Viewing archives for Academic enrichment

Fifty sixth-formers enjoyed an entertaining day getting to grips with Mathematics that ranged from the offbeat and entertaining to applications that were literally out of this world.

The Year 12 pupils headed off to the Royal Institution in central London for Maths Fest 2019 – a Mathematics festival for schools designed to inculcate a passion for the subject among young people. The event is the brainchild of mathematicians and speakers Matt Parker and Rob Eastaway.

Accompanying the Sixth Form mathematicians were Mathematics teachers Joelle Simpson and Karmen Chiu. Mrs Simpson said: “All in all, the day was a fantastic trip out for the Year 12s; whilst they did know much of the Maths discussed, it was then applied to fun and interesting real-life examples, and there were also many new mathematical concepts introduced.”

First up was the host, Matt Parker, who entertained the students by asking a member of the audience to pick any two-digit number. He then proceeded to fill a 4×4 grid with each row, column, the four corners and each 2×2 square adding up to the two-digit number.

Science presenter Steve Mould then showed the audience 2D and 3D shapes of constant width that are not circles or spheres, before somewhat precariously riding a skateboard to demonstrate how easily he could slide along with these unique shapes. His most famous discovery is “self-siphoning beads”; a string of metal beads strung together on a chain, which, when released from its container, seems to defy gravity and move upwards before falling to the ground.

Joint host Rob Eastaway talked about Pascal’s Triangle (a triangular arrangement of numbers in which each number is the sum of the pair of numbers directly above it) and finding the ‘true centre’ of odd shapes. QE pupil Adam Hassan said: “Rob Eastaway’s lecture showed how we often make assumptions that are completely wrong, and sometimes the correct answer is the one that you would least expect it to be.”

Astronomer Lucie Green discussed the sun – Ishveer Sanghera commented that he particularly enjoyed her application of Mathematics to the solar system, including calculating how much longer the sun would burn for.

Oxford applied mathematician David Acheson made an “hilarious video” on finding pi using equipment found around his home, Miss Chiu reported. He talked about vibrations and nodes on strings, before ending the day with a “fantastic solo on his electric guitar”. Pupil Karan Patel also enjoyed this lecture, “especially the maths behind the snowball’s radius increasing at a decreasing rate, as well as the pizza box experiment”.

Other QE boys enjoying the day included: Suleman Yusuf, who relished Matt Parker’s “insightful” exploration of the world of puzzles; Shangeay Senathirajah, who praised a “truly eye-opening experience” which showed how Mathematics is useful in day-to-day life, and Alejandro Lynch Gonzalez, who appreciated learning about areas of the subject not covered by the Mathematics curriculum.

Visiting expert Gabriella Rutherford not only helped boys understand the threats and challenges faced by tribal people around the world, but also encouraged them to reflect on lives that are different from – and sometimes surprisingly similar to – their own.

Gabriella, from Survival International, the global organisation championing tribal peoples’ rights, spoke at a Lower School lecture assembly. She focused on the challenges facing tribal people around the world and encouraged the boys to think about ‘otherness’.

She looked at how our conceptions of other people and groups are often based on the ways in which we believe they are different to us. She asked the boys to picture a tribal person in their mind. Establishing the sort of image that is often conjured up – a jungle environment, spears, feathers and bare chests – she looked into where that image comes from. She then pointed out that while such tribes do exist, there are others that look and live more like us than we might imagine, particularly among contacted tribes with whom there has been cultural and economic exchange.

Gabriella touched on the ongoing threats to tribal people from racism and prejudice, and from those who advocate taking control of their lands in the public or national interest – as, she said, President Bolsonaro is hinting at in Brazil.

Head of Academic Enrichment Nisha Mayer said: “This was an engaging assembly, which required the boys to consider and voice their own ideas.

“One aspect of our lecture programme is that, through it, we seek to encourage boys to think critically about people with different life experiences, understanding their value and the challenges they face. This assembly raised awareness of a particular set of issues and got boys engaged in the moral questions around the cultures and the treatment of tribal peoples in different parts of the world.”

Topics covered during the assembly included:

• What tribal people need to survive. (Their own land and self-determination are key elements, Gabriella stated);
• The dangers associated with outside contact, including the people losing control over resources and also their lack of immunity to viruses and other illnesses. Some 50–90% of tribal communities are typically wiped out following outside human contact;
• The benefits brought by tribal people and communities. They often constitute very strong communities; and 80% of the world’s biodiversity is located in tribal land, so they are hugely important for conservation;
• Whether there is ever justification for the outside world making contact with an uncontacted tribe.

On the final point, Survival International’s view is that there really is no such justification, since: it is impossible for us, as outsiders, to assess the harm that we might be doing; since tribal peoples have human rights, just as we do, and these should not be forfeited to some notion of the ‘public good’; and since they are equipped to deal with problems in their own ways, even if these ways are different from ours.

Gabriella encouraged boys to consider getting involved in the Survival International Youth Action Group that is being established.

Year 10’s Richard Bai has reached the regional round of a London-wide schools speaking competition.

Richard, who spoke about the power of reading, won the QE round, which was contested after Year 10 boys had learned some public-speaking skills during a Jack Petchey “Speak Out” Challenge! workshop run at the School led by a visiting speaker.

The other finalists were: Sarvesh Sabale, speaking about allergies and how to support those with them; Dillan Shah, speaking about video game addiction, and Om Deshpande, who spoke about practice versus procrastination.

Richard goes on to the Barnet Regional Final at Copthall School. After that, the semi-final takes place at the Speakers Trust’s offices in central London on 20th May, before the grand final at the Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End on 1st July 2019.

The challenge, which is a programme run by Speakers Trust and funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation, aims to give people the skills, confidence and desire to speak in public. It is open to schools across London and Essex. Speakers Trust is the UK’s leading public speaking and communication skills training charity, while the foundation was set up by businessman and philanthropist Sir Jack Petchey, who is still working at the age of 93.

The workshop at the School centred on how to be an effective public speaker. In the subsequent competition, the boys spoke on a subject close to their heart.

Supervising the workshop were Head of Year 10 Simon Walker and Extra-curricular Enrichment Tutor Keith Bugler, both of whom said they were delighted by how well the boys had risen to the challenge.

Three sixth-formers have qualified for the next stage of the élite British Mathematical Olympiad after strong performances in the first round.

Bashmy Basheer, Nico Puthu and Niam Vaishnav, all of Year 13, were among nine boys to reach Round 1 of the Olympiad, which is itself one of the follow-on rounds of the UK Mathematics Trust’s Senior Maths Challenge. They won a certificate of distinction and a bronze medal, with Nico scoring 40 out of 60 and both Bashmy and Niam scoring 37.

They now progress to Round 2, where success results in an invitation to participate in training to represent the country in the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung congratulated the three on their achievement in the first round and wished them success in Round 2.

Their fellow Year 13 pupils, Kiran Aberdeen, Kishan Patel and Robert Sarkar, also achieved a certificate of distinction. The remaining three sixth-formers all achieved a certificate of qualification in Round 1, which consisted of six long, extended questions to be completed in three-and-a-half hours.

A further 29 sixth-formers took part in the Senior Maths Challenge’s other follow-on round, the Senior Kangaroo, which represents an increase on the 2017 total of 25 and the 2016 figure of ten.

Thirteen boys were each awarded a merit certificate for scores of 35 and above. Saruthan Seelan (pictured above right) in fact achieved double this total, with his score of 70 out of 100 making him the best in Year 12.

Sehj Khanna (left) was the highest scorer in Year 13 with 50/100.

The Senior Kangaroo is a one-hour paper, with all the questions requiring three-digit. Certificates of merit are awarded to the top 25%.

Best-selling author Tim Marshall told A-level Politics and Geography students about the worldwide renewed rise of nationalism and identity politics in a talk on his latest book.

The former diplomatic editor and foreign affairs editor for Sky News was visiting South Hampstead High School, which invited QE to send along boys with an interest in the subject.

In an early-evening event, he spoke for 45 minutes on Divided: Why we’re living in an age of walls to an audience that included 11 QE boys, as well as QE’s Head of Geography, Emily Parry, Head of Politics, Liam Hargadon and Geography teachers Helen Davies and Nilisha Shah.

Miss Parry said: “In his talk, Tim discussed how we feel more divided than ever and how nationalism and identity politics are on the rise once more. Thousands of miles of fences and barriers have been erected in the past ten years, and they are redefining our political landscape.

“He highlighted how the proposed wall between Mexico and the USA isn’t the only wall which should have our attention, but how many walls and other physical divisions exist throughout the world, such as the wall between Israel and the West Bank and the fence separating India from Bangladesh.

“He argues that understanding what has divided us, past and present, is essential to understanding much of what’s going on in the world today.”

Miss Parry added that he also told a few Geography-themed jokes, including: ‘Where do all pens come from? Answer: Pennsylvania!”

In the Q&A session following the talk, there was a discussion about topics such as whether the rise of nationalism means we are seeing an end to some forms of globalisation. Mr Marshall was also asked whether, in the context of the mass migration movements seen around the world, open borders should exist: he felt that they should not.

At the end of the event, he signed copies of his books, including his 2015 best-seller, Prisoners of Geography.

A team of five Year 12 QE economists was the only one to turn a profit in an auction at a prestigious conference attended by over 200 delegates from a number of leading schools.

More than 30 QE boys attended the Economics Conference at Woodhouse College in North Finchley, which aimed to offer pupils a unique opportunity to hear directly from academics, researchers and policymakers.

The event was jointly organised by the college and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR); it was supported by supported by blue-chip organisations including The Bank of England, The Royal Economics Society, The Government Economics Service and several top universities.

QE’s Head of Economics Shamendra Uduwawala said: “This type of event not only allows our boys to hear directly from both leading academics and those who shape policy, but it also enables them to mix with their peers from other schools. There is no doubt that a conference such as this exposes boys to high-level thinking while reinforcing what they have been learning in the classroom.”

Professor Jagjit Chadha, the Director of NIESR and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, delivered a truncated version of his recent Brexit talk to the Commons Select Committee on Brexit.

QE pupil Rishi Shah, one of the joint Presidents of the School’s Economics Society said: “For me, this talk was the highlight of the day; it was about forecasting and the role it plays in predicting the outcomes of Brexit. Professor Chadha used the metaphor of rolling a dice to show how forecasts can be rational, accurate yet wrong. He gave an insight into the work that NIESR conducts in forecasting and mapping out the likely outcomes of Brexit and the rationale behind the effects of business uncertainty.”

In her lecture, Financial Stability: a fine balancing act, Dr Rhiannon Sowerbutts described her role at the Bank of England as a Senior Economist and advisor to the Financial Policy Committee. She spoke about the importance of identifying potential risks to financial stability, such as household debt rising faster than incomes.

Dr Babak Somekh, from the University of Bristol. led an auction activity in the afternoon, involving food items. The delegates were split into teams of five. Year 12 pupil Hanif Gofur, who is the other joint President of QE’s Economics Society said: “We didn’t know in advance which food item would be auctioned next, so all the teams were kept on their toes. The atmosphere became electrified and chaotic as bids between schools intensified – often beyond the bounds of rationality.” Hanif and his QE teammates held their nerve and turned a healthy £250 profit on their £2,500 budget – the only team to make a profit.

Sarah Billingham, an Assistant Economist at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, promoted a new Degree Apprenticeship offered by the Government Economics Service in her lecture, How can economists influence policy? She suggested to delegates that this programme could be a good option for aspiring economists aiming for a higher education qualification who wished to avoid student debt and the loss of three to four years of potential earnings.

The day was concluded by Dr Lea Samek, of Kings College London, and Dr Michela Vecchi, of the University of Middlesex, who respectively looked at the UK’s productivity performance since the financial crash of 2008 and the impact of automation on the UK labour market.
Rishi said: “Overall, it was a phenomenal experience to hear from many different renowned speakers and it most definitely piqued my interest in Economics.”

In addition to delegates from QE and the hosts, Woodhouse College, there were pupils from Dame Alice Owen’s School, Highgate Wood School, The Camden School for Girls and Fortismere.