Viewing archives for

Thirty-five Elizabethans received offers from Oxford and Cambridge universities this year, having successfully surmounted all the extra challenges posed by Covid throughout their A-level studies.

The 29 Cambridge and six Oxford places offered take the total number of Oxbridge offers secured by QE boys over the past three years to 114.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Huge congratulations to these students for showing such fortitude and for maintaining their focus throughout their extraordinary Sixth Form years, when they have had to contend with extended lockdowns, the cancellation of all the public examinations they were to have sat, and university interviews that were held online.

“Despite all these difficulties, they were still able to demonstrate their ability, keen interest, and the positive contribution they would make to university life. Their success is the result of careful preparation, hard work over many years, the support of their families and others, and of the little bit of luck you need in such a highly competitive process – we have other very deserving candidates who did not secure Oxbridge offers.

“We are, of course, very proud to celebrate this achievement, which consolidates our consistent record of sending large numbers of leavers to Oxford and Cambridge every year. It should be said, however, that it is not the be all and end all here: many of our other Year 13s are currently receiving exciting offers for well-regarded courses at internationally respected universities around the country.”

“I must mention the significant efforts of their teachers in helping these 35 Elizabethans secure their Oxbridge offers, whether through lessons, arranging mock interviews, running extension classes, producing UCAS references, co-ordinating entries for admissions assessments, or contributing to the many and wide-ranging enrichment opportunities available to our boys. I also thank the many Old Elizabethans and other friends of the School who rallied round to offer mock interviews in online format.”

Among the broad range of courses are:

• Engineering (six offers)
• Medicine (five)
• Mathematics (four)
• Human, Social & Political Sciences (three)
• Economics (three).

The highest number of offers came from three Cambridge colleges, with four apiece from Gonville & Gaius, St Catharine’s and Girton.

While a large majority of the 35 offers received this year are for current Year 13 boys, two have been made to 2021 leavers, namely Deshraam Ganeshamoorthy and Yuvan Vasanthakumaran. Deshraam is spending this year working for Springboard Pro, a company that develops advanced medical devices, having won the placement through the national Year in Industry scheme. His success thus exemplifies the possibilities of pursuing an alternative route to university.

A new School society – believed to be the first of its kind in the country – is working hard to decipher QE’s earliest written records.

English teacher Kanak Shah has brought together a group of dedicated Year 12 boys and trained them in palaeography – the study of ancient and pre-modern manuscripts.

Now they have started transcribing QE Governors’ meeting minutes, starting with Volume I, which begins in 1587, and also researching the School Charter, which dates back to the School’s founding year, 1573.

Ms Shah, who has an MPhil degree in Renaissance Literature from Cambridge, said: “Due to its complexity, palaeography is usually only studied at Master’s level. But since I myself have a keen interest in palaeography, manuscripts and the early modern period, and since QE boasts one of the most robust school archive collections in the UK, I was eager for the students to be involved in preserving and curating their own School’s history.”

Working together with Ms Shah and Jenni Blackford, Curator of QE Collections and Head of Library Services, are the following Year 12 A-level History students: Gabriel Gulliford, Ishaan Mehta, Muhammad Nayel Huda, Kai Mukherjee, Danny Adey, Conall Walker and Jeeve Singh. All are currently studying the early modern period and are considering pursuing courses in subjects such as History, Palaeography or Archaeology at university.

“We started by following Cambridge University’s English Handwriting 1500-1700 online course to develop the students’ transcription skills. We then began to transcribe the digitised manuscripts on QE Collections [the School’s publicly available digital archive, launched last year].

“The earliest documents present an interesting challenge as they were written before the standardisation of handwriting, and so require careful decoding,” said Ms Shah.

Having initially familiarised themselves with the subject matter digitally, the group are now working with the original archive materials, guided by Mrs Blackford.

They plan to publish the transcripts on QE Collections in the Summer Term, while they will contribute their research to an exhibition of archival material planned for the School’s 450^th anniversary next year.

“Looking forward to the future, we would be keen to establish a working relationship with Barnet Museum, who possess a complete transcription of these Governor’s minutes that was done many years ago,” said Ms Shah.

It is not clear who made the the Barnet Museum transcription, which was completed  some time prior to 1931. The preface to the museum’s collection of QE translations and transcriptions was written in May 1931 by Cecil L Tripp, author of A History of Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, published 1935.

“Transcriptions are often erroneous and subjective, so it is very interesting for the boys to compare their own work with the museum’s transcription, and to contribute to Barnet’s history in such an active way.”

Once the pupils’ transcription has been completed and it and the Barnet Museum transcription have been digitised, they will both be published on QE Collections.

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.”