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Five Elizabethans have received their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards in two ceremonies at St James’s Palace.

Akhil Amlani, Imran Khan, Christopher Brent, Yathushan Sivarajah and Hiten Morar were all presented with the prestigious award. To achieve it, the five worked through all five sections of the D of E Gold programme: Volunteering, Physical, Skills, Expedition and a Residential Section – a demanding process which takes at least 18 months.

For his residential project, Akhil Amlani, who was London’s Climate Change Champion 2008/9, took an eco-trip to the Netherlands to witness the impacts of climate change on a low-lying country and to see first-hand the the adaptation techniques used there. He then built an eco-garden on his return. Imran Khan took a Headstart Course in Engineering at Cambridge University, attending lectures and seminars to experience life as an undergraduate. Both spent time volunteering in a local primary school and a borough library, as well as learning and developing a new skill and completing physical recreation work.

Ninety boys at QE are currently working towards their Gold Award, many of whom have completed three of the five sections. The most recent group to join the Gold programme comprises 46 Year 12 boys, six of whom recently completed their residential stage at Trewern Outdoor Education Centre in Wales, where they spent four days white-water kayaking. Twenty-five boys are expected to take part in a five-day, 80km Gold walking expedition this summer in Snowdonia, preceded by a practice expedition in the Peak District. A further group have organised their own cycling expedition.

Teacher Christina Wu, who is in charge of QE’s Duke of Edinburgh programme, has introduced the Bronze Award at the School for the first time. Thirty Year 10 boys are working towards the award through QE, with an additional four external boys participating in the QE expedition. The practice expedition took place in Roydon, Essex, while the assessed expedition is over the May bank holiday, also in Essex. The boys will have to cover 30km over a weekend. They must map their own routes and then follow them by using a compass and finding grid references. They will be putting up their own tents and will cook for themselves using Trangia stoves. They will also have to complete a project while they are on expedition.

Year 13 pupil Makoto Takahashi has enjoyed a range of artistic opportunities under the Royal Academy Attract Programme.

In addition to guided tours of the Premiums and Van Gogh exhibitions and a life-drawing class led by a Royal Academician, he has been selected to take part in the Louis Vuitton Project for young artists. Joe Huber and Shyam Dattani, in Year 8, and
Aaron Tang and Matthew Rodin, of Year 10, were finalists in the Google 4 Doodle Competition, which attracted 60,000 entries.

The quality of entries to this year’s Geography through the window poster competition was outstanding, according to Geography teacher Geraldine Booth.

All the Year 7 students took part, producing an annotated poster of a place that they knew well. Each student had to find a photograph or image of a location and then describe it using the Geography Compass Rose tool (Natural, Economic, Social and Who Decides). The competition was won by Prahlad Patel, whose annotations contained detailed place-specific information.

More than 120 prizes were awarded during QE’s Senior Awards ceremony, which is a celebration both of individual success and of the meritocratic values of the School.

In his welcome, Headmaster John Marincowitz praised the efforts and achievements of students in Years 10 and 11 and the Sixth Form.

“Those who comprise an élite in education that is based upon fair, transparent and meritocratic processes deserve careful nurturing. Those among them that prove to be outstanding warrant recognition and celebration: that is the purpose of this occasion,” said Dr Marincowitz.

He reminded the audience that all countries aspiring to be developed strive to identify and nurture their most gifted students, in order that these nations can excel in science, engineering, law, national administration, medicine and the arts. “Few could object to the rationale behind this, save those for whom universal mediocrity is a price worth paying for social equality. Of course, making everyone alike is very different from treating everyone fairly,” he added.

The Guest of Honour at the ceremony in the School Hall was Professor Richard Trainor, Principal of King’s College, London.

There were subject prizes for each age group, as well as a variety of other awards, ranging, for example, from the Harold E. Fern Prize for Social Service to the John Bond Lee Prize for Classics. The awards included a number of prizes endowed by the Endowment Fund of the Schools of Queen Elizabeth the First, Barnet.

During the evening, the musical divertissements led by Director of Music Kieron Howe included Rachmaninoff’s Polichinelle (Op.3 No.4) played by Simon McKenzie (piano) and Monti’s Czardas, with Eigo Takeda playing the violin.

Cantankerous, kaleidoscope and perseverance were just a few of the words that challenged the Year 7 boys in the annual spelling competition.

Three pupils were selected from each Year 7 class to compete against each other in front of their year group. The winner of the final ‘spelloff’ was Saravanan Rajakumaran.

This term QE entered the national Greenpower Challenge for the first time.

The competition requires competing schools to use a standard 24-volt electric motor and two batteries to create a competitive, well engineered electric vehicle capable of racing around a variety of circuits. Sixteen pupils from Years 9 and 10 have been selected as the race team and over the next few months they will be learning about the engineering necessary to build their own car. They are currently modelling possible frame structures. The venture also involves the students seeking sponsorship from local businesses.