Until recently, Ali Woods was, as one reviewer put it, PR man by day, comedian by night.

Better known to his QE contemporaries as Alister Heywood (OE 2005–2012), he first made a name on TikTok and then gained a big boost when his debut solo show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe sold out amid five-star reviews.

Now, underpinned by his huge online following, he has given up the day job and become a professional comedian.

The very first time he was involved in performing comedy was at York, where he was reading English & Related Literature. He was part of a university ‘improv’ group called The Shambles. He then first did stand-up in London in 2015 at open mic nights. In 2017, he was runner-up in the Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year competition and was short-listed for a BBC New Comedy Award in both 2017 and 2018.

Alister won Hackney Empire New Act of the Year 2020 – Evening Standard writer Bruce Dessau’s quotation in the headline is from that time. He has appeared on BBC Radio 4, TalkRadio and TalkSport, alongside hosting his own podcast, All I Do Is Fail.

All of this was achieved while he was simultaneously working in PR: he is working his notice as a New Business and Marketing Executive for the Propeller Group (a global PR, content and events agency) and finishes on 21st December.

Alister was planning to do his debut full stand-up show in 2020, but was thwarted by the pandemic. Instead, during lockdown he started making videos, which soon went viral. Today, he has 153,000 followers on Instagram and 113,000 on TikTok. His online comedy sketches under the tag @aliwoodsgigs have gained millions of views and likes, and featured on LadBible and Buzzfeed UK. It is by using this audience that he has now managed to turn professional.

In his comedy, he presents a mix of the ‘everyman’ and the ‘modern man’, displaying sensitivity and a genuine interest in men’s mental health, which gives him a great perspective on the modern ‘lad’ culture. He speaks on topics such as football, the environment, and many social causes close to his heart.

Typically outspoken, he is keen to encourage those interested in creative work to pursue it and get the career they really want: “You can do it, believe that you can. I’ve done it and I’m not even funny!” It was not, he said, an aspiration that was really valued in the QE of his time. “I was never encouraged to take creative work seriously, it was seen as a facilitator for cover letters and CVs.”

Alister, who was among the guests at this term’s OE Association Dinner, therefore feels a special impetus to encourage today’s pupils if they hold similar interests.

“You can work really hard to end up in a job you hate because you thought it was the safe option,” he says. “I would like to communicate to current QE boys that creative arts are a legitimate pursuit which requires the same work as any difficult degree or discipline or career, and will truly be worth it. If you are passionate about it, and you’re willing to be consistent, put yourself out there, learn from your setbacks and not to give up: it will be the most fulfilling journey you’ll ever make.

“Don’t be afraid to take the risk. Believe that you are able to succeed in a competitive, creative field.”

• You can view Alister’s videos at his website.

Just a few weeks after starting at QE, Year 7 pupils headed off to an adventure centre to learn some new skills, test their nerve and have some fun together.

The visit to Stubbers Adventure Centre involved climbing, canoeing, archery and laser tag, with competition aplenty as the boys took on their friends and classmates.

The trip was open to the entire year group, with the Broughton, Harrisons’ and Leicester forms heading east to Essex on one day, and Pearce, Stapylton and Underne making the trip on another.

Crispin Bonham-Carter, Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement), said: “The timing and nature of this trip were quite deliberately chosen: through activities that required teamwork and collaboration, we wanted to give our youngest pupils the chance to cement some of the social bonds they have already formed over their first six weeks here, while also providing them with the opportunity to continue to make new friends.”

The trip was part of the new QE Flourish enrichment programme, which Mr Bonham-Carter oversees.

“We are keen that our boys get out beyond our campus to make the most of our location on the edge of the capital and of the opportunities nearby. Being out of doors and active was another key feature of the day.

“I was pleased that the boys had such a good time – and some of their tutors certainly got stuck in, too!”

The activities were run by the instructors at the centre near Upminster.

Alongside the healthy competition, some of the activities involved an element of trust. In the wall-climbing, for example, participants had to rely on their team-mates who were on the ground holding their ropes.

Siddharth Josyula, a member of Year 7’s Leicester form, said: “First, we went canoeing on the lake. After putting on our life-jackets, we learnt how to balance on the boat and paddle across the lake. My team, which consisted of me, Tahiyan [Khan] and Mr Batchelor [Chemistry teacher Thomas Batchelor], dominated 7L. We even turned around to help others who were struggling. Though my legs got a bit wet, overall, I enjoyed the experience of rowing for the first time.”

After lunch, he headed to the rock-climbing walls and then archery.

“The last activity of the day was laser tag and I was absolutely thrilled as the battlefield looked so cool, like in a movie. Our team lost 3-1, but it was a lot of fun running around and taking cover from shots.

“On the coach journey home, I had my left-over snacks from lunchtime, thinking what fun I had and what memories I made.”

His fellow Leicester form member, Somansh Patro, said afterwards: “That day was unbelievable! Overall, my favourite was rock-climbing – it blew my mind how far I had climbed. I probably stayed up for 10 minutes. Laser tag was fun too and a lot of us scored bull’s eyes in archery  in my team.”

Canoeing was the hardest of all, Somansh felt, because of the “fearsome” demands of paddling successfully. “But I enjoyed it, especially with the good co-ordination between me and Sarang [Venkatasubramaniam], my partner and friend. The amount of fun I had was utterly to the max!”

Last year’s leavers turned out in force to pass on the benefit of their recent experience to current sixth-formers at QE’s annual University Convention.

With the 2021 event moved online because of the pandemic, this year’s convention provided an eagerly awaited opportunity for the School’s newest alumni to meet face-to-face with Year 12s thinking about following in their footsteps.

The day also brought a QE first – a series of afternoon water polo friendly matches involving the Old Elizabethans playing with, and against, the School’s current senior players.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was great to catch up with these, our youngest old boys, as they passed on some ultra-current advice to Year 12 students, whether on university and course choices, gap years or industry placements. My thanks go to all of them for giving their time to support their School.”

Most of the OEs attending the convention are currently in their first years on sought-after degree courses at leading universities, including Oxbridge and the Russell Group institutions.

Those giving presentations included 2021 leaver Deshraam Ganeshamoorthy, who has been spending this year with Springboard Pro, a Cambridge engineering consultancy, after successfully securing a coveted Year in Industry placement. The scheme places around 750 young people annually in engineering, science, IT, and business, where most work full-time before going on to join degree courses.

After the convention, the OEs had the opportunity to catch up with each other and with some of their former teachers over lunch.

Then, in the afternoon 16 visiting old boys headed for the Martin Swimming Pool for the water polo friendlies.

The day finished with two OE sides playing each other, which finished in a well-fought draw.

Head of Aquatics Richard Scally said: “It was a very enjoyable afternoon, with some competitive polo played. There was considerable interest – including from old boys who couldn’t make it on the day – so we would like to expand it in the future.

“I was pleased that a good number of OEs are still playing, whether for their university sides or clubs. Hopefully, by chatting to them, our current team will be inspired to follow suit.”

Businesswoman, author and coach Gifty Enright explained to sixth-formers how ‘gender bias traps’ blight the world of work – and set out ways in which men can act as allies and support women in escaping them.

Her virtual talk was one of a number of activities held at the School during the week of International Women’s Day (IWD), which this year had the theme of #BreakTheBias.

Several discussion societies run by pupils held IWD-inspired sessions, while tutors also covered IWD topics during boys’ Personal Development Time lessons.

Headmaster Neil Enright (no relation) said: “My huge thanks go to Gifty for her insightful and informative talk that highlighted exactly why International Women’s Day is both relevant and important in an all-boys’ school such as ours. Not only did she raise awareness of the issues that women continue to face routinely in society and the workplace, but she also had some very practical suggestions for how young men could make a positive contribution in challenging conscious and unconscious bias in a range of situations.

“Her talk and the other activities during the week complement the work we have been doing to encourage boys to adopt the stance of ‘active bystander’ and thus to oppose injustice and prejudice across society. Hearing from external expert speakers, with their different perspectives and experiences, is a very useful way for our boys to gain a deeper understanding, provoking both reflection and discussion.”

Born in Kumasi, the ancient capital of the Ashanti people in Ghana, Gifty Enright has lived in Hertfordshire for the past 35 years. Having trained as an accountant, she later moved into Information Technology and is today the managing director of a sports events company, and also provides IT consulting services on major transformation programmes to multi-national companies. She is married with two children.

In her Zoom lecture to Years 12 and 13, she outlined six gender bias traps that women face. In each case, she gave a scenario to explain how the trap might play out and then challenged the sixth-formers with a suggestion on what they could do to ameliorate the situation.

Under the topic of ‘attribution’, for example, she gave this scenario: “A female colleague says something in a meeting and is ignored but a male colleague says the same thing and everyone jumps on the idea.” The challenge she passed on was this: “Remind everyone that the idea originated from the female colleague.”

For ‘maternal’, the scenario imagined someone in a business setting discussing whether a particular woman should be entrusted with a major project in these words: “Do you think it is a good idea to burden her with such a big project straight out of maternity leave?” The challenge she gave was to respond in this way: “She still has the same skillset she did before her leave. How can we best support her?”

In a question-and-answer session afterwards, boys asked for advice on practical things such as their approach to what they read, what music they listen to and how that can impact upon their understanding of the issues facing women. Gifty replied that people should read and watch what they enjoy, but try to engage with material from a wide range of artists, including those of different genders, races and backgrounds.

Boys also asked about what she thought the impact of the war in Ukraine may have on women and on gender inequality. She responded that in such situations, gender inequality is usually exacerbated, whilst noting how dreadful the current situation is for everyone there.

With the BAFTAs fresh in everyone’s mind, QE’s stars of the small screen have been picking up their own awards for their work to help fellow pupils.

In a first for the School, QE’s team of peer mentors this year produced a series of short videos to share their wisdom and experience with younger pupils, providing useful tips and advice on topics ranging from coping with stress to how to use a homework diary.

To reward these senior pupils’ talent and commitment, the best of their work was recognised in an informal awards ceremony, when a number of prizes were awarded.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Over the years, our teams of peer mentors have made, and continue to make, a great contribution as a much-valued part of the wider support network at the School. Both mentors and mentees routinely take a lot away from these relationships.

“There was great creativity and skill on display in these bite-sized videos, which communicated some very important and insightful messages. Everyone involved with any of the videos should be proud of their efforts and the way they are helping to support others.”

The peer videos project was organised by Head of Extra-curricular Enrichment Rebecca Grundy and Head of Year 10 Micah King, with the explicit purpose of widening the number of pupils who could benefit from the guidance of peer mentors. The peer mentors began working on their films in November, each selecting a topic that had been identified as a need for pupils within the School, and then teamed up to script, film and edit their videos.

“The boys worked incredibly hard together to produce such high-quality videos, and one particular joy of this project was watching older and younger peer mentors collaborate to share their wisdom with our QE community,” said Mr King. “Each team had to create project proposals and submit multiple drafts of their videos – and  the end results speak for themselves: they are an excellent collection of videos and the boys are a credit to the School.”

• The award for best film overall went to the Year 13 team of Paul Ofordu, Miguel Nieves, Manomay Lala-Raykar and Aadarsh Khimasia, which Paul and Manomay directed, with Paul additionally producing and editing the video, Managing Stress and Anxiety. Paul also took the best actor award for his role in the three-minute production (pictured top). To combat stress, they recommended meditation, journalling, controlling one’s own social media use, sleep and healthy eating. The judges’ comments were: “This film combined superb advice, with great editing, cinematography, acting and presenting. The Year 13 producers of this film are a credit to this school, and their film epitomises the wonderful help, wisdom and guidance they have given to QE. “The judges also commented that: “Paul is a great role model for students on camera. His acting skills are compelling, while he presents great advice wonderfully.”
• Adam Khaliq and Rudra Thakkar, both of Year 12, won the award for best cinematography with their film, Making friends at QE. “This award was given in recognition of the joy that was captured on film,” the judges wrote. “This advice guide would cheer and support students who are struggling, and the filming was creative and adventurous.”
• The best editing award went to Shuaib Adam, of Year 11, whose film was entitled How to prepare a study space at home. The citation for this was: “When we first watched this, Ms Grundy remarked that you could imagine seeing this on the BBC. Superb use of speed up/slowed down footage, great voiceovers and text overlay. A masterful piece of editing.”
• The best producer award went jointly to the Year 12 pair of Haipei Jiang and Nivain  Goonasekera, for How to manage your homework. It was, the judges wrote, an “Excellent stop motion video, which combined great advice with a fun, entertaining and wonderfully produced guide.”
• Darren Lee, of Year 11, was also recognised for his graphic design, with the judges commenting that this work was: “Creative and professional. Darren’s graphic design is outstanding, managing to maintain the School’s branding in his banner, while demonstrating his own creativity in the buttons he designed.”

All the videos are in the support and advice section of eQE, the School’s e-platform and learning platform.

QE marked LGBT History Month with a string of special activities, including a talk by one of the UK’s leading advocates for inclusion in schools.

Shaun Dellenty, who has been honoured at the National Diversity Awards and was praised by then Prime Minister David Cameron for his work, led a virtual assembly for the Sixth Form, urging the boys to use their voices to advocate for what they believe in.

Other activities during the month included a talk to Years 9 & 10 from the LGBT+ young people’s charity, Just Like Us, as well as a competition, and a quiz run by the School’s LGBTQ-E Society, which was very well attended.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Shaun’s assembly was an important reminder of the progress that has been made in recent decades, but also an indication that there remains much to be done. At QE, through events such as these, as well as our Personal Development Time programme and the work of our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Ambassadors, we seek to ensure that our School community is a place where all are treated with respect and kindness.”

Shaun Dellenty, who has been named as one of the top 100 most influential LGBT people in the UK, began by noting that not all countries have an LGBT History Month, and that LGBT rights are still very unequal across the globe.

By becoming an ‘upstander’ – one who intervenes on behalf of those who are being attacked or bullied – he had had influence beyond his expectations, with a life journey that had taken him all the way to Downing Street. He told the boys he hoped the boys would reflect on how they could similarly use their voice to advocate for what they believe in.

LGBT History is, he said, a case of “making visible what has often been invisible”. His talk looked at the progress made over time, noting the milestones, such as the 1969 Stonewall riots, which marked a shift in the profile of LGBT issues.

He spoke about the progress of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) agenda in Parliament – where until recently he worked two days a week – as well as in many large companies and organisations.

Mr Dellenty, who is a teacher and is a Diversity and Inclusion Manager at an independent school,  also spoke about the impact of words and of ‘banter’ – the damage done to people, sometimes leading to very serious consequences. “You need to take ownership of what comes out of your mouth,” he told the Sixth Form audience.

Head of Year 13 Simon Walker thanked Mr Dellenty for his talk. He noted as a History teacher that it was striking that LGBT histories were only now just starting to be unearthed or be focused on: they had previously simply not been regarded as a priority.

EDI Ambassadors Heemy Kalam and Victor Angelov, of Year 12, and the LGBTQ-E Society jointly ran a creative House competition on the theme of LGBT heroes.

Rebecca Grundy (Head of Extra-Curricular Enrichment) said a judging panel had chosen Year 9’s Trishan Chanda as the winner for his “very interesting essay” on Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, a 19^th-century German lawyer, jurist, journalist and writer, who is regarded as a pioneer in the study of sexual relationships. Second place went to Anik Singh, of Year 9, for a poster, and joint-third to Keon Roberts and Samrath Sareen, both of Year 9, for a poster and presentation respectively. All Houses were given House points based on how many entries they submitted, with bonus points given for the top three competition places. As a result, Underne won the  competition overall, with Stapylton second and Harrisons’ third.