A team of Sixth Form leaders made the short journey to help out at a family charity’s new base just yards from the School.
The Year 12 House Captains and Deputy House Captains got to work on a ‘packathon’ organised by Sebby’s Corner, which offers support to families across Barnet, Hertfordshire and London.
The packathon, a follow-up event from Mother’s Day, had a target of providing 100 hospital bags with essentials for expectant mothers and their newborn babies.
Sebby’s Corner’s new hub, which was visited by The Princess of Wales before Christmas, is based on the Queen’s Road industrial estate, close to the main QE gates.
Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “QE has a long tradition of supporting charities, which is very much in line with a key aspect of our mission – that we nurture responsible young men who seek to change things for the better.
“Sebby’s Corner does excellent work in supporting families in real need, and we are therefore delighted to be supporting them, especially since they are now our near-neighbours.”
The 12-strong team from QE’s six houses were invited to spend a morning helping staff sort supplies so that they were ready to be packed into bags. Many of these bags were provided to Barnet Hospital, with some also going to mothers referred to the charity who are refugees, are escaping domestic violence, or are living in poverty.
Founded in 2021 by Bianca Sakol MBE, Sebby’s Corner operates on the principle that no child should go without the basic essentials she or he needs to thrive.
Through referrals from professionals such as midwives, health visitors and teachers, it provides items such as clothing, nappies, formula milk, toiletries and baby equipment. Its Birthday Club also provides presents for children in need on their birthdays.
2023’s School Captain, Darren Lee, led the way in a competition to design computer desktops with his winning images of two American icons of LGBT rights, tennis legend Billie Jean King and ‘first trans celebrity’ Christine Jorgensen.
“To this end, we are in the process of auditing our curriculum across the whole School to assess how it is aligned with our vision for a broad, balanced and inclusive curriculum. This involves ensuring that diversity is celebrated and that there is positive representation.”
Other activities during the month included:
A team from the partnership – consisting of senior pupils from QE and Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School – visited QE’s near-neighbour, Christ Church Primary School. The filming was the latest stage in a project that the team have been working on for several months to create a promotional video aimed at encouraging prospective parents to sign up for Christ Church’s nursery.
“We engaged with children, including those as young as nursery, guiding them to express the school motto [‘Through God’s love, we learn, aspire and achieve; we flourish’] and ethos. This collaborative effort not only enriched the visual narrative, but also provided an authentic perspective on the school’s values and identity.
Four teams – two from each school – battled it out in the Galactic Challenge, which was hosted by QE. Helping out on the Saturday of the competition were a trio of Old Elizabethans who are themselves veterans of space competitions.
Galactic Challenge, which is for students aged 10-14, is the sister competition of the UK Space Design Competition (UKSDC), which is for those aged 15–18.
The RFP asked companies to deal with various challenges. These included:
The judges’ panel featured staff from the Space Science & Engineering Foundation, QE Head of Physics Jonathan Brooke, Dr Flore Faille, Head of Physics at HBS, and Aadil Kara (OE 2010–2017).