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QE debaters have reached the national round of the European Youth Parliament competition after scoring a comprehensive victory against other leading schools.

The resolution proposed by the eight Year 12 pupils was the first to pass – by a vote from all the delegates – and was one of only two motions out of six that were passed during the day-long regional forum, which was held at the European Commission’s London offices in Smith Square.
Academic Enrichment Tutor and Geography Teacher Helen Davies said: “The QE boys came out as the clear top-performing team on the day. It was fantastic to see them getting fully involved in an event which requires such a wide base of knowledge about political events in the EU, as well as excellent public-speaking skills. 

“It was particularly pleasing to note the feedback of the judges, who could hardly find any fault with our team. All eight boys should feel very proud of their performance,” said Miss Davies.

Team member Atul John reflected on a “thoroughly enjoyable experience”, saying: “Having only been given a few weeks to prepare for this, I was very pleased with how much we were able to contribute on the day. Being chosen to go through to the national round is a brilliant result and I’m really looking forward to it.”

The European Youth Parliament (EYP) is a competition which gives pupils the opportunity to discuss a range of topics affecting young people across Europe. Six resolutions were proposed throughout the day, each by a different ‘committee’ (i.e. school) and all delegates had the opportunity to respond, before a vote was taken on whether to pass each one. Other participants included teams from North London Collegiate School and City of London School for Girls.

QE’s team were representing the Committee on Human Rights and were proposing the resolution: “With the aftermath of Brexit showing a sharp rise in hate crimes, how can the European Union protect its minority groups from racially motivated crime whilst safeguarding its citizens’ rights to freedom of expression?”

The team comprised: Fawwaz Ahmed, Eddy Burchett, Atul John, Rahul Kanwar, Ravi Karia, Usman Merchant, Karan Sanghavi and Jathieesan Umaasuthan. 

“Ravi started off the QE session with a rousing three-minute speech outlining the key moral themes behind the resolution,” reported Miss Davies. “Atul took on a key role, effectively responding to attacks and proposed amendments to the resolution from other delegates.” Key ideas covered by the team included the importance of education at all levels in society, as the most viable and long-term solution to reducing prejudice, and the importance of community service for more minor offences as a method of ‘paying back’ to society. 

“Rahul gave a very clearly constructed summation speech, referencing past EU law and emphasising the importance of unity and cohesion between EU countries to enable a more effective solution.”

Throughout the day, the QE team also responded to resolutions on a range of other interesting issues, including: EU relations with the new US administration; the EU’s ethical obligations in terms of its arms exports, and how best to support the large percentage of EU citizens who experience mental health problems and how to reduce stigma in this area. 

“Jathieesan gave a particularly insightful and inspiring speech attacking another committee’s resolution which proposed market control on sugary drinks: it played an important role in preventing that motion from being passed,” Miss Davies added.

“The judges noted that all eight of our students were very good public speakers individually, but also worked very effectively together as a team, sharing ideas and information with each other throughout the day. In addition, they were praised for knowing their research inside-out and for applying key points and evidence at appropriate points through the debates, rather than just listing facts and figures. On many occasions, our boys brought an entirely new line of thinking to the debate, which was then followed up by other schools.”

Year 10 boy Rishi Shah took part in the final of the national Pupil Librarian of the Year – and he had a well-known author to support him.

The five finalists, together with their families and school librarians, were invited to Portcullis House in Westminster for the award ceremony.

Twenty children’s authors were there with the finalists and one of these – Holly Smale, author of the best-selling series Geek Girl – supported Rishi, reading out a statement about his work in The Queen’s Library and some plaudits from School staff.

Barbara Band, Chair of the Judging Panel and founder of the award, said: “Whilst there has to be one winner, the day is about all five finalists and their achievements.”

An address was given by Cathy Cassidy, who spoke up in defence of libraries and their importance to society, saying how vital it is that young people continue to support them.

All the shortlisted pupil librarians, who came from as far afield as Belfast and Hampshire, went away with a pile of signed books from the visiting authors, as well as a framed certificate and glass book award.

Rishi has helped in the Library for two years, and although he did not win the award, QE Librarian Ciara Murray re-iterated her praise for his work: “Rishi is a very dedicated and mature member of the team that I can trust with any job I throw at him and is continually thinking of ways to improve what the Library offers. It has been a delight to have him working here – long may it continue!

“The work of the pupil librarians in Queen Elizabeth’s is vital in allowing us to offer the great service that we provide. The boys are given real responsibility from day one, and they regularly give up their time – often well beyond what is asked of them – to help us.”

The winner was Victoria Langford, a pupil at St Hilda’s CE High School in Liverpool.

QE’s youngest boys have rounded off their first season of rugby with strong showings in two important competitions.

The Year 7 squad not only won the Shield in the Reigate Sevens, but then went to notch up a string of successes against some of Hertfordshire’s best rugby schools in a 10-a-side tournament.

PE & Games teacher Luke Jacobs, who is in charge of Year 7 rugby, said: “The progression and commitment of this group of players in the rugby season has been outstanding. When a sizeable amount of work has been put in by a group of students, especially when they are new to the School, it is important that they are acknowledged and rewarded, so it is fitting that they have finished the year with two notable accolades.

“These successes will set a benchmark for the rest of their sporting and academic life here at QE.”

In only their second experience of sevens rugby, the QE boys recorded wins against respected schools such as Colfe’s from Greenwich and Judd from Tonbridge, Kent, in the Reigate Sevens. Having progressed through the group stage, they then went unbeaten to take the competition’s Shield trophy.

A few days later, the Year 7s headed off to Kitchener’s Playing Fields at Berkhamsted School for the Hertfordshire 10-a-side Tournament.

“This is the final U12 regional competition in the school rugby calendar and an accurate yardstick of the development Year 7s have made since they started playing, most for the first time, in September,” said Mr Jacobs.

They played seven games, won four, drew two and lost only to the eventual winners, Bishop’s Stortford High School. Along the way, they defeated Richard Hale School – a school they had lost to 50-5 earlier in the season.

Mathematics expert Dr Katie Steckles gave QE boys plenty to puzzle over and enjoy during an entertaining, interactive talk.

An accomplished communicator who works with the organisation, Think Maths, she was invited in to School to speak to the whole of Year 10 – the seventh time a Thinks Maths speaker has visited QE, but the first such visit from Dr Steckles.

Since finishing her PhD in 2011, she has talked about Mathematics in schools, at science and music festivals, on BBC radio, in theatre shows and on the internet. In 2016, Dr Steckles was awarded the Joshua Phillips Award for Innovation in Science Engagement, a national award established to recognise and support rising talent in science communication, which resulted in her becoming science communicator-in-residence at the Manchester Science Festival 2016.

Entitled Shapes and Smoke Rings, her QE lecture began with a puzzle: given these shapes (pictured), could the boys draw a line to connect the matching shapes without the lines crossing over each other or going outside the rectangle?  The top three shapes are touching the top of the rectangle and the lines do not have to be straight, Dr Steckles said.

She then set the boys the challenge of moving their arm from a position where the palm faced downwards to one where it faced upwards without moving their elbow. Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung said: “After a little experimentation, the boys were given a clue of ‘use your elbow’!”

This led on to Dr Steckles’ third-favourite shape, the sphere. Spheres, she said, are ubiquitous – seen in objects ranging from basketballs to the dengue fever and ebola viruses – yet they are strange: on a sphere, it is possible to create a triangle whose angles add up to more than 180 degrees.

She chose pupil Aryan Jain to go up to the stage where he was instructed to draw some dots on a balloon and join up any combination of the dots using some lines. He had to count the number of dots, the number of lines and the number of regions, and use these values in a formula which she gave him. Next he had to convert the resulting number to a letter using A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, etc. and write down a fruit which begins with that letter. Aryan came up with ‘banana’ just as Dr Steckles was eating one on the other side of the screen! How was that possible? The key is knowing the Euler characteristic of a sphere (which is 2), she explained.

The talk moved onto the Mobius Band and all its curious properties. The boys were amazed that a single Mobius strip could be turned into interlocking rings and that two Mobius strips joined together perpendicularly could transform into interlocking hearts, Miss Fung said. Dr Steckles talked about her favourite shape – the torus – explaining how to make one by taking a cylinder and joining the two ends together. It also has an Euler characteristic, but in this case it is zero. She finished her lecture by creating tori using a smoke machine and showing that they are a stable vortex (unlike tornadoes).  “There were audible gasps of awe as the smoke rings drifted across the Main Hall,” said Miss Fung.

“The boys really enjoyed the lecture as it gave them a wider understanding of how Maths can be applied, as well as its purely theoretical side,” Miss Fung concluded.  “It introduced Year 10 to shapes that are not on the School syllabus and encouraged them to think about why formulae work and where they come from. Most importantly of all, it reminded them that Maths is magical.”

Afterwards, several of the boys reflected on what they had enjoyed in the lecture:

• Reza Sair: “I liked the Mobius Bands and how it was explained – very cool.”
• Vithusan Kuganathan: “The idea that topology can link everyday 3D shapes like spheres to weird shapes like the torus was mind-bending.”
• Shai Kuganesan: “I liked seeing the information in real life, rather than on videos – it made me appreciate it more.”
• Shayan Sadjady: “The tricks were magical.”
• Suvir Rathore: “I enjoyed the puzzles.”

Two QE teams have won places at the world championships of a robotics competition – even though it was the first year that the School has entered.

The Gearsquad and HYBRID teams both qualified for the VEX IQ Robotics international finals in Kentucky at the end of April with a strong showing at the national final, which took place at Birmingham’s NEC as part of The Big Bang – a major event for young scientists and engineers.

The QE boys’ achievements in Birmingham follow a string of record-breaking successes against 29 other teams at two regional rounds of the competition in London. Both QE teams are drawn from the School’s new robotics club.

Congratulating them, Head of Technology Michael Noonan said: “The boys were absolutely ecstatic. Gearsquad qualified thanks to their excellent performance on the day, while HYBRID also picked up a qualification berth at the world championships because of their very high UK ranking.”

Mr Noonan said the day in Birmingham began with a briefing by Bridie Gaynor, the official in charge of all VEX competitions in the UK. “She gave detailed instructions to all drivers for the driver-skills element of the proceedings.”

Competition then began, including both driving and autonomous control of the robots. “We scored admirably, with Gearsquad leading this competition for most of the day. They matched their highest-ever driving score of 65, and followed up with an autonomous score of 102 – a new record!” HYBRID secured a driver score of 56 and an autonomous score of 27.

The attentions of both teams quickly turned to the teamwork challenge, in which the boys held national records following their performance in the regional rounds. “The competition was tremendously demanding, with driving, presenting and programming all presenting their challenges – and they still faced the additional challenge of presenting their STEM research projects,” said Mr Noonan. The Gearsquad boys presented their research for an autonomous wheelchair which could climb stairs and the HYBRID team set our their ideas for an autonomous robot which could assist people who are infirm at home.

Both sets of boys had to squeeze these presentations in between teamwork alliance matches, in which the boys were paired with various teams from around the country. At the end of this section, the Gearsquad finished first and HYBRID third, which meant that they would not be paired together in the teamwork finals.

“A nerve-biting finale ensued; teamwork alliances from around the country worked together and began to rack up considerable scores,” said Mr Noonan. “There was great tension in the air as the previous teamwork record score of 65 points – which had been achieved by the two QE teams working together in the London regional rounds – was eclipsed by another alliance. “ HYBRID were paired with HBS Synergy, a high-flying team from The Henrietta Barnett School. “They proceeded to establish a new UK record of 71 points in the final, which was a phenomenal achievement for the collegiality of both teams. However, not to be outdone, the final remaining alliance of HBS Vexplosions (another Henrietta Barnett team) and Gearsquad matched this score, and tied the competition!”

A judging panel member then ruled that Gearsquad and HBS Vexplosions were the winners, since the rules stated that any teams matching the score of the previous highest-scoring alliance should take first place.

“At the award ceremony the real highlight of the day came; first of all HYBRID won the Design Award, and then Gearsquad won not only the Teamwork Challenge title, but also the STEM Research Award and Excellence Award for the best team in competition – a great achievement on a national scale,” Mr Noonan concluded.

After a particularly strong campaign this year, QE’s top fencing team has won its county league, while the seconds finished the season as runners-up in theirs.

A series of successes saw the QE A squad beat Aldwickbury School from Harpenden into second place in the Hertfordshire Schools Spring 2017 Foil League, while the B team were pipped for the top spot in their division by Verulam School, St Albans. Both leagues comprise nine schools.

Fencing has been a popular extra-curricular activity at QE for a number of years, with external coaches provided by the Paul Davis Fencing Academy.

Congratulating the successful teams, Operations Manager Lisa Walter said the academy’s founder had been pleased with the conduct of fencers and their parents.

The academy is now planning to hold a Hertfordshire Schools Fencing Championships day in June.

The QE A team consists of: James Ford, of Year 10; Daniel Radzik-Rahman, Year 9, and Reza Sair, Year 10. The B team is: Mrinaank Chilkoti, of Year 8; Abdullah Chisti, of Year 8, and Ayush Patel, Year 8.

In addition to its history of fencing, QE numbers a national leader in the sport among its alumni: Piers Martin (OE 1987–1995), who is the son of current Chairman of Governors, Barrie Martin, was the first full-time Chief Executive Officer of British Fencing, serving from 2008 to 2012.