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Year 11’s Eshaan Anil performance on the cello put him among the prize-winners at the prestigious New Talent Festival 2026 – while the whole QE Music department won its own award, too.

Eshaan’s playing impressed the festival’s panel of judges – senior figures drawn from some of the country’s leading conservatoires.

Congratulating him, Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “Eshaan’s success is a wonderful reflection of his dedication, hard work and musical development, as well as QE’s commitment to musical excellence. We look forward to seeing where his talent and enthusiasm take him next.

“I am, of course, very pleased that the festival judges have also recognised the work that my colleagues and I do to nurture musical talent at QE.”

Now in its ninth year, the New Talent Festival brings together hundreds of young musicians from across the UK and around the world. The festival is currently in residence at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London. Its partners include not only the RAM, but also other leading music centres, such as the Royal Northern College of Music and Guildhall School.

It was held over four days and included masterclasses, interactive workshops, chamber music coaching and performances, as well as the competition. Over the past eight years, more than 1,600 young musicians from 37 countries have taken part.

Eshaan played the first movement of John Ireland’s Cello Sonata in G Minor and the first movement of Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in G minor, RV 417. He was accompanied by Tadashi Imai, visiting piano teacher at QE.

He took third place in the strings category for his age group.

Eshaan said: “I learnt a lot from the constructive feedback from the head of strings at the RAM, John Hutchins.”

“It was a great experience – competing against such distinguished musicians was thrilling,” he added.

The Music department’s Certificate of Virtuoso Music Teaching Centre Award was given in recognition of its excellence in teaching Music. The certificate was signed by nine senior musicians from academia, including: Professor Jo Cole, the RAM’s Professor of Cello; Professor Steven Wilkie, the Royal Northern College of Music’s Professor of Violin; and Mr Hutchins, who is the RAM’s Head of Junior Academy.

Eleven Year 12 pupils headed for Imperial College London for the Environmental Design Challenge – a competition that encourages young people to work collaboratively to design eco-friendly human settlements.

Joining the international challenge for the first time, the QE sixth-formers worked with some 70 pupils from other schools to produce ideas for “a sustainable transformation of Milton Keynes” on a trip organised by QE’s Physics and Geography departments.

One member of the group, Tanush Madadi, won an individual award for Best Leadership in a non-leadership position.

The Environmental Design Challenge (EDC) is organised by the Space Science and Engineering Foundation, organisers of a series of competitions connected with outer space, including the UK Space Design Competition (SDC), in which QE has a long and successful record.

Head of Physics Jonathan Brooke said: “The EDC takes the structure of the UK SDC and broadens its appeal to include Year 12 students with a breadth of interests linked to sustainability and public policy. It coincides with several of the priorities of our Boundless School Plan – especially nurturing pupils so that they become ‘sustainability literate’.”

“Working to a tight deadline, the boys had to cope with the stress of working under pressure,” said Mr Brooke, “It was a great opportunity for them to develop project work skills they will need at university and in employment, to get them out of their comfort zone, and to collaborate with people they were meeting for the first time.”

All three ‘companies’ formed on the day comprised pupils from several schools, with the QE contingent split between two of them. These two companies called themselves Milton Greens and Keen for Keynes.

The three companies worked on a presentation to find solutions to three tasks related to MK’s “sustainable transformation”:

• Reimagining Milton Keynes’ transportation
• Developing a strategy for sustainable growth
• Designing a climate-resilient development.

Keen for Keynes (pictured here on stage celebrating their win) won the competition on the day.

Geography teacher Elin Hopley said the boys drew on their knowledge from the GCSE and A-level courses, as well as from research done on the day: “I was hugely impressed by the significant amount of work all the participants had put into their presentations. The room was buzzing with excitement as groups prepared to present and answer the judging panel’s questions.”

Tanush, who won his award for his contribution to Milton Greens, said: “Pitching our socio-economic strategy to industry judges at Imperial College London was a fantastic, rewarding learning experience.”

Other QE participants equally reflected on a rewarding trip. Aarnav Mahajan enjoyed applying his interest in mathematics and science to some real-world challenges. Adithya Ananthakrishnan found it inspiring to work with “so many other like-minded young people”, while acknowledging that presenting to a large audience forced him out of his “comfort zone, which was extremely valuable”. And Danyal Rahim, who aspires to work in sustainability-related fields, said: “One of the highlights was collaborating with other schools in large teams, with never-ending pizzas sustaining us throughout the day!”

QE mathematician Rachit Banker is the first and – to date – only winner of the Outstanding Achievement distinction given by The Archimedes Awards Academic Council.

Rachit, who is in Year 10, won the accolade for his efforts as the first QE pupil to undertake and successfully complete the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Bronze Mathematics Skills Pathway.

Congratulating him on his “particularly special accomplishment”, a spokesperson for the Archimedes Awards – an international competition for young mathematicians – said: “Beyond completing the programme, Rachit demonstrated remarkable creativity by developing two original mathematical challenges, The Coin Flip Conundrum and The Penultimate Proof Paradox. Both were selected for publication by The Archimedes Awards, together with their worked solutions and marking schemes.”

Earlier this year, QE became one of just ten schools nationally to be recognised as an Accredited Archimedes Mathematical Thinking School.

The 13-week pathway is a new national opportunity for students to pursue Maths as a dedicated D of E skills activity.

Rachit joined the pathway independently after taking part in the Archimedes Awards competition and being invited to participate in the programme as part of its 2025–2026 inaugural cohort.

QE Head of Mathematics Jessica Steer said: “Rachit did very well indeed, amply demonstrating at least two of the priorities in our Boundless School Plan, namely helping pupils become deep thinkers and compelling communicators, as well as self-aware people who make things happen.”

Over the 13 weeks, he tackled a series of challenging mathematical problems covering topics including geometry, combinatorics, number theory, game theory and combinatorics (the branch of Mathematics that studies counting, arranging, and selecting objects in finite or discrete systems). Geometry proved to be a particular favourite for Rachit.

Rachit said: “My experience of the programme went exceptionally well as not only could I develop my problem-solving and perseverance skills by tackling difficult, yet fun, Maths problems, but also my creative skills: I am most proud of all the problems that I created as part of the programme.”

Inspiration for The Archimedes Awards comes from Archimedes of Syracuse – the most famous mathematician and inventor in ancient Greece.

Year 13’s Noah Morley has become the third QE pupil this century to be offered an organ scholarship from Oxford or Cambridge.

His scholarship counts as a major success for QE’s three-year-old musical partnership with Barnet’s St John the Baptist Church, in which Noah played a pioneering role.

He follows in the footsteps of Cambridge organ scholars Peter Yarde Martin (OE 2002–2007) and Drew Sellis (OE 2013–2020).

Noah’s scholarship offer from Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, comes after he played a leading part in two recent landmark musical events for QE – the Chamber Choir singing evensong at Christ Church, Oxford, and a Royal College of Organists (RCO) concert at St Lawrence Jewry Church in the City of London.

Assistant Director of Music Jas Hutchinson-Bazely, who helped Noah obtain the Cambridge scholarship, said: “This is a wonderful achievement and is richly deserved following his enthusiastic involvement in our organ scholarship at the parish church for the past three years.

“He has fulfilled his duties both there and in School with distinction, and is a brilliant role model to our increasing number of young organists. Hopefully, he will inspire many more to follow his lead, and we wish him every success.”

Noah began learning the organ at QE in Year 9. Under the partnership with St John’s, Noah, who was then in Year 10, was named as an inaugural QE organ scholar, together with sixth-former Joel Swedensky (now singing as a choral scholar with the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge).

Noah is currently the Senior Organ Scholar in the scheme, with Year 9’s Arthur Wang as Junior Scholar.

If he secures the A-level results he needs to secure his place at Cambridge, Noah will have the privilege of playing the organ three times a week in the college chapel. He said: “Being awarded the scholarship is very important to me. My organ teacher is very proud.”

Noah is taught at QE by organ and voice teacher Adam Hope, who rehearses the School’s Chamber Choir. In the Summer Term, Noah played voluntaries at Christ Church’s Rieger organ before and after evensong at Christ Church, as well as accompanying the choir during the service [pictured top].

This term, he was among the star performers in the concert in the City church beside the Guildhall – the second time that QE, which became an RCO-Accredited Institution in 2025, has been invited to take part in the RCO Young Performers concert series. Also performing were 11 other pupil organists and singers from Years 8–13.

The historic venue, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, is the official church of the Lord Mayor and the Corporation of London. The church is home to a Klais organ, built in 2001 as a Millennium Project

QE’s concert was introduced by Madeline Smith, Director of Relationships at the RCO. The organists performed works by composers including Elgar, Bach and Vivaldi, while the singers presented pieces by Purcell, Torelli and Ireland.

The performers were supported by Year 9 pupil Hoting Tan [pictured in the blue shirt], who acted as the organists’ console assistant for the day. Having recently started learning the organ himself, Hoting was able to observe and learn from more experienced musicians.

Year 8 organist Hercules Li said: “I enjoyed playing on a new organ and I liked the large variety of sounds. I also enjoyed being able to walk through the organ and see all the pipes inside it.”

Robin Peng, of Year 9, added: “I really liked the immersive sound and atmosphere the organ produced, and how I could feel the mechanisms working behind the keys and creating the sound almost magically.”

Thirty-four GCSE and A-level musicians enjoyed a memorable evening in the Victorian splendour of the Royal Albert Hall at the 80th Anniversary Celebration Concert of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

For many, it was their first experience of hearing a professional orchestra play live.

The RPO served up an 80th birthday treat for their ears, opening the concert with the world premiere of a piece by Errollyn Wallen, Master of the King’s Music, before delivering consummate performances of works by Beethoven and Richard Strauss.

Assistant Director of Music Caroline Grint, who led the trip, said: “Such first-hand experiences are deeply enriching for those studying at GCSE and A-level, helping to deepen their understanding of the context of the music they study, while also providing a valuable cultural experience.

“We’re very fortunate that QE is within easy reach of world-famous venues like the Royal Albert Hall – and, as our Boundless School Plan sets out, we seek to take full advantage of that proximity.”

The performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto was “technically dazzling”, Miss Grint said, while the concert’s concluding piece, Richard Strauss’s epic tone poem Ein Heldenleben, featured “an impressive nine French horns”.

Errollyn Wallen’s piece, entitled FLARE, had been specially commissioned by the RPO for the concert. The Belize-born British composer was appointed by King Charles in 2024.  She was awarded an MBE in 2007 and CBE in 2020, both for services to music.

Founded in 1946 by conductor and impresario Sir Thomas Beecham, the RPO has grown from its first concert in Croydon to become an internationally acclaimed orchestra, performing across London, the UK and around the world, as well as reaching audiences through digital and media platforms.

“Our students were particularly struck by the extraordinary technical skill of the internationally acclaimed soloists, pianist Julia Fischer, cellist Pablo Ferrández, and pianist Jan Lisiecki in the Beethoven concerto,” Miss Grint added.

Year 13’s Paarth Aggarwal presented his AI-powered app designed to help elderly and visually impaired people to an education summit at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Paarth’s invitation came after his smartphone scanner app, SafeEat, won an ‘honourable mention’ earlier this year in the Global Appathon – an online event that encourages entrants to build mobile apps for a worthwhile cause. Today’s report on his success comes on the UN’s World Food Day 2026, which is on the theme of Innovate today, nourish tomorrow.

The invitation to showcase his app at the MIT App Inventor Global Education Summit 2026 was a rare privilege: of the 2,176 entries in the Global Appathon, only the winners and the seven people receiving honourable mentions were asked to present.

QE’s Head of Technology, Bilaal Khan, said: “Our congratulations go to Paarth on this outstanding achievement and on representing QE on the international technology stage.”

The Global Appathon is a free, online event run jointly by MIT App Inventor and appinventor.org. MIT App Inventor is an app development tool for global education, while appinventor.org is a non-profit organisation with a mission to empower people to solve problems and make a positive impact in their lives and communities. Both were founded in 2007 by educators and researchers at MIT and Google.

The summit took place at MIT’s iconic Stata Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which was designed by architect Frank Gehry.

The three-day event brought together innovators, educators and technology experts from around the world. Speakers and representatives from organisations including MIT, the App Inventor Foundation, Raspberry Pi Foundation and Harvard University explored topics ranging from responsible AI in education to accessibility and inclusive learning.

On day two, Paarth took to the stage to explain how SafeEat can help elderly and visually impaired people make safer and more informed food choices. By scanning ingredient labels, the app identifies potential allergens, intolerances and dietary restrictions, transforming complex ingredient lists into clear, accessible information.

He received feedback from educators, researchers, and innovators from around the world, while also making the most of the opportunity to forge connections with others.

Reflecting afterwards, Paarth said the summit had given him “plenty of new ideas”. He added: “It was inspiring to hear diverse perspectives and see how collaboration across disciplines can drive meaningful impact. As someone passionate about applying AI to improve educational accessibility, I found these conversations particularly valuable.”