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After his stellar achievement of being chosen to represent the UK in a space competition hosted by NASA, Year 13’s Vinujan Sivakumar is now helping younger Elizabethans hoping to follow in his footsteps.

QE’s entrants in the UK Space Development Competition were part of the mock ‘company’ crowned as national champions in the UK finals held at Imperial College in March.

Vinujan was then selected as one of just 12 young people making up the UK team at the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC), held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where he was elected as his company’s vice president.

Fresh from this experience-of-a-lifetime stateside, Vinujan has now pledged to assist the boys putting themselves forward for places in the QE team due to take part in next month’s London regional heat at the start of this year’s competition.

Head of Physics Jonathan Brooke said: “It’s a testament to the breadth of Vinujan’s talents that he was picked out by the organisers of the UK Space Design Competition to represent the UK.

“Vinujan has shown himself to be a talented communicator who can collaborate effectively with others and who demonstrated the ability to create plausible solutions to challenging engineering problems. I’ve also been very impressed by his willingness to support this year’s competition entrants.”

Mr Brooke also saluted the achievement of Vinujan’s QE teammates who made it through three stages of selection in the 2024–2025 competition to reach the national finals – firstly, they were chosen as part of the School team, before progressing through both regional and national heats.

They had, he said, showcased “the vision, creativity, and resilience needed to tackle some of the biggest challenges humanity will face in the future”.

The NASA-hosted ISSDC is the world’s largest STEM competition of its kind, bringing together hundreds of students from across the globe. Competitors were tasked with producing innovative yet realistic solutions to the immense challenges of human space colonisation, and were challenged to think like professional scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs,

Four international companies, each comprising 60 competitors, were given 48 hours to produce a 50-page proposal for a space settlement that met strict technical criteria set by industry experts.

Vinujan was one of eight team members who presented their company’s 35-minute proposal to a panel of judges. Following his election as vice president (engineering) – the second-most senior role in the company – Vinujan was responsible for focusing on and managing the technical aspects of the settlement design.

He said: “Leading a team of such talented individuals from across the world through the rigorous process of engineering and space design was truly an incredible experience. Although placed as runners-up, our proposal was highly commended by the judges.”

 

All four QE teams competing at the VEX World Robotics Championships in Texas won divisional awards, with three securing the top divisional prize of a Design Award.

The teams excelled at both the V5RC competition for older pupils and at the VIQRC event for the younger competitors.

Head of Digital Teaching & Learning Michael Noonan said: “The week in Dallas began with our Year 10 teams Rogue and Nova delivering exceptional performances. When both were honoured with the Design Award – the highest judged divisional award – it was a moment of immense pride.

“In the VIQRC competition, too, our Year 9 teams, Omega and Constellation, shone very brightly. Omega secured the Build Award, recognising their robot’s outstanding construction and reliability, and Team Constellation added to QE’s growing trophy cabinet with another Design Award.”

Overseen by Mr Noonan and Technology Assistant Claudia Cunha, both V5RC teams advanced to the elimination rounds in their respective divisions, finishing 39th and 19th in qualification rankings, before being narrowly defeated in the round of 16. It was, said Mr Noonan “an impressive feat among over 80 teams per division.

“Their Design Awards celebrate not only engineering excellence, but also the meticulous documentation and innovation that went into their robot design.”

Head of Technology Bilaal Khan and Technology teacher Chantel Sinclair led QE’s teams in the VIQRC competition. Both achieved top-50 finishes in the teamwork rankings, with Omega also securing a top-50 placement in the Skills Challenge, out of more than 300 teams.

“But the best was yet to come,” said Mr Noonan. “Team Omega’s Build Award and Constellation’s Design Awards were fantastic achievements. As if that was not enough, both teams dazzled with their themed pit displays and costumes, winning the Costume Competition – a celebration of creativity and team spirit announced during the final rounds.”

Mr Noonan thanked the boys’ dedicated coaches, and their staff and student mentors for their support throughout the season.  He also thanked QE’s robotics sponsor, Kingston Technology, and the company’s ESG and Compliance Specialist, Antonia Pata.

 

Year 11 pupil Paarth Aggarwal was among the winners at the London Borough of Barnet Civic Awards.

AI enthusiast Paarth won the sole 2025 Young Citizen of Barnet award for his work on the application of technology to bring about improvements in education and the environment.

Among his many competition successes, last year Parth took the national title in his age category in the Intel Global AI Impact Festival for his multi-lingual Navigate Ninja app, which offers personalised learning to children with autism.

Also in 2024, he spent three days at a European Space Agency base in Italy after being named the UK winner in the agency’s international competition: he had impressed competition judges with an AI-driven study into reducing waste in Barnet.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I congratulate Paarth on winning a civic award – a very notable local success. He has taken the initiative to get involved in myriad competitions and sought out opportunities to develop his skills, while always at the same time seeking to provide public benefit from his proposed technological solutions.”

Parth was presented with his award certificate and medal at Barnet’s 25th annual civic awards ceremony in Hendon Town Hall by the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Tony Vourou.

The citation for his award for Outstanding Service to the Community highlighted his “innovative use of technology to drive positive societal”. It continued: “His dedication extends to developing AI-powered solutions for reducing fly-tipping, promoting technological literacy, and supporting non-native English speakers, showcasing his commitment to inclusiveness and sustainability.”

In his introduction, Councillor Vourou said: “For a quarter of a century, the Civic Awards have been a beacon of recognition, shining a light on the extraordinary efforts of those who strive to make the London Borough of Barnet a better place. We honour their dedication and unwavering commitment to service.”

After the School’s triumphs at the VEX robotics national championships in Telford last month, it has now been confirmed that four QE teams have qualified for the world championships in Dallas.

At Telford International Centre, Team Rogue (working in partnership with a team from Haberdashers’ Boys’) were overall champions for the Year 10 (VR5C) event and also took a highly prized Design award. They now qualify for the global finals being held next month in Texas, together with fellow Year 10s in Team Nova and Year 9 teams Constellation and Omega.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “QE has had a stellar record of getting teams to the world championships, but that success should not be taken for granted: it represents a great deal of hard work and preparation, not to mention talent, on the part of the boys.

“It was a truly impressive performance by our robotics teams at Telford, who excelled in their performance, in the awards they won, and, I understand, in terms of the way they conducted themselves at the national championships.”

Team Constellation took a Design prize in the junior VIQRC competition.

Nova won the Innovate Award, gaining their place in the world championships through their high-ranking finish in the Skills Challenge. Team Omega won their division and were runners-up in the VIQRC Overall Teamwork Championship.

Here are all the QE teams’ results at Telford:

High School (Year 12)

• HYBRID: Seventh in Skills; 15th in Teamwork; beaten in the quarter-final

V5RC

• Rogue: tournament winners; Design award; third place for Skills and for Teamwork
• Nova: Innovate award; fourth place for Skills; eighth for Teamwork; beaten in division semi-final
• Bread: seventh place for Skills; 13th for Teamwork; beaten in quarter-final

VIQRC

• Gearsquad: 11th in Skills; 13th in their division; sixth in division finals; won Amaze award
• Omega: eighth in Skills; 6th in division; first in division finals
• Constellation: ninth in Skills; 12th in division; tied second in division finals; won Design award
• Gear Grinders (Year 8): 20th in Skills, 15th in division, sixth in division finals, won Create award
• CircuitBreakers: 58th in Skills, 15th in division, sixth in division finals

Earlier this term, QE followed up on hosting a VIQRC event in December by hosting a successful V5RC regional round, the Battle of Barnet.

And more recently, since Year 12 teams are unable to go to Dallas in May because of their examination commitments, QE’s Team Hybrid instead headed off to the CREATE US Open Signature event in Council Bluffs, Iowa – and came away with a Judges Award.

Head of Digital Teaching & Learning Michael Noonan said: “The standard of competition was amazing and the team had an absolute blast!

“The event featured many state champions and champions from similar élite signature events from across the US. This drove our students to improve their autonomous robot routines, their driving and their strategy. Day 1 featured a new challenge for our teams in the ‘Programming Palooza’, which tasked our programmers with rapidly developing routines for their bots to respond to individual and paired tasks. We were delighted to finish fifth from a highly competitive field, using a purpose-built ‘basebot.

“Along the way we thoroughly enjoyed the Super Mega Alliance, which features many team-building challenges by using pure robots in non-conventional, non-competitive challenges intended to build friendships with those from other parts of the world. Our boys loved this challenge, and finished with a highly respectable second place!

“The competition proper was intense, and had a game every 20 minutes during the competitive phases. Having come in the top 40 out of 160 teams in Skills, we were now free to put together a strong performance on day one, ranking 13th of our 40 on day 1. Day 2 brought its challenges, and unfortunately our team succumbed to four losses. Undeterred, they battled well alongside a team who had been their alliance partner, losing out 39-30 in the round of 16.

“It was then an incredible honour for them to be awarded the Judges Award, making us the first UK team to win at this event.“

Mr Noonan thanked the School’s robotics sponsors, Kingston Technology, for their support.

 

 

 

 

 

Having already blasted through the regional round, a dozen QE scientists and engineers have lit up the national finals of a design competition that challenges competitors to plan for a future in outer space.

The boys were part of the winning inter-school ‘company’ at the weekend-long finals held at Imperial College London.

Competitors now wait to hear whether they will be among the dozen individuals selected for sponsored places representing the UK in the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC) in July, which is held at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Headmaster Neil Enright said:  “This is an exciting competition which looks forward to a future in which living in space is common and which tests entrants’ skills in science, engineering and business. Many congratulations to our students. Having won their regional finals, they rose to the occasion magnificently again at Imperial, working together well with boys and girls from other schools to produce some great designs for a future asteroid settlement.”

The UKSDC is part of a global family of Space Design Competitions running events across Africa, America (North and South), Asia, Australia, Canada, and Europe. These competitions culminate in the International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC).

As in previous years, the UKSDC set its challenges for the national competition in a fictional version of the solar system where significant infrastructure has been built.

This year, competitors were assigned into ‘companies’ and tasked with designing a theoretical asteroid belt settlement called ‘Astoria’. The other schools working alongside QE were: Sevenoaks School, Kent; North Liverpool Academy; South Hunsley School, Yorkshire; Westminster School, London; and Wycombe Abbey School, Buckinghamshire.

Members of each company needed to work collaboratively to create a proposal in 22 hours, summarising all aspects of the settlement: operations, mission systems, structural, business, and human.

The challenges included creating a Human Factors Department, to look after residents’ mental and physical wellbeing – an aspect designed to appeal especially to Biology students. Chemists and physicists were able to thrive with the Operations Department, which took a deep dive into the essential processes required to keep the settlement operational. Jasmaan Sahota praised the CAD (Computer-Aided Design) skills of fellow QE competitor, Snehal Das, who had impressed the judges in the regional finals.

After the teams presented their proposals to a panel of judges from industry, academia and business, the Olympus Mons Trading Company was proclaimed the winner.

Vinujan Sivakumar (Year 12) said: “We came up against some very tough competition and gruelling questions, but after a nail-biting period of deliberation, we won! Most of us barely had any sleep, but the effort definitely paid off!”

Keshav Aggarwal (Year 11) added: “It was truly a great experience to not only attend the UK Space Design Competition’s National Finals at Imperial College but take on a leadership role (VP of Business) and win! Many thanks to the entire UKSDC organisers for their support, my teachers, Mr. Xu and Mr. Brooke, who made this possible, and my fellow teammates. It was great to collaborate with so many new people as part of the extended team. I’m looking forward to attending again next year!”

The QE competitors were:

Year 11
Keshav Aggarwal
Snehal Das
Rithwik Gururaj
Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen
Ishaan Mishra
Jasmaan Sahota

Year 12
Timi Banjo
Karthik Kalaiarasan
Giuseppe Mangiavacchi
Sai Murarishetty
Rayan Pesnani
Vinujan Sivakumar

 

Shown here are QE’s gold award-winners in the UK Bebras Challenge – a competition that aims to introduce pupils to computational thinking.

These winners, representing almost three-quarters of the QE entrants, qualified for their awards after coming in the top 10% of entrants nationally. Among them are 12 pupils, from Years 8 & 9, who achieved a perfect score.

QE’s entrants achieved an average score of 179 points – far ahead of the Hertfordshire and national averages of 112 and 106 respectively.

Head of Digital Teaching and Learning Michael Noonan said: “This was an extraordinary collective performance from our students in their first-ever participation in this competition. The gold award-winners now go on to the next round, called The Coding Challenge, which will be held in School on 24^th March – QE’s 452^nd anniversary.

“We recognise the importance of digital literacy and are keen to encourage boys’ participation in exciting computing-related events and competitions through our QE Flourish programme.”

The Bebras Challenge is organised by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in partnership with the University of Oxford. It involves tackling a series of interactive tasks designed to encourage logic and problem-solving.

Distinction prizes were awarded to the top 25% of QE performers in the Bebras Challenge’s intermediate (Years 8 & 9) and élite categories (Sixth Form), while merit prizes went to the next 25%.

Best-in-school prizes went to the 12 intermediate category boys with perfect scores of 220: These are, in Year 8: Vivaan Gupta; Aaron Singh; Rishaan Harne; and Noble Laturia. The Year 9 boys are: Kiyan Popat; Ryan Uppal; Aarush Yadav; Aneesh Botcha; Atharva Rao; Avi Aggarwal; Kian Aggarwal; Priyankan Ampalavanar; Arjun Darade; Arnay Gupta; Advik Gupta; Tahiyan Khan; Darsh Nandania; Aaditya Pimple; and Niketh Putta.

Akhilesh Karthikeyan, of Year 12, took the élite prize with his score of 192.

In The Coding Challenge, boys will be able to choose between five skill-based categories, two using the Turtle Blockly programming language, and three that require a text-based language.

• Twenty-five sixth-formers (18 in Year 12 and seven in Year 13) sat the British Informatics Olympiad 2025 first round. BIO aims to encourage students to take an active interest in information technology. The first round involves problems to be solved against the clock with only a pen, paper and a computer. The results will be released later this month.