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Queen Elizabeth’s School today celebrated Virtual Founder’s Day 2021 with an internet broadcast that featured a good measure of time-honoured tradition and a generous helping of innovation, all laced with a healthy dash of fun.

Highlights of the YouTube Premiere programme that went live at 12 o’clock included a Founder’s Day weekend Showstopper Bake challenge introduced by TV celebrity Mel Giedroyc, former BBC presenter of the Great British Bake Off.

Introduced by Headmaster Neil Enright, the half-hour programme included the annual Roll Call, the reading of the School Chronicle and elements of the traditional Founder’s Day church service. Mr Enright reminded viewers that fundraising remains a focus of the day, with more than £22,000 raised in last year’s lockdown Founder’s Day to support the education of boys at the School.

Donations can be made via the dedicated Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s Founder’s Day JustGiving page.

With QE’s Music School now nearing completion and funds required to equip it to the highest standards, there was a strong musical theme in the programme: this included the first-ever performances from the new building, with young musicians donning hard hats and ‘hi-vis’ vests over their uniforms.

When the outbreak of the pandemic forced last year’s Founder’s Day online, all hoped it would be a one-off. That was not to be, but although this year’s event was again virtual, there was now great cause for optimism, said Mr Enright.

“We are now in a very different position to 12 months ago: the School is open, classrooms are buzzing with activity, many clubs and societies are meeting, and our lives are moving, step by step, closer to normality,” he said.

“I take great comfort that during the unprecedented difficulties and uncertainties of the past 16 months, the School has not just coped, but thrived and even, in the words of our Chronicle, ‘flourished’.”

The School could look back with pride, but also forward to many “rapidly approaching” exciting developments, such as the Music School, which is due to open in the autumn of this year, Mr Enright added.

The video included a specially recorded segment from Mel Giedroyc, supplementing her first video announcement of the QE Founder’s Day Showstopper Bake challenge earlier in the month. In today’s film, in her own inimitable style, she announced to the “QE massif” that it was time for them to take up their sieves, whisks, graters and bowls: “It’s the big day; it’s Founder’s Day…We would love you, please, to create the most incredible, outrageous, flamboyant, delicious, beautiful Showstopper Bake – and remember, you have got to be sponsored to do it: that is how we raise the dough to raise the dough. See what I did there!”

Anyone making a ‘bake’ – which can be a cake, biscuits, bread or other dish – is invited to send Mel a photo of it via [email protected] for her to judge. Bakes with a musical and/or a QE theme will gain extra credit.

The YouTube Premiere also featured a special appearance by musician and improvisor extraordinaire ‘Harry the Piano’, recorded at the Coach House Piano Showroom on the King’s Road in Chelsea. The School’s new £75,000 grand piano, which will grace the Music School’s Recital Hall, is coming from Coach House.

After appealing for viewers to give generously to Founder’s Day and lauding yesterday’s Pianoathon at the School, Harry deftly played the Great British Bake Off TV theme in five very different musical styles – Mozart, Chopin, samba, rock band Queen and Debussy.

Other musical elements of the video included the National Anthem in the opening section performed by the Founder’s Day Chamber Choir. They were recorded in Chipping Barnet Parish Church, where the Founder’s Day Thanksgiving Service takes place in normal years. Also filmed in the church was a reading of the School Prayer by 2021 School Captain Siddhant Kansal and the singing of the Founder’s Day hymn, Now Thank We All Our God.

There were three performances from the Music School construction site:

•  Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, by the Foundation Day Saxophone Ensemble
• Oblivion, by the Year 8 Trio
• Prelude, Gavotte and Waltz from Shostakovich’s Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano, by the Year 9 Trio.

The video’s closing credits were played over the Year 9 Trio’s performance. These included thanks to the sponsors and supporters of Founder’s Day – companies and organisations which are also listed in a specially produced brochure.

The reading of the Roll Call took place, as tradition dictates, in front of the Main Building, but because of the pandemic, only the School Captain, the House Captains and the Year 7 forms from each of the six Houses appeared, with the boys responding to the School Captain’s call with the words ‘Ad sumus’ (‘Here we are’).

The School Chronicle – a formally written summary of the School’s history – was recorded in various locations and featured a number of speakers, beginning with former Headmaster John Marincowitz (1999–2011) and including Governors, staff and pupils.

Year 9 pupil Zeyvuan Wu read the latest addition to the Chronicle – “And be it known that during the Covid-19 pandemic, which twice caused all the schools in the land to close their doors to most pupils, the challenges were faced with ingenuity and resolve” – before Mr Enright concluded the reading with the customary blessing upon the School: “May it always flourish!”

Other highlights of the Founder’s Day week have included a special event to celebrate QE Collections – a new online facility offering free access to a wide range of digitised archives relating to the School and local Barnet area – and the opening of advance pre-sale orders for Dr Marincowitz’s new definitive history of the School, which is due to go on sale during QE’s 450th anniversary year in 2023.

Brothers Jaydon and Kiaron Lad and their mum, Anjuna, are well past the half-way mark in their quest to run and cycle 300km to raise funds for the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s (FQE) charity.

Inspired by Kiaron’s success in raising money for the NHS during last year’s lockdown in a fundraising event created by QE’s Director of Sport, Jonathan Hart, the Lad family members set themselves the challenge of covering 100km each before this year’s FQE Founder’s Day on Saturday 19th June.

So far, they have successfully overcome near-freezing temperatures, illness and technical issues (a malfunctioning tracking app and bike speedometer) as they have clocked up the miles towards their ambitious target.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Sadly, as in 2020, this year’s Founder’s Day will have to be a virtual event. The Founder’s Day Fete, organised by FQE, is usually our single biggest annual fundraiser, bringing in around £20,000 to help us provide state-of-the-art facilities and increased opportunities for all our pupils. Last year, thanks to the sterling efforts of many across the Elizabethan community, we successfully reached that target.

“I commend the Lad family on their efforts on FQE’s behalf and wish them well as they seek to complete their ambitious challenge. As we look forward to the day itself, I hope many will sponsor them and will also back the exciting fundraising activities we are planning.”

Jaydon, of Year 7, said: “During lockdown, both the School and my parents stressed the importance of staying active and exercising (outdoors if possible) in order to look after our mental and physical health. We were keen to do something that would provide a challenge – so nothing too easy and straightforward, but then on the other hand nothing too difficult.

“My brother has been going out running and has also inspired our mum to take it up. Not being a fan of long-distance running myself, I thought I could join them on my bicycle, and, from there, the idea of raising money for the School was born.”

It was, said Jaydon, a challenge which fulfilled the desired ‘SMART’ criteria, since it was Specific, Measurable (using the speedometer and apps), Achievable, Realistic and Timely (if steady progress was maintained, they should have sufficient time to complete it before the Founder’s Day deadline).

Venturing out mostly at weekends, the Lad trio got off to a strong start, covering 31.76km between them on their first excursion.

It has not always been easy.  Jaydon initially found it difficult to adjust his speed to that of the runners, and, on week 2, in addition to his “not really feeling it”, his speedometer started displaying in mph instead of kph, necessitating a little mental arithmetic to make the conversion on the fly. A few days later, Kiaron, of Year 9, and his mum headed out again, but Jaydon felt unwell and stayed in bed, making up the distance missed with his own solo effort a few days later.

The three’s longest distance came the day after Jaydon’s 12th birthday when, in honour of the occasion, his mum suggested they try to cover 12km each. They duly hit this target, with a combined total of 37.01km.

Two days later, they were out again. “I was expecting another slow bike ride today, but boy was I wrong!” reported Jaydon in his fundraising diary. “As we were only aiming for 5km, my mum and my brother were looking at trying to beat their previous run times and were running faster than normal.” Both of them achieved it.

That speedy effort took the total for their first seven runs and rides to 183.63km, which leaves them well set to meet their overall goal of covering the 300km on or before Saturday 12th June, the weekend before Founder’s Day.

• To sponsor the Lad family, simply visit the Virtual Founder’s Day JustGiving page which has just been set up, mentioning ‘The Lads 300km’ in any accompanying message.

A major milestone in the project to build a new, multi-million pound Music School at Queen Elizabeth’s School’s has been reached, with the first ‘concrete pour’ at the site.

Selected staff and pupils were on hand to celebrate the arrival of the concrete mixer – the first of some 150 lorryloads due at the School over the coming months!

Headmaster Neil Enright, who was among the group witnessing the historic event, said: “It is exciting that the construction phase of this major project is now well and truly under way.

“While the Covid-19 pandemic has inevitably caused a few complications, we have been very keen to press ahead with this project: it represents not only a significant investment in our facilities, but is also a sign of our confidence in the future at this difficult time.

“Indeed, while we have extensive precautions in place to keep everyone here safe from the virus, we are trying, so far as is possible, to ensure it is ‘business as usual’ for our boys, our focus remaining firmly on providing them with the best possible education.

“If all goes according to plan – Covid-permitting! – we should be able to open the new building during the 2021 Autumn Term.”

The £3.5m-plus project received the go-ahead in 2019 after the Department for Education accepted the School’s £2.2m bid (comprising a £1.2m grant and £1m loan).

Completion will involve substantial financial support through the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s, thus continuing a long record of FQE backing which has been instrumental in ensuring the School has been able to open a succession of new facilities over the past 25 years.

The purpose-built Music School complex will provide essential support for QE’s booming Music department – until lockdown began earlier this year, there were more than 20 ensembles at the School, with over 160 boys singing in the Choir.

It will feature a new performance venue and a number of much-needed teaching and rehearsal rooms. In addition, the two-storey building will provide additional assembly space to accommodate QE’s lecture programme, as well as a covered atrium for boys to use at break times.

The School’s new Deputy Head (Operations), Tara O’Reilly, said: “The site has been ‘prepped’ and ready for building work to start for some time, so it is good to see the area now full of machinery and to be able to watch the construction team from our contractor, TJ Evers, who are all working hard to break ground and put in the foundations for the new building.”

Watching the concrete pour alongside the Headmaster and Ms O’Reilly were Director of Music Ruth Partington and Music teacher Caroline Grint, together with two of the School’s senior musicians, Year 12’s Raphael Herberg and Conor Parker-Delves, both of whom have just started their A-level Music studies.

Raphael said: “We are very excited about the new Music block,” while Conor added: “We are really glad this is happening for our Music Department, and that future QE students will get to enjoy it.”

“Welcome to a Founder’s Day like no other!” With these words, Queen Elizabeth’s School’s 40th Headmaster, Neil Enright, began his short address during today’s special YouTube broadcast.

While the normal full Founder’s Day programme – including morning church service and afternoon fete – was not possible this year because of the coronavirus lockdown, organisers from the School and the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s were nonetheless determined to make it a virtual event to remember.

The half-hour video presentation featured Founder’s Day traditions adapted to an online audience, music from QE’s Virtual Chamber Ensemble and Virtual Orchestra, and spoken contributions from boys, governors, Old Elizabethans, FQE Executive Committee members and staff. This was followed by a special Founder’s Day curry Cook-Along.

“I would like to wish every member of our wide Elizabethan community a happy Founder’s Day,” said the Headmaster after the YouTube Premieres had finished screening. “Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our main broadcast and to the cook-along – I hope you enjoyed both our programme and your special lunch afterwards. For anyone who wasn’t able to join us at 12, the videos remain available on our YouTube channel.”

The Founder’s Day fete is customarily the single-biggest fundraiser of the School year. Towards the end of the main broadcast, Old Elizabethan Robert Rinder (TV’s Judge Rinder, 1989–1994) appealed for viewers to give generously towards the School’s next major project, the construction of a new Music School, which is expected to get under way early in the next academic year.

By 3pm today, nearly three-quarters of the £20,000 target had been raised through the dedicated Virtual Founder’s Day JustGiving page, with 329 separate contributions.

In their comments on the JustGiving page, many donors lauded the efforts of Tricia Reid, Parent Governor and member of the Executive Committee of FQE, who today ran a solo half-marathon – her first – in Richmond Park to raise money for Founder’s Day. After successfully completing her 13.1 miles, she had a message for all her supporters: “Pleased to have done my first half marathon on a very special day in history! I did it for all of you – thank you so much for all your support.”

Other special fundraising initiatives connected with this year’s Founder’s Day include a recent FIFA 20 PS4 tournament and the Year 7 online quiz night taking place on 4th July.

• Pictured are: top, Mrs Tricia Reid completing her half-marathon today; right, Chairman of the Governing Body and Chairman of FQE Mr Barrie Martin MBE, reading part of the School Chronicle, and, left, School Captain Ivin Jose, of Year 12, leading the House-by-House Roll Call (responses via Zoom!).

Links:

• Main Founder’s Day presentation
• Virtual Founder’s Day 2020 JustGiving page
• Cook-Along led by Nik Gulhane, Founder of North London’s Spice Monkey school of Indian cooking. Nik’s ingredient list and preparation instructions are available here. Younger boys may need adult supervision, since the recipe involves the use of sharp knives, cooking oil and a hot oven.
• A special Founder’s Day edition of Roundness, The Queen’s Library podcast. For current QE families, this is  available from the Roundness page on the eQE digital platform; it is also available from all normal podcast services, including Spotify and Apple. The podcast looks at the colourful lives of three 16th and 17th-century governors, drawn from the research of Dr John Marincowitz (Headmaster 1999-2011), who is writing a history of the School and its relation to English education more widely.

Gallery: Many of the pictures below have been contributed by members of the Elizabethan community. Enjoying their Cook-Along curries are: two Year 7 boys, Suhaas Sabella and Tristan Fink; one Year 8 pupil, James Conway; Year 9 pupil Aston Anup Daniel and Art teacher Jeanne Nicodemus. The photos of the meal itself and the food preparation are from Manomay Lala-Raykar, of Year 11, and Yash Patel, of Year 9. There are images from the main YouTube presentation – starting with the Roll Call and ending with Robert Rinder’s appeal – and from the Cook-Along video. Also shown are more photos of Mrs Reid’s half-marathon triumph.

Despite this year’s unique circumstances, Founder’s Day 2020 goes ahead this weekend – as an innovative virtual event combining tradition with fun.

Organisers from the School and The Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s (FQE) were determined that, the Covid-19 crisis notwithstanding, Founder’s Day 2020 should still be a day to remember.

Together they have laid on a rich digital programme that showcases creativity with entertainment: attractions include high-quality musical performances from some of the School’s leading musicians, an exclusive live video curry Cook-Along from a professional chef and a special message from Old Elizabethan Robert Rinder (TV’s Judge Rinder, OE 1989–1994).

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Founder’s Day is always a highlight of the Queen Elizabeth’s School calendar – a unique opportunity to bring together the whole Elizabethan community, including boys and their families, as well as alumni, governors, staff, friends and neighbours. On Saturday 20th June 2020, we are doing that again, except that this year, it all takes place online.

“I warmly invite all our families, friends and supporters to join us at noon on Saturday for our virtual programme, which includes much to entertain and inform and will also feature some treasured Founder’s Day traditions, albeit adapted for an online audience. Do log on and join us for this enjoyable day!”

Founder’s Day is FQE’s single biggest annual fundraiser for the School. Mr Enright appealed for people to give especially generously this year, since the School is facing a coronavirus-related drop in income due to the reductions in external lettings. FQE have made it quick and easy to give by setting up a dedicated Virtual Founder’s Day 2020 JustGiving page.

“I am immensely grateful to all our families and alumni for their unceasing support for the School and for the financial generosity of so many,” added Mr Enright.

Even before the day, money has been flooding in, with more than 130 individual donations already bringing in around a third of the £20,000 target. These have been accompanied by comments such as:

• “Kudos to the FQE team for not letting COVID-19 hamper the annual celebration of the Founder’s Day event. Thank you.” – Pratyush Dutta Gupta, of Year 9
• “Well done to everyone at QEB – students and staff! The great work has touched, and continues to touch, many lives. Thank you.” – Joan Okhiria
• “I feel lucky to be part of this wonderful School. A huge thank you for all of your support – especially to those teachers who came in and looked after the keyworker children during this difficult time.” – Rhian Kotwinski

The main Founder’s Day presentation – launched as a YouTube Premiere – runs from noon until 12.30pm on Saturday 20th June.

That is followed after a short gap at 12.45pm by the Cook-Along, when chef Nik Gulhane will teach viewers how to cook a special Founder’s Day lunch in an exclusive-to-QE YouTube Premiere broadcast.

Anyone can take part, although Nik, Founder of North London’s Spice Monkey school of Indian cooking, is especially encouraging QE pupils to try their hand at cooking – and urging them to get sponsorship to raise funds for the School for doing so.

“I understand that sharp knives, cooking oil, boiling water and hot ovens may all be involved, so some pupils may need a little helping hand from adults to make sure it all happens safely,” said the Headmaster.

Ahead of Saturday, a special edition of The Queen’s Library’s Roundness podcast has been published. For current QE families, this will be available from the dedicated Roundness page on the eQE digital platform, but it will also be available from all normal podcast services, including Spotify and Apple.

The three stories in this podcast are based on the research of Dr John Marincowitz (Headmaster 1999-2011), who is writing a history of the School and its relation to English education more widely. Exploring the lives of three governors from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the episode sheds light on an under-explored area of the School’s history.

Creator, Surya Bowyer said: “The often dangerous escapades of these three men are stranger than fiction, and must be heard to be believed.”

• Donations may be made through the FQE Virtual Founder’s Day 2020 JustGiving page.

Formality and fun came together on Founder’s Day to create a fitting 446th anniversary for Queen Elizabeth’s School.

Pupils, old boys, parents, staff and many other supporters of the School turned out in force for the afternoon fete, which followed the traditional church service and the reading of the School roll and of the School Chronicle earlier in the day.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was a very happy occasion and a great celebration of the School’s 446th birthday, enjoyed by all parts of our community.

“I was particularly pleased to see so many Old Elizabethans returning to their alma mater: the number of alumni who attend is rising year by year. This year, they ranged in age from 18 to 90, some of them regular visitors and others coming back to QE for the first time since leaving.”

The Founder’s Day service in Chipping Barnet Parish Church began in stirring style with the processional piece, Sigfrid Karg-Elert’s Now thank we all our God, performed by organist Drew Sellis, of Year 12, who also led the Chamber Choir’s contributions to the service.

“The music was perhaps particularly strong this year, with another highlight being the Magnificat, sung by the School Choir’s trebles and altos,” said Mr Enright.

The guest speaker was Old Elizabethan Tommy Peto (2003–2010), who has recently embarked on a new role in management and strategy consulting after enjoying a glittering academic career at Oxford. Since going up to Brasenose College to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, he has won several academic prizes and gone on to take an MPhil in Politics, before completing his doctorate last year.

In his speech, Tommy urged the boys who were in the congregation to find out what they enjoy and to be both creative and hard-working in the way they pursue it as a career. “Your friends might all want to become lawyers, perhaps your parents want you to become a doctor. These are good professions, interesting, challenging and worthwhile. But you shouldn’t live someone else’s dream. If you do, neither you nor they will be fulfilled…There’s an old adage here: choose a job you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.

“You should think widely about what it is that you enjoy, to find out what you want to do. This is such an exciting time, with huge changes in technology and society upending how we work. There are so many jobs that didn’t exist for our parents.

He continued: “Think creatively about what you might want to do, and if the role doesn’t exist, create it.

“If I had to boil this down…, it would be into these three things: find what it is you enjoy; be creative about how to do what you enjoy, and do it. Because you can do it. You’re bright. You’re at a top school, and you’re in one of the world’s most dynamic cities. You can do it. But it’s up to you to decide what ‘it’ is. Now go do it,” he concluded.

The Headmaster said later: “I am most grateful to Tommy: his speech was engaging, entertaining and accessible for the boys who were in the congregation. It was lovely to welcome his parents, partner and brothers to the School for the occasion – his younger brother Harry being an OE himself [2005-2012].”

After the service, the boys walked back to the School, accompanied by their teachers, who wore academic gowns for the occasion. The School assembled in front of the Main Building for the reading of the roll and of the School Chronicle. This tradition, established by Headmaster Ernest Jenkins in 1930, involves the Headmaster reading aloud a formal history of the School, which is updated annually.

Then it was time for the fete to begin. Organised by the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s, this colourful event takes place on Stapylton Field, with stalls and attractions to cater for all ages and tastes. The fete is FQE’s biggest fund-raising event of the year.

Conditions were a little challenging for the Jazz Band as they performed, requiring them to resort to the tried-and-tested method of securing the pages of their scores with clothes pegs to stop them blowing away entirely! Undeterred, they put the crowd In the Mood with Glen Miller’s classic swing piece, alongside a selection of other popular tunes.

Some of the visiting alumni participated in the afternoon’s cricket match, which pits the School against an OE XI. Changeable conditions made for a tricky wicket for the batsmen on both sides.

After the OEs were bowled out relatively quickly, a straightforward win for the School seemed to be on the cards, but as the OE attack began toppling the School’s middle and lower order, the game suddenly looked in the balance. In the end, the School was, though, able to surpass the OEs’ total.

“As ever, a fun and friendly atmosphere pervaded the cricket fixture,” said the Headmaster. “Indeed, the same may be said for the afternoon as a whole – the weather held and the atmosphere at the fete was tremendous. My thanks go to all – including FQE volunteers, the many participating boys and my colleagues – for their contributions to making the event such a success.”

• The fete raised £21,000 in cash donations on the day, with a further £3,000 donated via a Just Giving page.