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Queen Elizabeth’s School was the most successful organisation in the world in this year’s VEX robotics Online Challenges.

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.

And now that the results are in for the 2022–2023 Online Challenges, it is clear just how strong their performances have been: QE has been informed that its teams were either winners or runners-up in nine separate challenges, with seven first places.

Not only do the winning teams receive cash prizes, they also gain automatic qualification for this season’s VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, USA.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “By any standards, these are fantastic results, and that is reflected in the fact that QE is the highest-achieving school or other organisation globally this year.

“My warm congratulations go to all the boys who took part and to our Head of Technology, Michael Noonan, and his team for the work they did in preparing them.”

Nine QE teams were named among the top places in 13 competitions, six of them at junior (VIQC) level and seven at senior (VRC) level.

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.

At junior level, 21549A was a double winner, taking the top spot in both the VIQC Career Readiness Challenge and the STEM Research Project.

Here are some examples of what the challenges involved:

• VRC and VIQC Career Readiness Challenge: entrants had to explore the way in which professionals in a specific career or company use and document the steps of the engineering design process. The challenge information stated: “We want you to explore a possible future career, and discover the similarities and differences in how that prospective career and VEX Robotics teams use and learn from the process of engineering design.”
• VIQC STEM Research Project: this involved exploring nature’s patterns and using that knowledge to engineer a new solution to a current problem.
• VRC Promote Video Challenge: participants were asked to make a video promoting their experience with Vex Robotics. They were invited to “show us who you are, who you aspire to be, and what makes your team special and successful”.

Pictured here are some of the QE robotics teams on their travels during the regional rounds of this year’s domestic VEX competitions.

Boys of all ages chosen as last season’s top rugby players for QE enjoyed a special treat with a visit to watch Premiership side Saracens battle it out with Newcastle Falcons.

Most of the 15 boys selected by their PE teachers for the 2021–2022 Rugby Team of the Year headed to Saracens’ StoneX Stadium, where they saw the host side beat Newcastle 29-23.

Head of Rugby James Clarke said: “For all but three of the boys, this was the first live rugby match they’d seen in person, and they thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and experience, despite having to brave the cold.”

Adding to the boys’ enjoyment was the exciting nature of this top-flight game, with the visitors staging a strong comeback in the second half.

Hosts Saracens were 29-13 up at half-time, while Newcastle were already down to 14 men, since Falcons lock Greg Peterson was sent off after just 16 minutes for a dangerously high tackle.

But in the second half, it was the Falcons who scored the only try. And tensions rose still further when fly-half Brett Connon scored a penalty for Newcastle two minutes into stoppage time (which also earned the visitors a bonus league point for losing by no more than seven points – the value of a converted try). In the end, however, Saracens were able to hold on for the win.

After the game, the QE visitors were able to meet some of the players, including England international Billy Vunipola, the Saracens No. 8.

The QE 2021–2022 Rugby Team of the Year, with their age categories at the time the team was announced, were:

• Backs – Taro Niimura, U16; Thomas Young, U13; Esa Aslam, U12; Isa Sheikh, U12; Ubayd Uddin, U15; Andrew Mbogol, U16; Ubaidah Rahman. U14.
• Forwards – Simardeep Sahota, U14; Aashir Irfan, U13; Soham Bhatnagar, U12; David Hirtopanu, U15; Nnanna Okore, U18; Edward Muscat, U14; Aaron Rodrigo, U15; Theo Moses, U15.

Earlier in the season, Year 8’s leading rugby players had enjoyed their own day out, which included a training session by the coaches at Premiership side London Irish RFC and a visit to Twickenham – the world’s biggest rugby union stadium – where they were able to look around the World Rugby Museum.

PE & Games teacher Ollie Di-Lieto said: “Having had a training session led by the London Irish coaches, we had the opportunity to watch the first team train and meet a few of the players. We met Ollie Hassell-Collins (in the England squad) and Henry Arundell (now also in the England squad: he scored on his England debut last year).”

QE’s first post-pandemic skiing trip saw fifty boys take to the slopes of Canada’s ancient Purcell Mountains, some 4,500 miles away from home.

The group flew to the resort of Panorama in British Columbia on a eight-day trip during which they were able to enjoy five days of “fantastic” skiing.

As well as being able to take in the spectacular views of the Canadian Rockies, they benefitted from their hotel being conveniently close to the slopes.

Trip organiser and PE teacher Richard Scally said: “The Canadian Rockies are stunning, and this resort is considered to be in the top ten places to ski in the world.

“Snow is near-guaranteed there from early December through to late April and we were accordingly  treated to some fantastic skiing conditions, unhampered by the queues and crowded slopes that you often find at half-term in other resorts.”

Announced last summer, QE’s first skiing trip since 2019 attracted boys from across the School – pupils from current Years 8–13.

Their destination, Panorama Mountain Resort, which was founded as recently as 1962, is accessed by road from the town of Invermere, which is 11 miles away. It boasts one of the highest vertical drops in North America – some 1,300m.

The boys had five hours of instruction per day, while lessons had also been available for first-time skiers before departure to ensure participants could get the most out of their trip.

The QE group stayed at the Pine Inn, a hotel chosen because, unusually for North American resorts, it is ‘slope side’ – skiing jargon meaning that it is within walking distance of the ski lifts.

Having ‘slope side’, or ‘ski in, ski out’, accommodation meant it was quick, safe and convenient for the boys. It also had the advantage of being next to the resort’s hot springs, offering skiers great scope for relaxation and recovery after a hard day’s physical activity.

Once the day’s fun on the slopes was over, the boys had a programme of evening activities to enjoy, while a ski school presentation took place at the end of the week.

Reflecting afterwards on the trip, Mr Scally said: “With a high percentage of complete beginners this year, it could not have been a better introduction to skiing and mountain life.

“This is the second time Queen Elizabeth’s has now been to Panorama, and I am certain we will be back, as everyone left with the most amazing memories.”

Two Year 12 squads flew the flag for Britain when they fought against more than 100 competing teams in the Battle for Vegas – an inaugural Vex Robotics Signature Event in the desert resort.

The QE boys, who made up the only teams from outside North America to attend, enjoyed both the competition and the chance to take in Las Vegas’s spectacular attractions.

QE’s team Tempest finished their first day unbeaten, despite some daunting opposition, while team HYBRID struck up a strong relationship with an American partner team on day 2. In their time off, the sixth-formers revelled in the technical and architectural wonders on, around and even under the city’s glittering streets.

Head of Technology Michael Noonan, who accompanied the boys together with Technology teacher James Howard, explained that since the annual Vex Robotics World Championships in the US fall in the Summer Term, boys in years with public examinations are unable to attend. Instead, their teachers looked into suitable US-based Signature Events, which are events designed to provide competition at a level above that typically experienced at regional competitions. The QE teams, who are sponsored by Kingston Technology, opted for the one based at the Westgate Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas – the venue where, in July 1969, Elvis Presley performed two shows a night, seven days a week.

After their ten-hour flight from Heathrow, the AS students first replenished their strength at the Peppermill Restaurant, made famous as the backdrop of films and TV shows including Casino, The Cotton Club, and CSI: Vegas.

They then made their way along Vegas’s celebrated Strip. “One highlight in particular was The Venetian – a resort and hotel, which boasts an indoor network of Venice-style canals, complete with singing gondola drivers!” said Mr Noonan. Further down the street, they took in the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign and marvelled both at the water & light show at the fountain of the Bellagio and at the incredible complexity of the part-roller coaster, part-hotel New York New York attraction. “Racking up close to 30,000 steps over the course of the day was not enough, though, as the pupils made their way to the Area 15 entertainment complex, wondering at many of the audio-visual wonders on offer, and at the surreal Omega Mart [an exhibition billed as ‘an interactive, mind-bending immersive art experience’].”

After an early start the following morning – and a swift present-buying visit to the World’s Largest Gift Shop – the boys began preparations for their first formal day of competition. They started setting up their pit area, fine-tuning their build process and rehearsing their pro-programmed routines.

This day also brought a highly exclusive trip to the cutting-edge loop underground public transport system at the Las Vegas Convention Center created by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company. “The students were able to see state-of-the-art engineering developments, many of which are too secretive to even photograph!” said Mr Noonan.

After this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the boys returned to their robotics, making final preparations for the following day of qualification, as well as taking part in some impromptu practice sessions. “As the only overseas team at the event, the other 100 or so US, Canada and Mexico-based teams were very eager to get to know the QE teams, with lots of potential alliance links formed,” said Mr Noonan. They topped off the day with a visit to the “incredible” High Roller observation wheel at The LINQ Hotel – a 550ft wheel offering breath-taking views over the Strip.

“On the first day of competition, team Tempest had, in keeping with their name, a storming day, despite their division featuring some of the world’s finest teams. They finished the day with a perfect record of five wins, leaving them ranked fifth in their division of 61 teams.”

Things proved a little tougher for team HYBRID, with last-minute fixes and alterations at times resulting in inconsistent robot performance. “However, they toughed it out and managed to finish the day with a record of three wins and two losses,” said Mr Noonan.

With little time to catch their breath, the teams were then off to Battlebots Arena – a permanent area purpose-built to showcase the highly popular Battlebots television show, yet featuring live robotic action. “They were thrilled to see famed robots from the television series, including Witch Doctor, Kraken, Mammoth, HyperShock and Whiplash. At the end of the event, they took photos with some of the engineers and team representatives, gaining an insight into the lives of professional robotic engineers.”

After their disappointments on day 1, team HYBRID began day 2 still determined to finish in the automatic alliance spots in their division. “They succeeded in doing so, finishing the qualification section ranked 21st, and allying with team 3303S Dublin Robotics from Dublin, California,” said Mr Noonan. “They built up a great relationship with them through collaboration and discussion over the two days and were always likely to pick this team. Sadly, there was further disappointment for them, as they were cruelly denied by disqualification on a technicality in their round-of-16 game.”

Having remained unbeaten in the early stages of competition, team Tempest did finally succumb to their only loss of the tournament, and finished the day ranked 13^th. “They chose Team Fizzy, a former World Championship challenger from Omaha, Nebraska, and were unfortunate not to progress past the round of 16, following a loss caused by robot malfunction.”

The boys took in the overall finals, witnessing the “incredible consistency” of the eventual champion teams, Gears from Martinsville, Indiana, and Pink Sparklee Unicorns from Woodbridge, Virginia. “They managed to grab a photo with the champion teams – gaining some essential advice on how to continue to improve.”

As they got ready for their return flight, the QE teams were visibly exhausted, but were already planning that, after a short break, they would be preparing to go into battle once again, their sights set on a first QE VEX Robotics Championship win in three years, Mr Noonan said.

An award-winning exhibition curated by an Old Elizabethan academic about the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit Japan in 2011 has returned to the UK.

The exhibition, Picturing the Invisible, is now on at the Heong Gallery – a contemporary art space in Downing College, University of Cambridge, that has recently hosted exhibitions featuring artists including Ai Wei Wei, Barbara Hepworth, and David Hockney.

Featuring striking photography as well as a series of essays by internationally renowned experts in fields ranging from science to diplomacy, the exhibition is curated by Dr Makoto Takahashi (OE 2003–2010), a Fulbright-Lloyd’s Fellow from the Program on Science, Technology & Society at Harvard University’s Harvard Kennedy School. and a lecturer at the Technical University Munich’s Department for Science and Technology Studies.

Bringing together Makoto’s research interests in the Fukushima disaster with his longstanding involvement with art, the exhibition was shown at the Royal Geographical Society in London in 2021 and subsequently in Munich, where it won the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology’s 2022 Ziman Award.

It returns to the UK in an expanded format and is being shown until 23^rd April during Wednesday–Sunday afternoons at the Heong Gallery. Admission is free.

“We are proud to be the first research-led exhibition at this venue and I would be truly delighted to welcome the QE community to this exhibition space,” said Makoto, who curated it in collaboration with his students in Munich.

Organised in memory of ‘3.11’ (the 9.1-magnitude earthquake occurred on 11^th March – or 3.11 in some countries’ dating practice), Picturing the Invisible provides a striking photographic portrait of life in the wake of the triple disaster.

It brings together seven talented photographers, working in the affected territories, and pairs their works with essays by policymakers, academics, authors, and activists.

The exhibition’s promotional material states: “Together these works make visible the otherwise overlooked legacies of 3.11: the ghostly touch of radiation, lingering traumas, and the resilience of the affected communities.”

Reviewers have been fulsome in their praise: Marigold Warner, of The British Journal of Photography, called it “cool and noteworthy”, while The New Statesman’s creative editor, Gerry Brakus said: “A striking and evocative collaboration between academics, artists, and policy makers… It is educational, beautiful, heart-breaking and inspiring… Unmissable.”

A full exhibition programme can be found here.