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Old Elizabethan Dr Mustafa Sarkar has some sound expert advice for anyone feeling down after the end of the World Cup – and especially after the England defeats in the semi-final and in Saturday’s third-place play-off.

Mustafa (OE 1997–2004) has a global reputation as a sports psychologist and has won a string of awards for his work.

A Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, he was interviewed by the Nottingham Post about how to cope with the negative feelings surrounding England’s departure following the growing sense of elation that followed them as they reached the semi-finals.

Such feelings, he told the newspaper, are entirely natural: “Often the short-term impact will be having a negative mood with feelings of disappointment and frustration. There has been a loss – of momentum, of identity, and of unity – the country coming together.

“Some people might be able to see that England over-performed compared to expectations, while others might see it as a lost opportunity because of the way the draw opened up. There’s an element of personality in this, in terms of levels of optimism and pessimism and how people view situations generally.

“The negative moods will probably be short-lived, in a similar way to how the players themselves will feel…After a period of time – maybe a week or two – there will be more objective reflection. And I think the majority of people will be optimistic about the future. There will be stages of denial and then acceptance, and then moving on and seeing the positives in the situation.”

Mustafa had particular advice for those who fall into “thinking traps” and find themselves unable to stop dwelling on England’s missed opportunities – the scoring chances missed by Kane, whether Croatia’s semi-final equaliser should have been ruled out for a dangerously high foot, or Harry Maguire heading wide from a good position in Saturday’s match against Belgium.

“For example,” he says, “if you think that ‘England are never going to be in this position again’, that’s quite an illogical thought. The team is quite young and there’s a good chance of them being in that situation in 2022.”

“Reflect back, and think of three or four positives that came out of the World Cup for England – both the team, and the nation. For example, reaching the first semi-final in 28 years, or winning a penalty shoot-out at the World Cup for the first time. This can help to reframe how you think about these potentially negative events.”

QE’s leading rugby players have excelled this term with a string of seven wins – thanks to the three Cs of commitment, competitiveness and a strong team culture. The First XV’s run of victories marks a sharp turnaround from last year’s solitary win.

PE & Games teacher James Clarke, who is the First XV coach, said: “I believe it is down to a group of very committed players with a real desire to improve every week, play for their teammates and never give up. The other key ingredient has been competition, with the Second XV winning most of their matches, putting pressure on the First XV. We have also introduced a leadership group, similar to England Rugby, that has led to an improvement in team culture and standards, and has allowed different voices to galvanise the squad, rather than just relying on one player.”

Headed by captain Keenan Dieobi, of Year 13, who set an example with a tally of tries running well into double figures, the First XV notched up “big wins” against St Albans and Bedford Modern. Mr Clarke, who is himself an Old Elizabethan, said these were the first victories against either school since his own playing days at QE in 2004-2005.  “There was also a notable cup run that took us to the fourth round of the National Bowl, before eventually losing 17-10 away to Verulam School.”

Keenan was assisted by his four vice-captains, Justin Lee, Simon Rey, Nikhil Shah, and Rakul Sri, all of Year 13. “The other mention must go to Samuel Burgess, who has played almost every game this season at inside-centre for the First XV, despite still being in Year 11,” said Mr Clarke.

The season finished with a match against Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School at the impressive venue of Allianz Park, home of Saracens. Although Habs beat the First XV 18-10, it was nevertheless “a great night that was very well supported by Old Elizabethans, parents and friends” said Headmaster Neil Enright.

Those Old Elizabethans pictured are top row, left, to bottom right: Alex Grethe, Jake Nielen, Anton Bridge, Ioannis Loupas (all 2004-2011); Anoop Raghaven and Max Hassell, (both 2002–2009); Alvin Bombo (2002–2007); Gideon Levitt (2004–2011); Aaron Levitt (2002–2009); Matteo Yoon, Adam Kuo, Alex Goring (all 2003–2010), and Francis Vu (2000–2008). Also attending, among many others, were: David Clark (1993–2000), Paul Clark (1990–1997), Liam Higgs-Howson (2000–2007), Kelvin Hughes (1999–2006), Elliot Hughes (2002-2009) Tomas Vieira-Short (2010–2017) and Lee Wright (2001-2008).

It was ‘standing room only’ when two high-profile figures from the world of international and Premier League football visited the School.

Boys and staff alike turned out in force to hear from David Dein, a respected entrepreneur and businessman who was Vice-Chairman of Arsenal from 1983 to 2007 and is also a former Vice-Chairman of the FA, and Gary Mabbutt, a former professional footballer for Spurs and England.

Mr Dein spoke predominantly about the business side of the Premier League, describing its establishment in 1992 and charting its growth. He also touched on his role at Arsenal, where he was instrumental in appointing the then little-known manager, Arsene Wenger, and in the signing of legendary players like Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas. Under Wenger, the club has won the Premier League title three times and the FA Cup seven times.

Mr Dein brought former FA Cup-winning Spurs captain, Gary Mabbutt, with him as a special guest. Mr Mabbutt, who made more than 750 professional appearances for club and country, spoke largely about the role of the Professional Footballers’ Association and the way it supports players both during their playing careers and afterwards.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The boys, my colleagues and I all appreciated the opportunity to hear David’s first-hand account of the birth of the Premier League and enjoyed his insight into many aspects of the modern game. I know that the boys will have been able to take away a good deal of advice relevant to business and their careers, beyond simply the remit of football.”

“They always value being able to put their questions to those pre-eminent in their respective fields and particularly relished this opportunity. Despite our being a rugby-playing School, football is, of course, one of their favourite topics for discussion.”

Mr Dein, who led the unsuccessful England bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018, talked about the importance of teamwork, demonstrating this by inviting a boy to snap a single pencil and then to try again when 11 pencils were banded together.

He also used a can of the ‘magic paint’ used by referees to mark where a ball should be spotted for a free kick and where the players’ defensive wall should stand, recounting being pitched the product by its inventor when visiting South America. After spraying the School’s Conference Centre floor, he joked: “This is designed to last for about three minutes – oh, that’s on grass. On this floor, it should be gone in about three months!”

He involved the boys in his demonstrations, with his presentation stimulating a lively question-and-answer session. “It’s important to always strive to be your best and to get up each day thinking, ‘how can I be better than yesterday?’” said Mr Dein. He noted that at Arsenal, the last two players to leave the training ground were invariably Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, two of the club’s most talented players.

The visit was organised through the auspices of Performing Artistes – an organisation providing speakers from the worlds of entertainment, media, politics and sports – with Mr Dein inviting Mr Mabbutt along to provide some ‘North London balance’.

Mr Mabbutt has been involved with the PFA for a number of years. It was established in 1907 and is the longest-established sports’ union in the world. Its aims are to protect, improve and negotiate the conditions, rights and status of all professional players. In recent times it has supported its members in disputes with the Premier League, the Football League and the Football Association with regard to the PFA’s entitlement to a percentage of television revenue. It is also notable for the work it does to support players and former players who may be struggling with addiction, depression or mental health issues.

“We all learned much about the role of the PFA and the support they give to players both during and beyond their careers. I know that my Spurs-supporting colleagues were especially thrilled to meet Gary,” added Mr Enright.

One QE team won gold medals at the inaugural Hertfordshire School Fencing Championships, while another took silver.

The U13 First team saw off five other teams to take gold and the U15 lead team claimed silver, both in the Foil discipline. The School’s U13 Second team were placed fourth, also in the Foil competition.

All the boys train at the School with coaches coming in from the Paul Davis Fencing Academy (PDFA), who hosted the championships.

Maria-Jose Faustino, who is the Welfare Officer for the PDFA, said: “All the fencers were delighted by their success. They were given their medals at a presentation at the event along with gold and silver school certificates.”

The U13 gold medal-winning team comprised Abdullah Chisti (Year 9), Umer Saad

Rahman (Year 8) and Mrinaank Chilkoti (Year 9). The U15 silver medallists were Ayush Patel, Batu Cakir and Sultan Khokhar, all from Year 9. The U13 second team was made up of Dilan Patel (Year 8), Musab Alam (Year 8) and Ali Chisti.

A high standard of play in some testing conditions characterised the 42nd annual Queen Elizabeth’s School Rugby Sevens.

With 128 teams booked for the event from 45 schools nationwide, the spring tournament is a highlight of QE’s sporting year.

In the U16 Cup final, Tonbridge School triumphed 19-14 over Whitgift School, of South Croydon, while in the U14 competition, it was Whitgift who won, beating Berkhamsted 25-22. Berkhamsted recorded a convincing 47-0 victory against Langley School, of Norwich, to take the U16 Plate, while Trinity School, Croydon, beat The Judd School, from Kent, to win the U14 Plate.

Organiser James Clarke, PE & Games teacher at QE, said: “There was a very high level of rugby. Conditions were tricky, with muddy pitches, but the rain largely held off throughout most of the day.” He was assisted by a team including former senior Games staff Mark Peplow and Dave Maughan, who returned to QE lend their support.

Richard Scally, also of the PE & Games department said: “Our U16s had an exciting opening match against Gunnersbury from Brentford, although a second-half resurgence was not quite enough to overturn the deficit from the first half. They then had to play the eventual winners, Tonbridge, before putting in a controlled display to beat The King’s School, Gloucester, 12-0, with a brace of tries from Year 10’s Jeff Hagan.

“They displayed commendable intensity, particularly in that final game, which will set them up well for joining the senior XV next season.”

QE’s U14s began with defeat to Wimbledon College and were awarded a 25-0 walk-over win against absent Colfe’s School [from south-east London], before drawing 12-12 with Gunnersbury.

In the next age category down, QE’s U13s headed to Berkhamsted School for its Sevens tournament on the same day. PE & Games teacher Luke Jacobs said: “They performed very well, playing six matches, winning five and losing only one, to a strong side from The Perse School, Cambridge. They beat tough schools along the way, such as Barry School from Wales, Campion from Essex and notably Whitgift, a very prestigious rugby school whose older boys were doing so well at our own Sevens.” Notable performances came from Year 8 boys Oke Onyebuchukwu and Vinesh Sritharan who were “outstanding throughout the day”, Mr Jacobs said.

As he prepares for the 2012 outdoor athletics season, Year 8 pupil Nabil Haque is looking to build on his successes of 2011.

During last season Nabil recorded a number of strong performances in both track and field events. These culminated in him representing Middlesex at the National Schools’ Athletics Championships, where he won the shot put with a throw of 11.2m. He was a member of the Middlesex 4 x 100m relay team, which won the event in a UK record time for their age group of 49.48s. And he competed for Shaftesbury Harriers at a national club meeting, winning the 200m in 24.5s and the shot put with 11.5m.

Nabil also received a Jack Petchey Award for his athletics achievement, which was presented to him at Arts Depot in Finchley.

The Jack Petchey Foundation has invested millions of pounds each year in more than 2,000 schools across London and Essex. The organisation offers awards to young people aged 11-25 to recognise their achievements in a range of activities, from athletics to music. Nabil will now choose how to spend the £200 cash award from the foundation, which can be spent on additional equipment for a school or club, but not core administration costs.