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A pair of Year 11 pupils’ design for a hi-tech, small-scale solution to the problem of faltering power supplies in developing countries won first prize in a national competition.

Anubhav Rathore and Heemy Kalam’s Flex-Charge – a device that harvests the energy of arm and leg movements to generate electricity – won the Wearable Technologies category of the 2021 TeenTech Awards.

The QE duo had been shortlisted for the final together with five other entries in their category. They won the category jointly with a team of girls from Leicester Grammar School, whose invention aimed to help prevent lameness in horses.

Technology and social media pundit Kate Bevan said: “I judged this category and all the entries were brilliant, but these two were outstanding…so thoughtful and creative.” Ms Bevan is a broadcaster and freelance writer for news organisations including the BBC, Financial Times, Sky News and The Guardian.

The pair were congratulated by QE’s Head of Technology, Michael Noonan, who said: “Anubhav and Heemy displayed ingenuity, tenacity and technical skill with their entry, which was an elegant solution to the very real difficulties caused by intermittent and non-existent power in some parts of the world.”

The two boys were among 95 young people – 62 girls and 33 boys – whose 59 projects reached the virtual final of the TeenTech Awards, which were set up to encourage young people to explore how to use science and technology to resolve real-world problems.

The final was hosted by veteran technology reporter Maggie Philbin, CEO of the TeenTech educational charity, and included contributions from celebrities with ‘tech’ connections, including Professor Brian Cox, journalists Kate Russell and Rory Cellan-Jones, TV presenters LJ Rich and Dallas Campbell, Stephen McGann (Dr Turner in TV’s Call the Midwife), Dallas Campbell, and Dr Suzie Imber, Associate Professor in Space Physics at Leicester University.

In their scripted presentation, the boys explained the rationale for Flex-Charge: “Our product is a portable, wearable device which converts arm or leg rotation into usable electrical power.

“Its primary client base is those in developing countries with limited access to power. We used advanced CAD [computer-aided design] assembly, prototyping and simulation tools to optimise our design and met the needs of our emerging, eco-friendly society.”

The TeenTech Awards were established in the 2012–13 academic year to encourage young people to develop their own ideas for making life better, simpler, safer or more fun. Participating schools are provided with a suggested structure and industry contacts. There are 15 categories.

All the submitted projects received feedback, while the winners also received a cash prize.

No fewer than nine teams took part in the robotics world finals as the Technology department recorded achievement after achievement in a Summer Term to remember.

Building on QE’s strong international reputation in robotics established over the past five years, four senior and five junior teams qualified for the global VEX finals, which are usually held in the US but this year were run online because of the pandemic. Teams also took the opportunity to compete in offline, in-person events locally, including one hosted by QE.

In addition to the VEX robotics triumphs, the term was punctuated by regular news of successes in national Technology-related competitions.

Head of Technology Michael Noonan said: “I commend all our boys on the way they have maintained their enthusiasm during some difficult few months and on their commitment to getting involved in competitions and activities outside of lessons. That commitment has been richly rewarded.”

The four senior robotics teams all went through to the divisional knockout stages in the VEX World Championships and one of them – Hyperdrive – won an Amaze award for their division. “All four teams – Hybrid, Hyperdrive, Override and Tempest – were very unlucky to lose out to eventual champions and division finalists,” said Mr Noonan.

The same four teams took part in an VEX EDR Showcase hosted by Merchant Taylors’ School, which attracted teams from as far afield as Coventry and Stevenage. Hybrid, Hyperdrive and Override took the event’s Division 1 Design, Innovate and Think awards respectively. Tempest and Hyperdrive reached the overall final, narrowly losing to the eventual champions. In the skills category, the four QE teams took second, third, fourth and fifth places.

For the younger boys, the five qualifying VEX IQ teams (Gearsquad, TechFusion, Superdrive, Overdrive and Cyberstorm) relished competing with teams from across the world at their international finals, said Mr Noonan.

At a VEX IQ Showcase held at QE, Gearsquad not only won the Teamwork award – jointly with GCA Gearers, a team from Greig City Academy in Haringey – but also took the Excellence award, as a result of which they have already qualified for next year’s world championships.

In addition to the Lord Mayor of London’s prize won recently by 2021 leaver Ukendar Vadivel for his 3D printing work to produce face shields for the NHS during last year’s lockdown, Nirmay Jadhav, of Year 13, also drew plaudits for his innovative effort to improve 3D printing itself. Nirmay was national runner-up in the Manufacturing Technologies Association’s Technology, Design and Innovation Challenge, with his design for a dehydration chamber to combat excess moisture in 3D printing, one of the common problems with this popular modern technology. The School is using the £750 he won to upgrade its CAD/CAM equipment.

Devia Karia, of then of Year 13, pictured above, was one of ten finalists in the prestigious Triumph Design Awards with his Airtime device. “He was very unfortunate not to win with his fantastic solution to air cleanliness in the pandemic,” said Mr Noonan.

The pairing of Dhruv Syam and Ashwin Sridhar (now Year 12) – Team Salutem Validus – reached the final of the Amazon Longitude Prize Explorer competition with DevSalutem, their AI-powered wellbeing assistant with a companion app.

The competition challenged young people aged 11–16 to design, develop and build ‘tech for good’ prototypes to solve the big challenges of our time. Dhruv and Ashwin’s entry, DevSalutem, aims to enhance users’ mental and physical health by detecting symptoms, monitoring movement, providing suggested workouts or other activities, and supplying specifically tailored feedback.

Eight boys are participating in the international COVID-19 Engineering Design Challenge and are due to feature in the autumn edition of the Design & Technology Association’s magazine.

Queen Elizabeth’s School Year 13 pupils were today basking in the brilliance of outstanding A-level results that will propel them into top degree courses at world-leading universities.

In a second challenging, Covid-hit year, 39 boys confirmed their Oxbridge offers, while 26 boys have won places to read Medicine, including 11 at UCL alone, where the medical school is ranked in the global top ten.

Eighteen pupils were awarded places on ‘pure’ Economics courses, not counting several others joining courses with an Economics element, such as Economics & Geography and Oxford’s famous Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) course.

The results, which reflect the year group’s consistently high standards of work over many months, add to QE’s long-term record of excellence at the highest levels: 2021 is the 16^th consecutive year in which the proportion of A*–B grades achieved by QE pupils has exceeded 95%. A total of 57 boys – more than a third of the 163-strong cohort – are recorded as having achieved straight A* grades.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The boys’ hard work and resolve during the pandemic are well demonstrated by these deserved grades, and today gives us an opportunity to recognise and celebrate their efforts and their excellence.

“While the results data can’t be directly compared to those from other years, as it has been a unique set of circumstances, at QE we have been rigorous in drawing upon a range of highly credible evidence on which to base our teacher assessed grades.”

This evidence includes the post-Easter examinations, which gave pupils a final opportunity to show what they could do and demonstrate the fruits of their dedication during the lockdowns.

Mr Enright pointed out that the cohort’s Sixth Form experience has been very different from the norm, not only in terms of the way academic performance is assessed – with no final A-level examinations – but also in terms of the repeated switches between online and on-site lessons and extra-curricular activities.

“They have shown notable adaptability, determination, spirit and humour in navigating this situation. They will be equipped with skills of independent learning beyond those of previous year groups, which will stand them in strong stead for the next phase of their studies.

“Moreover, they can look forward to exciting futures, having secured fantastic university offers as a year group. Staff remain on hand to offer support to anyone who needs it.

“We do regret that Year 13 have necessarily missed out on some of the activities and opportunities that would normally characterise our Sixth Form experience. On the positive side, over their entire QE careers, they have certainly contributed to the extra-curricular life of the School. This group includes some of our first robotics competitors, while boys have also made their mark in sport, drama and music. As they reached the senior years, they have served as role models and leaders to younger pupils, both through mentoring and through specific endeavours, such as setting up our pupil-led Perspective initiative.

“In this most challenging year, QE leavers at least can make their next steps with confidence. We are proud of this cohort of confident, able and responsible Elizabethans and trust that they and their families are, too. We very much hope that they will stay connected with the School, and each other, for many years to come.”

• Click here to see the full results table.

Boys from Years 7–10 relished the opportunities offered to them during Enrichment Week 2021, when all four year groups were given a day off from their normal lesson timetables.

From the cerebral and scientific challenge of cryptography to the literary, emotional and rhetorical attractions of Shakespeare, the week featured a very diverse range of activities designed to be both stimulating and fun.

For Year 10, the brief was to work in groups to design and construct ‘wearable architecture’, using 6mm paper tubes.

Assistant Head (Pupil Progress) Sarah Westcott said: “The boys were asked to give consideration to form and structure. Many of the groups demonstrated good team-working skills, with some of them even managing to include moving parts.”

Year 10 were also involved in drama workshops that included performances of a heavily abridged version of Romeo and Juliet.

Year 7 enjoyed the chance to apply a little lateral thinking in an RAF cyber security challenge.  This STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) activity involved tackling a series of cryptography and coding tasks and helping a company retrieve its stolen data from cyber criminals. Working in teams of six, the boys competed against each other and against the clock, battling to be the first to unlock the stolen data.

The task helped inform them about ‘phishing’ and other techniques used by criminals to compromise their targets’ data.

Originally the day was to be led in person by RAF personnel, but because of Covid restrictions, the School managed it virtually, starting the day with a live stream through YouTube in which the boys were given an outline of their tasks and an overview of the importance of cyber security. Funded by the RAF, the event was run in collaboration with the Smallpeice Trust, an educational charity promoting careers in science and engineering to young people.

“We wanted to raise awareness of digital careers, whilst developing students’ problem-solving and research skills,” said Dr Westcott. “Students found it challenging to work to time and benefitted from the need to think creatively to solve problems whilst coordinating their team’s efforts.

“The event was intended to give an insight into the types of skills required for careers in cyber-forensics. The boys discovered that it isn’t all about coding – you must be a collaborative member of a team and keep a cool head under time pressure, too.”

In addition, Year 7 flexed their vocal cords in a singing workshop, while Years 8 and 9 took to the countryside on their respective sponsored walks.

Sixth-former Ukendar Vadivel has won an award from the Lord Mayor of London for his innovative work producing face shields for the NHS during last year’s lockdown.

He worked closely with classmates and a newly formed group called the 3D Crowd to reduce 3D printing time for Personal Protective Equipment in a collaborative effort that used both the School’s machines and pupils’ home 3D printers. Much of the effort both at QE and across London was spearheaded by QE’s Head of Technology, Michael Noonan.

Ukendar, who is an apprentice with the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers (WCSIM), was presented with the Lord Mayor’s COVID-19 Livery Award by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, William Russell. The award recognises the contribution made by livery company members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Thank you very much to the WCSIM for putting me forward for the award!” said Ukendar, who is in Year 13 and is one of this summer’s leavers.

“I am honoured to receive it, and it is a testament to what everyone at 3D Crowd has achieved over the past year and a half. I’d also like to especially thank Mr Noonan for getting us as QE students involved in such a wonderful cause.”

With the NHS urgently requiring PPE as the pandemic hit the UK, Ukendar worked closely with the 3D Crowd, who had designed, and been authorised to supply to medics, a bespoke 3D-printed face shield.

He purchased a stock of the raw materials needed before setting about the task of drastically reducing the time needed to manufacture the masks. By exchanging ideas and designs with the group, he managed to get production time down from 3–4 hours to well under 2 hours.

“At one point, I was one of the top ten producers of face shields in the London area, alongside one of my fellow schoolmates!” he says.

“The past year hasn’t been easy on any of us, but when we can put our minds together, the community can make a genuine difference. Being a part of 3D Crowd and WCSIM taught me about the value of collaboration, and the power of working towards a common goal.

“I loved helping out the real heroes of our country, the NHS workers, who of course have given so much to the public to help the country get through the pandemic. I am incredibly proud of my own mother, who was on the front lines for at least two months, alongside all the other nurses at her hospital, and indeed across the country.”

Ukendar is currently awaiting the results of his A-Levels in Product Design, Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics.