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Ramesh Paripooranananthan is forging a successful career as a London architect – interspersed with globe-trotting trips to attend the weddings of Old Elizabethans in the Far East!

Ramesh, who uses the surname Pari professionally, works with BB Partnership – a London practice specialising in mid to high-end residential projects. He was recently lead project architect on a £250m-plus mixed-use development in Brent, the largest in the firm’s 25-year history.

He is currently overseeing the construction of two largely subterranean houses in the capital. It is a solution that is being used increasingly in London, especially where space is at a particular premium. The design includes lightwells and courtyards cut into the ground to let light pass down into the spaces underground.

The project is, however, not without its challenges, as Ramesh explained: “This is a much more expensive method of construction; we only investigate this when we have situations where planners will not let us build up. Both houses have already made the architectural press due to the controversy over the application, and I am sure they will also make it again once they are completed.

He adds: “Digging into the ground in central London is always a tricky business as you never know what you will find. I worked on a job a couple of years ago where we found a World War II bunker underneath the offices we were refurbishing!”

Ramesh (OE 1997–2004), who was in Underne House, studied at Central St Martins and then at Nottingham University, where he qualified as a Chartered Architect after eight years’ working and studying. He credits QE for the resilience and perseverance necessary for that period.

He previously featured in Alumni News in 2015 when 12 OEs attended his wedding to Millie, whom he had met at Nottingham. (“There are still just the two of us, but starting a family in the near future is on the agenda, he says. “In the meantime, my hobbies – photography and running – and my nephews – four boys – keep me very busy!”)

Recently, it has been Ramesh’s turn to return the compliment: in November, he travelled with several old boys to Hong Kong for the wedding of his QE contemporary, Dennis Yiu, and then journeyed on to Thailand for the nuptials of Bimal Sualy, from the year below. Both grooms were in Stapylton. “I spoke to Bimal for the first time when we both attended the University of Nottingham and now I am one of his groomsmen – small world!” says Ramesh.

Ramesh is pictured above on the far left with other old boys from his year, left-right, as follows: Bhavin Shah (Stapylton); Paraag Gudka (Pearce); the groom, Dennis; Johan Byran (Stapylton); Kunal Shah (Stapylton); Sandeep Dasgupta (Stapylton) and Rahul Patel (Stapylton).

The second group photo shows, left-right, back row: Warren Balakrishnan (Underne); Rachita Lokubalasuriya (Leicester); Chivaar Gami (Leicester) and Ramesh. In the front row are: Ashish Gohil (Leicester); the groom, Bimal, and Dhanish Mahmood (Leicester). All except Ramesh are from the class of 2005.

Ramesh was among the alumni taking part in this year’s Careers Convention for Year 11 boys and their parents. “I try and give back to the School however I can.”

During the autumn, QE pupils came to his office for mock university interviews. “I was very proud last year to see that the three boys I worked with went on to study architecture at brilliant universities. I think it is fantastic the School is building this network for the students, as this wasn’t in place when I was there. This will only help the student body.”

Boys interested in learning more about the process of applying to Ivy League colleges and other leading American universities were encouraged and inspired by visiting old boy, Ché Applewhaite.

Ché, who left QE last year, is among a growing number of leavers taking up opportunities to study stateside, many of them electing to take advantage of broad-based American Liberal Arts degrees.

Ché is currently taking such a degree at Harvard and visited the School to speak to boys interested in learning more. He gave a presentation which covered Harvard’s extraordinarily broad academic programme, its house system, the financial assistance available and the 400-plus recognised student clubs. He talked about the skills and opportunities furnished by Harvard for their post-graduates. And he explained how to register and prepare for SATs – the standardised US university admissions test.

Head of Year 12 Michael Feven said: “His talk was well attended and received. It was wonderful to welcome Ché back to the School and to learn that he is having such a busy and enjoyable experience at Harvard thus far.

“It is invaluable to hear from OEs like him to provide current boys with a first-hand account of their experiences, to help them formulate their own plans and to inspire them to think about options they might not otherwise have considered.”

Ché referred in his presentation to the structure of courses in the US, whereby one can study a diverse range of options apart from one’s ‘major’. He had considered several options in the US, but Harvard’s Liberal Arts degree, coupled with its reputation in the arts, humanities, economics and politics, proved an irresistible draw.

He was attracted by the opportunities for international study and the option to continue studying French, as well as the extra-curricular activities. Ché has always had a keen interest in politics and current affairs. (While at QE, he was co-founder of the political blog, Whippersnapper, and set up QE’s Forward Thinking Society.) He hopes to reprise this interest at Harvard by getting involved with The Harvard Crimson, the long-established daily student newspaper.

“It is the combination of breadth of curriculum and the extra-curricular opportunities that holds appeal for many of our boys who have a strong interest and ability across numerous disciplines,” added Mr Feven, who organised the visit.

The School is meticulous in offering a wide programme of university preparation. A substantial number of Che’s peers, from the cohort who left last summer, are expected to return for the annual Universities Convention in March, where Year 12 students will have the opportunity to learn about different universities and course options from those who have taken them up this year.

QE also offers a dedicated course for those interested in American colleges. This includes an information evening and weekly sessions in the Autumn Term, as well as assistance from Old Elizabethans and from the US interns from the University of Connecticut who come on an exchange programme to QE each autumn.

Teenage entrepreneur Akshay Ruparelia returned to the School to pass on to current pupils some of the keys to his success with his online estate agency.

Having raised £500,000 through an initial investment and subsequent crowd-funding, Doorsteps.co.uk emerged in the autumn as the country’s 18th biggest estate agency, with a valuation of £12m.  The story made headlines in a number of national media, with the Daily Mirror citing Akshay’s belief that, at 19, he was the country’s youngest self-made millionaire.

On his visit to QE, Akshay (OE 2009–2016) explained that he had been motivated to start the company by a desire for financial freedom. His parents, a care worker and a teaching assistant, are both deaf, so in addition to the customary demands on a QE boy’s time, he had faced the additional requirements of caring for them.

As a result, he learned ‘vigour and tenacity’, he told the boys, as well as developing empathy and acquiring skills in time-management.

While at School, he proved to himself and to investors that his dreams were viable by selling his first house during his A-level studies. In the end, he decided to defer going to university in order to pursue the opportunity of growing the business.

The road to success was not without its twists and turns, however. Akshay created and scrapped multiple businesses, all of which helped him improve the Doorsteps online offering. His age presented challenges when it came to seeking funding, but he was determined to regard his youth as meaning that he had less ‘baggage’, rather than less credibility.

He outlined a number of important elements in his success:

• • A service focus, inspired by the example of Steve Jobs with Apple

• • A strong work ethic – an attribute he ascribes to the struggles he faced in coping with the dual demands of a QE education and his family

• • A shock factor – like Ryanair, he aimed to attract attention.

“All I put into it was passion, hard work and belief,” said Akshay, adding that he was fortunate to be a grounded person blessed with a good family.

The key lessons he had learned were:

• • Never stop learning

• • Embrace family and friends

• • Don’t fear failure

• • Work hard (something he had learned at QE)

• • Do something you have a passion for

• • Take every opportunity that comes your way, even if it is something you don’t necessarily know how to do: it is better to take the opportunity and learn from it, rather than passing up something that could have changed your life.

In a question-and-answer session with the boys, Akshay enlarged on several of his themes. The deep focus on service, with an aim of combining the customer service appeal of High Street agencies with the cost savings offered by websites, had led to his company now being one of the highest-rated estate agency sites. Late nights and early-morning work had enabled him to start the company by himself.

Reflecting on his time at the School, Akshay wished that he could have been more involved in extra-curricular activities.

Old Elizabethan George ‘The Poet’ Mpanga brought his trademark eloquence and sharp insights to BBC TV’s flagship political discussion programme, Question Time.

George (OE 2002–2009) repeatedly challenged the stance of the Conservative Government on topics including housing, positive discrimination and the Russian government’s suspected involvement in the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

The Government was represented on the panel by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox. Other guests on the programme were: the Shadow Minister for Labour, Laura Pidcock; chef, restaurateur and Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith, and Roma Agrawal, a chartered structural engineer who has worked on major projects including the Shard. Hosted by David Dimbleby, the programme was filmed at a venue close to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

George, who mostly received enthusiastic applause from the audience, told Dr Fox that the Government’s “measured tone” over the nerve gas poisoning was “actually quite damaging” and that President Putin “does not seem to bat an eyelid”.

On the prospect of a global trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump, George called for Britain to have “an honest conversation with itself about who our friends are”.  He added that “free trade goes both ways”, charging that rich nations too often “siphon off the best of [poorer nations’] resources and talents”.

Responding to a question referring to the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of planning reforms and her comment that young people were “right to be angry about housing”, George was scathing: “It’s another one of her beautiful truisms. Of course, young people are right to be angry about it, but the question is, what is actually going to be done? And promising planning permissions is not tantamount to actually taking control of the situation.”

As the programme came to a close, George spoke in favour of positive discrimination schemes being used in recruitment, stating that they tackled a “deficit or inherent bias in society” by compelling “employers or people in positions of leadership to reassess what their bias is and what they are thinking when making these decisions”.

George read Politics, Psychology and Sociology at King’s College, Cambridge, graduating in 2013. Since then, he has earned growing fame for his spoken-word work: last year, he performed in front of the Queen at the Commonwealth Day Service in Westminster Abbey and released a two-minute video on hate crime in collaboration with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to coincide with the anniversary of the murder of MP Jo Cox.

A leading figure in the world of legal academia inspired boys interested in pursuing a career in the Law when he returned to the School to give a talk to senior pupils. Old Elizabethan Ishan Kolhatkar (1989-1996) is Deputy Dean of Education Services at BPP, a top private university dedicated to Law, business and other professions.

After studying Law himself at BPP following a degree in Computer Science at Queen Mary, University of London, Mr Kolhatkar’s career began at the Bar, before he returned to academia to the Bar Professional Teaching Course (BPTC). In addition to writing content and validation documents for a course to help BPTC students bridge the gap between the BPTC and the pupillage, he teaches advocacy part-time and takes on pro-bono work.

He spoke to the boys of the importance of asking questions, of mastering detail and of seeing the “bigger picture”. “Asking questions is the best way of learning,” he said. “Be the ‘brave one’ and ask questions in a learning environment. You will gain from it and so will the room, but you’ll also be the one directing where the discussion goes.”

He explained that being able to see the bigger picture is what sets the best apart. “You might be an expert in a narrow part of the law, but you need to be able to understand how things fit together, and understand the overall process.”

He told the boys that he himself had been attracted to Law because he loved talking and he advised them to practice the art: “Seek out people with different opinions; be willing to debate in the knowledge that they might not change their minds. Keep focussed on the issues – don’t just resort to shouting.”

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Ishan was an inspiring and engaging guest. The boys undoubtedly gain from the opportunity to hear from leaders in their fields. He touched on many of the themes germane to our boys: inquisitiveness and curiosity, intelligent debate, the development of a rounded personality and a desire to contribute to the wider community.”

In addition to his teaching role, Mr Kolhatkar is an External Examiner in advanced criminal litigation for The Bar Standards Board. This work takes in a number of BPTC providers, including City Law School, Cardiff University and Manchester Metropolitan University. His role is to ensure that assessments are properly set and marked in accordance with the intended learning outcomes of the module and the BPTC as a whole. He also speaks regularly at Middle Temple students’ events, on topics such as examination technique on the BPTC. (Middle Court is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers.) In his spare time, Mr Kolhatkar writes a blog for aspiring lawyers.

Year 13 pupil Dhruv Kanabar attended the talk and said: “Mr Kolhatkar provided a detailed insight into becoming a successful and effective advocate. It was particularly useful to hear his views on looking at the Law in the context of a bigger picture and how different elements are inherently linked.”

A QE old boy treated three current pupils to a rare behind-the-scenes tour of Buckingham Palace – and gave them an insight into careers on offer there.

Christopher Sandamas (OE 1978-1983) is Chief Clerk to the Palace and offered the opportunity for three boys and a member of staff to find out more about the inner workings of ‘Buck House’.

“We thought the best way to choose three pupils was to run an essay competition,” said teacher Sarah Westcott who accompanied the boys on the visit. “They all had to write about what it means to be British.” Year 8 boys Hector Cooper and Zakariya Shah, and Ivin Jose, of Year 7, were the winners. Their essays covered a broad range of experience, including growing up in France, how the traditions of British life are interwoven with the increasingly technological world, and an evaluation of the tolerance and multiculturalism experienced in modern Britain.

“After we cleared the security checks at the Palace gates, we had tea in Christopher’s office, where he outlined the duties of the Private Secretary’s office and his role as Chief Clerk,” said Dr Westcott.

“We were given an extensive tour of the Palace, including state rooms and some areas not usually open to visitors. We received the impression very much of a ‘working palace’, where functions of various types – be they investitures, garden parties or state visits – occur on a regular basis.”

The party was also given a ‘back stairs’ view of the Palace – meeting the numerous people who support the Queen in her duties, from handling correspondence with Heads of State or members of the public and acting as intermediaries with various departments of Government to organising her extensive engagements list.

The boys were given an insight into careers within the Palace organisation and the skills necessary for such roles. “The key message of how important it is to study what you enjoy came through loud and clear,” added Dr Westcott. “Many of the staff we met had backgrounds in the arts, particularly History and Politics with experience in research.”

The tour concluded with lunch in the staff dining room, where Christopher was keen to hear about the boys’ current experiences at QE, and to share his own memories. He was interested to hear about the boys’ preconceptions about Palace employees and was amused by Hector Cooper’s comments on how “normal and pleasant” the people working at the palace are.

“I think we were all amazed at the number of people working behind the scenes to support the Royal Household’s work and how welcoming they were when asked to tell us about their roles. It was a wonderful experience and we are all grateful to Christopher for giving us this rare opportunity,” concluded Dr Westcott.