When the Spring Term lockdown forced a sudden end to rehearsals for the School play, QE’s young actors harnessed technology so that they could still perform to an audience.
With the help of QE’s resident Theatre Director, Gavin Molloy, members of the Year 8 drama club learned, staged and filmed dramatic monologues from home .
And, after weeks of preparation and practice, at the end of term, their highly varied work was revealed to classmates, staff and parents alike as the monologues went live.
Crispin Bonham-Carter, Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) said: “The speeches were taken from a range of classic and modern texts by authors ranging from Charles Dickens to Michael Morpurgo. The boys went to great lengths creating costumes, props and backdrops in their own homes.”
The recorded Zoom videos were put together in an online showcase, which was watched in School by boys during form time and has now been published for parents on the School’s eQE online platform.
Fifteen boys took part in the showcase, which was split into two halves for the presentation on eQE.
Their selections drew on some of the best-known authors and stories from the history of English literature. Ash Iyer performed from Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None; Soham Kale read from An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley; Simi Bloom picked one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous stories, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and Adi Dhan chose Dickens’ Great Expectations.
But more modern authors were certainly not forgotten: Aadam Aslan’s monologue was taken from Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful. Keon Robert performed from The Class, by playwright and Game of Thrones actor Luke Barnes, while Karan Somani performed an excerpt from Roy Williams’ play about boxing and racism, Sucker Punch.
One boy, William Joanes, read from the play that was postponed, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on Mark Haddon’s novel of the same name.
With lockdown over, full-scale rehearsals to put on this award-winning play resumed towards the end of term. It will be staged in June as the 2021 School Play.
The speaker, Michael McMahon, Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and Senior Research Fellow at St Hugh’s College, is a leading expert on communications in central banks. His interests also lie in monetary economics, fiscal policy, business cycles, and applied econometrics. He worked at the Bank of England for many years and now serves as a member of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council.
“They were particularly attentive to the portions of Professor McMahon’s lecture in which he laid emphasis on how the current economic situation will impact young people as they are thinking about their job prospects for the future.
Representatives of Queen Elizabeth’s School met with senior staff from contractors TJ Evers, architects Hollins and project manager Barkers Associates for the ceremony, which served to confirm the swift progress of the £3.5m project.
The ceremony was led by John Blundell, Site Manager for TJ Evers, who explained a little of the history of topping out ceremonies, which have been held for hundreds of years, usually marking the point at which a new building attains its maximum height. As on this occasion, topping out ceremonies often include an opportunity for those present to sign the uppermost beam, or its equivalent, thus providing a record of the occasion for posterity.
Director of Music Ruth Partington, who was among the guests at the ceremony, recently led a research process to choose the grand piano that will take pride of place in the recital hall. The School’s Foundation Trustees have agreed to pay for the selected Yamaha piano, valued at just under £75,000. A new Piano Fund aims to raise another £30,000 over the coming months to meet the associated costs of pianos and further equipment.”
“Indeed, I would argue rather that it underlines them,” he told boys in the Main School Hall, adding: “We have gathered this afternoon, despite the challenges, because you are deserving of this recognition.”
In his address, the Headmaster told the audience of prize-winners and a small number of staff: “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.”
Citing the watchword of Captain Sir Tom Moore, “Tomorrow will be a brighter day,” Mr Enright continued: “Despite the undoubted challenges, today is already bright for 
In his traditional vote of thanks, the 2021 School Captain, Siddhant Kansal, of Year 12, told his fellow prize-winners: “Despite it being a smaller ceremony than it would usually be, the achievements that we are marking, your achievements, are as great, if not greater than they would be in a normal year because of the challenges that have been faced along the way in this most extraordinary of years.
120 No. 1 Movement 1, and Arjun Patel, of Year 10, playing Richard Kershaw’s Tango Till You Drop on the saxophone as a recessional.
From the very start, we faced rapidly changing circumstances, firstly gearing up to run a testing programme in early January, and then having to put it on hold at the eleventh hour as the country abruptly entered a further lockdown and we reverted to remote learning for all the boys.
We have maintained an extra-curricular programme, adapting activities as necessary so that we can continue with as many of them as possible. The 2021 QE University Convention, held over the final week-and-a-half of term, is a fine example of the way in which we have ‘flexed’ to ensure that important events in the School calendar are retained in order that pupils do not miss out on opportunities.
Through all the turmoil of recent months, work on the Music School building project has continued unabated, and we remain on schedule to open this exciting new facility in the autumn of this year.