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Boys took on their teachers in a fiercely fought quiz to raise money for a charity supporting children in Sri Lanka.

In the final of the competition, which was modelled on ITV’s The Chase, the winning teams from the Year 7, 8 and 9 heats each competed against a teacher ‘chaser’ as they tried to make it through to the last round.

After some determined quizzing, the teams from Year 8 and Year 9 needed a tie-break to separate them. The representative of Year 8 was fastest on the buzzer with the correct answer, so Year 8 duly progressed to face off against Mathematics teacher Geoff Roberts and Economics teacher Sheerwan O’Shea-Nejad in the final chase, where the boys’ strong general knowledge and speedy teamwork saw them emerge as the winners.

Headmaster Neil Enright, who came to the final, said: “This event was great fun and was for a very good cause. My thanks go to our Sixth Form charity team for organising it and to all the members of staff involved, including the ‘chasers’ who cheerfully put their credibility on the line for charity!

“At QE, we have a long tradition of supporting both local and international charities. I am pleased to see that our current prefects recognise the importance of seeking to change the world for the better and that they are carving out time in our busy School life for such work, and are doing so with enthusiasm and commitment.”

The lunchtime final in the Main School Hall followed preliminary rounds held during lunchtime breaks over the previous week.

Year 12’s Shriram Mahesh, the charity team Vice Captain said: “This event was an overwhelming success, not only in raising more than the targeted £200 (the amount raised eventually tallied up to £214.50 across all the rounds), but also in bringing together many members of the School community, including Lower School students, Sixth Form students and members of staff.”

Planning for the quiz took just over half a term and was a team effort, with members of the charity team variously writing quiz questions, organising rehearsals, arranging publicity and promoting the quiz by calling in on Year 7, 8 and 9 form rooms during morning and afternoon registration periods.

Shriram paid tribute to the role of charity team captain, Lourdes Kumar, of Year 12, and of Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter and Extra-curricular Enrichment Tutor Katrin Hood in liaising with the recipient charity, Teach Sri Lanka. Ms Hood was also the host and quizmaster.

The ‘chasers’ included Languages teacher Gillian Ross, Biology teacher Hinesh Shah (OE 1996–2003) and Physics teacher Isaac Frost.

“It was extremely pleasing to see so many people turn up to watch the event, including many teachers from a variety of academic departments,” said Shriram, adding that the appearances by Mr O’Shea-Nejad and Mr Roberts in the final had been “very well received by the younger students”.

Founded in 2012, according to its website, Teach Sri Lanka aims to help “educational organisations in equipping and enabling children unlock the transformative potential of education in a sustainable manner”.

Last year’s leavers turned out in force to pass on the benefit of their recent experience to current sixth-formers at QE’s annual University Convention.

With the 2021 event moved online because of the pandemic, this year’s convention provided an eagerly awaited opportunity for the School’s newest alumni to meet face-to-face with Year 12s thinking about following in their footsteps.

The day also brought a QE first – a series of afternoon water polo friendly matches involving the Old Elizabethans playing with, and against, the School’s current senior players.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was great to catch up with these, our youngest old boys, as they passed on some ultra-current advice to Year 12 students, whether on university and course choices, gap years or industry placements. My thanks go to all of them for giving their time to support their School.”

Most of the OEs attending the convention are currently in their first years on sought-after degree courses at leading universities, including Oxbridge and the Russell Group institutions.

Those giving presentations included 2021 leaver Deshraam Ganeshamoorthy, who has been spending this year with Springboard Pro, a Cambridge engineering consultancy, after successfully securing a coveted Year in Industry placement. The scheme places around 750 young people annually in engineering, science, IT, and business, where most work full-time before going on to join degree courses.

After the convention, the OEs had the opportunity to catch up with each other and with some of their former teachers over lunch.

Then, in the afternoon 16 visiting old boys headed for the Martin Swimming Pool for the water polo friendlies.

The day finished with two OE sides playing each other, which finished in a well-fought draw.

Head of Aquatics Richard Scally said: “It was a very enjoyable afternoon, with some competitive polo played. There was considerable interest – including from old boys who couldn’t make it on the day – so we would like to expand it in the future.

“I was pleased that a good number of OEs are still playing, whether for their university sides or clubs. Hopefully, by chatting to them, our current team will be inspired to follow suit.”

Year 13 debaters Ciaran Price and Christan Emmanuel successfully convinced their classmates to keep petrol and diesel-engined vehicles off the roads in the 55th Elizabethan Union Annual Dinner Debate.

The pair took on Old Elizabethan challengers Ravi Karia and Jathieesan Umaasuthan (both OE 2011–2018), who argued against the motion, This House would ban all non-electric vehicles.

The weekend event is tailored to give senior boys experience of the type of formal occasions they are likely to participate in at university and later in life.

Head of Academic Enrichment Nisha Mayer said: “This was a welcome return for our dinner debate after the disruption of the past two years. It was a relaxed, pleasantly lively evening, with an engaging debate that saw effective arguments made on both sides.”

A three-course meal, including vegan options, was served in the Dining Hall before the debate in the Main School Hall.

“Not only was it the first time some had worn black-tie, but I understand that one boy’s clip-on bow tie had been manufactured only that morning using a 3D printer!” added Mrs Mayer.

Lawyer Izzet Hassan (OE 2005–2021), the after-dinner speaker, “gave a very heartfelt speech, with recollections from his days at QE and really solid advice for Year 13 to take away”, Mrs Mayer added.

The evening included the traditional toasts to Queen Elizabeth II and to “the pious memory of Queen Elizabeth I”.

The visitors were formally proposed by the 2021 School Captain, Siddhant Kansal, of Year 13, while the Elizabethan Union was proposed by Izzet, who last month took up a new post with international law firm Kirkland & Ellis.

Accompanying Izzet was his contemporary, Oli Palmer, who is now a teacher. The pair plan to return for this November’s Old Elizabethan Association Dinner, along with others from their year group, who will make up this year’s ten-year leavers cohort at the event.

Other roles during the evening were undertaken by Year 13 pupils, with Utsav Atri the chairman and Jash Nanavati the designated photographer.

Votes were taken before and after the debate, both of which were in favour of the motion.

Trailblazing Eton Fives players Zayn Phoplankar and Yash Kedia are national champions in their sport after an historic win over previous title-holders Shrewsbury School.

The Year 9 boys beat a Shrewsbury pair 3-0 in the final of the Eton Fives U14 Novices National Schools Championship Final – a competition for pupils who start playing the sport in this year group.

PE teacher Oliver O’Gorman said: “This is an extraordinary achievement: we believe it’s the first time in QE history a pair has made it to a national Fives final. I am beyond proud of this pair, who have put in non-stop work this year to deservedly claim this title.”

Congratulating them, Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I am excited to see what the future holds for this pair and for QE Fives.”

In the competition’s qualifying round, which attracted 24 pairs, QE entered eight pairs, of which seven qualified for the national finals. In fact, three of the qualifying round’s four semi-finalists were from QE, with Soham Kale & Muhammad Ammaar Hurzuk and Megh Modi & Arya Mandirwar reaching this stage alongside Zayn and Yash. The latter pair went on to beat an Aldenham School pair 2-0 in the qualifying round final.

The history of Fives at QE dates back to 1880, when the first courts opened at the old Wood Street premises, following a £10 grant from the Governors and a special fund-raising concert. Fives then languished after the School moved to its current premises in Queen’s Road in 1932, but was revived when the rebuilding programme of 1951-52 brought plans for a new court. By 1954, it was ready; QE was affiliated to the Eton Fives Association, entering the Public Schools Championships in 1955.

QE players are taught the sport by Mr O’Gorman, while there is also external coaching twice a week. Boys are fully introduced to Fives in Year 9, although trials are held in Year 8 to identify potential players.

Other QE achievements in the sport this year have included Year 10’s Rishabh Bhatt and Dinuk Dissanayake reaching the final of the national U15 qualifying round after beating Aldenham in the quarter-final and Ipswich School in the semi-final. They were eliminated 2-1 by a pair from Mill Hill School in the final.

QE’s burgeoning success has not gone unnoticed: after the victory in the novices final, the Eton Fives Association’s website hailed this “first-ever win at a national level” for the School and paid tribute to the “enthusiasm, dedication and excellent coaching” of Mr O’Gorman and of his counterpart at Cranleigh School which was also celebrating its first-ever national win, in its case in the U16 girls’ category.

After QE hosted the qualifying round of a national chamber music festival – the first competitive event to be held in the new Friends’ Recital Hall – ensembles from the School went on to further success in the later stages of the competition.

Six groups reached the semi-final of the Pro Corda National Chamber Music Festival for Schools – a total exceeded by only two other schools nationally – and two of the QE ensembles went all the way to the final at Millfield School in Somerset.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “All of the chamber musicians who took part in this year’s Pro Corda competition should be exceptionally proud of themselves. Not only did they perform with great musical maturity at the highest level, but the groups that progressed through the rounds demonstrated a remarkable ability to respond directly to the feedback given by the adjudicator in the masterclass sessions and improve each performance.”

In 2020, the festival final due to be held in March was cancelled because of the looming pandemic. All that year’s finalists, including QE’s Saxophone Ensembles, were named the 2020 Chamber Champions. 2021’s festival was largely called off, again because of the pandemic.

Ten ensembles entered this year’s qualifying round held in The Friends’ Recital Hall – part of QE’s £3.5m-plus new Music School, which will be officially opened next month.

Among them, the Year 13 Flute Trio certainly caught the judges’ attention: they were described as having given “a simply outstanding performance”.

Pro Corda Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director Andrew Quartermain wrote afterwards to Miss Partington and Music teacher Caroline Grint to offer his “huge congratulations for what you have achieved with the chamber music in the school (at any time, but most especially after these recent times!).”

The festival had been honoured to be among the inaugural users of QE’s “wonderful new hall and facilities”, he wrote. “Great students, great day, great company – thank you!”

Of the ten, the trio and the following five other ensembles reached the semi-final, held at Charterhouse School in Surrey:

• Senior Piano Trio
• Piano Quartet
• Junior Violin Trio
• Saxophone Quintet
• Junior Violin Trio

Only the independent Sevenoaks and Perse schools saw more ensembles qualify for the semi-finals nationally. QE’s semi-finalists are pictured, top.

The two ensembles which then reached the final at Millfield were the Junior Violin Trio and the Saxophone Quintet.

The trio were one of five groups competing in the U14 category. The trio comprises: Year 8 pianist Shreyas Iyengar; violin 1, played by Jamie Lam, of Year 7, and violin 2, played by Alex Kronabetter, of Year 8.

There were also five groups in the Saxophone Quintet’s U19 category. The five musicians were: Conor Parker-Delves, of Year 13, playing the soprano saxophone: Leo Sellis, of Year 9, playing the baritone saxophone; Suraj Cheema, of Year 12, playing the tenor saxophone; Leo Dane-Liebesny, of Year 12, playing the alto saxophone, and Nathan Woodcock, of Year 11, also on the alto saxophone.

“Our musicians also presented themselves – and the School – in a totally professional manner, appearing at ease on stage, introducing their repertoire with confidence, and bowing to acknowledge the audience’s warm applause after their performances,” said Miss Partington. “Whilst it wasn’t a win this year for QE’s chamber musicians, to have two groups make it through to the final is an enormous achievement in itself, particularly given the context of difficulties of music-making over the last two years. Bring on next year’s competition!”