a number of fellow OEs and attends the Forty Society lunches. He now lives in Buckinghamshire.

In his own words: Tony Sherrard

I was born in September 1941 and attended Merryhills Primary school, located between Oakwood and Enfield.

Starting in Eric Shearly’s Form 1C, one of the first group of pupils that benefitted from the three-form entry, I was among the youngest (not yet 11 years of age on entry) and one of the few ‘out-of-county’ pupils, too. Despite winning the form prize in the second year (Form 2C), achieving upper quartile marks in later years, my A-level marks were disappointingly ordinary. Being only 16, I stayed on in the seventh form, but the exam results in 1959 showed little improvement, although the benefit of this extra year was evident at university.

I enjoyed sporting and outdoor activities, and although slightly built and short, I played for the Third XV and Third XI on the rugby field and cricket pitches respectively. I continued to play rugby for: the OEs (occasionally in the university holidays); Mumbles RFC, a feeder Club for Swansea; and Furness RFC in Barrow-in-Furness.

During my QE years, I was involved with the gym club’s presentation at the hobbies exhibition, played chess, collected stamps and developed an interest in photography. School and Scouting supported my interest in photography and rambling/fell-walking respectively, both of which remain an interest to this day.

Following external careers advice, I chose to study Chemical Engineering at the University College of Swansea, that benefitted from project work in the local heavy industries, securing a B.Sc degree and an opportunity to pursue a doctorate on techniques used in the oil and pharmaceutical industries. So, in 1965 I completed my PhD and took a job with Glaxo Laboratories at its factory on the southern coast of the Lake District. This factory was a Primary Production unit, manufacturing bulk active ingredients for prescription medicines, including antibiotics and fine chemicals. It provided excellent experience, which involved optimising and troubleshooting the various processes and equipment, designing new chemical processes, and developing solvent recovery systems. In the first ten years at Glaxo, I also managed an antibiotic extraction plant in County Durham and was part of a commissioning team at a new factory near Newcastle.

In preparation for a senior role in a new factory in SW Scotland, I spent time gaining more experience of operating fine chemicals plant in eastern Scotland. So, I became Factory Manager of the small new factory during the completion of construction, the commissioning and the initial production phases in 1977-81. From there, I was appointed Production & Technical Director in Glaxo Australia, responsible for three factories in Tasmania and Victoria – two small ones manufacturing opiates and the other in Melbourne producing prescription medicines predominantly for the Australian market. My contract ran out after three-and-a-half years and I returned to the large UK factory in South Cumbria. Here, initially, I had responsibility for the chemical processes, with the output dominated by antibiotics; later I was promoted to Factory Manager, responsible for the 24/7 day-to-day operations and for developing long-term plans for the factory within the framework of the Glaxo Group’s available Primary Production facilities. After five years (1989-94) in this demanding role, and having spent approximately 20 years working on the edge of Lake District, I moved to a head office role. Here, I became involved in developing the manufacturing strategy for bulk actives ingredients following the merger of Glaxo and Wellcome. With inevitable duplication of skills in the merger, I decided to take redundancy/early retirement at the end of 1997, after more than 32 years in manufacturing for Glaxo, and, latterly, Glaxo-Wellcome.

Shirley and I married more than 50 years ago, and she was a great support  as we moved with my career. We have one daughter who also pursued a career in chemical engineering (working for BP for eighteen years and now teaching Physics to A-level,) and one granddaughter. Golf, travel, and charity work within the Rotary umbrella have been key activities in retirement, although health issues have restricted these in the last few years.

Dr Anthony John Sherrard  C Eng, MIChemE

Year 8 pupil’s Aaryan Prabhaker’s entry in a climate art competition run by Imperial College London has been transformed into a mural on display close to the revamped Battersea Power Station.

Colours for the Climate, Aaryan’s design for the Grantham Climate Art Prize competition, calls on people to reduce their meat and dairy intake, and to eat more plant-based foods.

This year’s COP28, the 28^th annual UN climate meeting currently taking place in Dubai, has a focus on food and agriculture, amid considerable debate about the role of the livestock industry in producing greenhouse gases.

Aaryan’s is the second major QE success in the competition: Year 9 pupil Kelvin Chen, a runner-up in the 11-14 age category, saw his artwork showcased on billboards in London last month in the lead-up to COP28.

Head of Art Craig Wheatley said: “My congratulations go to Aaryan on making the most of the opportunity to enter the competition and on producing such a strong piece of work. After first impressing the judges, his artwork, with its strong message, is now grabbing attention from thousands on the streets of the capital.”

The boys were encouraged to enter the biennial competition by Art teacher Jeanne Nicodemus. Imperial’s Grantham Institute, which is a research centre for climate change and the environment, challenged entrants aged 11-25 to create bold designs for outdoor public murals focused on the solutions needed to tackle the climate crisis.

Competition entrants were asked to seek inspiration from the institute’s Nine things you can do about climate change list: number 2 on the list is ‘eat less meat and dairy’. The competition attracted more than 1,000 entries.

Aaryan’s design in the 11-14 age group was highly commended and was selected to be a mural at Pump House Lane, Nine Elms, where there is an exhibition of the artwork of the competition winners and runners-up. With Octopus Energy sponsoring the main competition, the Grantham Institute secured separate funding for this project from property developer Ballymore.

Aaryan’s artwork, which features a range of fruit and vegetables, was painted as a mural by artists Karla Rosales Garcia and Roger Rigol.

He and his parents, Amieya Prabhaker and Shalini Varma, attended an unveiling of the mural, where they met the sponsors as well as representatives of the competition organisers.

In a note to the School, Mr Prabhaker and Dr Varma said: “We would like to express our thanks to the teachers at QE, especially Ms Nicodemus and Mr Wheatley, who have inspired the creativity amongst the boys and guided them at each step.”

• Click on the thumbnail images below to see Aaryan’s artwork displayed in full.