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Year 13’s Harik Sodhi will be heading to Paris this summer to compete with the world’s top young physicists as part of the British national team in the International Physics Olympiad.

Harik progressed through three rounds of the UK’s top schools Physics competition and has now been chosen for the five-person UK team after performing well among some 14 high-fliers at a selection camp (pictured).

Head of Physics Jonathan Brooke said: “This is an incredible achievement. Harik has mastered an impressive breadth of Physics and worked assiduously, fine-tuning his impressive problem-solving skills.

“Olympiad papers are extremely challenging; pupils need to have very strong mathematical skills and need to be able to work quickly and accurately. Making headway through the problems requires insight, composure and resilience.”

QE gave Year 13 boys a chance to sit the Physics Challenge paper in September 2024. The high achievers then had the opportunity to sit the British Physics Olympiad (BPhO) Round 1 paper in November.

That QE contingent were among some 3,500 pupils from schools across the UK to sit the Round 1 paper. From these, around 100 were then invited by the BPhO organisers to sit the Round 2 paper in February 2025.

Harik’s invitation to the UK BPhO training and selection camp in Oxford (pictured) followed on the basis of his performance in Round 1 and 2.

Before going to Paris in July, he will first attend a final training camp with his UK team mates at Trinity College, Cambridge.

The BPhO was founded in 1979 and it is believed that QE first started giving boys the opportunity to take part in the competition in around 2005.

“In the 20 years or so that QE boys have been taking part in the competition, this is only the second time a QE boy has made it to the national team,” said Mr Brooke.

(The first QE national team member was Aniruddh Raghu, who won a bronze medal at the International Physics Olympiad in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2014. On graduating from Cambridge, Aniruddh secured a Kennedy Scholarship and took his doctorate at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.)

“I believe this means that if Harik can get a silver or gold, he will have ‘bragging rights’ as the greatest Physics Olympian the School has ever produced!” he added.

Six Year 13 pupils reached the finals of an Imperial College medical competition, ranking among the top ten teams nationally.

The QE sixth-formers, who mostly hope to become medics and scientists, scored strongly with their innovative approach for treating vasculitis – a rare inflammatory autoimmune condition affecting 40 million people globally.

Biology teacher Hinesh Shah said: “Our team should be extremely proud of what they have achieved, as we all are in the Biology department.

“Thanks to their strong teamwork and organisational skills, they produced an excellent e-poster, which, uniquely, considered financial and economic sustainability, providing sufferers with real-time data and intervention.

“I am sure the skills gained in this competition will aid them in their future careers. Whilst many teams tried to improve current treatment, their bold approach of thinking ‘out of the box’ reflects the skills we are trying to help the students develop,” added Mr Shah, who helped organise their entry into the Science in Medicine Schools Team Prize competition.

The team comprised Hadi Al-Esia, Dhaivat Gohel, Zaki Mustafa, Anshul Nema, Rahul Ranjan, and Jason Tao.

Their scientific poster saw them shortlisted for the finals, where they presented their project to a joint panel of Imperial College professors and representatives from Vasculitis UK, the country’s leading charity for the condition.

Their proposed treatment was a wearable patch that could monitor levels of specific biomarkers in tissue fluid, then treat the affected areas using red light therapy.

Additionally, they designed a companion app that provided an accessible interface for patients to track their current risk level. By using red light therapy instead of standard steroids, the patch avoided many of the harmful side effects that come with sustained use of steroids, which normally feature in treatment for vasculitis.

The team followed a multi-disciplinary approach, with Anshul and Rahul responsible for the data-analysis and companion app design, and Zaki Mustafa calculating the costs of producing sustainably and on a large scale.

Although not among the winners at the finals, the team were praised by the judges for their novel approach, which was both non-invasive and affordable.

As part of their reward for securing a place in the finals, team members received a mentorship session with one of the judges, Professor Frederick Tam, Chair of Renal Medicine at Imperial College.

Team member Jason, who intends to pursue a career in Medicine, said “I really enjoyed the research aspect of the competition – learning in-depth about disease pathways and developing clinical trials made me think about which area of medicine I want to go into.”

Anshul enjoyed the technology side of the project: “Using algorithms and other tools in conjunction with traditional approaches helped me to better understand the wide variety of scenarios in which technology and data can be leveraged effectively.”

And Dhaivat, who plans to study Biomedical Sciences at Imperial College, described Professor Tam’s mentor session as “a great insight into life there… it was something that stuck with me when choosing to commit to Imperial”.

• You can view the poster for the Imperial competition here.

The latest edition of QE’s creative magazine, The Arabella, includes a look at the eponymous Lady Arabella Stuart, exploring her tragic life but also her lively intellect and talent for writing.

Year 12 pupil Keon Robert’s profile thus demonstrates how apt it is that the magazine carries the name of this claimant to the throne (pictured here), who died in the Tower of London in 1615 at the age of just 39.

Her connection to the School is that she stayed for some months in Barnet in the house of Thomas Conyers, a QE Governor, after falling ill en route to Durham, while Rev Matthias Milward, also a Governor and subsequently Master of the School, attended to her spiritual needs.

Keon’s piece is among some 50 items to grace the pages of the richly illustrated magazine, which has as its overall theme, Legacy. Those with access to the School’s eQE may access The Arabella here.

The student editorial team were assisted by staff including Library Services Assistant Corinna Illingworth, who said: “We are grateful to writers and artists from all years to give us their interpretation of Legacy, from looking into influences from the past to investigating movements that will guide our duty for the future.”

The magazine includes colourful artworks supplied by the Art department, as well as poetry and articles on Politics, Science, Classics and Modern Foreign Languages. The Languages section includes boys’ entries to the national Anthea Bell Translation Competition.

Head Editor Timi Banjo, of Year 12, wrote in his foreword: “In this 13th edition of The Arabella, we celebrate the imagination and critical engagement of our students across a broad landscape of thought…Each page of this magazine is a tribute to Arabella Stuart’s defiance and brilliance, and the remarkable voices of our students who, like her, challenge the world through the written word.”

Timi leads a 12-strong team drawn from the senior year groups.

Here are just a few examples of the varied content:

• What will be left of the Conservatives? Poem by Ishaan Uplanchi, Year 7
• A villanelle on villainy. Poem by Adyansh Sahai, Year 9
• The Legacy of the British Rule over South Yemen. Politics section. Kabir Chadha, Year 7
• Portrait of Immortality: Legacy of Oscar Wilde. Politics section. Hari Rathakrishnan. Year 11
• How the Romans’ section impacted Britain. Classics section. Anirvinn Lakshmipuruam Sudarsan. Year 7
• Birth of German Nationalism – The Thirty Year War of 1618-1648. History section. Agam Chaudhary, Year 11
• The Evolution of Medicine Through History. Science section. Tanay Shetty, Year 9
• The Unsung Hero – Martin Cooper. Science section. Anish Bhattacharyya
• Country and Character: The Patriotic Yearnings of Joachim du Bellay’s ‘Les Regrets’. Modern Foreign Languages section. Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen, Year 11.
• Translations of an excerpt from coming-of-age book, ‘Wie der Wahnsinn mir die Welt erklärte’ by Dita Zipfel. Anthea Bell Translation Competition entries by Parth Jain, of Year 10, and Akshaj Vyas, of Year 11.

The 63 pages of the online magazine are interspersed with artworks in a wide variety of styles by pupils drawn from year groups throughout the School.

Shown here, top to bottom, are pieces by: Vineet Raaj, of Year 7 (which is used on the front cover of the magazine); Arin Gupta, of Year 9 (after the portrait of Arabella Stuart); Neel Sinha, of Year 9; and Yashinth Sivananthan, of Year 11.

QE’s in-house Economics magazine has proved so popular throughout the School that it has been opened up to younger boys for the first time.

Issue 23 of The Econobethan, which has as its theme South America Uncovered, features contributions from boys in every year group from Year 7 right through to the Sixth Form. In addition to Economics, it includes articles related to Politics, History and Sociology.

Economics teacher Celia Wallace said: “It’s another brilliant edition – this time on all things South American. This magazine is entirely student-run – their topics, their ideas, their articles.”

Twenty submitted pieces, spread over 35 pages, are divided into two sections – on Economic Development and Economic Setbacks.

In their introduction, the Year 12 editorial team of Shuban Singh, Adithya Raghuraman, Shourya Garg, Zain Ahmed explain this division: “The continent of South America currently stands at a crossroad of economic transformation…South America’s attempts at growth have been both dynamic and challenging; shaped by the different policy experimentation and integration into the global market. [The Economic Development] section delves into this pursuit of economic expansion, where reforms have coexisted alongside certain vulnerabilities.

“Yet, despite progress, profound structural weaknesses persist as financial crises, inflation, corruption, and political instability continue to undermine long-term growth. [The Economic Setback] section examines the vulnerabilities that have held South America back, as well as the policy choices that may determine its future trajectory.”

The young writers range far and wide both in terms of themes and geography. For example, Year 12’s Amogh Pai looks at The Ecuador-Canada Trade Deal, while Mukunth Natarajan, also of Year 12, explores How the Metrocable Transformed Medellin (covering the impact of a gondola lift in Colombia’s second-largest city). From among the Lower School writers, Year 7’s Ibrahim Abbas digs into The Lithium Boom in South America.

Year 11 pupil Shubhay Chawla focuses on 20th-century history with his article, US Cold War Policy’s Impact on South America, as does Zain Ahmed in his study of a famous South American dictator’s economic policy, Pinochet and Chile’s Intro to Neoliberalism.

Others, however, fix their attention firmly on the years and decades to come: Azlaan Ali, of Year 8, asks How will Foreign Direct Investment Impact South America? and Mayank Jagetia, of Year 9, considers Is Dollarisation the Future for South America?

• Those with access to the eQE portal may read this and previous editions of The Econobethan here.

Sixth-formers Karan Somani and Samrath Sareen have won the FT’s Schools Champion Award after stirring up huge interest in the news organisation’s work among their fellow pupils.

Having been selected for the FT Student Advocate Programme, the pair threw themselves into the role, securing 94 sign-ups from other QE boys keen to read the FT and find out more about its work. This figure was the highest for any school worldwide.

Head of Economics Krishna Shah said: “Karan and Samrath are to be congratulated on the great commitment they showed to the FT programme. I know they have benefitted significantly from all that it has to offer.”

The Student Advocate Programme gives up to three pupils from each participating school the opportunity to develop ideas on how the FT can better engage with young people and to raise awareness of the benefits of reading it.

Karan praised the programme: “As a student with a great passion for economics, it’s been helpful to learn more about stylistic writing and the technique to create informative content at the highest levels.

“The interactive webinars and sessions with members of the editorial team have been a great way to expand my knowledge around current affairs and the general economic state of the country.”

As part of their involvement, Karan and Samrath gave a talk to the Gresham Society (QE’s Economics society), in which they critically analysed the impacts of the most recent decisions of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on the economy. Another focus of attention was the economic policy of President Trump.

“The presentation at the Gresham Society was a great success, and it was very interesting to hear different opinions about Trumpian politics and its impacts on the politics and trade relations across the world,” said Karan.

During the programme, the pair were set a series of tasks. These, said Samrath, “allowed us to deepen our understanding and interest of key economic and financial principles, such as the large-scale impact AI is currently having on the economy”.

Samrath added: “It was great to see how many students in our School regularly read the FT to aid and enhance their studies. My favourite part of this programme was interacting with like-minded students from around the world.”

The pair won a £50 gift voucher and a certificate as their prize for winning the award.

As part of the School’s involvement with the FT, its Head of Visual and Data Journalism, Alan Smith, came in to give a lecture earlier this year.

He recounted to the boys his own educational journey. He had pursued A-levels and higher education when that was not the norm for those from his background, and he also seized an opportunity to study abroad, thereby gaining skills which he would not otherwise have learned.

Ahsan Rahman, of Year 11, said: “We heard about how technology and different forms of data analysis have helped Alan within his articles to display very complex information in a digestible form for their readers.”

Eesa Bhaijee, also of Year 11, added: “Alan stretched the boundaries of data presentation through his sonification [use of non-speech audio] of the US yield curve, making it accessible to a wider range of audiences, including the visually impaired community.”

Both Eesa and Ahsan were especially impressed by the work Alan and the FT team had done to bring to life the Moniac (Monetary National Income Analogue Computer). Designed as a teaching device, this was created in 1949 by London School of Economics (LSE) student Bill Phillips, using water to show how money flows around an economy. At least 12 were built.

In collaboration with Cambridge University, home of one of the last working original Moniacs, an FT project team created the FT Money Machine, which bridges the gap between the Moniac’s  historical analogue computing and modern digital learning, using the Apple Vision Pro headset to blend digital content with the physical world.

It was, said Eesa, simply “mind-blowing”.

QE pupils have picked up crucial skills – as well as awards – at two prestigious Model United Nations conferences in London and one hosted by an élite university in the US.

On the same weekend that one group of boys was rubbing shoulders with visiting delegates from around the world at HABSMUN (hosted by Haberdashers’ Elstree Schools), Year 11’s Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen was enjoying success during the London Youth Model United Nations (LYMUN) at the LSE. These events came just a few weeks after Year 11’s Keshav Aggarwal (pictured) had become one of only seven delegates to win a Best Delegate award at the prestigious MUN hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I am pleased to see our boys throwing themselves into these very worthwhile events and I congratulate them on their successes. Debating is an important way for our pupils to acquire confidence, hone skills in public-speaking, develop their ability to build an argument, and learn to think on their feet.”

Vu-Lam explained that LYMUN 2025 involved over 560 delegates from UK schools such as Eton and Harrow, as well as from schools in Portugal, Sweden, France and other nations worldwide.

“I was part of the US Senate, one of the special signature committees, and played the role of the Republican Senator John Thune. Like Senator Thune in real life, I won my party’s leadership election on the first day to become the Senator Majority Leader, granting me both privileges and responsibilities to set the tone for debate and direct my party in passing (or opposing) bills. This year, the topic was to envision a new age of American energy in the aftermath of a fictional Great Midwestern Blackout.

“In the closing ceremony, I was awarded the Bipartisanship (Diplomacy) Award, not only for outstanding public speaking and performance, but also for my subtle concessions to foster bipartisan cooperation (in a hugely divided Senate).” Vu-Lam, who aspires to an eventual real-world career in international relations, said he was especially proud that the MUN’s Secretariat said in its comments that the award went to delegates who best assumed the role of real diplomats in committees.

Keshav Aggarwal’s award at MIT was for his contribution representing Australia at the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM) – one of seven committees operating at the conference. Since no overall conference awards were given, this was one of the event’s top accolades.

With him at the conference were several hundred delegates from countries as far apart as Peru and Kazakhstan, as well as the US delegates and others from the UK. MIT itself describes it as “the premier international MUN conference for high school students, with a special focus on small committee sizes”.

The theme was Tech Diplomacy: delegates were charged with evaluating the global political impact of new technologies and strengthening or amending regulation to foster innovation. The SOCHUM committee members debated Regulating Cryptocurrency to Foster Innovation While Mitigating Risks and Mass Surveillance and Data Exploitation.

“It was great to interact with delegates from around the world with their different perspectives on global politics, and with differing cultural backgrounds,” said Keshav. “It also provided a great insight into studying at MIT: I got to interact with a range of student leaders, and learning about their experience at studying at MIT and living in Boston.”

He found time to visit neighbouring Harvard University, where he duly rubbed the foot of the statue of John Harvard, the 17th-century Puritan clergyman whose bequest helped establish the Ivy League institution. “Legend and rumours have it that by rubbing the golden foot of the statue, students gain luck and the ‘blessings’ of John Harvard for all their academic endeavours.”

Keshav and his fellow delegates heard from guest speaker Fadel Adib, Founding Director of the MIT Signal Kinetics Research Group, whose research has led to the establishment of multiple start-ups.

The group of Elizabethans making their way to HABSMUN included Samuel Sobolak, of Year 9, who reported that delegates had quickly got into their stride, lobbying fiercely in their committees to rally support for their resolutions.

“Day two brought about a rigorous seven-hour debate in the General Assembly, where delegates sparred over resolutions, thinking on their feet under pressure: a perfect opportunity to improve public-speaking skills,” said Samuel.

“Speaking in front of dozens of delegates may be overwhelming, so in order to unwind, students took part in a karaoke showdown, with each committee singing their hearts out for first place.”

The QE contingent picked up a number of awards, he said, and made many new friends:  “An intense but unforgettable weekend of diplomatic fun!”

Fellow HABSMUN delegate Nikhil Francine, of Year 10, added: “Learning that there were others that were passionate about solving the pressing issues of the world, ranging from health to disarmament and security, was fascinating to see.”

Like Samuel, he enjoyed both the formal debates and the event’s more relaxed moments. “Overall, it was a brilliant experience, in which I made new friends from outside QE, had lots of fun and crucially boosted my confidence, debating and public-speaking skills.”