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Harrisons’ triumphed in the 2021–2022 Eric Shearly House Cup, reaping the rewards of a year of consistently strong performance.

It was a striking reversal of the 2020–2021 results, when Harrisons’ ended the year languishing in the lower reaches of the inter-House points table.

This year’s eagerly awaited final totals were announced at the end-of-year House celebration assembly, with Harrisons’ proclaimed the winners to loud cheers from the boys.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to Harrisons’ House Captain, Utkarsh Bhamidimarri, his deputy, Anubhav Rathore, [both of Year 12] and to all the members of the House. Their impressive victory demonstrates how a combination of unflinching determination, high levels of enthusiastic participation and good organisation can often turn around unpromising situations.”

Founded in 1954, when it was the fifth House to be established at the School, Harrisons’ enjoys the distinction of being the only QE House named after two people­, both of them long-serving Masters (teachers) from the School’s history: G.W.N. Harrison, who taught at the School for 41 years until 1929, and E.W. Harrison (no relation), another long-serving teacher, who retired in 1950.

The competition between QE’s six Houses continues throughout the year and includes points gained through the many House competitions, as well as the totals of merits and good notes earned across the year groups.

One of the biggest contributors to the overall points total is Sports Day, held near the end of the Summer Term. All The Houses battled hard at Sports Day, including Harrisons’, although this year, as in 2019 and 2021 (2020’s Sports Day being cancelled), the winning House was again Broughton.

Broughton sealed their Sports Day success by winning the QE Mile – the first time for some years that this relay has not been won by the staff team. Staff did, however, retain their Sports Day tug-of-war title.

The end-of-term assembly celebrated involvement not only in sport, but also in extra-curricular activities from chess to drama and music, as well as this academic year’s charity work and fundraising.

The latter included the 10km sponsored walks undertaken by pupils from Years 7­–9, which, like Sports Day, formed part of this year’s QE Enrichment Week.

On some of the hottest days of the year, the 570 boys enjoyed the chance to get out into the countryside, raising £5,000, to be split between the Teach Sri Lanka charity and the School’s Robert Dudley Studio project.

During the walks, the boys devised some creative solutions to the issue of carrying their bags, while also enjoying tree-climbing, picnics and some impromptu games of football and cricket.

They slaked their thirst with water delivered to them en route by Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter and Extra-curricular Enrichment Tutor Katrin Hood, who organised the walks.

Year 10’s Enrichment Week featured the performance of a French play, as well as animation and drama workshops. The animation was based on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which the boys will study next term, while for the drama, boys created tableaux from Romeo and Juliet, learned how to stage-fight, and used a Shakespearean insult generator to practise their Elizabethan English.

Victory in the final of the Middlesex County Cricket Cup for QE’s U12 side sealed a vintage season for the School’s youngest players.

The final held at Harrow School ended in exciting fashion, with QE beating St Benedict’s School, Ealing, by two runs, after successfully restricting the opposing batsman to a single run off the last ball of the day.

With 11 wins from 11 games and a total of 1,297 runs, QE’s boys have shown consistency throughout a busy season and currently lead the national rankings for their age group.

Their county cup triumph also qualifies the team for the National Cricket Cup next summer, where they will face the other county champions in a knock-out tournament.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are all super-proud of our Year 7 cricketers! What a great season – and one which augurs very well for cricket at the School in the coming years.”

It is not only the A team in Year 7 which has enjoyed success. The School has fielded teams from A to D this season, with the B–D teams matching the A team’s 100 per cent win ratio and accumulating 11 victories between them for their total of 11 games played.

The champions’ coach, James Clarke, said: “Many congratulations to my U12 team, who topped off a memorable season in style with a thrilling contest against St Benedict’s. I am extremely proud of them.”

In the county cup semi-final, the boys took on Hampton School. Hampton were playing at home and, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, they got off to a flying start, scoring almost nine an over. A combination of strong bowling and impressive fielding limited the damage, but they still finished all out for a “respectable 121 runs, which looked a tall order,” said Mr Clarke, who is Head of Rugby.

QE’s batsmen took to the field in determined fashion and stayed ahead of the required run rate, yet when wickets started to fall, tensions rose. But after Hampton dropped a skied ball from QE captain Aarush Choudhary, he piled on the agony for the hosts in the final stages, securing victory with “a magnificent captain’s innings of 42 not out,” Mr Clarke said.

“In the final, Vikyath Vatnala’s two wickets in the 19^th and penultimate over – including the St Benedict’s opener on 52 – proved to be the turning point: it slowed their run rate at a crucial point and kept us in the contest.

“Captain Aarush had already put in another excellent batting performance – 42 not out again, helping us to our rain-affected total of 126 runs in 20 overs – and he now showed great courage and leadership in stepping up to bowl the final over of the day.

“The match went down to the final ball, with St Benedict’s batsmen requiring four to win. Thankfully, they only managed a single run, and QE were victorious by two runs in an enthralling contest,” Mr Clarke said.

Aarush was named Player of the Match.

Old Elizabethan rugby professional Biyi Alo has received his call-up to England’s 35-man squad, ahead of this month’s international against the Barbarians and the summer tour to Australia.

Biyi (OE 2005–2010), a tighthead prop with Wasps, has this week been taking part in an England training camp at Teddington, with head coach Eddie Jones’ players preparing for the fixture at Twickenham on Sunday 19^th June.

His selection comes as QE’s PE department look back on a busy and largely successful rugby season and report that five current senior players have been selected at county and professional club level.

Head of Rugby James Clarke said: “Our heartfelt congratulations go to Biyi on his England call-up, the first for an Elizabethan in some years. He has built a very solid career, firstly with Saracens and Worcester, and now with Wasps.

“I would also like to thank all the players who have represented the School in rugby this year. We played 150 matches across 21 different teams and amassed 73 wins, as well as a number of draws. A special mention goes to our joint top try-scorers, Isa Sheikh, of Year 7, and Shaun Lee, of Year 9, with 18 tries each. After much debate, we have put together our QE Rugby Team of the Year for 2021/22, featuring the best players from across the year groups – I congratulate everyone who is featured.”

Having played football until the age of ten, Biyi found himself having to get to grips with rugby for the first time when he joined Year 7 at QE. Asked by Talking Rugby Union journalist Chris Heal how he felt about that, he said: “‘Of course I enjoyed it. It was an interesting experience and a challenging one to play a game I didn’t grow up with.

“At first, I wasn’t great at rugby, but I stuck at it. At that age, you are just chucking the ball about and just messing about. That element drew me to the sport – as did the physical side of it, as I was quite a big 11 year-old – but I really started to enjoy it.”

He stayed at QE for five years, climbing through the rugby ranks, before moving on to Haileybury and then studying for a degree in Sports Science, Sport Development and Sport Management at Loughborough University.

He has also released some hip-hop songs, under the name ‘Biyi’ and explained to Rugby Pass website his motivation: “I struggled a little before I started music. Everything came to that point where I needed an outlet and the music came then because mental health, especially in young males and black young males in this country, is something which I am glad there has been more light shone on it recently because it is very important and sometimes it can get swept under the carpet in the world we live in, where sportsmen are these tough guys and if you are having any struggles it is, ‘Get over it’. But the effect that that has on the mind and lifestyle is massive…Whenever I get a message from a complete stranger who says a song really resonates with them, it really makes it worthwhile.”

QE currently has five promising players who, like Biyi before them, have won county honours and have caught the eye of professional clubs: Victor Angelov, of Year 12, (Middlesex/London Irish Developing Player Programme); Taro Niimura, of Year 11, (Hertfordshire/Saracens DPP); Ashley Nwapa, Year 11, (Hertfordshire/Saracens DPP); Theo Moses, of Year 10 (Hertfordshire/Saracens DPP), and Aaron Rodrigo of Year 10 (Hertfordshire/Saracens DPP & Middlesex/London Irish DPP).

The QE team of the year’s ’starting XV’ have won tickets to a Premiership rugby match next season, as part of the School’s deal with Inspiresport, who also sponsored this year’s QE Sevens tournament.

The team’s forwards are: Simardeep Sahota, U14; Aashir Irfan, U13; Soham Bhatnagar, U12; David Hirtopanu, U15; Nnanna Okore, U18; Edward Muscat, U14; Theo Moses, U15, and Aaron Rodrigo, U15.

The backs are: Taro Niimura, U16; Thomas Young, U13; Esa Aslam, U12; Ubayd Uddin, U15; Isa Sheikh, U12; Andrew Mbogol, U16, and Ubaidah Rahman, U14.

The reserves are: Timi Banjo, U14; Kailun Zhou, U15; Sabbir Hossain, U16; Alexandre Lee, U18; Shaun Lee, U14; Victor Varbanov, U13; John Chum, U15, and James Conway, U15.

• For some clips of Biyi Alo in action, see this new video.

A 46-strong group of rugby players developed their skills and bonded as teams on a spring tour to Holland.

The short tour, resumed after a two-year break because of the pandemic, was previously open to Year 9, but this year was opened to Year 10 as well, attracting 23 players from each year group.

The trip over the Easter break began with a very long journey from Barnet to Amsterdam, via Caen – with the crossing to France impacted by the P&O Ferries chaos. After successful matches at Rugby Club Eemland in the city of Amersfoort, 32 miles from Amsterdam, the party made the short journey west to take part in the Hilversum Festival – one of the largest and most well-established youth rugby tournaments in Europe.

Head of Rugby James Clarke, who organised the trip, said: “The tour provided a brilliant environment in which our boys were able to develop their skills and enjoy the camaraderie and team spirit that being part of a touring party fosters. It was great to be able to resume this tour after two years and for the experience to be extended to both Years 9 and 10.”

“Both age groups played RC Eemland teams on the Saturday. We won both matches and were hosted brilliantly by the club afterwards,” said Mr Clarke.

The boys then went bowling in the evening. The trip also included a visit to the stadium of Amsterdam’s mighty AFC Ajax.

“At Hilversum the next day, the boys thoroughly enjoyed the tournament, played some really good rugby, and were a real credit to the School.”

The U15s (Year 10) drew four matches and lost one: they were, said Mr Clarke, unlucky not to secure any victories in the tournament, which was run in a round-robin format.

By contrast, the U14s from Year 9 enjoyed considerable success on the pitch and came second in their age group in the tournament after winning four of their matches and losing only one.

The final night, before the trip home on Easter Monday, saw the presentation of tour awards. Ubaidah Rahman was named player of the tour among the U14s, with Theo Moses taking the prize for the U15s.

The tour was a swansong for PE teacher Oliver O’Gorman, “a great member of the PE department since 2018”, Mr Clarke added. Mr O’Gorman has taken up a new post with international IT security company Fortinet.

Trailblazing Eton Fives players Zayn Phoplankar and Yash Kedia are national champions in their sport after an historic win over previous title-holders Shrewsbury School.

The Year 9 boys beat a Shrewsbury pair 3-0 in the final of the Eton Fives U14 Novices National Schools Championship Final – a competition for pupils who start playing the sport in this year group.

PE teacher Oliver O’Gorman said: “This is an extraordinary achievement: we believe it’s the first time in QE history a pair has made it to a national Fives final. I am beyond proud of this pair, who have put in non-stop work this year to deservedly claim this title.”

Congratulating them, Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I am excited to see what the future holds for this pair and for QE Fives.”

In the competition’s qualifying round, which attracted 24 pairs, QE entered eight pairs, of which seven qualified for the national finals. In fact, three of the qualifying round’s four semi-finalists were from QE, with Soham Kale & Muhammad Ammaar Hurzuk and Megh Modi & Arya Mandirwar reaching this stage alongside Zayn and Yash. The latter pair went on to beat an Aldenham School pair 2-0 in the qualifying round final.

The history of Fives at QE dates back to 1880, when the first courts opened at the old Wood Street premises, following a £10 grant from the Governors and a special fund-raising concert. Fives then languished after the School moved to its current premises in Queen’s Road in 1932, but was revived when the rebuilding programme of 1951-52 brought plans for a new court. By 1954, it was ready; QE was affiliated to the Eton Fives Association, entering the Public Schools Championships in 1955.

QE players are taught the sport by Mr O’Gorman, while there is also external coaching twice a week. Boys are fully introduced to Fives in Year 9, although trials are held in Year 8 to identify potential players.

Other QE achievements in the sport this year have included Year 10’s Rishabh Bhatt and Dinuk Dissanayake reaching the final of the national U15 qualifying round after beating Aldenham in the quarter-final and Ipswich School in the semi-final. They were eliminated 2-1 by a pair from Mill Hill School in the final.

QE’s burgeoning success has not gone unnoticed: after the victory in the novices final, the Eton Fives Association’s website hailed this “first-ever win at a national level” for the School and paid tribute to the “enthusiasm, dedication and excellent coaching” of Mr O’Gorman and of his counterpart at Cranleigh School which was also celebrating its first-ever national win, in its case in the U16 girls’ category.

Teams from across the south of England battled it out in the 46th Queen Elizabeth’s School Sevens Tournament – the first running of the event since 2019.

The day brought overall victory in the U16 Cup to Trinity School, Croydon, while tournament newcomers Woodlands School were convincing winners in the Plate competition (for sides achieving second place in the group stages), beating Tonbridge School 36–7 in the final.

Although ultimately thwarted in their three matches, QE’s own U16 side battled hard, their playing punctuated by sparkling individual performances, especially from rising star Taro Niimura, of Year 11.

They were cheered on by a good turn-out of Old Elizabethans, their numbers swelled by 2001 leavers who took the opportunity to gather for a reunion.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was splendid to be able to host the tournament after a two-year break imposed by the pandemic, and to enjoy a super day of competition: there really was an abundance of skill, tenacity and physicality on display.

“My congratulations go to Trinity School on achieving overall victory in a close-fought final against Wellington College, and to Woodlands School on their triumphant debut.”

“Although we were disappointed that the U14 competition had to be cancelled because poor weather led to a reduction in the number of pitches available, we nonetheless look back on a successful day. My thanks go to the referees, St John Ambulance and the sponsors, Inspire Sports.”

QE’s Head of Rugby, James Clarke, said: “It was great to have the tournament back after Covid! There was plenty of excellent rugby on display, despite some challenging conditions.”

The home side faced a tough opening fixture against Wellingborough School. “Wellingborough showed a good turn of pace in finding any gaps in the QE defence and exerting significant pressure, resulting in our team struggling to retain possession for multiple phases,” said Mr Clarke.

“However, the match was lit up, from a QE perspective, by a brilliant solo try from Taro Niimura. Having been put through a gap by a well-timed pass inside the QE 22 metre zone, he ran the length of the pitch, beating at least three defenders on the way. One of the tries of the tournament! Whilst only a consolation in the context of the match, which was lost 29-7, it was a worthy moment for the home support to celebrate – including the OEs gathered on the touchline.”

The next QE game, against New Hall, brought “a skilful and spirited performance and a big improvement on the first match,” said Mr Clarke. “Momentum swung this way and that, with QE overhauling an early deficit to lead 14-12 at one stage. A clean break from New Hall had them charging, seemingly unstoppably, to the line, only for Taro to make another stand-out contribution, this time in defence. Sprinting back 70m or so, he made up ground to tackle his opponent just a few feet short of the try line – an incredible effort and demonstration of desire.

“Unfortunately, the supporting New Hall player was able to pick and go from the breakdown and get over the line for what proved to be the winning score. QE thought they may have won the game when an overlap put Year 11’s Dharun Thambiayah through to score, only for play to be brought back for a marginal forward pass. Whilst the boys were disappointed to lose a match that really could have gone either way, there was pride in the performance.”

After this narrow 19-14 defeat, in their final fixture, QE took on Dulwich College and put in “a resilient battling performance in which the rub of the green went against QE. The match got off to the worst possible start, with Dulwich reclaiming their own kick-off (think Mack Hansen for Ireland v France in this year’s Six Nations!) to score immediately. QE played themselves back into the game, crossing for a first-half try of their own. An unfortunate yellow card for a trip tackle saw QE down a man, but the two-minute period was well-handled, with no loss of score.

“In the second half, just one score behind, Niimura again seemed to be away down the wing with a clear 60m to the try line, only for play to be brought back for a QE penalty – the referee not realising the advantage was with QE in that moment. With QE pressing hard for a try, Dulwich managed to secure a third to kill off the match and win 17-5.”

Mr Clarke congratulated Year 10 boys on stepping up to compete alongside the Year 11s.

This year’s tournament featured a Coaches Corner for the first time, where there were stalls from a number of companies, including the sponsors, Inspire Sports.

The 2022 winners will receive tickets to a Premiership rugby match.

Among the supporters backing the tournament winners, Trinity, was USA Sevens’ Head Coach, Mike Friday. Former Sevens coach for England and Kenya, and a former professional player with London Wasps who captained the England Sevens, he has taken the USA to its current position as one of the very best teams in the world.

The group of 2001 leavers not only enjoyed the rugby together, but also went on a tour of the School with the Headmaster and with Development Officer Sharla Worrall.

Also among the spectators were other staff and boys, while teams of helpers comprising senior boys and some Year 7s supported Mr Clarke and his colleagues in running the event.

• For full results, visit the tournament microsite.