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Prize-winners at Junior Awards should be proud of all they have achieved in the most testing times, Headmaster Neil Enright told them in his address.

After the live event was cancelled last July because of the pandemic (with an online version in its stead), the Junior Awards Ceremony went ahead in person this year, but in reduced format, without the usual audience of parents, VIP guests and the whole QE staff.

Nevertheless, more than 100 prizes were awarded in a formal afternoon ceremony in the Main School Hall that included speeches and musical interludes performed by the School’s young musicians. Pictured, top, is vocalist Rishi Watsalya performing Tachchur Singarachari’s Ninnu Kori. Rishi won both the Year 7 Music award and the House award for Harrisons’.

“We have gathered this afternoon, despite the challenges, because you are deserving of this recognition,” said Mr Enright to the assembled award-winners.

“To be part of this select occasion is particular testament to your motivation, dedication and resilience over the past year. You have not just coped with the circumstances caused by the pandemic, but have continued to thrive.

And the Headmaster concluded: “I am excited to see what you can achieve with further growth. How you can be beacons among your peers and be shining lights in your communities, industries, and in society, in the years ahead. What can you do, day-by-day, to make tomorrow brighter still, for you and for others?”

Prizes at Junior Awards are given for excellence and achievement in curriculum subjects, as well as in extra-curricular activities and in contributions to wider School life.

In total, 57 boys from the total of around 570 boys in Years 7–9 received prizes in the end-of-year ceremony.

In his address toward the conclusion of the afternoon, the 2021 School Captain, Siddhant Kansal, of Year 12, urged the prize recipients to “cherish the moment” and reminded them of the magnitude of their accomplishment in the particular context of QE: “Today, you are the one in ten who has been selected to win a prize out of all those fantastically talented other boys.”

Musical performances included a processional at the beginning of the event – Oblivion, by the Argentine tango composer, Piazzola.

Other pieces played were a Chopin Nocturne and Smetana’s Aus der Heimat No. 2. The recessional was the Waltz and Gavotte from Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano by Shostakovich.

Underne are the winners of the 2020–21 Eric Shearly House Cup, after a late surge took them past last year’s champion, Stapylton.

The 2019-20 winners had actually been in the lead for the whole year, until a series of strong performances in House competitions in the second half of this term enabled Underne to overtake them. Underne ended the year with 755 points, against Stapylton’s 716 and Leicester’s 713.

Headmaster Neil Enright announced the result in a video message to an end-of-year House assembly which covered all aspects of House activities, from, for example, Languages competitions to charity food collections. Mr Enright said: “Underne last won this competition in 2017, so it’s a delight to see their name going back on this cup and I offer my hearty congratulations to Underne House in particular this year.”

Underne is named after Edward Underne, who became Rector of Chipping Barnet in 1568 and, along with other men of local influence actively promoted the establishment of a School in High Barnet. Queen Elizabeth’s School was duly founded in 1573. Mr Enright presented the cup in person to 2021 House Captain Christan Emmanuel and Deputy House Captain Dan Suciu.

During the assembly, boys heard presentations on the large number of competitions and events held during the year at which House points may be won. Boys may also add to their House’s total by gaining ‘merits’ and ‘good notes’.

Foremost among the competitions, in terms of points available, was this month’s Sports Day, which was won by Broughton, with Underne coming in second. It was a welcome return for the event, which had to be cancelled in last year’s lockdown.

“It was super to see everybody out for Sports Day,” said Mr Enright. “I am also proud of the fact that so many competitions carried on throughout the pandemic and I congratulate everybody involved, staff and pupils.”

The cup is named after Eric Shearly (1920–2005), who dedicated 76 years of his life to QE, where he was both a pupil and a teacher. “He really believed in getting involved in things beyond the classroom,” said Mr Enright.

The final points total and positions were:

• Broughton:  664, 4th
• Harrisons’:   580, 6th
• Leicester:     713, 3rd
• Pearce:         634, 5th
• Stapylton:    716, 2nd
• Underne:     755, 1st

The virtual assembly was introduced by Head of Extra-Curricular Enrichment Rebecca Grundy, who congratulated boys on their participation and competitive spirit, thanked staff in the extra-curricular enrichment team and added: “None of these events would be possible without our amazing Sixth Form prefects team.”

The proceedings were punctuated by musical interludes performed by two pianists: Year 9’s Jason Tao and Shreyas Iyengar, of Year 7, who brought the assembly to an end.

There were a number of presentations and summaries of the year by departmental heads and teachers responsible for particular activities. The areas covered included Music, Sport, drama and chess.

During the assembly, announcements were made of various awards and commendations, such as chess colours and extra-curricular achievement awards.

Charity was another major area of focus, with the assembly running through the year’s work in support of QE’s long-running Indian Sai School Appeal, of the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, of the Poppy Appeal, of the clothing drive to help local homeless people and of the collection of food and hygiene products for Chipping Barnet Foodbank.

Arjun Paliwal has moved back to London to a new role within Facebook and is now working with clients who are among the world’s biggest brands in the fashion and luxury industry.

The new job – as Client Solutions Manager – marks a further step up for Arjun (OE 2006-2013), who returns to the UK after nearly four years in Ireland, with the last 15 months spent in Dublin as a Senior Account Manager.

He relished the opportunity to live there, and considers the chapter important for not only his professional but also personal growth. “Dublin’s where I began to explore and accept my sexuality,” he says. “In coming to terms with my bisexuality I’ve had to (and will continue to) confront challenging feelings, such as shame – but I’ve also built a confidence I never had before. I bring more of myself to my work and my relationships, which is important because I’m more passionate and focused without spending my energy trying to be someone else.”

Amid all the change, however, one thing remains constant – his commitment to sustainability. “I’ve spent the best part of the last 18 months working to support and grow sustainable businesses. Sustainability is a horizontal across every vertical, so every business needs to be thinking about it, and I’m so excited to see our global teams working to amplify Facebook’s contribution to a sustainable world in the work we do with clients and agencies. This is additional to all the work the company has done and continues to do to be more sustainable, which is exciting to see happen and couldn’t be more urgent.

“I’m excited to take on the responsibility of working with some of our largest global fashion and luxury brands that define industry trends to help them be a force for good through their campaigns and communication on Facebook (FB) and Instagram (IG).”

After QE, Arjun read Fine Art at New College, Oxford, exhibiting in several galleries across the city and having a short film selected for a Ruskin Shorts exhibition.

Graduating in 2017, he joined Facebook in September of that year, initially as an e-commerce Account Manager.

“What I love about working at Facebook is our culture, where you can connect with anyone across the company to share ideas, learn and grow.”

His own career to date is an example of what this culture can produce: “Building a programme for sustainable businesses started as a passionate side project. Today, many coffees and brainstorming sessions later, we’ve got a global team working to support these companies in reaching more customers with their innovations, and senior leads are backing the work.

“My Facebook Dublin chapter has come to an end for now but I’m grateful for the journey I had there, particularly the opportunity to spend more time doing what I love while progressing my career. Being in a smaller city so close to the coast and surrounded by national parks motivated me to spend more time outdoors which I cherished. Whether it was a short walk by the sea during the day or a cycle to the cliffs after work, getting outside kept me sane, centred and humbled, so Dublin has taught me to always make time for that and do what I can to protect those experiences.”

“My journey has also made me much more aware of the importance of diversity and how critical it is to solving challenges such as sustainability. We need more authentic perspectives and experiences at the table,” says Arjun, who added that his own experience coming out – bolstered by his growing “understanding of the intersectionality of diversity and sustainability” – had shown him how important it was for more people to be represented and heard in critical conversations in order to see change.

* Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Pupils headed off into the countryside on a 10km walk and raised more than £4,500 for QE’s long-running Indian charity appeal and for the Piano Fund.

Torrential downpours forced a last-minute change of route, but the walkers were not to be denied their day in the Dollis Valley and relished the chance to stretch their legs in support of the Sathya Sai (English Medium) School in Kerala, southern India.

Extra-curricular Enrichment Tutor Katrin Hood, who is in charge of the School’s charity work, said: “It was a joy to see the boys chatting and laughing with their friends as we walked through the beautiful countryside around our School. Our heartfelt thanks to go all of those who have so generously donated.

“Before heading out, the boys attended an assembly to learn more the fantastic Sai School and our long-standing link with it. It was fascinating to hear from past and current students, as well as teachers from the Sai School themselves via video,” said Ms Hood.

During the assembly, the boys watched a video from Old Elizabethan Major Charles Russell (1997–2004), who spoke about his experience of visiting the Sai School in 2004. He still sponsors a child there. He is one of number of former pupils and staff to have visited, including former Headmaster Dr John Marincowitz (1999–2011).

The Sai School has both boys and girls and caters for primary and secondary-age children. Over the two decades the appeal has been running, QE has funded improvements including the construction of a new building, various repairs and, recently, the provision of a computer room that enables pupils there to sit digitally-based examinations.

During the assembly, the boys learned first of the problems caused by flooding in 2018 attributed to global warming and then of the current desperate plight of the Sai School because of the deleterious effects of Covid-19 on the Indian economy. Parents in the struggling rural communities have been unable to pay the school fees and teachers are not being paid, they were told.

The walks were part of QE’s Enrichment Week and were held on separate days for the two year groups. The Piano Fund, which was also a beneficiary along with with the Sai School Appeal, was established to help equip the new QE Music School opening this autumn to the highest standards.

The event followed a two-day football tournament earlier this month for Years 7, 8, 9 and 12, which also raised funds for the Sai School Appeal.

QE’s Combined Cadet Force headed off to camp and pitted their skills against each other in their first exercise since March 2020.

Cadets from Year 10 to Year 12 travelled to the camp in Hampshire and battled it out in an inter-section competition designed to test their abilities in activities ranging from archery to drill.

Contingent Commander Major Mev Armon has kept the boys active during the pandemic through specially designed programmes held at QE. But Major Armon, who is a Biology teacher, said the cadets nevertheless relished the chance to get away.

“For both the students and the team running the sessions, it was a welcome return to something close to normality and a fantastic chance to flush out any rustiness built up over the last two years, re-honing some of the fundamental CCF skills,” he said.

The event – formally the Londist CCF Army Central Camp 2021 Ex Cockney Fire Light – was held at the Frimley Park Cadet Training Centre near Farnborough.

The intersection competition included four elements, or ‘stands’.

These included the strictly regimented Queens Guard Drill and the “rather more chaotic archery tag”, where the boys enjoyed the chance to fire rubber arrows at each other – “with varying success”, as Major Armon reports.

A third stand was Patrol & Observation, where the boys put their skills into practice in a mock operation behind enemy lines. There was also the Mine Search, in which cadets worked together to mine-sweep an area of land using state-of-the-art military technology.

At pre-pandemic camps, the more senior CCF members would lead the younger team members through the activities. On this occasion, boys had to stay within their year group ‘bubbles’.

“This, however, did not diminish the leadership on display,” said Major Armon, “and with the three year groups in direct competition, there was plenty at stake, particularly for the more senior Year 12s keen not to be shown up by the fledgling Year 10s. By the end of the day, however, much to the dismay of the senior CCF members, the Year 10 section emerged triumphant, showing a real flair for the Queens Guard Drill.”

Overall, because it gave the cadets the long-awaited opportunity to apply the skills they have been developing every week in training, the camp was extremely motivating, said Major Armon.