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Year 13 Geography and English Literature students joined forces on a trip to see John Steinbeck’s Depression-era novel, The Grapes of Wrath, at the National Theatre.

The 1939 novel tells the story of a tenant-farmer family from Oklahoma who struggle to survive during the Dust Bowl, a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged agriculture in the American prairies during the 1930s.

The book is a set text for the English A-level students, while for the geographers, the story illustrates the inter-relational nature of phenomena such as drought & desertification, mass migration and food security.

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “The Grapes of Wrath is, among other things, an environmental and ecological novel. Teaming up with the Geography department to run this trip was a great way of highlighting how seemingly disparate subjects like English and Geography can shed light on the climate crisis which affects us all.”

He added that it is helpful for English Literature students to see a performance of a novel at the start of their study of it, since it helps them understand the characters and narrative.

Deputy Head (Academic) and Geography teacher Anne Macdonald said: “The novel addresses significant geographical themes linked to people’s relationship with the environment, mass migration caused by climate change and environmental degradation, and the shattered dream of a better life experienced by migrants searching for a new home. While set in 1930s America, its themes are relevant to the current world on the brink of mass migration caused by climate change.”

The Grapes of Wrath recounts the Joad family’s journey west to California in a dilapidated lorry as they pursue a better life. It ends with the story’s protagonist, Tom Joad, going into hiding after killing a policeman who murdered his friend for organising a strike, and with the family’s eldest daughter, Rose of Sharon, breastfeeding a starving man to save his life.

On its publication, it caused considerable controversy because of its negative depiction of the USA of the time.

Epic in its scope, the story was retold in a three-hour performance at the National Theatre, produced by Carrie Cracknell, which followed Frank Galati’s 1998 play, based closely on the novel.

Some of the pupils gave their reactions afterwards:

• Geography student Andreas Angelopolous said: “I found the portrayal of the Dust Bowl migration powerful. The depiction of the Joads’ struggle against poverty and discrimination was compelling and mirrors challenges faced by many migrants today.”
• His fellow geographer, Saim Khan, said: “It brought to life just how deeply influential the topics we learn in the classroom – like drought – are in shaping the lives of people around the world. There are few forms of media more able to capture sense of place than theatre.”
• English Literature student Vaibhav Gaddi said that the story “demonstrated the resilience of the human spirit when encountered with intense hardship. The Joad family endures death, miscarriage and losing family members, and yet are still unbowed at the play’s shocking end.”

Mrs Macdonald and Assistant Head of English Victoria Maule accompanied the boys on the trip to the South Bank.

Having won QE’s internal round of the national Performing Shakespeare competition and made it through the London heats, Year 8’s Vihaan Pal then performed strongly in the regional final held at the School.

Vihaan, pictured here and  top, delivered the speech from Romeo and Juliet given by Romeo as he lay dying – giving a repeat of his performance in School, which was praised for its maturity and sensitivity.

The regional heats and final were both hosted by QE, in the Main School Hall and Friends’ Recital Hall respectively. Two boys had reached the semi-finals, Vihaan and Daiwik Khedekar, with Vihaan progressing to the regional final.

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “Performing Shakespeare is integral to student understanding: as we remind the boys, Shakespeare’s plays were written not to be studied in class, but performed in theatres. Learning and performing a speech requires students to make judgements about what a character is saying, and how this will affect things like their movement, their vocal tone, and their interaction with the audience, in a way which analysing in an essay is not able to.

“We were therefore delighted to host two rounds of the competition. Although Vihaan did not progress through the regional final, he did very well to make it through the semi-finals and is to be congratulated on a series of accomplished performances.

“At QE, we recognise the importance of oracy and the ability to perform in front of others as important skills that will help our boys in their later lives and careers. That is why the School has invested heavily in the new Robert Dudley Studio for drama and the spoken word, which is now nearing completion.”

All Year 8s were invited to take part in the internal round of the competition and could choose any speech from a Shakespeare play. They initially learned their speeches during the Autumn Term (alongside their studies of Macbeth).

The boys were judged not only on their physical performance and their vocalisation, but on how far their performance suited the speech, and how far their interpretation of the speech met their artistic intention.

Vihaan said: “The reason I chose my piece [Romeo’s Dying Scene from Act 5 Scene 3] is because I found it inspiring that the message is so simple, clear in its affirmation of the power of love over hate, and showing the strong loyalty Romeo had for Juliet. Although it is different from the classic booming speech with loud expressions, I felt that the acting of this piece with the sad tone, the detailed imagery, and the soft movements made me feel like I was really there.”

Their classroom teachers judged the QE boys’ initial attempts, while the judges in the School final were Kanak Shah, Extra-curricular Enrichment Lead and an English & French teacher, Head of Year 8 Andrew Collins, and Sixth Form actor Keiaron Joseph.

Ms Shah praised the work that the QE boys put into their performances. “I was amazed by the vulnerability of some of these speeches and the maturity and sensitivity with which they were delivered. These qualities were particularly obvious in the speech of our winner Vihaan, who chose Romeo’s last speech to Juliet. He conjured Juliet’s body out of thin air with his delivery of Shakespeare’s words, and his choice of a vulnerable speech was a brave one.”

Dr Collins said that the boys had shown the full range of emotions when they took to the stage, “from rallying battle cries to internal moments of anguish”. He added: “It was extremely difficult to come up with a winner; Vihaan’s portrayal of Romeo was very tender and he showed great power on the stage even when in such a compact physical form on the floor  – a very worthy winner.”

A sixth-former’s review of Balenciaga’s autumn collection has been named among the winners in a New York Times writing contest.

Suryansh Sarangi was selected as one of nine overall winners – and one of only two from outside the US – after penning a review that commented not only on the clothes, but on the collection’s relationship to the American dream.

He drew inspiration from his interest in fashion, but also from his A-level English classes, and especially American literature lessons on F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “Full marks to Suryansh on this outstanding success! Having discovered the competition for himself, he then submitted an entry that was at once lively, original and thoughtful.”

There were more than 3,200 entries to the NYT’s Ninth Annual Student Review Contest. Entrants, who had to be school pupils aged 13 to 19, were invited to write original reviews of up to 450 words on any kind of creative expression covered by the Times, one of the world’s most influential newspapers.

In his review, Suryansh began by noting the importance of the show’s setting – “Draped in the golden Californian sun on a pristine neighborhood boulevard punctuated with postcard-perfect palm trees, everything about the Balenciaga fall 2024 collection just screams Los Angeles.”

The city, he noted, carried special significance for Balenciaga’s creative director,  Demna Gvasalia: “Having grown up in a dreary ‘post-Soviet vacuum’, Demna himself states that the very culture he idolized as the perfect, colorful life was that of L.A.”

The collection, with its “relaxed yet stylish outfits” and its mixed messages – “Perhaps celebrities are just like us. But are they?” – was, Suryansh concluded, “an ironic highlighting of inequality…nothing more than a testament to the modern American dream, an illusory ideal we can only chase, yet never achieve”.

Suryansh, who is in Year 12, found out about the competition through a friend he made at a US universities fair. “I was compelled by the immense creative scope it allowed entrants. I realised this was a great opportunity to express my passions about my non-academic interests: this competition gave me a free licence to write about whatever I wanted

“Social commentary through the media of fashion piqued my interest and I was drawn to brands which did this, like Balenciaga. Balenciaga’s philosophy is to make every piece a work of art, something that transcends mere fashion and becomes a statement of expression, emotion and creativity.

“I did not have to research much; I just had to watch the fashion show on YouTube, and from there, it was just about interpreting it and analysing it beyond its face value.

“When doing The Great Gatsby, we talked and learned a lot about the American dream, with it being a key focus of the novel, and I was able to incorporate this into my review.”

Suryansh writes for The Econobethan and The Arabella – pupil-run magazines at QE – and recently led a creative writing workshop at the School.

He recommends that anyone interested in fashion’s role in social commentary should look into:

• Raf Simons Fall 2001 Show, Riot! Riot! Riot!
• Alexander McQueen’s spring/summer 2010 collection, Plato’s Atlantis
• The work of other designers and fashion houses such as Rick Owens, Maison Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto and Jean Paul Gaultier.

As his prize, Suryansh’s review has now been published, along with those of the other eight winners, on the NYT’s educational resource website, The Learning Network.

QE’s pupil-run arts magazine, The Arabella, looks both to the past and the future in a special edition for the School’s 450^th anniversary year.

The 44-page publication features 26 pieces of poetry, prose, and art, many of them inspired by its anniversary-related theme, How did we get here? The approach, looking both backward and forward, mirrors that of the School’s anniversary celebrations on Founder’s Day which included a display of the School’s 1573 Royal Charter alongside the burying of a time capsule intended for the pupils of 2073, when QE will mark its 500th anniversary. Work on the magazine began last academic year, but it has only now been published.

Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “The ninth edition of The Arabella has been worth the wait: with its expanded contents and an eclectic mix of topics and styles, it is a great demonstration of the fruits of free-thinking scholarship and academic curiosity.”

The magazine includes contributions from boys throughout the School, although boys from the current Years 8 and 9 feature especially heavily.

In his introduction, one of the editors, Chanakya Seetharam, of Year 12, addresses his fellow QE pupils: “Just as the [450^th anniversary thanksgiving] service at Westminster Abbey in the Spring Term so well captured, this is as much cause to look back with an inquisitive eye into the past as to look forward to the future. It is this spirit of investigation that is the kernel of this edition, and which was so well taken up by you….

“You are what keeps The Arabella alive. This is a magazine by you and for you. We hope you will find all of the work here thoroughly insightful, interesting, and enjoyable, and here’s to a great next edition!”

The poetry section is highly varied, with contributions ranging from Year 9 boy Yingqiao Zhao’s piece about the moon – which is in the shape of a crescent and has key words picked out in different colours – to the nine-stanza rhyming French poem, La Mort de L’Ancien, composed by Year 13’s Aayush Backory. The poetry section closes with Nikhil Francine, of Year 9, addressing the anniversary directly with a poem entitled Thriving from Ancient Roots – the School’s slogan for the anniversary year.

The creative writing pages included Year 9 pupil Raaghav Dhanasekaran predicting a dystopian future amid huge hurricanes caused by climate change.

The music writing section on the other hand looks mostly to the past, from Nikhil Francine’s essay on A brief history of song to Moneshan Rathaparan and Eshwara Masina, both of Year 8, jointly exploring The Enduring Influence of Classical and Baroque Music on Contemporary Culture.

Year 12 student Akheel Kale, from the editorial team, praises the quality of Year 13 pupil Ashish Yeruva’s essay on Justice for Ukraine: How to Put Russian Leaders on Trial Using International Law. Ashish’s contribution had inspired the team to open a current affairs section in the magazine and to invite further such submissions in the future, Akheel says.

Similarly, the magazine has a new section on Science, featuring Year 10 boy Zain Syed’s submission of an extensive flow chart setting out A Natural History of the Earth.

Interspersed throughout The Arabella are artworks exploring themes including Expressive Heads, Distortion and Identity; Dystopian Landscape; and Art Inspired by Music. Shown in this news story, from top to bottom, are:

• Expressive Heads, Distortion and Identity, by Sushan Naresh, Year 10 (main image)
• Dystopian Landscape, by Krishav Sundar Rajan, Year 9
• Art Inspired by Music, by Galinghan Balamurugan, Year 8
• Expressive Heads, Distortion and Identity, by Ayush Saha, Year 10

The magazine is named after Arabella Stuart, a descendant of Henry VII and sixth in line to the throne, who fell foul of King James I when in 1610 she secretly married another potential heir to the throne, William Seymore. Her husband was sent to the Tower of London, while Arabella was committed to the care of the Bishop of Durham, but fell ill in Barnet en route. She stayed for some months at the home of QE Governor Thomas Conyers, her spiritual needs attended to by another Governor, Rev Matthias Milward, who was subsequently appointed Master (Headmaster) of the School.

• For anyone with access to the School’s eQE portal, The Arabella is available to read here.

Year 9 boys relished the opportunity to watch a dramatic modern production of Macbeth, complete with witches portrayed as forensic scientists, fight scenes enhanced with special effects, and the spilling of copious amounts of blood.

The visit by the whole year group over three days was only the latest in a series of QE trips to the Globe: in the last three months, more than 400 boys and staff have travelled down the Northern Line to see Shakespeare plays at the modern reconstruction close to the site of the 17^th-century theatre.

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “Allowing all of Year 9 to see the play they are about to study, performed in its original venue, is an exciting and invaluable opportunity. Macbeth is a play about the pursuit of power, the temptation of ambition, and what happens when both of those things are abused by those who are unsuitable to lead – themes which are incredibly relevant to the world we live in today.”

“Theatre is often about creating a sense of spectacle, and our students were treated to a visually exciting performance – from the modern costumes of the actors, to the ways the actors moved in and out of the audience, and finally culminating in dramatic and bloody fight scenes, our students were able to enjoy an experience which only live theatre can truly provide.”

By watching the play, the boys quickly gained a good understanding of stagecraft and dramatic techniques, while the specific setting of the Globe helped them understand the contexts in which Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed.

“Walking into the Globe for the first time can give you goosebumps as you look around the space and imagine Shakespeare himself performing the same words over 400 years ago,” said Mr Hyland.

Other recent trips to the Globe have been to see two comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Comedy of Errors, set respectively in the ancient cities of Athens, Greece, and Ephesus, in modern-day Türkiye (Turkey).

The altogether darker Macbeth, often known euphemistically as ‘the Scottish play’ because of the superstition that surrounds it, found an appreciative audience with the QE Year 9 visitors.

Vihaan Bhadra said: “The play truly took us into the mind of Macbeth, with a perfect mix of theatrics and suspense. The actor was able to show the different stages of Macbeth, ranging from victory, through guilt, to complete madness.”

Other comments from the boys included:

• “I liked the modern take on the play – it made it more relatable and brought the entire range of characters to life.” Sarang Nair
• “Seeing characters like the porter portrayed as a security guard, or seeing the witches portrayed as forensic scientists made the performance much more understandable and accessible, and really developed our interest.” Neelesh Fotedar
• “It was an exhilarating experience to enjoy such an interesting play in such a clear and enjoyable manner.” Arhaan Yadav
• “Breathtaking and engaging.” Krish Deebak
• “The engaging acting of the characters made the play come to life. The interaction with the audience gave the play a sense of fun.” Tanush Madadi
• “Going on this trip helped me understand and enjoy the historical significance of the Globe Theatre.” Zahin Khan.

An aspiring QE playwright’s coming-of-age story set in India was selected as one the best nine entries in a National Theatre writing competition.

As one of the shortlisted plays in the New Views competition, Year 10 pupil Adithya Raghuraman’s Train of Thought was given a rehearsed reading by professional actors at the National Theatre in London.

He had written the play during this School year, supported by a mentor playwright – in his case, Andrew Muir, a critically acclaimed writer for stage and screen – who visited QE to deliver workshops and to give Adithya personalised feedback and guidance.

Head of English Robert Hyland said: “Many congratulations to Adithya for a wonderful achievement. For someone as young as him to produce such a powerful piece of writing is truly astonishing – and for a student to have their work performed at the National Theatre is unprecedented in the School’s history.

“The play itself is an emotional tour de force – Adithya has a wonderful talent of being able to switch tone, moving from the comedic to the poignant to the reflective and finally to the uplifting. There is also great foresight in anticipating the transition from page to stage – when Adithya’s words were given life by a professional adult cast, it really allowed his talent at writing character and tone to be showcased”.

The New Views competition invites pupils aged 14-18 across the UK to submit 30-minute plays.  More than 1,000 young people took part nationally this year, with just under 500 plays finally submitted.

“The competition gives students an opportunity to tell stories that are personal to them. From an English department point of view, it gives our QE students the opportunity to write creatively for a real purpose and a real audience, adding enormous value to their wider English education,” said Mr Hyland.

Before the actors gave their reading in front of an audience at the National Theatre, Adithya spent some time meeting with the director and producer, as well as attending a rehearsal with the actors.

His play was a philosophical and reflective story about a British-Indian teenager taking a train ride across southern India after his mother’s death, and the relationship he developed both with his father and with the country of India.

Adithya said: “Being shortlisted for New Views was an unforgettable experience. From the exhilarating moment Mr Hyland called me into his office to tell me the great news, to being able to watch a plethora of talented actors display awe-inspiring emotion as they completed the rehearsed reading, the entire process never failed to be exciting and rewarding.”

Writing the play had been “a fascinating and inspiring journey”, he said, with the final work and his success in the competition making it all well worth the effort.

“An important lesson I learnt was the importance of perspective – my perspective of the characters I had written about; my teacher’s perspective; the views of my director, and the expression of the actors as they empathised with Ashok [the main character] and stepped in the shoes of the characters they had to play.”

“The latter is a difficult task, but the way the actors embodied everything I had intended when writing the play, as well as adding in their own humour and incredible skill when portraying the characters, was something I will never forget.

Thanking Mr Hyland and the competition team for the opportunity, he added: “I look forward to writing more plays and stepping out of my comfort zone in English again in the future.”

Adithya’s mentor, Andrew Muir, has had plays produced throughout the UK and in recent years his work has been performed at the National Theatre’s Connections festival, at Soho Theatre and on the BBC. His assessment of Adithya’s play described it as “a joyous road trip of a story, in which both father and son are brought back together again following the devastating loss of their wife and mother respectively.

“A wonderful train journey from Mumbai to Chennai gives the boy, our central protagonist, an opportunity to get a better understanding about his homeland – the smells, the chaos, the colours and the language. The writer takes us on this journey with skill and delicacy, and…conveys the atmosphere of India with such depth that at times I felt that I was on that same train as Ashok, experiencing all those wonders of India for the first time also. Strong story-telling, atmospheric, witty and truthful. A young imagination at play here and it’s very good. Well done.”