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Former Cabinet Minister Sir Vince Cable gave a robust defence of the Liberal Democrats’ role in the Coalition Government and took a sanguine view of his party’s prospects when he spoke at Queen Elizabeth’s School.

Although ostensibly a Politics Society event, his talk in the Main Hall was very well attended by pupils from across the School.

Organiser Adrian Burbie of Year 12, (pictured below with Mr. Cable), a Senior Vice Captain of School, reported afterwards on the thoughts of the visiting politician, who lost his seat at the 2015 General Election. Sir Vince is the latest in a number of public figures and academics to give talks and lectures at the School during the current academic year.

Sir Vince, 72, contrasted his own route into politics with the typical route followed by today’s ‘career politicians’, namely a Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) degree at Oxford, followed by a post as an assistant or advisor in Parliament. He was born to working-class parents and attended a grammar school in York.

He initially studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge, before switching to Economics. After further study at Glasgow, he was a lecturer and research fellow both there and at the London School of Economics.

He spoke at great length about his period as Treasury Finance Officer to the Kenyan government, describing his time in Kenya as an “enriching and eye-opening” experience and recommended that students of Economics should seize any chance they are offered to go abroad. Sir Vince then took up a post as Chief Economist for Royal Dutch Shell from 1995-97.

He then recalled his transition into the world of politics, which began when he became a Labour councillor in Glasgow. He joined the SDP when they split from Labour in 1982. Six years later, the SDP merged with the Liberals to become the Liberal Democrats.

Sir Vince has held a variety of notable roles – Lib Dem Trade Spokesperson, followed by Lib Dem Treasury Spokesperson, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems from 2006-2010, and Acting Leader of the Lib Dems in 2007.

Notwithstanding the loss of his seat in 2015 and the Lib Dems’ disastrous performance in the same election, Sir Vince vigorously defended both his own and his party’s record. His talk included:

• His claim that he had correctly predicted the global financial crisis of 2007-10. (He wrote two well-received books, The Storm, of 2009, and last year’s After the Storm, in which he analysed the circumstances that precipitated and followed the crash.)
• A defence of going into coalition with the Conservatives after it became clear that a coalition with Labour was not numerically feasible. He felt that such a step was a necessity to avoid the financial meltdown that many at the time feared.
• Highlighting his proudest moment, in answer to a question by Year 7 pupil Manomay Lala-Raykar – which was his time as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, running such a major government department and negotiating with George Osborne and David Cameron.
• Justifying his department’s tripling of tuition fees to £9,000 – a point on which he was quizzed by pupil Year 12 pupil Maaz Shahzad. His department was forced to make cuts of over 25 per cent and he did not believe that the Scottish system of no tuition fees was sustainable or right, as it meant that universities were underfunded. He described the fees not as a debt, but as a ‘graduate tax’. He stated that the new system his department introduced was fairer and he pointed to statistics showing increased numbers of people (including those from deprived backgrounds) going to university. “The policy itself was good – I’d give the policy about 8 out of 10 – but the politics of it was poor – about 2 out of 10.”
• An emphatic answer to Year 12 pupil Craig Robertson, who accused him of “not doing enough to make the rich responsible and help the poor”.  The Lib Dems had managed to implement more than 80 per cent of their manifesto commitments in a coalition, he said, pointing out that inequality had risen in all western, developed economies, not just the UK.

Compared with their Conservative coalition partners, the Lib Dems had come off worse, and had been unfairly victimised and blamed, he said, having been especially tainted by the tuition fees episode. He had expected the Lib Dems’ share of seats in the Commons to go down to about 30, not eight.

Questioned by Year 13 pupil Bhavik Somani about whether the Lib Dems would come back as a credible political force, he responded that Labour’s move to the left represented a new opportunity which the party would be working to seize over the coming Parliament, capitalising on the “vacated” centre ground.

Although focusing on the serious business of politics, his talk was not without its lighter moments. He referred to his well-known love for ballroom dancing and spoke about his appearance on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special in 2010, where he scored an impressive 36/40 including, as he reminded the boys, 10/10 from Len Goodman – a recollection which drew laughter from the audience.

Sixth-Former Yuta Tsuchiya has added a fresh triumph to his record of mathematical achievement. 

Having reached Round 1 of the British Mathematical Olympiad with a perfect score in the UK Mathematics Trust’s Senior Maths Challenge, Yuta has now qualified for Round 2 – one of only 100 candidates nationally to do so.

Yuta, of Year 12, has been one of the School’s leading mathematicians for some time: when he was in Year 10, he finished in the top 100 nationally in the Intermediate Olympiad.

He was one of four QE Sixth-Formers to sit the Senior Olympiad’s first round: Lucas Duke, Daniil Slavin and Manos Spanoudakis (pictured below) all achieved certificates of qualification, while Yuta gained a certificate of distinction and a silver medal.

Round 1 consisted of six extended questions which had to be completed in three-and-a-half hours.  Round 2, which is of the same duration, will involve four extended questions. Success in Round 2 will result in an invitation to participate in training for the International Mathematical Olympiad.

A further 18 sixth-formers took part in the Senior Kangaroo, a separate follow-on round from the Senior Challenge for those not awarded places in the Olympiad. Merit certificates, which are awarded to the top 25 per cent of participants (those achieving scores of 50-plus), went to Jas Shah, who scored 70 out of 100, Sam Carling (60), Tochi Onuora (60), Hayato Murata (55) and Nitharsan Sathiyalingam (55) (pictured below). The remaining 13 Kangaroo participants received certificates of qualification.

The Senior Kangaroo is a one-hour paper that is sat in School. All the questions require three-digit answers, which are entered on to a machine-readable sheet similar to those used for the Senior Challenge. This is the first UKMT competition of its kind, in that it is not multiple-choice but is nonetheless marked by machine. 

QE’s Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung said: “Warmest congratulations to all our students and best wishes to Yuta for the next round.”

Year 13 pupil Valavan Ananthakumaraswamy is the first QE boy to be offered a place at Stanford University in the USA – one of the world’s leading teaching and research institutions. 

Valavan plans to follow a mixed Liberal Arts programme for the first two years of his four-year degree and will then probably major in Economics for the final two years.

He is currently studying A-levels in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Economics with Business. Valalvan’s interests at School have included the Combined Cadet Force and he has been involved in drama productions and in senior rugby.

He has also been heavily engaged in charitable work: he is the trustee, and one of the five QE founders, of a charity called The Youth Project (TYP), which ‘engages young people to make a change’. TYP initiatives range from projects in the slums and orphanages of India to a UK mentoring scheme helping children with disabilities develop computer skills. So successful has TYP been that other QE boys are now involved and links to other schools such as Westminster, Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ and St Albans, have been established.

Valavan has been interested in studying in the States for a while and he duly applied to the Sutton Trust’s US Programme. This scheme, which is delivered by the educational charity in partnership with the US-UK Fulbright Commission, gives bright British state school pupils a taste of life at an American University.

After his application was successful, Valavan attended one of the programme’s all-expenses-paid summer camps last year. Although these camps are held at East Coast Ivy League universities, Valavan was attracted by the courses offered by Stanford and by the fact that the Californian university’s courses seem to allow extensive opportunity for extra-curricular activities.

Term starts in mid-September, although Valavan is planning to go out to California in the summer. He is already thinking ahead and believes he may end up staying in the US on a longer-term basis.

Queen Elizabeth’s School is the top state school in the country, according to a new table published by the Sunday Times.

QE came eighth in the table overall, closely following seven leading independent schools, and nine places ahead of the next state school in the table. The table, drawn up by Parent Power, the newspaper’s schools guide, reflects examination success.

The Sunday Times journalist, Stephen Robinson, highlighted the dual trend of rising fees for independent schools and improving standards of state education, particularly among grammar schools. As a result, many parents who might previously have sent their children to independent schools are now seeking out the best state schools, he wrote.

Headmaster Neil Enright welcomed the School’s high place in the table and today announced that this year, 36 boys have been offered places at Cambridge and Oxford. “Over the past three years, we have received more than 100 Oxbridge offers, in addition to other boys gaining places at medical school or in Ivy League universities in the States, for example. That compares very favourably indeed with all the country’s top academic schools, whether in the independent or maintained sector.”

The 28 Cambridge and eight Oxford places are for subjects ranging from Natural Sciences, Law and Economics to Engineering, Experimental Psychology and Geography.

“Because of such successes, we are heavily over-subscribed and it is undoubtedly true that securing a place here is difficult,” said Mr Enright. “However, we are proud of the fact that our admissions system is strictly meritocratic: any very bright boy can become an Elizabethan, regardless of his social, ethnic or religious background. This results in an intake which is, in fact, very diverse.”

The Sunday Times table is based solely on academic performance – the proportion of A*-B grades combined with the proportion of A*/A grades at GCSE, with the A-level figures being double-weighted.

But Mr Enright pointed out that there is more to QE than examination success alone. “We are constant in our determination ‘to produce young men who are confident, able and responsible’, as our mission statement has it. There are very many extra-curricular activities here – from sports and the performing arts to chess, debating and academic clubs – and we expect all boys to contribute to the life of the School by getting involved.”

The Sunday Times table was based on the public examination results of last summer, when 98.4% of A-levels taken at QE were graded A*–B – the School’s second-best performance ever – while the GCSE results set a new QE record, with almost seven out of every ten examinations sat being awarded the top A* grade.

For the article in the Sunday Times magazine, Mr Robinson interviewed Quentin Carruthers, whose eldest son, Frederick, holds one of this year’s 36 Oxbridge offers at QE. Mr Carruthers works in the City as an editor of financial reports, but knew he would not be able to afford to send his sons to Radley College, the public school that both he and his father attended. The journalist pointed out that QE typically sends many more pupils to Oxford or Cambridge than Radley.

State schools top private rivals, The Sunday Times, Sunday 7 February 2016

Cutting the old school ties, The Sunday Times magazine, Sunday 7 February 2016

Two QE Sixth-Formers saw off strong competition to win the latest round of the UK’s oldest and largest debating competition for schools.

The winning team, Ché Applewhaite and Ridwan Uddin, of Year 12 (pictured below), beat teams from schools including Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ and University College (UCS) in the English Speaking Union’s Schools Mace competition. St John’s Senior School and Whitmore High School also took part.

All teams had already had to qualify to reach this round, with QE having competed successfully in Round 1 at ‘Habs’ before Christmas. QE will now go on to the regional final in March – the only team from the latest heat to progress. If they are successful at regional level, they will compete in the national final in the summer held at the ESU's headquarters in Mayfair, Dartmouth House (pictured top).

Hosted by QE, Round 2 was organised by Nisha Mayer, teacher in charge of debating and Head of Academic Enrichment and by History teacher Lottie Coleman.

There were three debates in total. QE’s winning team opposed the motion: ‘This House would prohibit British companies from trading with governments that criminalise homosexuality’. It was proposed by UCS.

Congratulating Ché and Ridwan, Mrs Mayer said: “They very impressively and thoroughly defeated the motion presented by UCS. This is only the third time a team from QE has progressed to this stage in ten years.”

QE also entered a ‘swing’ team (a non-qualifying team entered to strengthen the field), comprising Year 11 boys Ravi Karia and Jathieesan Umaasuthan (pictured right). They opposed St John's, who proposed that: ‘This house would ban all non-essential cosmetic surgery’. They also competed really well in what was their first inter-school debate, added Mrs Mayer, who concluded: “A very good night for QE debating.”

A weather expert combined fascinating insights into the work of the Met Office with some solid career advice when he visited the School to give a talk to senior pupils.

Operational Meteorologist Michael Evans explained how technology is constantly improving the accuracy of weather forecasting, as he delivered the latest in QE’s new series of extra-curricular enrichment lectures for boys from Years 11 to 13. A separate strand of lectures is under way for younger boys.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Mr Evans is an excellent communicator and is passionate about his subject, so we were delighted to welcome him as our guest. I believe our boys will not only have learnt more about meteorology; they will have been inspired by his determination not to let obstacles prevent him from following his chosen career path.”

Mr Evans joined the Met Office in 2013 after graduating in Geography from Exeter University. Although the Met Office headquarters are in Exeter, he is currently based in Northolt, working in the military information division.

He told his audience that Met Office computers analyse trillions of bits of data per hour, taking in readings including temperature, pressure, humidity and wind speed from all over the world. Technological improvements – including a recently installed £96m computer system – mean that a three-day forecast today is as accurate as a one-day forecast was only ten years ago.

His talk highlighted both well-known and lesser-known facts about the Met Office:

• Its data is used not only to predict daily weather, but to look at long-term trends such as global warming, with the information generated being used by governments;
• It conducts research into obtaining and analysing the weather in space;
• The weather forecasts it provides for TV and radio broadcast every day are paid for by Government out of taxation, but the Met Office sells other weather information to customers on a commercial basis – to energy companies and the re-insurance market, for example. Any profits are ploughed back into its work;
• The information the Met Office supplies helps with emergency weather situations in the UK and informs Government planning;
• The Met Office also assists British Armed Forces – Met Office employees are even embedded with military units and have recently been in Afghanistan.

Mr Evans told his audience that he became interested in the Met Office when he did an initial two-week work placement there. In his Geography course, he focused on weather, but he said in fact this degree may not have been ideal: studying Mathematics or Physics gives candidates the best opportunity of obtaining a post there because of the mathematics involved in the job.

However, he got the job, notwithstanding this gap in his qualifications, because of his other strengths, such as communications. He has since improved his mathematical skills by completing various courses.