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A medical expert who has advised some of the country’s biggest companies on stress spoke to QE boys about mental health and wellbeing in a special assembly.

The lecture to Years 8 and 10 by Dr Charlie Easmon comes just a few weeks after Prime Minister Theresa May made a high-profile announcement of plans to improve support for mental health, with the emphasis firmly on children and young people. In 2014, a Commons Health Select Committee report had warned of large increases in self-harm and serious psychological problems among under-18s.

Dr Easmon’s visit was organised by School Librarian Ciara Murray (pictured left below), who co-ordinates QE’s lecture programme, and by Head of Pupil Development Sarah Westcott (pictured right below) as part of the School’s Personal Development Programme.

Dr Westcott said: “We believe that boys here are generally happy and well-adjusted, but no school can afford to be complacent about the mental health of its pupils: at QE, we recognise that taking positive steps to promote wellbeing is both important and necessary.”

A primary care physician who provides occupational health and mental health services to many FTSE100 companies, Dr Easmon trained at St George's Hospital Medical School in South London and performed his medical elective period in Ghana. Since then, he has worked with a number of international medical organisations and charities and is currently President of the International Association of Physicians for the Overseas Services. His special interest is in mental and occupational health in the corporate setting, and particularly within high-stress arenas. His visit to QE was run through The McLellan Practice, an organisation which provides schools with speakers on important and challenging issues.

The special assembly represents just one element of QE’s work in this area. Promoting wellbeing is one of the emphases of the Pastoral Development Time programme, which is facilitated by form tutors. A mental health professional is available for a few hours a week from the NHS-run Barnet Schools Project for any pupils experiencing difficulties at school. The project also gives training to form tutors to help them develop their expertise in delivering the programme for tutor groups effectively. In addition, form tutors and pastoral leaders at the School are now supported by a partnership with Rephael House, a New Barnet-based charity, which makes available a school-based counsellor for any QE boys who might benefit.

Within the School, the long-established peer mentoring scheme provides support for boys from other pupils: it is based on an understanding both that younger pupils sometimes need support and that they may find it easier to discuss their worries with a fellow pupil than with a member of staff.

There are extensive resources relevant to wellbeing and mental health in The Queen’s Library, which has a new Shelf-Help: Reading Well collection. This is based on the Reading Well – Books on Prescription programme that is run in public libraries with the aim of helping people understand and manage their own health and wellbeing through self-help books that have been endorsed by experts in the field. The collection includes self-help and advice books on topics such as dealing with stress, anxiety and depression, and the importance of mindfulness, as well as more general books on growing up, identity, puberty, sex, relationships and LGBTQ issues. There are books about specific topics such as eating disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Asperger Syndrome and autism.

“All these books are carefully selected to inform and advise, allowing boys to recognise that they are not alone in whatever problems they may experience, and to equip them with skills to deal with them – or to ask for help when they need it,” said Ms Murray. “Furthermore, we have a wide-ranging and diverse collection of young adult fiction that showcases many of these issues.”

Following Dr Easmon’s talk, boys in Year 8 and Year 10 have been asked to consider their top three ‘must-reads’ that have had a positive impact on them, and Ms Murray will be compiling a list based on their recommendations.

It is with deep regret that the Association announces the death of Alan King (1947-55) on 3rd February 2017 after a long struggle with Parkinson's Disease. 

Alan was a Vice President of the Association and his devotion to the Association’s affairs was second to none.

The funeral will take place on Monday 6 March 2017 at 12 noon at

Bentley Crematorium
Ongar Road
Pilgrims Hatch
Brentwood
Essex
CM15 9RZ

Donations in Alan’s memory are being made to Parkinson's UK and should be sent to the funeral directors who are Bennetts, Fern House, 120 High Street, Brentwood CM14 4AS.

The leader of QE’s Jewish Society represented the School at the Holocaust Memorial Day 2017 ceremony in Barnet.

Year 12 pupil Eddy Burchett joined around 150 guests, who included the Mayor and Mayoress of the London Borough of Barnet, Councillor David Longstaff and Gillian Griffiths (The Mayoress is pictured below with Eddy), and the Leader of the Council, Councillor Richard Cornelius.

It was the first Holocaust Memorial Day event Eddy had attended – although he always pays his respects and wears the HMD lapel pin for the week –  and he found it very moving: “I am proud of representing QE and proud of my faith, so to be able to combine the two was special.”

The day commemorates the millions killed or who suffered in the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution and in subsequent genocides around the world. The theme of this year’s event was How can life go on? with speeches, readings and music reflecting on moving on after a time of tragedy. HMD also seeks to ensure that the lessons of the past are learnt, recognising the importance of preventing discrimination, racism and hatred.

After the ceremony, guests were each given a snowdrop bulb, which they were requested to plant to represent a child who died in the Holocaust.

Some 54,000 Jewish people live in Barnet – around 15% of the borough’s total population – which reputedly makes this the largest Jewish population between Tel Aviv and New York.

The Barnet commemoration was held at the Rickett Quadrangle of Middlesex University, Hendon, where Eddy enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with friends from his synagogue – Alyth in Golders Green. The Alyth Youth Singers performed Shtiller Shtiller by Alex Wolkoviski and The Butterfly by Lisa Glatzer Shenson.

The programme in Barnet finished with the final benediction set out below – the Biblical blessing of Israel by Aaron – which was pronounced by Eddy’s Rabbi, Mark Goldsmith, and by Reverend Bernd Koschland. Rabbi Goldsmith is due to come to QE as a guest of the Jewish Society in the next few weeks. Mr Koschland was sent to England at the age of eight on the Kindertransport – the informal name for an organised rescue effort that brought thousands of refugee Jewish children to Great Britain from Nazi Germany.

“The Lord bless you and protect you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you. The Lord turn his face to you and give you peace.”

Year 10 pupil Rishi Shah is among just five pupils from across the country to be selected as a finalist for the Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Award 2017.

He will now attend the award ceremony next month at the parliamentary building, Portcullis House in Westminster, where he will find out whether he has won the prestigious title. Rishi was nominated for the award by QE Librarian Ciara Murray.

Barbara Band, chair of the judges, said: “The judging panel felt his nomination and answers to … questions showed commitment, passion and a love of the school library and reading.”

Congratulating him, Ms Murray said: “Rishi has been an incredibly enthusiastic and dedicated librarian over the past couple of years and we are so pleased that this has been recognised by the judges. The detailed proposal he submitted for the competition shows his creativity and passion for inspiring others to read. We all have our fingers crossed for the ceremony in March, but even to be shortlisted is a significant achievement in such a hotly contested national competition.”

Rishi has helped in The Queen’s Library for the last two years. He has recently been assisting Ms Murray and the other pupil librarians in preparing for a special Harry Potter event for World Book Day. “It’s sure to draw in the crowds, given the continued popularity among our boys of the young wizard’s adventures,” said Ms Murray.

Rishi explained that nominees for the award had to submit a proposal explaining how they would spend an imaginary £500 given by school governors to promote their library amongst non-readers. His first idea was a literary treasure hunt in London. Participants would read a list of books beforehand and on the day of the trip, teams would have to work out a location in London –  such as the Globe Theatre – from clues provided via WhatsApp.  Participants would travel to the location, take a photo and send it back to prove they had solved the clue. Then they would be given their next clue. There would also be further opportunities to enjoy what was on offer during the treasure hunt, through an organised tour, for example.

Rishi also had a suggestion that was closer to home – to create a Senior School Reading Room, with comfortable seating and atmospheric lighting to enhance the experience of reading and encourage more boys to read in their lunchtimes.

Ms Murray is hoping that, with some thought, the School might be able to take one or both of his suggestions forward.

In addition, Headmaster Neil Enright has granted Rishi some extra funding to buy in more books to appeal specifically to Years 10 and 11.
Schools are only allowed to nominate one pupil each for the Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Award. The award was inaugurated in 2015 and is a joint venture between the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals School Libraries Group and the School Library Association.

It seeks to recognise the contribution made by pupils who work in their school libraries and acknowledge the skills they have gained.
The award ceremony will include afternoon tea, book-signing and a chance to meet some authors who are supporting the award. There may be a tour of the nearby Houses of Parliament afterwards.

• Rishi’s top three fiction recommendations from the Library are: The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown; The Bourne Ultimatum, by Robert Ludlum; and The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.

Eight sixth-formers took part in the first round of this year’s British Mathematical Olympiad and thus rank among the UK’s leading mathematicians. The figure is double the total of last year’s qualifiers from QE.

One pupil, Yuta Tscuchiya, gained a certificate of distinction and a silver medal for the second year running, scoring 46 out of a possible 60, while Aneesh Chopada won a similar certificate, scoring 38. The remaining six were awarded certificates of qualification. Both Yuta and Aneesh qualified for the second round; if successful there, they will be invited to take part in training to represent the UK in the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Round 1 of the British Olympiad is the follow-on round open to the very top participants in the UK Mathematics Trust’s (UKMT) Senior Maths Challenge. It comprises six extended questions to be completed in three-and-a-half hours. Round 2 has four questions to be answered over the same time period.

The other high achievers in the Challenge qualify for the other follow-on round, the Senior Kangaroo. This year, ten QE boys took part in the Senior Kangaroo, a one-hour paper sat in School.  The top 25% of entrants were awarded a Merit certificate, for which they needed a score of at least 55 out of 100. They included four QE boys: Sanchit Agrawal (55); Yuri Evdokimov (65); Oliver Robinson (70) and Nikhil Shah (65).

All the Senior Kangaroo questions required three-digit answers (using leading zeros where necessary) entered on to a machine-readable sheet. As a machine-marked competition that was not multiple-choice, it was the first competition of its kind to be organised by the UKMT.

Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung passed on her warmest congratulations to all the students participating in the Olympiad and Kangaroo and gave her best wishes to Yuta and Aneesh for their next round.

QE pupils heard university lecturers expound on philosophers from Plato to Simone Weil and on topics ranging from hedonism to the philosophy of Science in a mind-broadening Sixth-Form conference.

And the event at North London Collegiate School was especially memorable for the QE contingent because it was announced there that a younger QE pupil – Binu Perera, of Year 11 – had taken second place in a prestigious philosophy essay-writing competition.

The one-day conference featured the following contributions:

• Dr Chris Hamilton, Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Religion at King’s College London, who looked at the 20th-century French philosopher, Simone Weil, exploring how her philosophy connects with everyday life and is not merely to be studied, but instead makes demands on how we live our lives.
• Professor Roger Crisp, Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St Anne's College, Oxford, who discussed the relationship between utilitarianism and hedonism.
• Professor David Miller, Reader in Philosophy at Warwick, who explored the philosophy of Science, asking whether the scientific method is our only hope of discovering truths about the universe.
• Angie Hobbs, Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at Sheffield, who revealed how Plato’s philosophy still has plenty to teach us, even though it is 2,500 years old.

QE Head of Religion & Society, Jack Robertson, said: “Our boys asked a number of interesting questions after the lectures, with the organisers commenting on the high level of those questions.”

He also congratulated Binu, who was QE’s entry in the North London Philosophy Writing Competition, the final round of which was judged by Professors Crisp, Hobbs and Miller.

Binu’s essay tackled the question: Mark Zuckerberg has pledged 3bn dollars over the next 10 years to try to eliminate disease. Should we aim to extend people’s lives indefinitely? 

His closely argued composition concluded with a clear answer to the question posed: “To strive for immortality would only be an extension of all the discovery and research that has happened in the past century. We would be throwing away everything that we have worked so hard to achieve and would be failing our species not to work towards extending life indefinitely – to continue to innovate and learn is only human.”

Mr Robertson said: “The judges, who are three highly esteemed philosophers, were particularly impressed by the quality of the evidence provided for his argument, which demonstrated a great deal of research and hard work.”