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Four Year 12 linguists have reached the next stage of a prestigious German debating competition after enjoying success in two early rounds.

Two of the four also appeared in a French competition, where the QE contingent won multiple debates against fierce opposition from sixth-formers from other schools, many of whom were older.

The next stage of the German competition – organised by the Goethe Institut, the Federal Republic of Germany’s highly respected cultural organisation – will be hosted by QE early next month, with the finals taking place at the Institut’s London headquarters at the end of March.

Head of Languages Nora Schlatte said: “I pay tribute to these dedicated and talented debating teams. I especially congratulate our German students: their progress in the Goethe Institut competition is a well-deserved result of the hard work, commitment and sheer linguistic ability they brought to two very different online debates.”

Towards the end of the Autumn Term, A-level German students Theo Mama-Kahn, Olly Salter, Ansh Jassra and Jai Patel beat Croydon’s Coloma Convent Girls’ School on the motion, School canteens should offer vegan and vegetarian food.

In the recent second round, the QE boys faced the Royal Grammar School Guildford. They were debating the motion The use of social media is harmful to the health of young people.

These first two rounds took place online, but QE has been asked to host the third round in person. Competitors will gather at the School on 3rd and 4th March.

Wishing the four boys well for the future rounds, Languages teacher Helen Shephard added: “Their spoken German is outstanding and their debating skills are second to none.”

Still basking in their success, current School Captain Theo and classmate Olly were then joined by fellow Year 12 pupils Alan Yee Kin Kan and Antony Yassa for the French debating competition, which was held at St Paul’s Girls’ School.

They found themselves competing against 24 other schools, mainly from the private sector, who fielded more than 30 teams.

The QE four were split into two teams, with each debating three motions. These covered very diverse topics: Korean pop music, the environment and politics. Both QE pairs won two of their three debates, often facing opponents who were already in Year 13.

“It takes a lot of confidence, preparation and an excellent standard of French to be able to participate so successfully in such an event, and we are very proud of these students!” added Ms Schlatte, who served as a judge at the competition, together with QE Languages Assistant Joelle Simpson.

Three interns from the University of Connecticut helped deepen boys’ knowledge of American healthcare at a meeting of QE’s Personal Finance Society.

Pupils heard about the high costs and complexity inherent in the US system, with the session ending in a discussion of the pros and cons of healthcare on both sides of the Atlantic.

The meeting was organised by Ugan Pretheshan, who runs the society along with fellow Year 11 pupil Roshan Patel with the aim of helping boys manage their finances both now and in the future in their adult lives. Other topics covered in its meetings include buying a house and maintaining a good credit score.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I am grateful to our three current interns, Evan Burns, Nathaniel Austin-Mathley, and Ben Duncan, for their contribution to this meeting and to our enrichment programme more generally. Our relationship with the University of Connecticut extends back over a number of years and it is great that we can again welcome interns this year. It is a connection which gives us fascinating insights into the differences in pedagogy and educational culture between our respective countries.

“Their presence allows boys here to more readily make international comparisons and to understand different contexts and policy approaches: the opportunity thus to interrogate a different system is valuable, not least in helping pupils think critically about our own systems.”

“I congratulate Ugan and Roshan on their work with the society: like other pupil-run societies, it is of great benefit both to those who lead it and to those who attend. The Personal Finance Society complements the work of my colleagues who teach topics such as personal finance and other life skills through formal programmes of study, such as QE’s Personal Development Time programme.”

During the meeting, which was overseen by Economics teacher Sheerwan O’Shea-Nejad, the three History interns spoke extensively on American healthcare, telling the boys that it is a complex system that leaves many suffering, both physically and financially.

US healthcare spending grew 9.7 per cent in 2020, they said, reaching $4.1 trillion, or $12,530 per person. As a share of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, health spending accounted for 19.7 per cent.

“It was eye-opening to understand the complex and diverse methods of insurance and financing these large hospital bills,” said Ugan. The boys attending learned that insurance companies dominate US healthcare industries, presenting American citizens with a welter of quotation pathways and options – encompassing premiums, walk-in fees and ‘deductibles’ – that can be very difficult to understand. The contrast with the relative simplicity achieved by the NHS system in the UK was highlighted.

The meeting also heard a story about what a woman who had got her leg caught between a train and the platform in the US told onlookers: “Don’t call an ambulance. It’s $3,000. I can’t afford that. Call an ‘Uber’.”

Asked what they would do in such a medical emergency in the UK, the boys responded that they would not hesitate to call an ambulance.

The interns, who are supporting the History, Politics and Religious Studies departments this term as part of their Master’s programme, happily answered boys’ questions, before the meeting concluded with a weighing-up of the advantages and disadvantages of both systems, with arguments about price, accessibility and waiting times all factors in the debate.

Today, Barry Lui is a manager in one of the world’s leading professional services organisations, pressing ahead in a successful career in enterprise technology – a field he loves.

But it wasn’t always that way, and in fact Barry (OE 2004–2011) had to overcome serious early disappointments in order to put himself on the right track.

“If I think back to myself in 2011, leaving school and starting university after going through a tough UCAS clearing process, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to foresee or plan where I am today. There’s a message I’d really like to get across to young people, as I have often come across those who are not necessarily getting the best grades and often feeling very dispirited and pessimistic about the future as they’re still in an environment where their present and short-term future success is equated to, or determined by, their grades.

“They should keep their heads high and know that their future can still be very bright so long as they are proactive about finding their passions and strengths.”

Barry had relished his time as a pupil at the School, where he enjoyed success in national mathematics and chess competitions. “I look back very fondly at my time at QE: I made life-long friends and I’d say it has defined much of my character. The School encourages pupils to be organised, disciplined and focused. Organised in the sense that we were expected to be very aware of the homework expected of us and the quality required; disciplined in the way we were taught to address teachers and be very regimented about our schedules; focused by reinforcing the importance of our studies and encouraging a lot of competition.”

With Geography his favourite subject, he duly made his UCAS application, only to find that his grades did not live up to expectations. After ploughing through clearing, Barry gained a place at Queen Mary, University of London, where he studied Geography with Economics from 2011 to 2014.

He then faced disappointment again on realising that the course contents did not match the kind of material that he really enjoyed learning about. “Geography at QE allowed us to explore a good breadth of the subject, exploring themes from both Physical and Human Geography. I always enjoyed learning about Physical Geography a little more. The subject matter at university became much more narrow and focused on Human Geography.

“I came to a junction: I could either change my subject, or stay the course, but try to find another way to find, and then explore, my passion.” Eventually, he decided on the latter path, determining to take steps to give himself a career head start while still studying.

A way forward came in the shape of a part-time job with Apple, where he started as a humble shop floor assistant (a ‘Specialist’) at an Apple Store, before progressing to become an ‘iOS Champion’ –- “basically anything to do with iPads, iPhones etc.” –- and then being offered the opportunity to deliver workshops, in addition to his iOS Champion role. (He is pictured, circled centre, on his first day.)

“I delivered workshops to sometimes large numbers of people, which really helped build my confidence in presenting face to face. On the other hand, sometimes there were no registered attendees for the workshop, so we’d turn the speaker to max and deliver the class for the whole store to hear and try to draw a crowd that way!”

It was a job he did throughout almost his whole time at university, and the effects were profound. “At the beginning, I was quite a quiet and reserved person, and this job really helped me come out of my shell and explore new ways to engage with people. It completely changed my life in many ways, both in terms of personality and of giving me an industry focus.

“During this time, IBM and Apple formed an Enterprise Mobile Application partnership, which was really big news at the time, as mobile apps were becoming much more mainstream. I saw this as an area of very fast growth and decided to explore it more.

“In my final semester at university, I was simultaneously writing my dissertation, working part-time at Apple and I also picked up a summer internship at a recruitment software development firm exploring the industry of SaaS (Software as a Service) and Cloud software. At this point, I decided I wanted to work on landing a career in enterprise technology and put all of my focus into securing that as a graduate job.”

Juggling everything was not easy and, as Barry admits, in the run-up to his finals, his studies suffered: “I’d either be working, or applying to every single technology consulting firm graduate opportunity that I could find. I found that job applications were extremely time-consuming, especially if you want to tailor each application to each company.”

While he may not have ended up with the best marks in his degree, he had certainly gained a great deal of determination in his university years. And so, armed with this and with his professional experience, he found a technology consulting graduate role with Capgemini, where his main role was implementing Oracle Applications to clients who ranged from public sector organisations to retail companies. Significantly, in terms of his career development, he also teamed up with other graduates to build up an enterprise mobile applications initiative, building custom mobile applications based on client business need.

“I was then offered an opportunity at Deloitte to continue working in that space – albeit for projects on a different scale – with a strong and fast-growing team, so I decided to take it on.”

Four-and-a-half years later, Barry remains with Deloitte, “slowly taking on more and more responsibility, growing a great network and learning so much along the way”. He has risen through the ranks to his current position as a manager delivering functional financial and procurement solution consulting for enterprise technology programmes.

Over the years, he has increasingly sought to give back to those he can help: he has participated in mentoring schemes at his former university for the last three years, spoken at career panels and helped out at a QE careers day.

Barry married his wife, Mina, in 2019: “We’re continuing to grow together.” The couple met at university – “so, if my grades hadn’t taken me to Queen Mary, I wouldn’t have met my wife!”

As he reflects on this and on his career to date, this former Apple employee, concurs (in common with other QE alumni) with the words spoken by the company’s inspirational founder, Steve Jobs, in his commencement address to Stanford University students in 2005: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

Two academics who discovered they were autistic as adults explained how they and other neurodivergent* people experience the world in a special workshop at the School.

Dr Chloe Farahar and Dr Annette Foster from the University of Kent delivered the workshop to a select group of pupil leaders. The event was arranged in line with the objective set out in Building on Distinction, the 2021-2025 School Plan, of helping Elizabethans “change things for the better, both in [their] own community and in society at large”.

The pupil representatives will now prepare an assembly for the whole of Year 8 to share what they have learned.

Assistant Head (Pupil Progress) Sarah Westcott said: “This workshop was an important insight for our students into the lived experience of two members of the neurodiverse community.

“Dr Farahar  and Dr Foster candidly spoke about their experiences as autistic people, and during their engaging workshop prompted the boys to confront the many common stereotypes and myths which exist around those who are neurodivergent.

“This workshop is part of the wider work we are doing to encourage pupils to think about the diverse communities we all live in and the part they have to play in making society open and inclusive to all,” Dr Westcott added.

Those invited to the workshop were: form captains and deputies from Years 7 and 8; School Vice-Captains and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Ambassadors Heemy Kalam and Victor Angelov, of Year 12, and Kevin Gunawardena, also of Year 12, who is writing a dissertation for his Extended Project Qualification on How can neurodiverse lives become more integrated within society?

Dr Foster and Dr Farahar run Aucademy, a platform for delivering training.

Dr Foster, who is autistic, dyslexic, dyspraxic and with attention differences, was diagnosed at the age of 39, while Dr Farahar was diagnosed at the age of 32, after, as she says, “a lifetime of being told I am ‘weird’, ‘odd’, ‘stand-offish’ and ‘unapproachable’”.

In their richly illustrated presentation, they helped pupils understand what neurodiversity means.

Through hands-on activities, the boys were taught about the ways in which people with autism, dyslexia and attention differences experience the world.

They learned, for example, about:

• ‘Stimming’ – self-stimulatory behaviour involving repeated actions or activities that either excite or calm the sensory nervous system,
• The role of understanding and kindness. (The presentation finished with a quotation from the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put all together that overwhelm the world.”)
• Stereotypes – exploring the differences between how autism is often portrayed in the media and the reality. The presentation pointed out, for example, that contrary to stereotypes, autistic people are rarely mathematics savants.

Following the workshop, Dr Farahar wrote to Dr Westcott: “Annette and I were so impressed with the QE pupils – we were really buoyed by their kindness and consideration of difference.”

*  The term ‘neurodiversity’, which was coined in 1998 by sociologist Judy Singer, defines brain differences in areas such as sociability, learning, attention and mood as normal, rather than deficits or disorders.

Pupils and teachers from QE’s Technology department have been visiting local primaries to help them dip their toes into 3D-printing and robotics.

First, QE donated 3D printers to Northside Primary in North Finchley and Foulds School in Barnet, sending along a group of sixth-formers to help set the machines up and explain how they can be used.

Then, the award-winning Hybrid robotics team took along two of its robots to Monken Hadley CE Primary School and gave the children there an introduction to exactly what is involved in competitive robotics.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “At Queen Elizabeth’s School, we cherish our place in the local community and are keen to work together with other schools and organisations in the area. Partnerships such as these benefit all who are involved, with our students gaining from the experience of presenting what they have learned in these informal, interactive workshops, while the primary schools are introduced to some very exciting, cutting-edge technologies.”

The 3D Printers donated to Northside and Foulds schools were among a large batch of machines given to QE technology company Cisco Meraki. During the early stages of the pandemic, they were used as part of a ‘print farm’ producing urgently needed PPE for the NHS under a London-wide initiative headed by QE Head of Technology Michael Noonan that involved the online 3D Crowd network.

“With supply chains subsequently catching up with demand for PPE, we were looking to retire the machines to schools that needed them,” Mr Noonan said. “We gave a commitment as the Technology department to support the two schools in setting them up and in helping to train staff so they could bring 3D printing into their curriculum.

“Students on our new Year 12 course – part of the two-year A-level in Product Design – have been gaining far greater knowledge of 3D-printing recently through setting up the two dedicated Sixth Form printers. So, once they were sufficiently confident, we were very happy for them to travel to these local schools to spearhead technical education sessions benefitting both staff and children there.”

The visiting sixth-formers first finessed the set-up of the printers and calibrated them, before moving on to instructing staff on best practice, introducing Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to the children, and helping the schools establish a CAD/3D-printing curriculum.

“The exercise was highly beneficial for these students, deepening their competence in using the technology, while also developing their personal confidence as they gave their presentation and fielded questions both from education professionals and from some very keen members of Years 5 and 6!

“The Technology department will look to continue to grow this partnership in the coming years, so that we develop the best opportunities for our A-level Product Design students, while at the same time helping local schools access and benefit from the type of technologies which have greatly enhanced the learning experience at Queen Elizabeth’s.”

Mr Noonan accompanied senior boys from Team Hybrid – one of four senior QE robotics teams to have taken part in last year’s international VEX robotics finals – to Monkton Hadley.

The Year 10 boys spoke to a mixed group of Year 5 and 6 children about their journey in robotics to date, detailing their achievements and what they have learned. They brought along the robot they are using in senior competitions this year, as well as the robot they used in the VIQC junior events.

“It was an opportunity to demonstrate the impressive capabilities of bespoke designed, programmable robotics. The primary school students were amazed by the technology on show, and particularly taken aback by the sheer scale of the effort put in by the team members as they strive for excellence,” said Mr Noonan.

The visiting QE team proudly displayed their award trophies and gave the younger pupils a glimpse of their design notebooks. They tantalised them with the prospect of one day competing themselves in the international VEX championships, which in non-pandemic years are normally held in the US. There was also an opportunity for the primary school children to test-drive the robots – an experience which left them “ecstatic”, Mr Noonan said.

“At the end of the session, the voting was unanimous: all present wanted to take up VEX in the following academic year (staff included!). QE will now look to host the school and others like it; we’ll start with a visit of our facilities and then eventually perhaps they could take part in the annual VEX competitions we now host, just as Lochinver House School did last term.”

After the visit, Julie Eyres, Head at Monken Hadley, wrote to QE’s Head of Technology, Michael Noonan to say how much the children had enjoyed the visit, adding that they were now keen for their school to acquire robotics equipment of its own!

The children from Monken Hadley gave their own account in their school newsletter: “These robots were amazing…[The QE boys] play in many different competitions; the robot they are using…is so cool. It has a small conveyor belt, where rings go up, and it also collects big circles with poles on them.”

Working with Mr Noonan on these partnership initiatives are Technology teachers Lauren Fagan and Stephanie Tomlinson, and Technology Assistant Kirsten Evans.

“It was great to see that our students emphasised the accessibility of robotics to both young men and women, thus highlighting the opportunities that exist for women in STEM careers,” Miss Tomlinson said.

• Team Hybrid have applied for Vex Robotics Competition (VRC) Online Challenge Community Award and have created a video entry. They hope to be able to visit other primary schools in due course.