Viewing archives for Uncategorized

QE’s Sixth-Formers quite literally saw the dead hand of communism on a trip to Moscow and St Petersburg – but also savoured the architectural splendour of Russia’s imperial past. The trip involved historians from Years 12 and 13, who study Russia from the Communist takeover in 1917 to the death of Stalin in 1953.

Head of History Helen MacGregor recalled the striking start of their first full day in Moscow: “We got to see Lenin – who died in 1924! – in his mausoleum. It was amazing to see someone preserved who was so instrumental in world history, creating the first communist country. They paint Lenin with a secret formula once a week to stop him rotting, except that one hand wasn’t done in time and he therefore has black fingers.”

“We went into his mausoleum with a group of Chinese tourists, who bowed down as they passed his glass coffin,” she added.

The 27 boys also visited the Kremlin – an historic fortress as well as the base of the current president, Vladimir Putin – and the nearby grave of Stalin. Miss MacGregor noted that the group’s Russian tour guides were great admirers of Putin.

The final afternoon’s sightseeing in Moscow included opportunities to see the ornate Metro and the tombs of two more recent Russian leaders – Khrushchev and Yeltsin – at Novodevichy cemetery.

After two full days in Moscow, the pupils, accompanied by Miss MacGregor, Head of Year 12 Charlotte Coleman and Head of Year 13 Liam Hargadon, then took the famous night train to St Petersburg, which boasted four-berth cabins, toasted sandwiches and even wi-fi!

There they saw the magnificence of Tsarist Russia, with its huge palaces, beautiful gold decorations – including an entire room made out of amber in the Summer Palace – which formed a sharp contrast with the Soviet-era architecture of Moscow.

“It was very cold and it even snowed in St Petersburg, so we saw the Summer Palace just how it was built to be seen – with the blue outside walls contrasting spectacularly with the white of the snow,” said Miss MacGregor.

Pupil Conor Mellon said: “The trip enriched the perspective of the country that I had from my History lessons: walking through the Winter Palace 99 years to the day from the October Revolution was particularly cool.”

They went to a series of evening entertainments, with the most memorable being the ice hockey. “This was more like a disco, with music pumping out and cheerleaders dancing away every time play stopped,” said Miss MacGregor. “We cheered on the St Petersburg term and they got a resounding victory, which was good because the massive stadium was full of their supporters. We also went to a Russian circus in Moscow and saw some very bendy people and watched acrobats perform death-defying stunts.”

The group eagerly entered into the spirit of the country, tucking into plenty of beetroot, Stroganoff and savoury pancakes – although some also took in a trip to the local McDonald’s.

Sixth-Former Adrian Burbie said: “This was by far the best School trip I have ever been on. We threw ourselves head-first into experiencing true Russian culture – and the Soviet hat I bought more than made up for the cold.”

On their return, the boys reflected on a trip that was enjoyable and, at times, sobering too:

• Gregory Wong: “From the State University of Moscow to the Winter and Summer palaces of St Petersburg, never have I ever seen such amazing architecture that was so grand and wonderful.”
• Rufus Carruthers: “The diversity that was presented by visiting both Moscow and St Petersburg was particularly intriguing, due to their striking juxtaposition.”
• Erik Lam recalled the “breathtaking and inexplicably beautiful landmarks” and the “deathly silence of Lenin’s mausoleum”. He added: “For me, the guided tour of the Gulag museum was one of great value as not only were we confronted by the dark and unfortunate history of the Gulags in Russia, but also we were given an insight into the life and opinion of a person living in modern Russia; it lifted the veil on the mysterious and biased portrayal of Russia by Western media.”

A special workshop linked to a London-wide competition helped boost the confidence and public-speaking skills of Year 10 pupils at QE.

Some 25 boys took part in the day-long Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge workshop. The challenge is one of several programmes funded by Sir Jack Petchey, the 91-year-old East End entrepreneur, through The Jack Petchey Foundation. The boys took part in a number of activities, which culminated in an internal competition on the day.

QE Drama Co-ordinator Elaine White, who was involved in the event, said: “Some of the boys made really outstanding progress – their performances at the end of the day were unrecognisable when compared with where they started in the morning session.”

And Extra-Curricular Enrichment Tutor and History teacher Matt Dunston, who organised the workshop, added: “Creativity and self-confidence are traits that we wish to foster in boys; The Speak Out Challenge represents an excellent opportunity for doing this and for boys to benefit from the expertise of the foundation.”

The foundation’s Jonathan Drew, who facilitated the workshop, reported afterwards that he had been impressed at the efforts of all the boys. The formal feedback taken indicated that the boys felt the workshop had greatly increased their confidence, he said.

Four pupils – Yash Puli, Dylan Vekaria, Sankeith Kirubakaran and Joel Anjorin – were selected as potential entrants in the competition’s Barnet regional final in the New Year. They will now take part in a play-off to determine which one of them goes through.

After the workshop, the boys were enthusiastic about what they had learned. Joel said: “The activities were extremely enjoyable, engaging and interesting. I feel much more confident about public-speaking as a result of taking part.” Another participant, Vedant Nair, added: “I am now much more aware of things like body language, posture, hand gesture and tone when speaking to individuals and large groups. These will all help me not just in formal public-speaking, but in other areas of school life, too.”

QE played its part in the BBC Children in Need appeal, with 30 boys singing live in a televised joint choir at Elstree Studios – the base for this year’s national telethon. 

The pupils from Years 7, 8 and 9 were invited to join with other children from across the country in a massed performance of Bill Withers’ 1972 inspirational classic, Lean on Me.

In the studio, the QE boys sang in a joint choir alongside children from Mill Hill County High School, The Orion Primary in Edgware and Goldbeaters Primary, also in Edgware.

Director of Music Cheryl Horne said: “Whilst waiting for their afternoon studio rehearsal, our students were doing a bit of ‘celeb spotting’, most notably with cast members from EastEnders.

“After a short break and final rehearsal, it was time for 'lights, camera, action'!  Everyone performed with such enthusiasm and energy, making this a fantastic memory for our students which will last for many years.”

The amount raised currently stands at nearly £47m and is expected to rise further once all donations have been counted.

A QE Engineering team showed off their acclaimed design for a hi-tech hard hat to politicians, policy-makers and industry representatives at a special event at the House of Commons.

The four Sixth-Formers took the Sonus-mico Helmet – a special hat that warns construction workers when noise levels exceed safe levels – to the Big Bang @ Parliament event, where they joined nine other finalists in The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Competition.

The helmet was developed under the Engineering Education Scheme by Yazid Sukhia, Tochi Onoura, Christopher Suen and Sachin Ghelani (pictured below, left to right).

Technology teacher Shane Ryan said: “They confidently and articulately explained their project to the MPs and VIPs. Well done to all four of them!”

The Big Bang @ Parliament was held as part of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week, a collaboration between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the engineering community. The competition entrants were invited to Westminster by MP Stephen Metcalfe on behalf of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee – a 77-year-old organisation bringing together scientists, science-based industry, the academic world and politicians – which he chairs. He is also Chair of the Science and Technology Parliamentary Select Committee.

Guest speakers included: Mr Metcalfe; Paul Jackson, CEO of EngineeringUK (a not-for-profit organisation promoting the role of engineers) and Sara Sobka, Young Scientist of the Year 2015.

The competition’s finals will take place at The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair, which is being held at the NEC in Birmingham from 15–18 March 2017.

Queen Elizabeth’s School has been ranked as the best boys’ state secondary school in the influential Sunday Times Parent Power guide.

QE not only took second place overall in the 2016-17 state school rankings (behind The Henrietta Barnett School for girls), but also had the highest-ranked A-level results of any state school in the country. In fact, QE’s A-level ranking is bettered only by the independent St Paul’s Girls’ School in Hammersmith, so it is also the highest-placed boys’ school nationally for A-level results across both the state and independent sectors.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It is most pleasing that the efforts of our pupils and staff have once again been acknowledged in the Parent Power guide. Our high position reflects an excellent summer, during which we recorded our best-ever A-level results, with 98.9% of examinations gaining A*-B grades.”

In recent years, QE has gained a string of accolades, including taking first place in the Parent Power league table of the top 200 state schools for three consecutive years from 2013–2015. The table is based on performance in A-levels and GCSEs.

Another publication held in high regard by many parents, The Good Schools Guide, is lavish in its praise for QE. Its new London North edition, published recently, features two QE boys from Year 10, Sean Dieobi and Leo Kucera, on the front cover.

Following a visit last year, the guide’s Kate Hilpern described QE as “a remarkable school that offers the top 10 per cent of learners from a diversity of backgrounds an exceptional and rounded education that even private schools struggle to compete with….For those who thrive in a highly ordered, hard-grafting environment with an underlying sense of competition across all subjects, this is a great school that consistently turns our responsible young men with unbounded opportunities to succeed at university and their chosen careers beyond.”

QE played an even larger part than normal in this year’s Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. Not only did the School’s young actors perform The Merchant of Venice at the Arts Depot in North Finchley, but some also played key roles in a unique fundraiser based around Hamlet at a West End theatre.

The Trial of Hamlet brought together leading figures from showbusiness and the law to decide on the guilt or innocence of the Prince of Denmark. QE’s Nicholas Pirabaharan played the title role, with Keenan Dieobi playing Claudius at Wyndham’s Theatre.

The trial to establish whether Hamlet was guilty of the murder of Polonius – his first victim in the actual play – was presided over by a real-life judge, Lady Justice Hallett, with two QCs for the prosecution and another two for the defence. Among the celebrities taking part were comedians Lee Mack, Meera Syal, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Hugh Dennis (pictured above talking to Keenan and Nicholas), and actors Tom Conti and John Heffernan.

While the adults largely improvised the courtroom action, Nicholas and Keenan acted scenes from the play, which were presented to the audience as flashbacks. The boys had worked with the School’s Drama Co-ordinator Elaine White, who attended the performance, together with Headmaster Neil Enright.

“I know this was a truly amazing experience for Nicholas and Keenan, who were working alongside some very well-known actors and comedians and a number of illustrious QCs,” said Mr Enright. “My congratulations also go to the cast at the Arts Depot for a very impressive performance of The Merchant of Venice.”

Interviewed by BBC Radio Four’s flagship Today programme about The Trial of Hamlet, Nicholas, of Year 12, said: “It’s been such a blast to go over the lines of Hamlet and pick out the character and really understand what he is about. It’s such a three-dimensional character.”

And Keenan, also a Year 12 boy, added: “The more plays you do, you just realise that Shakespeare was just another lad and he had the same sort of thoughts that we have now, but he was able to write in such a way that it feels powerful.”

2016 is the fifth year of QE’s involvement in the Shakespeare Schools Festival (SSF), which is the world’s largest youth drama festival. SSF trains teachers and pupils in working with and performing Shakespeare’s works. The process culminates after months of preparation in performance evenings in theatres across the country, such as the one at the Arts Depot, where the QE boys’ abridged version of The Merchant of Venice was one of four Shakespeare plays to be performed on the same evening. The 21-strong cast featured boys from Year 10 upwards.

In the early years of QE’s involvement in the SSF, Elaine White directed the performances herself, but has progressively handed over to the boys. “It allows pupils to really flex their creative muscles, turning their love of Shakespeare into something really tangible,” she said.

“They feel so proud of what they’ve achieved and the way they’ve worked together to put the play on stage. Our students are used to honing their academic skills, but find they use a whole new set of skills for this process. It’s quite a journey for them.”

Christopher Deane, who co-directed The Merchant of Venice along with fellow Year 13 pupil Tochi Onuora, reflected on the nature of these skills: “If you’re taking on a leading role you need to understand how to take people’s ideas and decide what to include, and how to ensure everyone’s happy. Those skills apply to any team environment.”

And the jury’s verdict on Hamlet? Not guilty!