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The 123rd Old Elizabethans Association Annual Dinner brought together old boys of all eras for an evening offering both formality and fun.

The evening featured the customary speeches and time-honoured toasts, but there was also opportunity aplenty for alumni to chat with old classmates and strike up new friendships in a relaxed and convivial environment.

As is usual at the dinner, there was a particularly strong turnout from the ‘ten-year leavers’ – those who started in Year 7 in 2002 and will therefore mark ten years since they left the School in summer 2009 at the end of this academic year.

Guest speaker Alan Ingham (OE 1987–1994) entertained his fellow alumni with his recollections of School life during an era of great international uncertainty, recounting the confident prediction of one teacher that the Berlin Wall would not fall in his lifetime – just months before it did.

Alan, a senior software developer with electronic trading company Nex Group, attended with his fiancée, Ana Maria Soler Castells, whom he was marrying on the following day. He had, therefore, been very busy in the run-up to the dinner, he said, but added that the resilience one learns as a QE boy had stood him in good stead as he strove to cope with these competing demands!

Reflecting on the evening afterwards, Headmaster Neil Enright said: “There was a lovely atmosphere at this dinner – a reflection, I am sure, of the increasing connections being made by our alumni both with each other and with the School.

“We are always keen to welcome alumni here and I know many OEs value the opportunity to visit, to see what has changed and often to check out who among their old teachers are still here. Many also take time during such visits to reflect on what they have gained in life by being a pupil at QE, and it is this appreciation which is driving so many to volunteer to help current boys and give something back.”

In his speech on the evening itself, the Headmaster began by welcoming all the guests: “Tonight is an opportunity for reflection, reconnection and celebration.”

Mr Enright reserved a special welcome the ten-year leavers, the class of 2002-2009 (or 2002-2007 for those who did A-levels elsewhere). They were, he said, a “fun, friendly and very successful cohort”, noting that they had started at QE on Monday 2nd September 2002, thus coinciding with his own arrival as a young teacher.

Those from this group who attended the dinner included Commonwealth Games triple-jump finalist Nathan Fox and George ‘the Poet’ Mpanga, the high-profile spoken-word artist who spoke in front of the Queen on Commonwealth Day and who performed a specially commissioned poem as part of the international TV coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.

The Headmaster outlined a number of “big themes” which are currently being considered as part of the School’s long-term development. One of them is “keeping in touch” – which includes drawing on the experience and insight of OEs to assist current boys, many of whom are the first in their families to apply to top universities or to try to enter the most competitive professions.

The formal proceedings included toasts to Queen Elizabeth II and to “the pious memory of Queen Elizabeth I” (by tradition, honoured in silence). School Captain Aashish proposed the toast to the association, with the response given by the association’s Chairman, Martyn Bradish (OE 1962–1969). This was followed by the toast to the School proposed by guest speaker Alan Ingham, with the Headmaster giving the response.

Association President Ken Cooper (OE 1942–1950) presented the School Captain with the Eric Shearly Memorial Prize for Outstanding Commitment. The citation noted Aashish’s “modest and quiet commitment to the life of the School.” It continued: “His talents and involvements are many and diverse; he has been a success at each stage of his academic career, attaining the top grade in every subject that he studied at GCSE and A-level, whilst also acting as form captain, colt prefect, and participating in rugby in each year group on his journey through the School. And he is an exceptional musician too!”

Aashish hopes to study Neuroscience at university and has already prepared for this by undertaking work experience in local hospitals and by examining neurological ways of treating depression in his Extended Project Qualification dissertation.

The guests enjoyed a smoked salmon rillette with pickled beetroot and pea shoots and a main course of roast belly of pork with roasted new potatoes, followed by Eton Mess for dessert, topped off with coffee and mints.

“I have always had two main ambitions in life: to become a doctor and an international superstar,” says Amar Chotai.

And having already become a Registrar in Clinical Radiology, Amar (OE 1999–2006) is now well on the way to achieving this unlikely double. With his recently released song, Nunca Digas Adios, he and his record company are aiming to tap into the current global – and British – enthusiasm for Latin pop.

“Initially, we had a vision of releasing romantic ballads, as this is my forte. However, seeing the success of Despacito by the fabulous Luis Fonsi, we embarked on this exciting venture. Secretly, also, I always wanted to release a big summer dance track – something foot-tapping and vibrant – and this was my opportunity!”

“The song is very special to me because it came to me in a dream at a time when I was struggling to pin down a powerful idea, despite having several. I remember waking up with my mind buzzing! I recorded the main bulk of the melody and lyrics on my phone instantly. Within the hour, at my piano, I had the song complete and I knew this was the one… the rest, as they say, is history.

“It is about undying and everlasting love; something which is quite rare today. Igniting love is often the simple part. However, building that sustainability and strength in a relationship is extremely difficult and many people press the ‘quit’ button too soon. The Spanish lines within the chorus – ‘nunca digas adios’ (never say goodbye)’ and ‘nunca digas nunca’ (never say never) – describe never giving up on someone during a difficult period, when you know they are a diamond and worth fighting for!

“My message to my fellow QE old boys is: ‘I hope you enjoy the track! Please share and spread the word… Thank you.’”

Amar’s vocal talents came to the fore during his time at QE: he was in the School Choir all the way from Year 7–13, under the guidance of then-Director of Music Kieron Howe. “I started as a soprano and finished as a tenor. I did several solo performances at concerts, the Christmas Carol Services and most notably the Royal Albert Hall, which was a very enriching experience.

“I really enjoyed my time at QE and, upon reflection now, I realise how much I learnt during those seven years, and how those lessons and experiences have helped in the last 10 years or so. The School taught me a great sense of responsibility and leadership through being a Senior Prefect and House Captain (Leicester).” Among the highlights he remembers are leading a project which raised £3,000 for Cancer Research UK. “I do miss the endless public-speaking and debating competitions, which were a lot of fun, but definitely not the ‘elephant dip’ in those tough cross country runs!”

Amar remains close to many alumni, especially Amar Shah, Joe Fernandes and Advait Kapadia. “It’s great to know that we have maintained a strong relationship over the past 20 years, and long may that continue. There are QE boys in many different walks of life and I commonly bump into people that I haven’t seen in a while, which is great.

“At 18, I was torn between the two contrasting careers – medicine and music. I know they are at different ends of the spectrum, but for me, they are intricately linked, as both have the ability to create happiness and peace.

“I opted for the former because that would allow me to have a level of stability upon which the second could hopefully flourish one day.” After obtaining a first in Biomaterials Science at King’s College London and completing his MBBS and foundation training, he obtained the Registrar post at the Northern School of Radiology in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he now lives.

“I decided to take a sabbatical between my first and second years of training to explore the music industry better. This was a whirlwind of a year and I did a total of approximately 60 live performances. During the latter stages of the year (August 2016), I released my debut single Girl I Miss You, which led me to being signed by record label, Rise International Music Ltd. I am currently managed by the label’s boss, Mario Anastasiades, and am very fortunate to have a great production, creative and marketing team behind me.”

Amar is married to “a wonderful lady called Meshali. She has been extremely supportive of my musical journey and made many sacrifices to allow me to undertake what I need to. I owe all of my success to her!”

Headmaster Neil Enright said he hoped alumni would “get behind Amar with this very exciting project. His next track, Señorita, will be released at the beginning of August.”

LINKS & SOCIAL MEDIA

Website: www.amarchotai.com

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube channel
Official song video

Twitter

Spotify: Amar Chotai on Spotify for Artists.
Song

iTunes

Three old boys who were at the School in the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s gave today’s youngest pupils an insight into just how much has changed at QE when they visited to help with a history project.

The Year 7 History students also learned about the life of a School Captain from half a century before that when Mary Smith dropped in to relate the story of her great-uncle, Jack Field, who died in the final weeks of World War I.

And a much more recent generation of Old Elizabethans gave the current First XI a close run for their money in the annual Founder’s Day fixture.

Ken Cooper (OE 1942–1950), David Farrer (1954–1961) and John Todd (1958–1964), pictured, were introduced by Head of History Helen MacGregor. They reminded the Year 7 boys working on a project about the history of the School that QE had been much smaller in the 1940s and 1950s, with a roll of only about 400-450 boys, split into four Houses, not the current six.

During the long headmastership of Ernest Jenkins, which lasted from 1930–1961, discipline was strict. In fact, they recalled, a prefect punished a boy for buying an ice-cream without wearing his School cap…on a Sunday afternoon! The hapless young ice-cream buyer was ordered to write lines when he was caught making his purchase from a shop near his home in Southgate. Although the older pupil was within his rights – prefects of the time were authorised to dole out such punishments and boys were supposed to wear their caps even when not at school – the visiting alumni recalled that he was considered by his classmates to have gone too far, even by the strict standards of the day.

They said that all indoor activities at that time took place in QE’s Main Building, with the hall even being used for lunch for a time after the refectory was bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1941. The lunches themselves were reported to have been dreadful. “The potatoes were black; the meat looked like it had come off the bottom of someone’s shoe,” said Mr Cooper.

At first, all that lay behind the Main Building was the ‘Gun Field’. Later, an unheated, open-air swimming pool was built; boys were expected to swim in it in all weathers.

The whole School met each morning for assembly, addressed by the Headmaster in his gown: all masters wore gowns daily, while prefects wore half-length undergraduate-type gowns.
School ran six days a week, with games on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Sport was a huge part of School life and was very popular: the best memories of many Old Elizabethans from that era are from sports on Stapylton Field, the visitors stated. The rugby and cricket were both good, and QE established a very strong reputation in athletics. Fixtures against the top public schools had been established by Mr Jenkins (pictured above), who modelled the School on such institutions during his long headmastership, which extended from 1930–1961.

Private John ‘Jack’ Albert Field, of Bosworth Road, New Barnet, was just 19 when he was killed by a shell on 29th September 1918. He was serving with the 9th Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry). In 1916, he was School Captain and had headed the QE cricket First XI averages, as well as passing the London Matriculation school-leaving examination.

Jack’s name is listed on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium, which was among sites visited by Year
9 historians recently. Sited in the area of the Battle of Passchendaele, it lists 35,000 men with no known grave.

When she came in to speak to the boys. his great-niece, Mary Smith, brought with her letters, including one Jack sent to his sister, Doris; and another written by Jack’s father to Doris’s husband, Bert, asking him to tell her of Jack’s death.

Jack’s letter, dated four days before he died, says his unit was “gradually getting nearer one of the worst places of the line”. He mentions the notorious mud – “the only thing to see and about 1ft deep in places” – and perils from above: “Jerry [the Germans] occasionally drops bombs from aeroplanes in the vicinity but as yet none have fallen anywhere near us.” Portentously, Jack’s own letter concludes: “I had better finish as it is nearly dark.”

His father’s letter, on 14th October 1918, says: “We have just received the sad news that poor Jack has been killed. The officer wrote that he was killed instantaneous [sic] and was buried with two other comrades killed by the same shell.” Written with the emotional restraint characteristic of the era, the letter ends simply: “It is a very great blow to us.

The OEs chose to bat first in the annual Stanley Busby Memorial Cricket Match, which is played on the Third Field at the rear of the School between a team of past pupils and the current School XI.

The alumni got off to a brisk start, with positive hitting from both Jayaram Raghuveer (OE 2007–2014), who scored 25, and Omar Mohamed (29). However, wickets fell at regular intervals, leaving the old boys, who were led by Harry Riley (OE 2009–2016), with a total of 138 all out in 19.3 overs.

In reply, the QE First XI went about the chase in aggressive fashion and Rahul Patel’s 46 not out saw them through to victory within 14 overs for the loss of 4 wickets.

QE’s Director of Sport, Jonathan Hart, said: “It was a close game and a good afternoon. The old boys’ team consisted of many past 1st XI players, so it was a good test for our boys.”

The Summer Term, and indeed the whole academic year, has been marked by a large number of visits to Queen Elizabeth’s School from speakers who are forging illustrious careers in their chosen fields. Many of them are alumni.

For example, I was pleased to welcome Major Charles Russell as guest speaker on Founder’s Day and in this last week of term we are being joined by Daniel Isenberg, fulfilling a similar role at our Junior Awards Ceremony.

We devote a great deal of time, effort and thought to enhancing pupils’ future prospects as they consider firstly their university choices and, ultimately, their careers. I urge boys to make full use of the opportunities afforded by visits from our old boys and others. It is important that boys and their parents are not over-hasty in planning career pathways. After all, there are an estimated 80,000 working hours in an average career, so one’s own wellbeing and happiness may depend on making the right decisions. 80,000 Hours is also the name of an organisation providing career advice for talented young people who want to have a social impact. It recently published long-term research identifying key elements that go into making a ‘dream job’ – one that is both enjoyable and meaningful. Interestingly, neither high pay nor low stress is among them. Instead, the researchers highlighted three factors which resonate very strongly with all that we are working to achieve at this School.

One is that the work involved must be sufficiently engaging to hold one’s attention. This typically means that tasks should be varied and have a clear beginning and end, that the person working has freedom to decide how he will carry out the work, and that he should receive feedback on it. All of this dovetails with the specific ways we deliver teaching and learning at QE. Pupils receive effective feedback and guidance through a bespoke approach that includes the setting and monitoring of personalised targets, our Personal Development Time programme, peer mentoring and subject clinics. And with our emphasis on the development of free-thinking scholarship, we ensure that Elizabethans can thrive in engaging workplace environments, having developed the effective habits of independent learning, resilience and academic curiosity that will make them a prized asset for employers.

Another essential for true career satisfaction is that a job should be a good match for one’s ability. At QE, much of what we do to support boys in planning their futures focuses on helping them become aware of their own strengths. We provide extensive opportunities for boys to test their nascent career plans, whether that is: through our work experience programme; through contact with old boys in our fast-growing alumni network; through events such as this month’s Year 9 Careers Circus, or through extra-curricular activities such as the new Coding Club, the Bar Mock Trial competition and the Combined Cadet Force. Our success at the VEX IQ World Robotics Championships is a terrific example: while pupils got involved for the fun and intellectual challenge, there is clear scope for it to lead to career opportunities later in life.

Finally, the researchers identified growing evidence that helping others is a key ingredient for fulfilment at work. Both Charlie Russell and Daniel Isenberg are prime exemplars of those who derive satisfaction from work that helps others. Now a rising young barrister, Daniel (OE 1999–2006) gained a Double First at Cambridge and was a Fast Stream Graduate with the Ministry of Defence before gaining an LLM from Harvard Law School. He has served with the Supreme Courts of both the UK and Israel, while in his spare time pursuing a love of rugby – he is an RFU-certified referee – and working as a volunteer for the Samaritans. On Founder’s Day, Charlie (OE 1997–2004) spoke about his own successful career as a British Army officer, which was punctuated by an attack in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2010, that caused him very serious injuries. In his speech, Charlie not only explored the centrality of service to the military profession, but highlighted the role of the concept at QE. As the sad story of our 1916 School Captain in the final article of this newsletter shows, traditions of service have long been associated with the School. Moreover, they remain at the heart of what we do today, enshrined in our commitment to “developing boys’ awareness that they achieve genuine fulfilment and greater benefit by seeking to make a contribution to society rather than pursuing only personal gain”.

In equipping boys for their futures, we constantly seek to refine and improve our facilities. The Summer Term began with the launch of a new public website, which takes advantage of modern web design to communicate all that QE has to offer. The refurbishment of our Main Building takes place over the summer holidays, funded by a Department for Education grant and support from the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s to the tune of £0.5m.

In the final weeks of term, we received welcome third-party corroboration of the success of our approach when the Real Schools Guide listed QE as the country’s top boys’ school in its survey of state schools. The guide assesses schools against a wide range of empirical measures, including, but not limited to, examination results.

I wish all Old Elizabethans an enjoyable summer.

Neil Enright, Headmaster

Former School Captain Sam Sherman takes up a prestigious Kennedy Scholarship at Harvard next month and plans to use it to further his thinking on the complexities of contemporary humanitarianism.

Sam (OE 2004–2011) has worked for the Department for International Development (DFID) since March 2016 in roles that have included exploring the use of drones to deliver supplies in volatile regions and supporting UN agencies in a recent visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“I applied to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in order to examine the political economy of aid,” he says, adding that the time at Harvard given by the scholarship will help him “address some of the thorny, political questions regarding humanitarianism, and explore innovation with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative”.

The Kennedy Scholarship provides full funding for postgraduate study at either Harvard or MIT. It was created as a ‘living memorial’ to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination. The Kennedy Memorial Trustees are appointed by the Prime Minister. Previous scholars include politicians David Miliband, Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls, former Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King and BBC journalist Stephanie Flanders.

When considering applicants, the trustees look for intellectual attainment, readiness and ability to express themselves, originality of mind, commitment to public service, and potential to make a mark in public life.

Sam, who was at QE with two older brothers, Joe and Jamie, was School Captain in 2010. In the following year, he won a place to read Politics, Psychology and Society (PPS) at Cambridge.

“After leaving QE, I took part in a humanitarian mission to Northern Kenya during the 2011 East Africa Crisis,” he says. “I was fortunate enough to pursue my interest in international development and humanitarian aid at university, studying Politics with a focus on conflicts and aid.”

After graduating with a first from Cambridge he joined the International division of the Civil Service Fast Stream, undertaking posts in DFID’s Middle East and North Africa Department and elsewhere in Government.

“More recently I’ve been working closely with the UN World Food Programme and other DFID partners to test how drones can be used to address humanitarian challenges, for instance by delivering critical medical aid following sudden-onset emergencies.”

In April 2018, in his capacity as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) Lead for DFID, Sam took part in a panel discussion at the UN on the use of innovative technology for humanitarian action. He told the delegates: “Drones are already being used relatively routinely – for example, for mapping and monitoring following natural disasters – and they are likely to become more routinely used as the technology develops and becomes more affordable.” The discussion can be viewed here. Sam’s speech begins at 55m 13s.

Since then, in response to the situation in war-torn D R Congo, he has undertaken a short-term assignment to Kinshasa and Goma. “I was primarily working on behalf of DFID with the UN agencies responding to the humanitarian crisis in the East. (During some of the evenings I also played in the Congolese Premier League in a British Embassy/Gurkha cricket team, despite my less-than-impressive cricket history at QE!)”

• The photos show Sam, right, with fellow members of the cricket team and also show a package of supplies delivered by drone.

Talented tenor Rhys Bowden (OE 1996-2003) has been building a name for himself as a professional classical singer since leaving the School.

This year alone has seen singing him in Rigoletto for Scottish Opera and performing twice with Surrey Opera – once in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring and once as Luiz in The Gondoliers – while other performances have taken him to destinations including the Isle of Wight (Monteverdi’s Vespers and Smetana’s The Bartered Bride) and Fareham (Mozart’s Requiem).

Over the past few years, music has taken him much further afield – to Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Singapore, Fiji, South America, Lapland and to many parts of both eastern and western Europe. “I’ve visited Bach’s church in Leipzig, sung to the King of Samoa, and performed in a canyon in the Australian Outback,” he says.

His enthusiasm for music was fired when he was at the School. “I first started taking singing seriously when I was 16. Kieron Howe [QE’s Director of Music] suggested I take singing lessons, and by the end of the year I auditioned for and got into the National Youth Choir. It was then that I realised that I wanted to be a singer, so I owe a lot to my musical experiences at QE. There was so much music going on there, with plenty of opportunities to perform! I sang in the choir and played saxophone in the Jazz Band, Saxophone Quartet and the Concert Band. One of the highlights was recording a CD with the Jazz Band.”

After leaving School, Rhys was a choral scholar at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, and then went on to study music at Girton College, Cambridge, where he performed frequently with the college choir and the university’s opera society and chamber choir. After graduating in 2007, he studied singing on the postgraduate course at the Royal Academy of Music in London from where he graduated in 2009 with a distinction and won the Hilda Anderson Deane Prize.