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Two QE boys have been named as Highly Commended in the prestigious national Young Geographer of the Year competition.

Year 10 pupil Rishi Shah (pictured below) was selected by the Royal Geographical Society in the Key Stage 4 category of the competition, while Sixth-Former Vincent Chung (pictured left) achieved the same accolade in the A-level category. For each category, only three Highly Commended awards were given across the whole country.

Rishi and Vincent were presented with their awards at a ceremony at the RGS in central London, which was followed by a celebration lunch. All the award-winning competition entries were displayed during the event.

Headmaster Neil Enright, who is himself a geographer, said: “My congratulations go to Rishi and Vincent and to their teachers. This is a popular and very well regarded competition, so their achievement really is worthy of note.”

For the 2016 competition, entitled How is Britain changing?, pupils were challenged to explore geographical change at both local and national scales and from different perspectives – including human Geography, built and managed environments, physical features of the landscape, geographical processes driving change and whether Britain’s geopolitical relationships with the EU and other countries might be changing.

The RGS encourages schools to run their own local rounds before entering their top-placed entries in the national competition.

Writing to the School to congratulate Rishi and Vincent, Maryam Sharif-Draper, RGS Project Officer: Schools and HE, said: “This year’s competition was of a very high standard, with over 750 entries submitted to the Society and over 5,000 students taking part at school, so Rishi and Vincent should be particularly pleased with their achievement."

A recent concert demonstrated to the full the breadth and depth of Music at Queen Elizabeth’s School.

The Senior Chamber Concert featured 28 senior pupils performing solo or in small groups

The evening programme featured Music that ranged from well-known standards of the classical western repertoire – such as Beethoven’s Für Elise, played by Year 12 pianist Shiran Gnanaraj – to favourites from other traditions, such as Indian film composer Ilayarajah’s Poongathu Thirumbuma (Flower in the Breeze), in which Shiran played together with Year 12 Shayen Sathiananthan on alto saxophone and Year 13 Himal Bulathsinhala on the tabla.

The range of instruments was equally wide: Jonathan Ho, of Year 10, played Handel’s Sonata in E major on the xylophone, while Jonathan Beresford, of Year 13, opened the concert with Malcolm Arnold’s Fantasy for Tuba.

Director of Music Cheryl Horne congratulated the boys on their performances. She added: “I was pleased to see in the audience not only the parents of the performers, but also parents of some younger boys: I feel sure they will have been inspired by what they heard from our senior musicians.”

The accompanist was one of the School’s peripatetic Music teachers, Tadashi Imai, who has performed in venues including the Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields.

It is with regret that the Association announces the death of John Robinson (1934-40) who passed away on 18 June 2016.

It is with regret that the Association announces the death of Roderick Wheelans (1936-40) after a short illness on 26 September 2016.

All of Year 8 visited Hampton Court Palace to find out about Henry VIII and later monarchs and to see for themselves how people lived in the time of the Tudors and Stuarts.

Many aspects of History were covered, including the role of kings and queens in England during the period, the lifestyle of people at different levels in English Early Modern society and the architectural history of the palace itself.

Pupils also had the chance to examine more unusual aspects, such as the culinary history of Hampton Court. They found out about the elaborate dining rules, the cooking methods and about people’s dietary likes and dislikes in the period. The boys learned that chicken was, alongside venison, the most expensive meat and that a 13-year-old living in the Tudor Court would have consumed, on average, one litre of ale a day.

Year 8 Raphael Herberg said: “It was really interesting to see the Tudor kltchens, especially how they used to use huge fires to cook whole animals.”

History teacher Matt Dunston said the trip was arranged to complement the Year 8s’ study of Tudor England with particular attention to the Reformation. “The visit to the Chapel Royal was especially relevant to this, since it is a unique, physical example reflecting the mixture of religious policies enacted during the period.

“The boys also had the chance to look at a number of famous and important paintings, using their powers of deduction to learn about fashion and how the monarchy wished to portray itself.

“They really enjoyed the experience and learnt a great deal.”

Pupil Swattik Das agreed that his knowledge of the Tudors had been greatly enhanced by the trip, adding: “It was amazing to see the actual places in which the people we have been learning about lived their lives.”

An old boy returning to the School to speak at QE’s thriving Politics Society discussed the controversial world of lobbying.

Matthew Jaffa (OE 1992–1999) is the London Senior Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and outlined his organisation’s recent successful lobbying campaign over the revaluation of business rates.

The FSB believed the business rates were far too high for small and medium-sized businesses, and were consequently making them less competitive than larger businesses. However, under the revaluation announced in September 2016 following the FSB campaign, smaller firms will now pay no business rates whatsoever, and a new category has been introduced for medium-sized companies in order to differentiate between them and larger firms.

Yet Matthew (pictured below with Head of Politics, Liam Hargadon), whose visit was arranged and hosted by Year 12 pupil Rehaan Bapoo, believes there is far too much dishonesty within lobbying. He discussed the need for greater transparency among those attempting to influence Government policy-making. There can be moral dilemmas for people in the lobbying industry, he acknowledged, citing the example of those approached to lobby on behalf of tobacco companies.

He also gave the pupils insights into the various techniques and methods used by lobbyists, ranging from the straightforward – writing letters to, or telephoning, ministers and prominent MPs – to arranging meetings with such politicians and also lobbying through securing media coverage.

Asked about the possible effect of Brexit on small and medium-sized businesses, Matthew responded that leaving the European Union will have a will have a significant impact, particularly on the ability of firms to access talent and trade with other countries..

Matthew, who read Economics at Birmingham after leaving QE, suggested that pupils interested in Economics or business – especially those starting up a business of their own – should work closely with organisations such as the FSB. They could then secure benefits including lower insurance fees and legal cover.

He gave the boys advice on how to enter both the world of lobbying and the Civil Service, as well as giving a few practical tips on progressing as a professional: he stressed the importance of keeping a well-maintained LinkedIn page.