Queen Elizabeth’s School excels in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), providing pupils with inspirational teaching within the classroom, together with a broad range of exciting and challenging enrichment opportunities outside of lessons.

Extra-curricular opportunities are available to all year groups and across all the STEM subjects. There are non-competitive opportunities, such as the special talks and workshops arranged by the School as part of British Science Week, as well as many events that feature an element of competition, either for individuals or teams.

Large numbers of QE boys take part each year in the various individual and team challenges organised by the UK Mathematics Trust. These are held at junior, intermediate and senior levels. The very best candidates go on to the British Maths Olympiad, with other strong performers reaching the second-level follow-on round, known as the Kangaroo.

There are British Olympiads, too, for the scientific disciplines. QE has a strong record of boys reaching the final stages of the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Olympiads: our pupils have even been selected to represent the UK in the various international Olympiad competitions – an invaluable opportunity to work with international high-flyers while sampling a foreign culture. We have also achieved success in the more recent British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad.

The UK Space Design Competition provides another avenue for those interested in ‘the final frontier’: QE candidates have gone on from this domestic contest to work alongside European Union students in the international finals hosted in the US by NASA.

With support and mentoring from companies in the construction industry, QE Sixth Form teams in the Engineering Education Scheme have regularly won regional and national awards, working on innovative projects designed to solve real-life industrial problems.

The list of STEM activities is constantly evolving as fresh opportunities arise: QE pupils have, for example, excelled in new team events such as the Shell Bright Ideas Challenge and the online MathsBombe, as well as in Science essay-writing competitions.