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Distinguished international surgeon Kamran Baig returned to QE to give a speech at the Sixth Form Luncheon – and explained that it was his way of saying ‘thank you’.

Kamran (OE 1984–1991) has performed more than 2,000 heart operations, published 30 papers and delivered numerous international presentations, as well as lecturing at some of the world’s leading medical schools.

Yet, as he explained when he wrote to the School after the event, it had long been an ambition of his to return to QE – an ambition that had previously been thwarted only by his busy work schedule. “As I alluded to in my talk, gratitude is an essential quality and this was my way of expressing gratitude to QE for providing me with a platform on which to go on to greater heights.”

“It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to come back and share my experiences and reflections with the boys and staff.”

Now a consultant cardiac surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Kamran lives in Barnet with his wife and four children.

Kamran’s speech covered many areas, but one of his observations was that he has learnt the importance of family and that he recognises the debt he owes this country for educating him and enabling him to qualify. As a result, he has turned down a number of opportunities including some very well-paid jobs in the US.

Around 150 Year 12 boys and staff attended the luncheon, during which he gave an entertaining and inspiring speech about his career.

When Kamran was at QE, the School was a very different place, with few boys progressing to degree-level disciplines such as medicine. He was a cross-country champion, representing Barnet in the All London Championships, and was Chess Captain, as well as representing the School at cricket.

After leaving QE, he obtained a first in Cardiovascular Science at King’s College London. He also excelled in cricket – his passion – captaining the King’s Cricket team.

After qualifying in 1997, he began his medical career as House Physician at Northwick Park Hospital, followed by the Professorial House Surgeon post at King’s College Hospital. After trying his hand at neurosurgery in Cambridge, he opted instead for cardiothoracic surgery in Southampton. He completed his Basic Surgical Training at University College & The Middlesex Hospitals and was awarded his Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons in 2000 (when he became Mr Baig again, instead of Dr Baig).

He then embarked upon a research scholarship at the leading surgical research institution in the United States, Duke University in North Carolina. He won the Bayer Fellowship Prize in 2002 – one of only two awarded in the United States – and was the first British recipient. He conducted pioneering basic science and translational research on cardiac surgery, which formed the basis of his Doctorate of Medicine, awarded by Imperial College London. He completed his higher surgical training across London at King’s, Royal Brompton & Harefield, Barts and Hammersmith Hospitals.

He has lectured and tutored students at the following medical schools: Oxford & Cambridge, Duke, Imperial, UCL & Bart’s and King’s.

In 2010 he co-founded the London Core Review Course in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons London, attended by surgeons from around the globe. His latest initiative is a bespoke course for mentoring students for medical school applications and interviews.

After his visit, he offered to help boys individually who are seeking advice and to return to talk to the boys in the future on science and medicine-related topics.

Five QE old boys have teamed up to run the Paris Marathon for charity next month – the first time any of them have competed at such a distance.

Adeel Haque, Alister Heywood, Simon Nikolov, Jake Sittampalam and Jonathan Bradshaw, who were all at QE from 2005–2012, hope to raise £4,000 for The Children’s Trust, the UK’s leading charity for children with brain injury.

“As keen sportsmen who continued to remain active and play sport after leaving QE, we decided in September last year that we might like to complete a marathon at some point, despite our collective shortage of long-distance running history,” said Adeel.  “We were inspired by The Children’s Trust, a cause close to Simon’s heart in particular.” After an exchange of emails, the aspiration very quickly became a reality, with the charity offering the QE contingent, plus another friend, Parisian Clément Chenut, six places in the marathon on Sunday 12th April.

“Training has been hard through the winter months but is going pretty well and we are all quietly confident of finishing in at least respectable times. However, there does remain some trepidation for all of us as this is the first-ever marathon that any of us have attempted,” adds Adeel. Jonathan, Jake and Adeel went on a pre-season tour with the University of Warwick Men’s Cricket Club in Barbados and so were able to continue their training in warmer climates.

“Having known each other for almost ten years now (since September 2005 when we joined QE), our friendship goes back a long way. Simon, Alister, Jonny and I became friends whilst playing rugby together for the School, and Jake, Jonny and I all represented the School at cricket. We were, of course, also in many of the same classes together.”

“Despite the challenge ahead of us, we remain motivated by knowing that we are raising money for an excellent cause. We hope to reach our £4,000 fundraising target before long and so any donations from fellow QE alumni would be greatly appreciated!”

The group’s fundraising page is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/QEParisMarathon

Adeel also provided an update on each of the QE runners. All are in their final year at university, with four of them at the University of Warwick and the fifth, Alister Heywood, at York.

• Adeel Haque and Simon Nikolov are both studying History. Adeel is due to commence his training contract with multinational law firm Baker & McKenzie in September 2017 after the completion of legal qualification courses at the University of Law, Moorgate. Simon aspires to become a commercial lawyer upon completion of his degree.
• Alister Heywood and Jake Sittampalam are both reading English Literature. Alister plans to go into marketing/PR.
• Jonathan Bradshaw is an Economics undergraduate and upon the completion of his degree, he will take up a position with FTI Consulting.

Pictured left to right are four of the group: Alister, Jake, Adeel and Jonathan.

2015 is fast becoming an annus mirabilis for George Mpanga, or George the Poet, as he is now better known. Already a favourite on youtube, George has soared to new heights in his career in the past three months.

His politically and socially motivated work earned him a runner-up spot in the 2015 Brits Critics’ Choice Award. Soon after, George (OE 2002-2009) came fifth in the prestigious and influential BBC Sound of 2015 competition and tenth in MTV’s Brand New for 2015 competition. In each competition, he was competing as a poet against a field that comprised largely musicians: previous winners of the Brits Critics and the BBC awards include Adele and Sam Smith.

His first poetry collection, Search Party, was published in February. George appeared at the Penguin Random House 2015 conference and discussed the book on BBC Radio 2.

His first headline tour, to venues from Glasgow to Brighton, completely sold out, so he has added an extra date, at the London Scala venue at King’s Cross on 14th April.

He was invited on to BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House programme to discuss the day’s news and has also featured in several broadsheet newspapers since the start of the year.

George’s video for the Prince’s Trust highlighting the emotional problems faced by young people has been published. The video features his poem, Only One You, which was written in response to the Prince’s Trust 2015 Youth Index, which found that one in every ten youths felt so anxious that they were unable to leave the house and more than half worried about everyday situations.

And in February he featured in a BBC Radio 1 documentary. He hit the headlines after calling people who joke about autism “ignorant” in the radio programme. George’s own brother, Kenny, was diagnosed with autism at the age of seven. “It’s not something that should be cured or fixed. It’s a point of difference which should be appreciated and understood. The rest of my brothers and I had to realise that the way we tease each other might not be fair for Kenny,” he added.

After gaining A grades in English Literature, Sociology and Politics A-levels, George won a place at King’s College, Cambridge, to read Politics, Psychology and Sociology (PPS). He was elected Chair of King’s College Student Union.

His early career high spots included winning a £16,000 prize from The Stake competition, sponsored by Barclays and Channel Four. The prize funded a series of poetry workshops called The Jubilee Line (TJL) aimed at empowering underprivileged young people.

George’s work is forceful and uncompromising, turning a spotlight unflinchingly on a society which he sees as intrinsically unjust and tackling issues including marginalisation and dysfunctional family life.

MTV’s head of music, Anna Karatziva, who voted for George in the Sound Of 2015, called him “engaging and mesmerising”.

“No matter what he is talking about, you find yourself clinging to his every word and the venue always erupts when he breaks into song.”

George previously performed as MC Shawalin, before deciding to focus on the spoken word.

Only four years after graduating from Oxford, Andrew Kramer has already put his desire to help young people develop their skills into practice in three different countries.

He has developed an e-learning app, taught in China and, in his current role with global business consultancy McKinsey & Company, has worked with clients focusing on education and young people.

Andrew (OE 2001-2008) got in touch with QE after being impressed at the calibre of current QE Year 13 pupil Bilal Hussain, whom he met at the McKinsey Leadership Academy.

He wrote to the Headmaster: “I was thrilled not only to hear about how QE continues to thrive, but also because of a wonderful conversation I had with Bilal about what leadership means.” He and Bilal compared notes on their respective ambitions for the future. The academy involves a two-day residential workshop for sixth-formers, followed by another residential the following year and the opportunity to enter a competition for a leadership award.

After leaving QE, Andrew read History at Jesus College, Oxford, from 2008 to 2011. He then spent ten months teaching and lecturing English Language and British and American literature at Hengshui University, Hebei, northern China.

In 2013, he worked at a technology start-up in Berlin to develop Unlock Your Brain, an e-learning app for Android phones.

Later that year, he joined McKinsey in London as a consultant. “I have served a real mix of private, public and social sector clients. I have tended to focus on clients in the City, in Whitehall, or those with a focus on education and young people, reflecting my interest in building young people’s skills.”

Andrew, who has offered to visit the School to speak to current pupils, is currently on an assignment in Trinidad & Tobago, working with a client in oil and gas, and “exploring the beauty of the Caribbean”.

QE contemporaries Joseph Masters and Priyank Patel have amassed a remarkable collection of accolades during their medical studies.

The pair, who were both at the School from 2004 until 2011, have won no fewer than eight awards and scholarships between them, with a record of success that began as early as their very first term.

Joseph and Priyank are at ‘Barts and The London’ (The London School of Medicine and Dentistry), which is the medical school faculty at Queen Mary University of London.

Priyank has passed all three years of his medicine course so far with distinction, which means he is in the top 10% of students in the year. He is intercalating this year in Medical Education, having completed the third year of the medicine course last year, which was his first clinical year. (UK medical students are permitted to intercalate, that is take a break from studying from their main medical degree, in order to pursue a separate but related research degree, normally for one year).

“This year, as part of my Medical Education BSc, I am undertaking a research project evaluating the current patterns and practices of educational supervision in postgraduate medical education in England,” he says.

Joseph intercalated in Neuroscience last year, gaining his BSc, and has now started his first year of clinical medicine. “I am thoroughly enjoying the clinical placements and the more practical side of things, which gives me the opportunity to apply the knowledge built in the first two years of the course,” he said. “I’m looking to pursue a career in academic neurology, combining research with clinical practice.”

After their first-term examinations, both OEs secured recently established scholarships that are awarded according to a combination of merit and financial need – specifically, for the top two medical students whose household income was less than a certain level. They are worth £3,500 for each of the five years of the course, subject to the holders’ satisfactory progress each year.

Joseph won The John Abernethy Scholarship, which commemorates the founder of the Barts Medical College, who lived between 1764 and 1831. Priyank gained The Dean Rees Scholarship, which is named after Dame Lesley Rees, the emeritus Professor of Chemical Endocrinology and Consultant Physician and the first female Dean of the Medical College of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, who led the College to its merger as part of Queen Mary University of London in 1995.

The pair also won merit-based awards from a City of London livery company, The Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers, to support their year intercalating.

In addition, Priyank has gained these awards, based on his academic performance over the past three years:

• James Knott Family Trust, Intercalated Award.
• Barts and The London Alumni Association Intercalated Award.

And Joseph has won the following:

• Association of British Neurologists’ Intercalated Degree Award – which is awarded to just two medical students nationally.
• A merit-based award from the Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust, again for his year intercalating.