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3D printing entrepreneur Arian Aghababaie, co-founder of California-based Holo, shared insights into the latest developments in additive manufacturing and gave advice on engineering careers when he led two inspirational events at QE during a visit to the UK.

After working for global software firm Autodesk, based in San Francisco, Arian (OE 1998–2003) raised venture capital and successfully spun out its additive manufacturing team to form Holo, while also transitioning its technology from the 3D printing of polymers to metals. Six-and-a-half years later, Holo is at the forefront of innovation, using its proprietary digital platform to enable the manufacturing at scale of high-performance parts across a range of materials, including metals, ceramics and composites. Holo is supported by top-tier Silicon Valley investors and strategic partners.

Arian’s morning at QE began with a tour of the School, before he led a Sixth Form additive manufacturing workshop, with five of QE’s own 3D printers on hand. Later, he delivered a lunchtime talk, giving his take on careers in engineering and 3D printing.

Head of Technology Michael Noonan said: “Arian provided Year 12 with a workshop which firstly covered his professional journey to date, from his early days post PhD working on founding his own company (The Invention Works) through to his position as Senior Principal Engineer at Autodesk. Most of the workshop, however, focussed on his current company, Holo. He explained that he and the other co-founders could see the enormous potential to create a viable business in this area and so pursued it as an opportunity.”

Arian went on to explain the details around the scale of production, the materials used and the fidelity of the products which Holo’s machines can make through its own PureForm Technology.

“His technologies have a unique advantage over competitors, and he works with many major companies in the healthcare, consumer electronics, robotics, and automotive sectors, to name a few,” said Mr Noonan.

He even set the Year 12 boys a challenge to develop a product using QE’s own 3D printers. They should design (and perhaps build) a scaled-up, minimally invasive surgical instrument. His requirements were that:

• The instrument should have six degrees of freedom
• It should be able to be cable or gear-driven
• The boys’ work should include the design of at least two custom end-effectors (the devices at the end of a robotic arm, designed to interact with the environment)
• They should determine its size and features based on the capabilities of their own printers.

Bonus points were offered for the designs with the fewest components and if the end-effectors could be easily changed within the same clevis pin (part of a fastener system)!

Two examples of the boys’ work in response to the challenge are shown here.

In the lunchtime talk to Year 10, Arian took a more personal look at his story, beginning with his time at QE, when he was in Stapylton House and was a musician and prefect.

After first presenting a version of his life which had him gliding seamlessly from his first engineering degree at Bristol to gaining his doctorate, also at Bristol, moving to San Francisco in 2016 and then founding Holo the following year, he next spoke about “what it’s actually been like” – a narrative that includes leaving QE early, dropping out of university, the financial crash and the huge impact of Covid.

The lessons he learned included “stay true to your authentic self” and “don’t fear failure”.

The visit came about after Headmaster Neil Enright struck up a conversation with Arian on LinkedIn.

Mr Noonan said: “It really was a tremendous day. One of the boys involved said to me afterwards: ‘Sir, are you aware that Arian is working in the job we all dream to have one day?’ I am immensely grateful to Arian for taking the time to give back to his School and for giving our students something amazing to aspire to.”

QE’s chess team achieved third place – the School’s highest-ever finish – and won the Plate trophy at the game’s national UK school finals.

Propelled by a string of strong mid-tournament performances over the two days of the English Chess Federation National Schools’ Championship, the six-strong team secured the Plate – QE’s first trophy at the finals – with a last-round victory over number one seeds, King’s College Wimbledon.

Teacher in charge of chess, Geoff Roberts, said: “This competition is the one which every school has aspirations to win, so for Queen Elizabeth’s to come through a very strong regional group to qualify for the finals was a good achievement in itself.

“However, the team far surpassed this at the finals. Considering the calibre of the schools there, many of whom offer chess scholarships, to finish in third place was a truly outstanding achievement.”

The team had qualified for the national finals at the University of Nottingham after emerging as zonal winners following a hard-fought 3.5–2.5 victory in the North London final against The Latymer School, Edmonton.

In the first round of the nationals, QE were pitted against the second seeds, and eventual winners, Hampton School. They lost by the narrowest of margins – 3.5 to 2.5.

They quickly recovered and went on to record good results against other leading chess schools: firstly, a 5–1 victory over King Edward’s School, Birmingham, then a 3–3 draw against Westminster School, and thirdly a 4.5-1.5 victory against the Royal Grammar School, Guildford.

This set up a final-round showdown with King’s College Wimbledon. In what Mr Roberts described as his “particular highlight”, the QE six performed “superbly” to achieve a 3.5–2.5 victory and take both third place and the Plate – awarded to the highest-placed first-round losers.

The following pupils represented QE in Nottingham: Yash Mahajan, Year 13: Jason Tao, Year 11; Andreas Angelopoulos Year 11; Nishchal Thatte, Year 9; Rithwik Gururaj, Year 9, and Year 8’s Callistus Bhattacharya. In addition, Joshua John, of Year 11, and Daiwik Solanki, Year 10, represented the School in the zonal stages.

Each member of the team contributed at least 2.5 points from their five games at the national finals. Callistus finished unbeaten with 4.5 points out of 5; Nischal Thatte took 4 points out of 5 against some of the country’s top chess players playing on board 1, and team captain Yash finished with 3 points out of 5 on board 2.

“My congratulations to all the boys who have represented the School in this competition,” said Mr Roberts. He gave a particular mention to Yash “for captaining the team superbly” and “for his commitment to, and excellence in, chess throughout his seven years at Queen Elizabeth’s: this trophy is a fitting reward for his dedication.”

Mr Roberts also thanked Mathematics teacher Kirtan Shah for his support with the trip.

A Year 12 pupil took up a coveted place on a prestigious summer residential at Cambridge after securing a top-50 place in the Senior Physics Challenge.

Ranvir Sinha completed 586 questions up to the deadline in the online challenge run by Isaac Physics, a Department of Education project at the university. Many of the questions involved concepts usually introduced only at undergraduate level.

He joined other top-performing students at the four-day residential placement, where they were able to conduct experiments at the world-famous Cavendish Laboratory. The residential aims to give young people an idea of what it would be like to study quantum mechanics as an undergraduate.

Assistant Head (Pupil Destinations) James Kane said: “We are delighted for Ranvir – not only for his success in qualifying, but also for the opportunity he had to experience lectures which really engaged and stretched him.”

Ranvir, who won a Diamond Certificate for his élite performance, said: “I enjoyed tackling the challenges, especially the problems relating to moments of inertia, and learning the tricks that could be used to simplify them.”

Ranvir was fulsome in his praise of the residential, where he was taught by eminent lecturers such as Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright OBE (the director of Isaac Physics and a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge), Dr Anton Machacek (a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge), Dr Nicki Humphry-Baker (a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge), who sped the cohort through advanced concepts in Physics. “My favourite was the derivation of Schrödinger’s time-independent equation; it was immensely satisfying being able to prove such a fundamental part of the quantum world,” he said.

In addition to the lectures, the visiting students worked together on groups in the Cavendish Laboratory.

Ranvir was impressed with the facilities there: “It was equipped with brilliant apparatus! My group and I conducted tests for diffraction gratings, depending on the number and shape of slits that a laser would shine through – the lasers were so impressive, as were the vibrant patterns formed on our pieces of paper.”

The competition is run annually by Isaac Physics, an Open Platform for Active Learning. It aims to offer support and resources to students transitioning from GCSE to Sixth Form and through to university. Students work through the challenges at their own pace, but to a deadline.

The website states that usually the top-performing students complete in the region of 300-350 challenges in order to qualify, with weighting giving in the rankings on the higher-level challenges that they successfully complete.

Mr Kane said: “By completing well over 500 of the challenges, some at second-year undergraduate level, Ranvir demonstrated his commitment to the subject. He certainly deserved his reward – and I am glad that he enjoyed it, too.”

QE’s first-ever in-house Model United Nations (MUN) Conference sparked powerful and passionate debate among the 48 delegates from Years 9 and 10.

Topics during the three-day, pupil-run event ranged from nuclear disarmament to the global economy, and from the conflict in Kashmir to the rights and wellbeing of indigenous communities.

The prestigious Best Delegation title went to the four boys representing India: Aahan Shah, Yashwant Sunkara, Abhinav Sandeep and Tunishq Mitra, all from Broughton’s Year 9 form.

The conference was planned and organised by Year 11 members of the School’s MUN Society – 12 volunteers, including Uday Dash, Koustuv Bhowmick, Saim Khan, Zaki Mustafa and Chanakya Seetharam acting as Secretaries-General.

Uday reports that the debates were “fiery, heated and fiercely contested”, fully showcasing the boys’ “thorough research, impeccable resolve, and eloquent arguments. It was an immensely enjoyable and thought-provoking three days, with lots of passionate debating, fruitful discussion and powerful speeches all around.”

Teams of four were drawn from the 12 forms in Years 9 and 10, with each allocated a powerful country to represent.

Two of the organisers, Uday and Saim Khan, opened the ceremony with introductory speeches.

Two days of contested arguments and resolutions followed, with each committee featuring its own battles. For example, Uday reported this about the proceedings of SOCHUM, the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues Committee: “From the delegate of Iran directly calling out the US for its own poor track record on indigenous rights, to the delegate of Australia decrying the alleged insurmountable financial burden it would place on nations to install separate healthcare systems for their indigenous communities, every delegate contributed to fiery, passionate debate.”

A resolution from SOCHUM relating to how the rights, cultures and wellbeing of indigenous people could be preserved was passed, earning the Indian delegation their title.

On the final day, the conference’s General Assembly was held in the Main Hall.

Some impromptu closing speeches from Uday and fellow Secretary-General Koustuv concluded what Uday called an “incredibly invigorating and successful conference”, before Physics Teacher & Academic Enrichment Tutor Gillian Deakin, who is QE’s MUN Coordinator, gave the final word to wrap up the event.

QE’s young actors took audiences for this year’s School Play on a trip to The Jungle – the unofficial camp in Calais for migrants and refugees that gained notoriety for its poor conditions during its brief existence.

Performed during national Refugee Week, the play, which is itself called The Jungle, gave a voice to some of the thousands of men, women and children from many different countries who lived in the camp while trying to gain access to the UK.

Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “This was an excellent production, with powerful and moving performances from a young but talented cast. It provided an important perspective on a set of issues so often debated in the media, and the stories of those in the Jungle resonated strongly.

“The boys seemed to revel in taking on such complex and contemporary issues, approaching the work with great maturity, respect and intensity.

“It was particularly topical, not just because it was performed during Refugee Week, but also because our School is this week marking One World Week, which is a celebration of inclusivity and an exploration of global issues.”

An award-winning play, The Jungle was written by two young playwrights, Joe Murphy and Joe Robinson, who met while studying English at Oxford. In the autumn of 2015, they first came to the Jungle camp, returning a short time later after crowdfunding to bring an 11m white geodesic dome there to serve as a theatre and community & arts space. They then spent seven months volunteering in the Jungle, before the authorities took down the encampment in 2016.

While fictional, the stories told by characters in the play were based closely on what the two writers heard during their time in the camp.

QE’s production in the Main School Hall, directed by Gavin Lister, of RM Drama, featured a 20-strong cast, with most of the boys involved drawn from Years 8 and 9.

Two boys, Aahan Shah, of Year 8, and Jeevan Karthick Thiyagarajan, of Year 9, shared the key role of Safi. “Safi was both the narrator and an active part of the plot, and Aahan and Jeevan interchanged throughout the play to deliver this role very effectively indeed,” said Mr Bonham-Carter, who was himself a professional actor before pursuing his teaching career.

Aahan said: “Playing the role of someone who has been far less privileged than myself and has had many different experiences has been really interesting. Additionally, the character I played weaves himself in and out of the story, as if controlling it and the perspective, which was something really challenging but also really fun!”

Fellow cast member Danyal Rahim, of  Year 8, who played the character, Yasin, said: “Being involved in this play has been a wonderful experience! Rehearsals with the older boys, and with others in my year, has helped me expand my interpersonal skills and my QE community,” he said, adding that the The Jungle had illuminated the “positive human side ” of the situation that refugees found themselves in.

Year 9’s Rehaan Shaikh, who played Ben, appreciated the opportunity that participation in rehearsals had given him both to make new friends and to express his creativity.

Drama has enjoyed a resurgence at QE in recent years. Work on a new facility for drama and the spoken word, The Robert Dudley Studio, is due to start this year.

As the School as a whole marks QE’s 450^th anniversary, the Languages department has its own landmark to celebrate – ten years of its French exchange.

Twenty-one boys headed to Bourg-en-Bresse this month, a town which lies northeast of Lyon at the foot of the Jura Mountains. Their exchange partners came to Barnet last term.

The QE boys enjoyed a week of activities that ranged from trips to local attractions to attending classes in the partner school, Collège St Pierre. This tenth exchange follows a three-year gap because of the pandemic.

Head of Languages Nora Schlatte said: “We were particularly excited for the 2023 French exchange, having not had an exchange run since 2019, and the trip was a great success.

“The QE boys and their French partners got on really well and it was great to see them sharing experiences and speaking more and more French as the week went on. Families on both sides said how happy they were to have been able to take part in this experience and we are thrilled to be maintaining our strong link with Collège St Pierre.”

The first exchange with Bourg-en-Bresse was in the 2010 Summer Term, when 13 pupils from Years 8 and 9 visited Collège St-Pierre, the alma mater of a QE French teacher of the time, Océane Jullien, who now teaches in Thailand.

On this year’s trip the QE boys flew in to Geneva and then took a coach over the border to Bourg-en-Bresse, where they were met by the host families. They were accompanied by Ms Schlatte, Languages teacher Katrin Hood (who is also Head of Year 8) and Cover Supervisor Joan Anderson.

Their busy week included a:

• Visit to the local ‘parc des oiseaux’ (bird park) with their partners
• Day trip to Lyon, taking in a museum visit (Musée du Cinéma et de la Miniature), picnic lunch, shopping and a funicular railway ride to the cathedral, where they could enjoy the views from the hill
• Weekend spent with the families – activities reported include bowling, trips to the cinema, cave visits, and visits to the Chamonix mountain region
• Scavenger hunt through the town and a woodland adventure activity
• Day in school, taking part in a quiz, and, with their exchange partners, in an Art lesson, Mathematics lesson, PE activity and going to a basketball match in the evening
• Trip to the market.

Among the QE party was Dhruva Arjun, who said: “My highlight was watching the basketball match on the last night. The atmosphere was really fun and it was great to be there with our exchange partners.”

Fellow member of Harrisons’ House, Aaryav Sharma, said some of his most memorable moments took place above ground level: “We had a great afternoon doing accrobranche, which is a treetop adventure activity,” adding that he and two friends all “managed the really difficult black run, which was great!”

Tanish Nori, a member of Underne House, relished spending time with his partner and the family. “At the weekend, they took me to the Alps and we went to the Aiguille du Midi, which was amazing.”

Last term, Headmaster Neil Enright joined key staff involved in the exchange in celebrating a decade of successful trips with a special afternoon tea.