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Year 12 student Adeel Haque has won the prestigious ifs Young Business Writer of the Year competition.

“Adeel is to be congratulated, particularly as there were a record number of entries this year,” said QE’s Head of Economics and Business, Liane Ryan. “Adeel was commended for his excellent reporting style and analysis, together with his good research.”

Another QE pupil, Abhijai Shah of Year 13, was also short-listed to the final five.

Contestants had to write a 1,000-word article derived from the headline Does the UK economy need rebalancing away from financial services?

Competition judge David Budworth, Deputy Financial Editor at The Times, said the standard of all five finalists was extremely high. “One essay stood out. Adeel Haque’s entry was well-written, well-argued and powerful, without resorting to hyperbole or cliché – exactly the approach adopted by The Times’ leader writers,” he said.

Adeel’s prize is a cheque for £500 was presented at a lunch at the ifs London’s office. Adeel has also been offered work experience this summer at The Times.

The ifs School of Finance (formerly Institute of Financial Services) is a registered charity, incorporated by Royal Charter. Its stated remit is “to provide the financial services industry with a skilled and competent workforce while also promoting a better understanding of finance amongst consumers”.

More than 200 boys and members of staff seized the opportunity to hear Holocaust survivor Jack Kagan speak about his experiences in the Second World War. The event was organised by the School’s Jewish Society – known as J-Soc.

Mr Kagan was only 12 years old in 1941 when the Nazis occupied his home town of Novogrodok in present-day Belarus and sent him and his family to a ghetto. He described how he hid himself under a pile of clothes on his bunk and put his fingers in his ears when his mother and sister were taken with a group of others across the road at the camp to be shot.

His father was moved to a different camp, where he was eventually killed in 1944 while trying to escape. Mr Kagan himself managed to escape in 1943 from the camp where he was being held and joined a group of partisans led by the Bielski brothers: more than 1,000 Jewish people survived by hiding in the forest.

Mr Kagan explained why he could not stay in his homeland after the war: “The nightmare was over, but as we headed back to our home town of Novogrodok we knew what we would find there. The town was destroyed; everyone I had known before the war was gone. There was no joy left in that place. I came to England in 1947, met and married my wife, with whom I had three children. I now have 10 grandchildren. But I can never forget the past.”

Welcoming him at the lunchtime talk, the Headmaster said: “It is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome a Holocaust survivor to Queen Elizabeth’s School. Jack Kagan’s address to the boys and staff reinforces those values which bind us and protect us in our common humanity from destructive forces of social discrimination and polarisation. I am most grateful to Jack for being with us to convey his important message.”

Afterwards J-Soc Co-Chairs, Scott Grossman and Alex Davis, both of Year 11, reflected on the event. “It was a huge success; pupils of all ages and backgrounds came to hear Jack Kagan’s gripping story,” said Scott. “It was both enlightening and informative, and taught everyone more about what the war was like for people on both an individual and on a greater scale.”

Alex added: “QE was honoured to have the opportunity to host Jack Kagan. His story was truly thought-provoking and he left all those who heard him with a deep understanding of the Holocaust. We would like to thank Jack for taking the time to speak to us and also to UJIA JAMS [United Jewish Israel Appeal Jewish Activities in Mainstream School] and the LJCC [London Jewish Cultural Centre] for their support and help in making the event extremely special and successful for us all.”

Year 13 QE student Vasanth Sritharan has been selected to represent the UK in this year’s International Biology Olympiad (IBO). Vasanth was awarded a Gold Medal for his performance at the British Biology Olympiad and is one of only four UK students selected for the international competition in Chinese Taipei in July.

Commending Vasanth’s achievement, Headmaster John Marincowitz said “We have had occasional International Olympiad successes before – though not in Biology – but they are very rare and all the more impressive for that.”

More than 2,800 students took part in the British Biology Olympiad, which is supported by The Biology Society and is an annual competition for post-16 students. It aims to challenge and stimulate gifted students with an interest in Biology and extend their knowledge and talents.

The IBO, which is underwritten by UNESCO, seeks to challenge, by both theory and practical tests, some of the top pre-university biology students in the world, with 60 countries taking part. One important aspect of the event is the bringing together of young people from over the world in an open, friendly and peaceful environment.

Year 12 pupil Jake Sittampalam has won second prize in a national music essay-writing competition. Entrants to the Cambridge Music Essay competition had to write an essay on one of a variety of musical topics set by the organisers, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. Jake’s essay was on The Existence and Significance of Musical Genius.

“Many of the entrants were students preparing to apply to Oxbridge, so this represents a significant achievement for Jake,” said QE Director of Music, Kieron Howe. Jake won £100, with first place going to a boy from Winchester College.

Although Jake is in the School’s Big Band, is a founder member of the new marketing group set up by Mr Howe and is currently taking Music at AS Level, he is not planning to study the subject at university. “I’m hoping to read English or History,” he said. “The competition was a great opportunity to hone my essay-writing skills, which will be invaluable whatever subject I pursue.”

Jake received his prize at a presentation at Fitzwilliam College.

QE’s Symphony Orchestra has been selected to go through to this summer’s national finals of Music for Youth, the world’s largest youth music festival.

The orchestra, which performed Night on a Bare Mountain by Mussorgsky, were highly praised in the written report on their recorded entry. Their mentor commented on the “very good opening … good balance … very good flute sound … good technique in string section … very precise rhythmic playing in the whole orchestra … good dynamic changes … very good control and a very nice ending”.

Music for Youth, which is for groups of at least two people aged 21 and under, is organised by ABRSM, a national music assessment body. Competitors can either perform at regional festivals or submit recordings of their work, as QE has done. All those taking part are allocated a mentor who provides feedback on performances and how they can be improved.

QE’s Director of Music, Kieron Howe, says “Our category of the competition takes place in July at Birmingham Symphony Hall and performing there will be a great experience for all the boys concerned. They have done exceptionally well to get this far and will be up against much bigger county orchestras in the final.”

The School’s Vinson Quintet also received very positive feedback for their entry. The quintet performed a piece by Mozart entitled Clarinet Quintet and the boys were praised for their “nice phrasing and articulation … good clarinet melody … strong rhythms … good change of tempo … nice control and very good finish”.

“Both the Symphony Orchestra and the Vinson Quintet were acknowledged in the reports for their high level of musicality, which is very satisfying,” added Mr Howe.

QE boys picked up two first prizes in the annual World Citizenship Competition run by the Barnet Baha’i Faith Group. There were three categories in the competition on the topic of Living in a diverse society. What is our role and responsibility? The categories were for best poem, poster and essay.

Tochi Onuora won first prize in the Poem section, with Soham Chatterjee and Joel George taking second and third places. Christopher Suen was placed first in the Essay category, while Sachin Ghelani took second prize in the Poster competition. Shivakaron Shankar, Agrim Manchandra and Taehee Baek all received Certificates for Effort.

The boys, all from Year 7, received their prizes and certificates at a special ceremony hosted by the Mayor of Barnet.

“It is a testament to the boys that they won first place in two out of the three categories,” said Religious Studies teacher Sarah Jones. “It demonstrates that QE students are able to think through and communicate spiritual, moral and religious issues.

Pictured are first prize winners Tochi Onuora (left) and Christopher Suen (right).