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Twenty-five Sixth-Formers laughed, learned and shivered on an Economics Department trip to Prague.

The visit not only took in the Czech capital’s famous historic sights, but also looked at various sectors of the country’s industry. The pupils found out how it has developed from, in some cases, the Middle Ages through to the present day. There were even a few opportunities to combine business with pleasure – including some traditional singing and dancing on the last night!

Economics teacher Sonia Strnad, who organised the visit, said: “Our trip went really well. The boys showed interest in all the activities and visits; they were reliable and demonstrated great teamwork. We were very lucky to be in Prague during the city’s Festival of Lights and we saw one performance in Namesti Miru (Peace Square).”

One of the party, Lochan Korpal, of Year 12, summed up his reflections on the five days: “The Prague trip was a great experience which brought key economic concepts to life.”

Twenty-one boys from Year 12 and a further four from Year 13, went on the visit, which began with a guided tour of the Museum of Communism. The QE group were given a lecture on communism and its impact on society and the economy.

Next came a three-hour walking tour of Prague, including a visit to the magnificent Prague Castle complex, with its magnificent St Vitus Cathedral. “In spite of the freezing temperatures – which the students underestimated despite my warnings! – they were really engaged and appreciated the beauty of Prague, its history, culture and stunning architecture: we even had a few ‘wows’ during the walk,” said Mrs Strnad.

“Later we warmed up with a ‘trdelnik’ [a traditional pastry] and hot chocolate, finishing the walk by crossing the famous Charles Bridge.”  An evening cruise on the River Vltava saw the QE party with the boat to themselves, from where they could enjoy views of the city while sampling a Czech buffet dinner.

On the next day, they travelled to the city of Mlada Boleslav, where they visited an icon of Czech industry – the Skoda car plant. Founded in 1895, Skoda was well known before the Second World War for producing advanced cars incorporating radical ideas and new technology. Today it is owned by Volkswagen and the car factory is one of the most modern in the world. Boys were able to see both the factory itself – Skoda is one of the few car manufacturers to welcome visitors – and the museum, which houses an impressive collection of historic vehicles, some dating back to the company’s earliest years.

“They saw the fully automated production process with ‘Just in Time’ methods, thus developing their knowledge and understanding of specialisation in car manufacturing. We also discussed Skoda’s business model and its success in global markets,” said Mrs Strnad.

Returning to Prague, they visited the beautiful Strahov Library and later climbed the 299 steps of the Petrin Tower and walked around the nearby mirror maze.

Among other highlights was a tour of the historic Pilsner Urquell brewery, the home of Pils lager, where beer has been brewed since the 13th century. The boys learned about the science behind the brewing process and enjoyed exploring the vast cellars.

On their last day, the group visited the Bohemia Crystal Glassworks: the Czech Republic is renowned for producing some of the world’s finest glassware. “The students could appreciate specialisation in this specific business context and see labour-intensive production methods with working conditions for staff that were very different to those of the brewery and Skoda,” said Mrs Strnad. The boys had a chance to try glass-blowing for themselves, discovering that it is both harder and hotter than it looks!

Year 12 pupil Viraj Gupta valued the visits to the factories: "They showed me the importance of division of labour in the real world and in different industries. These visits reminded me of how economics is intertwined in real life, giving me a greater appreciation of the subject."

For the final evening, the group were taken to a historic manor house just 15 minutes’ drive from the centre of Prague for a night of local hospitality, with traditional Czech food and folk-singing and dancing. “Boys participated in the masterclass and seemed to have great fun.  Eddie Houghton and Sajan Shah, both of Year 12, were the first to take part, with Kumaran Sri Ragavan, also from Year 12, joining in – he was impressively confident when dancing with the broom!”

“The best moment for me was the last night of the trip, when we ate a traditional Czech dinner,” said Samuel Gnanarai, of Year 12. “The funniest moment by far that night was when teachers and students got up and danced along to the traditional music. I haven't laughed that hard in ages!”

A Year 10 QE team finished as runners-up in a popular Geography quiz against competitors from other leading local schools.

Nine schools brought along teams comprising three Year 10 pupils each to the local round of the Geographical Association’s national competition, the Worldwise Quiz, which was held at Watford Grammar School for Girls. Representing QE were Drew Sellis, Rivu Chowdhury and Manas Madan.

Geography teacher Natasha Cottingham said: “The boys did very well against some stiff competition from schools like Dame Alice Owen’s and came second overall. Their performance was strong throughout the quiz.”

The topics covered by the rounds were:

• Landmarks of the UK
• Mixed Bag (in which pupils had one minute to answer as many questions as they could)
• Ordnance Survey maps
• Alphabet (in which the correct answers to questions began, in order, with letters from A to Z).

The Geographical Association, which is the country’s leading subject association for Geography teachers, organises the quiz with the objective of promoting Geography in schools.

Year 9 boys engaged in some serious scientific study while also having a great deal of fun during a four-day trip to Paris.

The half-term trip included visits to La Villette (a park housing the biggest Science museum in Europe), Le Bourget Air & Space Museum and a full day at Disneyland Paris.

The first day was spent travelling, including a ferry crossing. Day two featured an especially packed programme: not only were there the visits to Le Bourget and to the attractions at La Villette, including the planetarium, but there was also an evening meal at a Parisian restaurant and a trip to the Montparnasse Tower.

Physics teacher Gillian Deakin, who organised the trip, said: “This was a study tour specially designed to be relevant to the Key Stage 3 programme of study and to the new GCSE requirements for Biology, Physics and the Combined Science. Elements of the Le Bourget visit were also relevant to Design & Technology.”

At Le Bourget, the emphasis was on energy, motion and forces, with boys learning about:

• Gravity and its effect on bodies in the solar system
• Satellites
• Using energy
• Turning forces.

The La Villette Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie visit covered energy as well, with specific topics including nuclear physics and satellites. In addition, at La Villette boys were able to learn about the earth and its atmosphere, focusing on our planet’s structure and on the weathering and formation of rocks. And they looked too at the structure and function of living organisms, finding out about topics such as: cell structure and stem cells; relating cellular structure to organs, biotechnology and DNA.

On day three, the boys headed to Disneyland Paris and had their evening meal in the theme park. The final day included an opportunity to visit a hypermarket en route to the Calais ferry terminal.

“The trip went extremely well, with boys taking full advantage of the opportunities to learn, while also enjoying themselves tremendously,” said Miss Deakin.

Seventy senior pupils from QE and one of London’s leading girls’ schools met up for an academic symposium, organised by Geography teacher and Academic Enrichment Tutor, Helen Davies.

The afternoon event saw QE and North London Collegiate School pupils sharing ideas, discussing complex topics and challenging the ideas of others through detailed argument.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This symposium was an excellent example of an academic project conducted in partnership with another school of a similar profile. It afforded our boys and the NLCS girls the opportunity to interact with each other both academically and socially, and proved to be enjoyable and beneficial for all the participants.”

Involving 70 Year 13 pupils and 12 staff drawn from the two schools, the afternoon began with a thought-provoking introduction from QE’s Head of Politics and Head of Year13, Liam Hargadon, in which he touched on the US election, the importance of intellectual debate and the development of one’s own viewpoint.

The pupils were then split into different subject groups for discussions that were led by the students themselves, but prompted with challenging questions from teachers.

Topics included:

• English (Head of English, Susannah Sweetman): The use of humour in passages of writing and how appreciation of it might differ for different readers (ages, genders, occupations, etc.)
• History (History teacher and Head of Year 12, Charlotte Coleman): What is war?  Is ‘not peace’ equivalent to war?
• Economics (NLCS teacher): Is free-market economics the most beneficial system for Less Economically Developed Countries as well as More Economically Developed Countries?  How do we measure innovation in LEDCs when there might not always be the funds available to patent new ideas?
• Medicine (Chemistry teacher Susanna Butterworth): The morals involved in genetic engineering; how should scientists and governments deal with the risk of people wanting to create ‘designer babies’?

A Year 7 boy has returned in triumph from the 8th European Karate Championships in Italy.

Yusuf Karim won a silver medal in the strongly contested Individual Kata category at the WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federation) event in Montichiari in northern Italy. He was competing against a strong field of more than 70, including, from the last World Championships, the reigning Italian world champion and gold medallist, as well as the Romanian silver and bronze medallists. Yusuf scored a personal best in the second round.

He was also a gold medal-winner in the Team Kata category, with England beating the world-champion Italian team in their native country.

In the Individual Kumite category, he fought two matches and reached the quarter-finals.

Back home, Yusuf is keen to use his skills to contribute to the community: he has recently started coaching and mentoring lower belts at his club. He started in the sport four years ago and has enjoyed success at last year’s Welsh Open and at this year’s Polish Open, UK Open and at the World Championships in Dublin.

QE’s Combined Cadet Force turned out on parade for Remembrance Sunday in Barnet and also helped mark Armistice Day at the School.

The contingent joined veterans, reservists, representatives of the Armed Forces and other cadet forces for the commemorations, parading along the High Street to High Barnet War Memorial. At the memorial, Cadet Under Officer Janith Peiris, the School’s most senior cadet, laid a wreath on behalf of QE’s CCF.

The Mayor of Barnet, Councillor David Longstaff, said in a speech to the parade: “It is important that we never forget the sacrifice made by so many in the service of our country. Remembrance Sunday is the time to pause and reflect on the profound debt we owe those who have given their lives in the two world wars and recent conflicts, and to think of their families.

“This year’s commemorations have added poignancy: 100 years since the Battle of the Somme, where 419 people from the Barnet area lost their lives.”

Speaking afterwards, School Staff Instructor Charlie Maud-Munro said: “It was once again really an honour to take the boys on the parade.”

On Armistice Day, 11th November, as has become customary, the whole School joined together, along with the Chairman of Governors, Barrie Martin, for an act of remembrance. Year 10 boy Tristan Boldy sounded the Last Post. The two-minute silence was also observed in all classrooms.

Finally, the School’s cadets were taking part in a remembrance service on Monday 14th November.