Viewing archives for Alumni

All pupils in Years 7–10, staff and some senior boys joined together in the Shearly Hall for a special remembrance assembly to mark the centenary of the Armistice in 1918.

The Headmaster, Neil Enright, read aloud the names of the 48 Old Elizabethans killed during World War I, whilst the names of the 65 who died in World War II were projected on to a screen.

The ceremony featured music, poetry and a procession by the School’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF). The silence at 11 o’clock was heralded by six of QE’s senior trumpeters sounding the Last Post; they played Reveille to signal the end of the silence.

The two-minute silence was also observed separately by Years 11–13, although many were in fact involved in the assembly, whether as readers, musicians or members of the CCF.

At the end of the assembly, the CCF contingent marched with the commemorative wreath to the War Memorial located in the Crush Hall, where it was placed.

The Headmaster said afterwards: “This remembrance assembly was a fitting commemoration. It is important for the boys to understand fully the significance of this centenary and to reflect upon the service and sacrifice rendered by their forebears.”

In an address to the assembly, Old Elizabethan and Governor Ken Cooper (1942-50), a former officer in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, charted the course of the war, making clear the scale of the conflict and its great cost. He explained how the emergence of trench warfare on the Western Front led to combat that lasted for months and years yet resulted in minimal or no territorial gains for either side.

Prior to the introduction of conscription in 1916, some 2.5m Britons had volunteered to fight. Participants from many nations sacrificed themselves in the service of the greater good of their communities and home countries. And although there were, of course, many instances of heroism, Mr Cooper said World War I was less about such individual acts than about the huge numbers of ordinary people making the ultimate personal sacrifice in service. He spoke about the importance of remembering, quoting Churchill’s maxim: “A nation that forgets its past has no future,”, which he related to the boys’ understanding of the School’s own history.

The assembly, which took place on Friday, was organised and compèred by English teacher, Micah King, an Extra-curricular Enrichment Tutor. He began with these words: “Welcome to this assembly to commemorate Remembrance Day. In almost exactly 48 hours’ time, it will be the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month.

“At that time, 100 years ago, the First World War finally came to an end. It was an Armistice, a peace agreement, signed a few hours earlier in a railway carriage in France, that ended four long years of hostilities. Millions had died. Millions more were wounded. And even those who did not directly take part in the fighting, had to endure heartache and grief, as men and women from around the globe fought, and suffered, and died; and the world changed forever.

“Yet amidst the suffering, heroes on both sides of the battlefield risked their lives and safety for their countries. Incredible acts of courage, dedication and service were witnessed both on the battlefield and on the home front, and today, we will remember and honour those who sacrificed so much for so many.”

The assembly featured:

• A recording of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s reflective 1978 piece, Spiegel im Spiegel
• A poem written especially for the occasion by sixth-former Rivu Chowdhury
• School Captain Aashish Khimasia recounting the heroic actions on the battlefield in 1917 that led to Old Elizabethan Acting Captain Allastair McReady-Diarmid being posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross
• The Senior Wind Ensemble performing John William’s Hymn to the Fallen, conducted by Year 13 pupil Binu Perera
• Binu then reading perhaps the most famous single poem from the extensive World War I corpus, John McCrae’s In Flanders Field
• The Barbershop Group performing the hymn, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, during which a scene from the film, Atonement, was shown, which captured a moment on the Dunkirk beaches in 1940.

Before the retiring procession to the accompaniment of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Mr King said that if the boys would use their “gifts and talents as leaders to share the message of peace, then that would fill me with a deep sense of hope and optimism for the future”.

The assembly concluded with the School Prayer, which includes the following supplication: “Inspire us, O Lord, so to do our work today that, even as we are being helped by the remembrance of the loyal lives of those who came before us, so our faithfulness in thy service may aid those who shall take our places.”

A litigator working at the heart of the UK’s financial regulatory system urged on QE’s aspiring lawyers the importance of a genuine passion for the Law.

Those who possess such a passion and duly enter the legal profession must then make sure they stand out from the crowd, Samir Manek (OE 2001-2008) advised senior pupils in a lunchtime lecture.

Samir, who took a First in Law at the University of Warwick, trained at Allen & Overy, one of the so-called ‘magic circle’ of leading UK law firms. He now works at the Financial Conduct Authority, where his job title is Associate (Solicitor). His role entails supervising a global investment bank to ensure adherence to the letter and spirit of the rules, and assisting with investigations into, and prosecution of, white-collar crime at investment banks.

In the lecture, he told the boys: “You have to have a good and natural reason for wanting to study Law, and, once out of university, work in it – not that everyone who reads Law has to become a lawyer. It’s no good studying it because your parents have told you to, and I hope that’s not the case for anyone here,” he said, suggesting the boys needed to think about the what, where, when and why of studying Law.

He also advised boys to make the most of opportunities to prepare for their future. “Do read things, email barristers – I followed a QC about, which was very useful! All this will help you to gain insight and experience.”

During his time as an undergraduate, Samir became President of the Warwick European Law Society and was involved in the university debating team. He also spent a year abroad at Utrecht University.

He told the pupils it was important to take and to make opportunities to excel. “You are all incredibly bright and, if you work hard, you’ll do well wherever you go, but think about what will make you stand out – it is always good to have a position of leadership, even if it’s not related to Law,” said Samir. In the afternoon, after the lecture, he conducted mock interviews for a number of Year 13 boys.

Head of Year 13 Michael Feven thanked Samir for contributing his time and for his sound advice. “It is very important that our boys’ career choices tally with their own strengths and interests,” he said.

Only a few short months after starting his job as a Civil Service economist, Old Elizabethan Andrei Sandu was already advising a Government Minister at a European summit, he told senior boys at a special lunchtime lecture.

Andrei (OE 2007-14) took up his role in August last year with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the economists’ group of the Civil Service Fast Stream. By the autumn of 2017, he was called upon to attend a Council of Ministers summit in Brussels, where he advised Lord Henley, of BEIS, throughout the session.

“There are few jobs where just four months in you are able to shape UK policy and EU law,” he told the boys as he promoted Civil Service careers. After his lecture, he also conducted a number of mock interviews with pupils considering studying Economics at university.

Thanking him for his visit, Head of Year 13 Michael Feven said: “This was an ideal opportunity for boys to hear about an interesting and rewarding career path in economics.”

After leaving QE, Andrei read Economics at Durham, where he gained a first-class degree last year.
In broad terms, he set out for the lunchtime audience both the departmental structure of the Civil Service and his own role, which involves advising the Government of the day and supporting it in implementing its plans, while remaining politically neutral. He also provided information about BEIS, including the history of the 2016 merger of the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills with the Department of Energy & Climate Change to form the new department.

His role at BEIS is as lead economist working on EU energy regulations, analysing draft laws and regulations to explore which aspects the UK would consent to and which it would want to see amended. He considers factors such as how much implementation would cost, the likely policies required to achieve particular targets and how measures should be phased in – whether, for example, to stipulate even progress each year or whether instead to specify an incremental build-up.

Andrei will return to QE on 22nd November for the School’s annual Careers Convention, where he will give his support and advice to boys in Year 11 beginning to think about their future career paths.

Performance coach Kam Taj’s new book offers students his own innovative and detailed holistic approach to achieving success as a student.

Entitled The Ultimate Guide to Exam Success, the book is the latest in a series published through UniAdmissions, an education consultancy which helps students applying to Oxbridge and medical schools.

Announcing its publication, Kam (Kamran Tajbaksh, OE 2004–2011) told his Facebook followers: “In many ways, I wrote this book for my younger self – it’s everything I wished I knew as a student and teenager.

“For those of you who don’t know, I graduated from Cambridge University with a 1st class in Engineering. But my path was anything but smooth. I went from failing my A-level Further Maths mocks to getting an A* and meeting my offer. I only achieved my 1st class after getting 2.2 grades in my first two years at Cambridge. I tell my story in more detail in the book, as well as sharing the tools and techniques which helped me to transform my failures into success – and have helped many of my private clients since.”

The first four chapters of the 182-page paperback are on: time-management, study tools & techniques; mind-management and on-the-day performance.

“Unlike any other book on exams, the final four chapters are on optimising our lifestyle so we can stay physically and mentally healthy throughout our studies,” Kam adds. These chapters of the book, which is published by RAR Medical Services, look at: movement & physical activity; nutrition & hydration; sleep and support groups.

Kam studied Manufacturing Engineering at Churchill College, Cambridge. After graduating, he initially took up a post as a management consultant with a global company. However, he had begun doing performance coaching work while still at university and in 2016 left the consultancy world to concentrate fully on coaching and motivational speaking.

He works predominantly with students and young professionals, speaking at leading schools and universities. Last term, Kam visited QE to lead a workshop on Oxbridge preparation for 32 sixth-formers.

The content of the new book is similar to The 8 Principles of Exam Domination, which was self-published by Kam on Kindle last year.

Klimt’s Magic Garden, a virtual reality experience created by filmmaker and academic Dr Frederick Baker, proved so popular in the artist’s Austrian homeland that its run was extended by nearly six months.

The experience, which eventually ran from February until early October in Vienna’s MAK (Museum of Applied Arts), is also now being staged at a leading arts centre in Brussels.

Timed to coincide with the centenary of the Gustav Klimt’s death this year, Klimt’s Magic Garden is a virtual reality tour for which Fred (OE 1976–1983) was inspired by the series of three mosaics that the Art Nouveau doyen created for the Stoclet Palace, also in Brussels. To produce the experience, Fred used high-resolution digital photographic material to create a rich, shimmering virtual paradise.

Born in Salzburg but brought up in London, Fred studied Anthropology and Archaeology at St John’s College, Cambridge, Tübingen and Sheffield universities and went on to gain a PhD from Cambridge in 2009. He now lives in Vienna and London.

Fred was a Producer Director for the BBC, working for the corporation from 1994 to 2006. He is the owner of the Austrian film company, Filmbäckerei, and a College Research Association at the Centre for Film and Screen Media, Wolfson College, Cambridge.

He returned to St John’s in 2014 to create a hugely atmospheric screening of the film classic The Third Man, which became the first film ever to be mapped on to the college’s Bridge of Sighs.

A specialist in Austrian cinema, he has published extensively on The Third Man – the Carol Reed-directed film starring Orson Welles, which was set in Vienna and used a screenplay by Graham Greene, who had also written it as a novella. As well as examining the film for his doctorate, Fred made a 90-minute documentary about its making, entitled Shadowing The Third Man.

He is also the founder of Cambridge’s annual international research symposium, Picturing Austrian Cinema, and has lectured at universities in Weimar and Berlin as well as at Middlesex University. The winner of numerous awards at film festivals from Cannes to Hollywood, Fred has made acclaimed documentaries on subjects including Stalin and Rebuilding the Reichstag (about the reconstruction of the German parliament building overseen by the architect, Norman Foster).

• Klimt’s Magic Garden, which is experienced using virtual reality headsets, runs at the Palais des Beaux-Arts (also known as BOZAR) in Brussels until 20th January 2019. A sample of the experience is available on YouTube.

Akshay Ruparelia’s fast-expanding online estate agency launched a second crowdfunding round this week – and smashed its £400,000 target within seconds of the offer going live.

Doorsteps.co.uk has gone from strength to strength since its launch almost two years ago: by the end of 2017, it had listed more than 3,000 properties, or nearly 1% of the UK market.

Akshay (OE 2009–2016) made national headlines last year after the first fundraising, with the young entrepreneur’s age attracting journalists’ admiration. Now, as Chief Operating Officer and joint founder, he is fronting the fundraising drive, which will pay for more staff and additional investment in technology as the company grows.

“We are absolutely delighted to have hit 140% of the target within less than 30 seconds of going live,” said Akshay. “We will continue to overfund, allowing more aggressive expansion and a clearer path to becoming No.1 Estate Agent in Britain, so there is still an opportunity for Old Elizabethans to make an investment.”

In a promotional video on the Crowdcube crowdfunding site, Akshay explains the company’s core approach of offering its customers low prices, good service and a simple process. He also outlined Doorsteps’ philosophy of achieving growth through recommendation, rather than heavy spending on advertising. “Our online reviews just get better and better,” he adds.

“Our target for this year is 2% of the UK and I am pleased to say we are on course for just that – but we need to hire more account managers, more customer service agents and employ just a little bit of technology to help us cope with the level of demand, hence this fundraising.” Equity of 3.26% was offered for the £400,000 sought through crowdfunding.

Akshay revealed a little of the estate agency’s future plans. “We want to continue the Doorsteps way and offer even more services to make the house-buying and selling process even easier. Sadly, I cannot reveal all because we know that our competitors are watching, but I can say that we recently launched Doorsteps Conveyancing and Mortgages to make the process seamless.

“Last July we were in the top 50 estate agents in Britain; today we are in the top ten. Trust us again and help us to finish the job: let’s get to Number 1!” he tells potential investors.

• The fundraising continues on Crowdcube for another 28 days. Akshay is happy for alumni to contact him directly on [email protected]