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Having spent the day with Her Majesty the Queen, the Chancellor of Birmingham University headed to QE, where she gave an inspiring speech during a memorable Senior Awards Ceremony.

Dr Sandie Okoro was guest of honour at the School’s showpiece annual celebration of excellence for Years 10–12.

She came to Barnet from St James’s Palace, after being invited there in her role as Chair of the Women of the World Foundation for an event linked to International Women’s Day.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This year’s Senior Awards was a wonderful night: we were thrilled to welcome Dr Okoro, who was a hugely engaging and inspiring speaker, bringing real energy to the role.

“Emphasising the central importance of the arts and of remembering human values and human judgment in the context of technological change, she encouraged our senior pupils to be part of hopeful change and to take pride in being the first – having broken numerous glass ceilings herself.

“She was very generous with her time, too, staying to speak with many families and other guests at the reception after the ceremony in our Main Hall.

“My congratulations go to all this year’s award-winners, whose recognition was very well deserved.”

Dr Okoro was installed as the eighth Chancellor of the University of Birmingham in 2024. A high-profile equality rights champion, she is the first female Chancellor of Birmingham since the university was established in 1900.

She has had a distinguished career as a highly respected lawyer, holding senior positions with the World Bank Group, HSBC Global Asset Management, Barings and Schroder. Most recently, she served for almost three years as Group General Counsel of Standard Chartered Bank.

Reflecting afterwards on a “wonderfully joyful evening”, Dr Okoro had a final message for the prize-winners: “Remember, your education is the one thing no one can ever take away from you.”

During the ceremony, around 80 prizes were presented to the boys, watched by their parents, teachers and other guests including Councillor Edith David (Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Barnet) and Martin Russell MBE (Representative Deputy Lieutenant). They were given for their academic studies, for their contributions to School life, and for co-curricular activities, such as music, chess and QE’s Combined Cadet Force.

The evening was punctuated by musical performances, including those in the interludes after the prize-giving for each of the three year-groups.  These were given by three music prize-winners: Year 10 violinist Jeremy Shi (playing Béla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances), Year 11 pupil Jamie Lam (also a violinist, playing Camille Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre) and Year 12 vocalist Rishi Watsalaya (Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Vagabond).

“All the music was outstanding, but particularly the three interludes,” said Mr Enright.

In his speech, the Headmaster pointed out to the boys that the School’s first Speech Day took place in 1876: “So tonight, in addition to honouring your achievements, we mark a 150‑year tradition of recognising hard work, talent, and boundless potential.”

He went on to highlight the importance of, and connections between, empathy and reading: “Empathy is rarely built by scrolling, but it is often built by reading. Reading widely allows us to inhabit the perspectives, experiences, and inner lives of others… To be clear: digital media, visual storytelling, podcasts, and AI all have their place and their value. Concision is an art. Technology is a tool. But the ability to read deeply, think critically, and empathise with others is a human skill. A timeless skill. A leadership skill.

“And we aspire for you to be the leaders of your generation in your chosen fields.”

After the ceremony, refreshments were served by volunteers from The Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s (“I must say the food was excellent, too,” said Dr Okoro).

There was also an opportunity for prize-winners to have their photograph taken in the Shearly Hall in front of a newly purchased QE backdrop.

Click on the thumbnails to view the images.

Forty-four Queen Elizabeth’s School pupils have secured offers from Oxford and Cambridge this year, further consolidating QE’s record of success in sending leavers to the world’s best universities.

Twenty-nine senior boys have received offers from Cambridge, with a further 15 offered places at Oxford. The figures lift the School’s total number of Oxbridge offers over the past four years to a remarkable 202.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to all these pupils: we are immensely proud of their success.

“At QE, we are committed to developing the Boundless potential of every student in a rapidly changing world. Through their ambition, application, resilience, and free-thinking scholarship, these 44 boys are well on the way to realising that potential: I wish them all the best in achieving the A-level grades they need to secure their offers this summer, and, further ahead, to hearing about their exciting careers and contributions to society.

“More broadly, I am also pleased to say that our pupils are continuing to enjoy very considerable success in winning places at other world-leading universities.”

The 44 Oxbridge offers have been made by a diverse range of colleges – from the ancient and imposing, such as Oxford’s Christ Church and Trinity at Cambridge (both founded by Henry VIII in 1546), to the relatively modern, such as Homerton at Cambridge, which, although founded in the 18th century, attained full college status only in 2010.

The offers are for degree subjects including English, Engineering, Modern & Medieval Languages, Music, Geography, Psychology and History, as well as famous courses such as Cambridge’s Natural Sciences and Oxford’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE).

James Kane, Assistant Head (Destinations and Progress), said: “These offers reflect academic excellence, intellectual curiosity and commitment of our pupils to going above and beyond. They also show the outstanding dedication and support afforded by our staff and families.”

The success of the QE Futures programme in guiding senior pupils appropriately through the university application process is shown in QE’s “impressive” application–offer rate of 40%, Mr Kane added.

In total, QE leavers have applied to 23 of the 24 Russell Group universities this year, with 90% applying to at least one QS World Top 10 university. (The ten include Imperial and University College London, as well as Oxford and Cambridge.) With the process by no means yet complete, more than four-fifths have already received at least one offer.

Last year, a record 15 degree apprenticeships were offered to Year 13 boys. Interest in these apprenticeships continues to be strong at QE: this year, leavers have applied to leading global organisations such as Freshfields, Airbus, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and Arup. The applications span disciplines including Law, Engineering, Finance, and Architecture.

Mr Kane highlighted the importance of the QE Essentials programme, which includes: QE Futures; the QE Flourish co-curricular activities; the School’s digital strategy; its emphasis on free-thinking scholarship; and the QE Connect alumni network. “It is through QE Essentials that our students build the academic strength, mindset and skills needed for future-ready success,” he said.

A senior teacher, a sixth-former, and QE as a whole all won awards in the International Computer Science Competition (ICSC).

Queen Elizabeth’s is one of only three schools worldwide to receive an Award for Excellence in the global competition, which this year drew more than 3,800 entrants from middle schools, high schools and universities.

The award is given to schools which had many outstanding pupils achieving high results, or which showed particular support for their pupils.

The School’s individual winners were Head of Digital Teaching & Learning Michael Noonan and Year 12’s Snehal Das.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to both the winners of personal prizes and, of course, to all the boys who participated and put in such a superb collective effort. Such co-curricular events are a tremendous way for our boys to hone their computing skills and become future-ready Elizabethans, confident of their place in our fast-changing digital world.”

Mr Noonan was one of just eight educators worldwide, and the only one in Europe, to win a Teacher Impact Award.

Snehal, an avowed computer science enthusiast, won an Ambassador Award – the UK’s only such award – for the “excellent encouragement” he provided as an ambassador helping to organise the competition rounds.

“The ICSC competition was an exciting way to explore…computer science,” said Snehal. “It allowed me to put my computational thinking skills to the test, whilst also allowing me to broaden my knowledge by exploring various research articles.

“As an ambassador of the competition, I also had the pleasure of spreading awareness about the field of computer science to younger years.”

ICSC aims to stimulate logical thinking and deepen computer science knowledge. There are three age categories: junior, which is up to 16; youth, up to 19; and senior, which is for first-year university students and above.

All participants receive the same set of problems, but the passing criteria varied by age group.

QE’s individual success stories included bronze honours for Snehal and silver for Kavish Jayasekera, of Year 12, who said: “I feel proud of my silver: it meant I was in the top 2% of participants. The progression of the competition was very good, with a relatively easy qualification round, and subsequent rounds building on the concepts and ideas learnt in the last rounds. There was not a lot of preparation required for the first two rounds, as they were less time-pressured and I could look up specific concepts as needed, but I did go through some helpful functions in Python before the final round, as it helped when answering the timed programming questions.”

Rishabh Datta, of Year 10, said: “The problems in the pre-final round were difficult but not impossible, and I found it fun optimising code in unexpected ways. I was certainly happy with my 12 score – which was in the top 60% of the final-round participants – since I hadn’t ever officially studied computer science.”

Aaryan Prabhaker, also of Year 10, welcomed the competition as “a great opportunity outside of the curriculum…The three rounds became progressively difficult, and I loved how challenging it was through the variety of questions (coding, logic, research papers).”

It was, Year 11’s Kostiantyn Halushka agreed, a “splendid” competition: “Completing the final round questions in mere minutes was quite intense, but the adrenaline rush pushing me to keep working on the problems was fantastic.”

Vivaan Gupta relished the opportunity the competition gave him to learn more about computer science and would fully recommend it to others. “I took part since I enjoy coding,” he said.

Year 12 pupil Parv Gandhi, who, like Vivaan, was a final-round participant, added: “The ICSC was a great place where I could learn and really challenge myself!”

• Pictured above are Parv, Snehal, Kavish and Vivaan.

Queen Elizabeth’s School has won no fewer than five different Sunday Times awards, including the highly coveted national State Secondary School of the Year title, it was announced today.

The 33rd edition of The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2026 also reveals that QE has taken two other national awards – State Secondary School of the Year for Academic Excellence and State Secondary School of the Year for A-levels – as well as two regional titles – State Secondary School of the Year in London and State Secondary School of the Year in London for Academic Excellence*. In addition, QE tops the Sunday Times’ State School Parent Power rankings, which combine weighted GCSE and A-level results.

Today’s success brings to four the number of times that Queen Elizabeth’s has  been named State Secondary School of the Year, the most recent occasion being in 2022.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “By any measure, this is a splendid haul of awards and accolades!

“I congratulate the boys, governors, my colleagues, parents, and Old Elizabethans of all generations – in fact, all those in our wide Elizabethan community who have played a part in this tremendous success.”

The State Secondary School of the Year award is based not only on academic results, but on a broader assessment of all that a school offers.

“Academically, we are second to none. However, our achievement in winning the State Secondary School of the Year award once again demonstrates that it is not all about exam results here at QE,” Mr Enright added. “Instead, what goes on beyond the classroom goes hand in hand with the academic outcomes. Our extensive co-curricular programme, delivered through QE Flourish, is not in tension with our academic high standards; rather, it complements boys’ studies.

“Similarly, the broader QE experience encompasses: QE Futures, which helps our pupils find their path into the best degree courses and careers; our bespoke programme of pastoral care to build and sustain wellbeing; and the guidance that boys receive from the QE Connect alumni network.

“All of this supports academic achievement and personal development, helping us to realise the boundless potential of our pupils.”

Helen Davies, editor of The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide, highlighted the background against which QE and other award-winners announced today are working. “The educational landscape is testing – budget challenges, rising student mental health issues, special educational needs and an increasingly uncertain future. But there is also so much to celebrate from the dedication of teachers who are finding ever more innovative and impactful ways to enrich their students and give them the very best start in life.

“As well as celebrating the academic excellence of the top schools, it is uplifting to see how they are shaping their students to be ready for the 21st century, and instilling a lifelong love of learning.”

*The link above provides access for those who have a subscription to The Sunday Times. The guide is available in print in a 28-page supplement on Sunday 7th December.

QE’s Sixth Form comes top in a new national league table published by The Telegraph.

The Telegraph analysed data from more than 2,000 state-school sixth forms and sixth-form colleges, allocating them points according to A-level performance and leavers’ university destinations.

QE took first place after not only amassing the maximum 40 points – along with 21 other leading schools – but also emerging as the only school or college in the top ten to be awarded an A+ ranking for its average A-level score by The Telegraph.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “At Queen Elizabeth’s School, we now have our biggest-ever Sixth Form, and I am tremendously proud of the repeated successes of our pupils in gaining superb grades at A-levels and then going on to the best degree-level courses university or apprenticeship courses. Last month’s A-level results, which once again saw more than half of all grades at A*, represent another very fine achievement.

“However, the QE Sixth Form experience is by no means all about examination results. Boys typically throw themselves into an array of co-curricular activities through our QE Flourish programme. They can be found making significant contributions as prefects, peer mentors, and as the leaders of clubs and societies, while all Year 12 pupils help the wider community through voluntary service. And they prepare for their onward path through our QE Futures programme and University admissions Support Programme (USP), and through gaining from the experience of our alumni in the QE Connect network.”

In The Telegraph’s rankings, QE came in ahead of Kingston upon Thames’ The Tiffin Girls’ School in second place and Tiffin School in third.  The table was compiled by the data editor, Ben Butcher, and senior data journalist, Ollie Corfe.

The accompanying article said: “Overall, Queen Elizabeth’s School, a grammar school in Barnet, ranked best in the country. With an average grade of A+, the school sends 95 per cent of students to university, including 92 per cent to Russell Group and other top tier institutions.”

The Telegraph based its table on A-level performance from 2023–2024, and its university destination data on figures from 2021.

Eight separate criteria, with varying weightings, were used to arrive at the overall score. As well as those related to A-level grades and university places, these included the number of A-level subjects available (20 at QE) and the proportion of pupils who were retained after Year 12 to continue their studies in Year 13.

Year 11 pupils maintained the superb record of Queen Elizabeth’s School with another very strong set of GCSE results.

More than three-fifths of the examinations taken (61.4%) at the School were awarded the highest possible grade, level 9, while 95.4% received grades 7–9.

The 192-strong year group’s performance was strong across the board. Underpinned by truly exceptional results for Mathematics and the sciences, QE also has the top scorer nationally in GCSE English Language this year.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This is a very good set of outcomes indeed, reflecting the talent and hard work of our pupils, the expertise and commitment of QE staff, and the support of their families.

“My sincere congratulations go to Year 11, and we look forward to the boys beginning their A-levels in September, joining our largest-ever Sixth Form.

“Today’s results build on the excellent A-level outcomes last week, which saw QE placed as the top secondary school (state or independent) in The Times.”

The GCSE results show that:

• 85.5% of GCSEs taken were awarded grades 9–8 (both equivalent to the old A* grade);
• All 171 boys taking GCSE Chemistry achieved either a 9 (159 candidates) or 8 (12) grade;
• 50 boys sat Latin GCSE this year, well over twice as many as in 2024; 33 of them achieved grade 9.

Mr Enright added: “What is truly remarkable about these results is that they were achieved by boys who make time alongside their academic studies to take part in a huge range of co-curricular activities through our QE Flourish programme.

“It is the breadth of the whole QE experience which enables us to fulfil our mission ‘to produce young men who are confident, able and responsible’.”