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Kamran Tajbakhsh has a new career and a new mission in life – helping young people to make their mark.

On graduating, he initially took up a post as a management consultant with a global company, but then, little more than a year after leaving Cambridge, Kamran (2004–2011) decided in June 2016 to become a performance coach and motivational speaker. It was, he says, a question of pursuing his passion. He is known professionally as Kam Taj.

As a coach, he works primarily with ambitious students and young professionals on performance improvement and goal attainment, with a strong focus on excellence in academic and professional aspects of life. He also speaks and runs training programmes at schools, universities and companies, where he aims to help people take control of their lives, overcome any limiting beliefs and “stride confidently towards attaining their goals”.

His ambition is to take the “empowering resources” of inspiring, globally recognised speakers, such as Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and Eric Thomas, and apply them to younger generations in a way that resonates with them.

“The growing influence of the internet and social media has shifted the mentality of younger generations significantly,” he says. “Whilst empowering, it can also be a cause of anxiety, low confidence and dissatisfaction if not approached with emotional maturity. My mission is to equip the younger generation with the tools they need to successfully navigate this challenge in order to grow as individuals and strive to create the future that they desire, honouring their potential to make a positive impact on their society.”

After gaining 13 A*s at GCSE and three A*s and an A in his A-levels (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Further Mathematics), he won a place at Churchill College, Cambridge. He graduated with a first in Manufacturing Engineering and a Master’s degree with Merit in the same discipline. He then briefly worked as a management consultant, specialising in strategy and due diligence, with Roland Berger, a global consulting firm.

He gave a well-received talk at the 2016 QE Careers Convention for Year 11 boys and their parents. Entitled Making Choices, the talk focused on how careers do not have to be limited by the subjects studied in School or at university. “My key message to those indecisive about their future career was to keep as many doors open for themselves as possible by excelling in the academic system, so that when they have a vision for their career in the future, they're not limited by their academic foundations.”

Kam has happy memories of his time at QE, where he was an avid basketball and tennis player, captaining the School teams in both sports as a senior pupil. He went on to captain Cambridge University’s Lawn Tennis Club’s second team, as well as his college’s tennis club and basketball team. He is grateful to many teachers, including Assistant Head of Maths Wendy Fung for “tolerating my (persistently) impudent behaviour during those challenging years of Further Maths!”

Further information about Kam’s work is available at www.kamtaj.com

This has been a good term, punctuated in the middle by the significant event of our English department moving into the refurbished and extended Heard Building.

This building is especially important in the recent history of our School since, in the late 1990s, its construction was one of the very first capital projects to be funded through the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s. It is named in honour of Luxton Robert ‘George’ Heard (OE 1927–1936). George, who died in 2009, was School Captain in his final year as a pupil. He later became QE’s Chairman of Governors, preceding the current Chairman, Barrie Martin, who took over in 1999.

Now, in the latest stage of our Estates Strategy, the Heard Building has been not merely repurposed but thoroughly modernised, structurally strengthened and upgraded, with a new link added to the adjacent Fern Building. The block provides self-contained accommodation for English, including eight classrooms and offices. It has been decorated with enlarged photographs of recent School drama productions. The project was completed on time and on budget. And once again, the work, with costs totalling more than £1m, has been entirely funded through FQE.

I am delighted at the success of this project and I would like to commence this letter by placing on record my gratitude to all the old boys and supporters of the School who have contributed. OE donations help us to deliver our Estates Strategy and are especially important in this era of challenging financial circumstances for schools in the state sector. Without such generosity, whether in the form of one-off gifts or in regular donations, our pupils and staff simply would not be enjoying the benefits afforded by these impressive new facilities. I invite any of our alumni who feel able to make a contribution, in any form, to the School, to contact me or my new Executive Assistant, Matthew Rose, a former School Captain here (OE 2002–2009). I would also welcome connection with any Old Elizabethans through my LinkedIn account.

Last summer’s very strong examination results have continued to reverberate at the School this term. January brought the publication of the annual Government league tables, which confirmed QE’s position in the foremost rank of all schools across both the independent and state sectors. QE was named the top boys’ school nationally for GCSE results, while at A-level, ranked in the tables by average point score per entry, we were the second-ranked state school in the country.

More recently, I was pleased to receive a letter from the Minister of State for School Standards, Nick Gibb, congratulating us on our “high standards…hard work and professionalism”. The letter concentrated on the School’s performance at GCSE against the Government’s new ‘Progress 8’ measure. Progress 8 measures the progress pupils make over eight key subjects, including English and Mathematics, between Key Stage 2 and the end of Key Stage 4. Queen Elizabeth’s School, Mr Gibb wrote, is among the top five per cent of schools nationally.

Following the recent Government announcement on the funding of new, selective free schools, I re-iterate my contention that it is essential that state-maintained education caters for the most able students and, furthermore, that the system enables social mobility. These are priorities that are absolutely core to our values at Queen Elizabeth’s School.

Our new School Development Plan, introduced this academic year, attaches considerable importance to providing challenge for all our very able pupils, so that they continue to make academic progress throughout their time at the School. The plan highlights the need for teachers to direct and inspire pupils to develop habits that will be useful to them in their learning. One of the habits I am especially keen for our boys to cultivate is that of asking questions. I have urged pupils not to be embarrassed but always to adopt an interrogative approach if they do not understand something: this is a sign of strength, not weakness. By persevering in asking good questions, boys will find they can readily eliminate any academic difficulties they face in the classroom.

But while that is valuable, the benefits of asking questions extend well beyond such a utilitarian outcome. Through our burgeoning lecture programme, we have recently welcomed several inspirational speakers to the School. One of the purposes of that programme is to give boys opportunities to ask questions of those who have great expertise and experience in fields that extend far outside our normal curriculum. We thus seek to nurture a culture of intellectual curiosity.

I was interested to read recently about what Google looks for in its new employees. Among the qualities it seeks is ‘high cognitive ability’ – those who are not only bright, but intellectually curious and able to learn. Google values role-related knowledge, but not deep specialisation in a narrow area: even when employing staff in a technical role, although the company assesses expertise in computer science thoroughly, it nonetheless prefers those with an extensive general understanding of computer science rather than a narrowly specialised knowledge of one field. The company has also coined a neologism – ‘Googleyness’ – to sum up a package of related qualities that it looks for when recruiting. These include enjoying fun, intellectual humility, conscientiousness, being comfortable with ambiguity (Google acknowledges that it does not know how the business will evolve) and evidence that applicants have taken some courageous or interesting paths in their lives.

The School’s own equivalent of Googleyness – ‘QE Qualities’, perhaps – would certainly include intellectual curiosity, alongside grit and resilience. Since QE is a selective school, our pupils are naturally endowed with intelligence. It gives them a valuable head start in life, but no more than that. In fact, a strong academic record on its own is recognised by employers as a poor predictor of performance. Employees who thrive eschew complacency and instead actively seek fresh challenges, embracing any failures as opportunities for growth.

As we adapt to a fast-changing world, it has been interesting to have had contact in recent months with three Old Elizabethans – Kam Taj, Jay Shetty and Aaron Tan – who are all, in their various ways, following unconventional career paths. Jay and Aaron feature in this newsletter, while Kam appeared in the Christmas edition. They and other OEs featured here are exemplars of those demonstrating a willingness to ask questions and then act courageously on the answers they receive.

I extend my best wishes to all our old boys for the Easter holiday.

Neil Enright

Lawyer Peter Petrou has been appointed to the board of trustees of the African Internship Academy, a social enterprise which aims to connect Africa’s leading employers with the continent’s young talent.

The appointment constitutes further recognition of Peter’s international legal expertise, which has been growing fast, especially since he launched his own firm, Aspen Morris, in 2012, when, at the age of 28, he became one of the UK’s youngest managing partners.

After leaving QE, Pani Peter Petrou (OE 1994–2000) took a first in Law at King’s College London and then gained a distinction on the BPP Law School’s Legal Practice Course in 2005–2006.

Peter began his legal career by working for two of the largest law firms in the world. Firstly, he joined US-based Dewey & LeBoeuf, working in its capital markets department, where he was involved in several multi-million and billion-dollar transactions for blue-chip clients.

In 2007, he moved to London-based Trowers & Hamlins, which is consistently ranked as one of the leading law firms for its work in the Middle East. During his time there, Peter worked with clients in Africa, Russia, India and the Middle East on corporate, real estate and project finance transactions, as well as in litigation.

Since its 2012 launch,  Aspen Morris Solicitors, a full-service firm with offices in Mayfair and Enfield has gained a substantial reputation for its work: it was named UK Law Firm of the Year for International Law at the Corporate LiveWire Global Awards in both 2016 and 2015 and was included in The European magazine’s New Europe FAST50 Companies 2015.

Peter has also enjoyed considerable personal success and has won a string of awards. He won Property Investor Africa’s 2014 award for Outstanding Contribution to Real Estate in Africa. He is Vice-President of the American International Commercial Arbitration Court, which contains some of the leading arbitrators from around the world. In 2014, he was appointed Global Legal Counsel to the World Leaders’ Forum in Dubai. He was named in the influential Global Law Expert Guide 2016.

Interviewed by Forbes magazine, he was described as having “formidable high level political and business contacts throughout Europe, the US, the Middle East and Africa and [is] seen as the go-to person when doing deals in Africa”.

Peter explained to the interviewer how he first became involved in doing business there after an intriguing meeting with a UAE-based real estate firm in 2007 during which he noticed that Africa was the focus of their five-year business plan. “This conversation interested me greatly as many of my clients’ business plans tended to centre around Europe, the Middle East, the Far East or the US. I sounded out my clients about investing in Africa and was initially met with surprising feedback that, despite Africa’s abundance of natural resources and opportunities, the continent was being overlooked by them.”

His interest was deepened further after a period of investigation, including several trips to the continent. “My substantial due diligence told me that I had stumbled across a hidden gem,” he said.

He then began promoting the idea of doing business in Africa to his clients, recognising that he would first have to change their perceptions. “It is important that companies and investors realise that Africa is not a continent to be feared but a continent where they can grow their business and make high returns.”

Peter remembers his time at QE with considerable fondness and gratitude: “I had a great time at QE. At the time, I found the School strict, however, looking back, I think it was perfect and that is why so many people have done so well; it gave me the drive and desire to achieve in life and work hard. I made some great friends who I still speak to today and a lot of what I have achieved to date is due to the education I received from QE Boys.”

He has two young daughters, Isabella and Sophia.

Alec Pearson is using the skills he has gained from a career in both industry and academia to grow a business that helps companies and educational institutions develop employability and leadership skills.

Glasgow-based Alec, who was at QE from 1986 to 1990, established his company, Pearson Communication, in 2012. Today it helps young people through two programmes: The Employability Skills Programme, which Alec developed himself, and the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) Level 2 Award and Extended Award for Young Leaders.

He has happy memories of his time at QE under Headmasters Eamonn Harris and Dr John Marincowitz, when he belonged to Harrisons’ House.

After leaving School, Alec gained a number of qualifications, initially in business information, followed by a Level 5 ILM Certificate in Leadership in 2008. He worked in the world of Information Technology for more than 18 years across sectors including manufacturing and law in both London and Edinburgh.

“Following five years as a senior manager, I reviewed my career to date and came to the conclusion that to progress it further, I should study full-time for a MBA,” he explains. He duly graduated with an MBA in December 2011 from the University of Glasgow, Adam Smith Business School.

“While still working as a senior manager, I found that my passion was in teaching and developing staff,” he said. Armed with his MBA, he therefore developed and launched Pearson Communication, while also continuing to lecture for Glasgow University. The company was an ILM Approved Provider from 2012 until January this year, when it became an ILM Approved Centre.

In his teaching, Alec, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) and Chartered Management Institute (CMI), adopts a motivational, passionate approach and facilitates group discussion and group exercises. He believes that learning must be “inspiring, fun and engaging”.

His work includes teaching postgraduate students in management, strategy, human resource management (HRM) and international HRM and operations management. He also provides dissertation supervision.

In October 2013, the Independent newspaper published an article Alec had written, in which he advised business leaders on how to deal with the uncertainty caused by the looming Scottish independence referendum. During this period, he was also a Global Ambassador for the Association of MBAs.

“In my spare time, I like to pursue my interest in travel, both within the UK and abroad.  I am very interested in learning about, and embracing, different cultures, particularly Asian cultures,” he says.

Alison Mihail, daughter of notable Old Elizabethan Ronald Orton and herself an ardent supporter of the School, was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List.

Alison, who has since received the MBE from the Prince of Wales in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, was recognised for a long record of outstanding service to young people. This includes raising more than £1.4m for The Prince’s Trust over the past 18 years.

The Orton family have been benefactors of the School for many years: among the Endowed Prizes and Special Awards at the annual Senior Awards ceremony is The Ronald E. Orton Memorial Prize for Commitment and Service. Ronald Ernest Orton was at the School from 1919 to 1926, when it was still based in the Wood Street building. He was Clerk to the Trustees until 1991, and in the 1970s was the President of the OE Association.

Alison gave details of her father’s career: “He was an accountant and then Company Secretary for Gaumont British Picture Company, before I think it was taken over by Rank. Latterly, in retirement, he was Clerk to St Stephens Parish Council in St Albans.”

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our congratulations go to Alison on the MBE and we are delighted to be able to celebrate her success here: she is, in fact, the first woman to feature in Alumni News. Alison is very much a ‘friend of the School’ and has told me that she feels very close to QE.”

Alison was an honoured guest at this term’s Senior Awards Ceremony. She also attended the dedication ceremony for the permanent poppy memorial to the School’s war dead in November and attended the OE Association Dinner on the same evening. This was in her capacity as an executor for the late Dennis Nelms (OE 1934–41) and his wife, Muriel, whose bequest enabled the purchase of the ceramic poppies from the Tower of London display.

Since retiring as the deputy headteacher of The Grange School in Aylesbury, she has volunteered on various Prince’s Trust committees, councils and action groups. Over the past 20 years, Alison, who lives in the Berkshire village of Finchampstead, has turned her hand to everything from managing renovation projects in Romania to setting up 26 of the Trust’s XL Clubs in secondary schools across Berkshire. These help 13-19 year-olds to develop skills and confidence.

Her fund-raising for the Trust was conducted through her role as Chair of the Thames Valley Area Development Committee and she has also mentored 43 corporate teams who took part in the charity’s annual entrepreneurial fundraising challenge, Million Makers.

Writing to the Headmaster, she reflected on her MBE and the ceremony at the Palace. “It has all been hugely exciting and also very humbling. I met some inspiring recipients during the morning investiture. There are so many good people in this country.”

Artificial intelligence expert, neuroscientist and computer game designer & player Demis Hassabis is almost certainly the most financially successful Elizabethan.

Demis sold the start-up technology company he co-founded to Google for a reported £400 million in January 2014.

Demis is still involved with the company – DeepMind – which hit the headlines in spring 2016 when its AlphaGo program beat one of the highest-ranking players in the world in the ancient board game of Go. The program won four games in a five-game series.

While he was at QE from 1988–1990, Demis was already a chess prodigy, reaching master standard at the age of 13, with a rating that made him the second-highest rated U14 player in the world. He captained many of the England junior chess teams.

He later went on to Christ's College in Finchley, where he took his A-levels aged 16 and then began his computer games career with the British company, Bullfrog Productions. At 17, he was co-designing and lead-programming on the classic game, Theme Park.

He left Bullfrog to read for the Computer Science Tripos at Queens' College, Cambridge, taking a double first. Later in his career, he gained a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from University College London and continued his research in neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI) as a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at UCL and as a visiting scientist jointly at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard.

Following his graduation from Cambridge, he worked as a lead AI programmer on the Lionhead Studios title Black & White. He then founded Elixir Studios in 1998, a London-based independent games developer. He expanded the company to 60 people, signing publishing deals with Eidos Interactive, Vivendi Universal and Microsoft, and was the executive designer of the BAFTA-nominated Republic: The Revolution and Evil Genius games.

As well as designing games, Demis was also an expert player, winning the Pentamind world games championship a record five times before retiring from competitive play in 2003. He is an expert player of games including chess, the Diplomacy board game and shogi board games and poker. The Mind Sports Olympiad website describes him as probably the best games player in history.

In April 2005, his company's intellectual property and technology rights were sold to various publishers and the studio was closed. Demis left the games industry and turned his attention to neuroscience, winning wide acclaim from experts in the field for his research into memory and amnesia. His work was listed as in the top 10 scientific breakthroughs of 2007 by Science magazine.

In 2010, he co-founded and became Chief Executive Officer of London-based DeepMind Technologies, a company working on machine learning, which is a branch of computer science. DeepMind specialises in building ‘general algorithms’ – algorithms that are capable of learning for themselves directly from raw experience or data and are general in that they can perform well across a wide variety of tasks straight 'out of the box'.

Following Google's acquisition of DeepMind, he is now Vice President of Engineering, leading the company’s general AI projects. Google DeepMind’s website proclaims that its aim is to ‘Solve intelligence: use it to make the world a better place.”

Interviewed by the Evening Standard shortly after the deal, Demis said he had no plans to leave London, where he enjoyed living with his wife – a molecular biologist – and two young sons. “I think we punch above our weight,” he told the reporter. "We have some of the world's best universities producing all these amazingly smart people, scientists and programmers who want to work in technology that might change the world. There are not as many opportunities in the UK as in San Francisco, so if you're that kind of company and you base yourself here you have a lot more available talent of the highest calibre that is looking for something more interesting than going into finance or down the usual routes in London."

Demis was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 2009 for his game design work. He was awarded the prestigious Mullard Award by the Royal Society in 2014. He was included in the 2013 Smart 50 list by Wired, listed as the third most influential Londoner in 2014 by the Evening Standard and in the Financial Times' top 50 entrepreneurs in Europe.