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Year 13 pupil Ramsey Kobeissi has accepted the offer of a place at Yale – the first-ever QE boy to go to the Ivy League university.

Ramsey had initially planned to take up a place on Harvard’s Liberal Arts programme and had also received an offer from Pembroke College, Cambridge, but has turned down both in favour of the equally prestigious university in Connecticut.

“I simply found that Yale was the best ‘fit’ for me in an emotional-connection sense; I felt most at home academically and socially there,” he said. “In comparison to Harvard, I felt that undergraduate students were given more priority and attention, there was a greater sense of spirit/unity and the social scene was far better.

“I greatly look forward to being able to sample all kinds of classes in ‘shopping week’, in which students can freely drop in and out of classes to see which ones they would like to choose for the upcoming term, as well as all the extracurricular opportunities (usually free or heavily subsidised), such as weekend trips and internships in New York/Boston.

“When looking at UK universities, I was uncomfortable that I was required to apply for a subject from the very beginning, when I am undecided as to what I want to do in the future,” Ramsey explained. “The American university system involves a ‘liberal arts’ education with a wide variety of classes, and a specialisation is not selected until the second year. From then on, only half the classes taken are in the chosen field, allowing for plenty of academic exploration. Of course, there was also the adventure of studying in another continent to consider.”

Interviewed recently by QE Assistant Head David Ryan, who is Head of the Upper Sixth and of Careers, Ramsey said the US application process was not especially challenging, although time-consuming and very different to the UK system.

Asked whether Yale would cost more to attend than a UK university, Ramsey replied: “The old myths about the cost of US universities are just that. Since 2004, most top US universities have aggressively courted overseas students using financial aid packages which often bring the cost down to lower than what a student would pay in the UK. Students whose parents earn less than $60k p.a. will pay nothing, and those whose parents earn under $180k p.a. will pay 10% of their parents’ income at maximum. My education in the US will cost less than a UK education thanks to the generous financial aid I have received.”

Ramsey paid tribute to the assistance given to him by the School, which included organising a talk with Janet Irons, Harvard admissions officer for the UK and Europe. Head of Lower Sixth Liam Hargadon had been “tremendously helpful as the School’s resident expert on the US” he said, also thanking Mr Ryan and the Head of English, Susannah Sweetman. “I am extremely grateful to the Headmaster for being a mentor from start to finish and providing my ‘school counselor’ recommendation,” Ramsey concluded.

Two QE musicians have been selected to perform at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Cadet Force movement.

Clarinettists Alex Liangas and Richard Collins, who are in Year 11, are among the 40 cadets chosen from the 131,000 current cadets in the UK to play in the band being assembled for the event, called Cadet 150.

The School’s Director of Music, Kieron Howe, said: “This is a great honour both for the School and for Alex and Richard. I know that both they and their families are thrilled.”

Queen Elizabeth’s School is one of the few state schools to have a Combined Cadet Force (CCF). Established in 1992, it is sponsored by the Corps of Royal Engineers, with support from the Regular Army in training and administration.

The boys have been attending monthly rehearsals with the Brigade of Guards at Wellington Barracks in central London since September and have shown the necessary quality to perform with cadets from across England and Wales.

The two QE boys will join their fellow band members on Saturday 3rd July for three days of rehearsals. They will perform for the In-Pensioners at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, on Monday 5th July in preparation for the Garden Party on the 6th July.

The programme at the Palace will feature a wide variety of music, from a selection of Abba’s songs to Mozart’s overture to The Impresario and the Dambusters March.

In a letter dated 26th May, Michael Gove, the new Secretary of State for Education, invited the Governors to consider acquiring Academy status as soon as possible.

Mr Gove pointed out that as Queen Elizabeth’s is currently rated outstanding by Ofsted this means that the School automatically meets the criteria for Academy status. Details are available on www.education.gov.uk under the Academies tab where interested parties may find the list of frequently asked questions helpful.

The Governing body will now address each of the issues that need to considered at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday 10th June. Those wishing to comment may email here.

QE boys were the toast of the town during a new exchange with a school in France.

Thirteen boys from Years 8 and 9 took part in the week-long French exchange with Collège St-Pierre in Bourg-en-Bresse, near Lyon.

QE Teacher of French Océane Jullien, a former pupil at Collège St-Pierre, said: "During this exchange, the first of hopefully many to come, the boys were warmly welcomed by their host family, the French school and were even honoured at a welcome ceremony in the town hall."

In course of their stay, they enjoyed an intensive immersion into French life. The boys discovered the secrets of wine-making, explored the historical towns of Bourg-en-Bresse and Lyon and shopped at a traditional French market. They also experienced a typical day in a French school, which involved some cycling and a game of Ultimate Frisbee.

Their visit to the ‘salon d’honneur’ in the town hall, where they were each presented with a special information booklet, was reported in Le Progrès, the Lyon area’s daily newspaper.

"The boys were praised for their effort in speaking French, so it came as no surprise when they greeted the English passport control officer in French on our return to London!" said Ms Jullien. "They’re now looking forward to receiving their exchange partners in London on 14th October."

Team-building exercises and a GCSE Geography assessment made for a highly successful field trip to Norfolk.

A total of 132 boys from Year 10 were split into two groups and spent three days at the Kingswood Field Studies Centre investigating the characteristics of the River Glaven. They had to collect data on the width, depth and velocity of the river, observing the downstream changes.

Various team-building activities were run during the field trip; ranging from quad-biking to aeroball. One particularly challenging exercise was the ‘Nightline’ which required boys to wear a blindfold and trust others to guide them through an obstacle course.

“The trip was very successful. The boys worked very hard to plan their fieldwork and collect data, which will help them to achieve very good results in their coursework. It was also very rewarding to see the boys enjoying the fieldwork experience and improving their team work and communication skills,” said Anne Flook, Head of Geography and RS.

Underne House raised just over £150 for charity with three days of space hopper races.

Boys from Years 7-10 took part in the first two days’ races in the gym, with Tom Selek, of Year 7, winning the Year 7 and 8 races and Stuart Tang, of Year 9, triumphing among the Year 9s and 10s.

The teachers’ competition took place in the Shearly Hall – the first charity event in the new building to be allowed by the Headmaster. Organisers unleashed the hall’s new sound system, with some energetic music adding to the lively atmosphere. House Co-ordinator Will Beaumont won the teachers’ event.

“We chose space hopper races as it was an original, innovative idea which diverged from common events such as volleyball and football,” said Shahil Mehta, House Captain of Underne.

The £152.59 raised goes to Community Link Up, a registered charity which supports and promotes friendships between people with a Learning Disability and others in the Harrow community (www.linkup.org.uk).