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A team of QE boys came in the top 10 of a national Chemistry competition – the first time the School has progressed beyond the regional level of the Top of the Bench competition.

Mehul Jesani, of Year 11, Aniruddh Raghu, Year 10, and Year 9 boys Tianlin Zhang and Alex Zanre won the regional final of the competition, beating off a high-quality field including last year’s winners, Harrow School.

At the final held at Imperial College the QE team came ninth out of 29 teams. “This is an amazing achievement,” said QE’s Head of Science Dr Malcolm Russell. “It is the first time we have reached the national final and there were a lot of teams present with much greater experience than us. The boys were a credit to the School and conducted themselves brilliantly. Our success was due in no small part to the preparation of the team by Dr Elizabeth Kuo.”

The competition was organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry. In the final, contestants had to complete a short test of factual chemical knowledge and a practical, chemical, problem-solving, team exercise.

QE Music Technology teacher Tim Adnitt has won acclaim for his work as a professional recording engineer on a recently released Robin Jones and King Salsa album.

The CD of Latin music, entitled Sabroso Mambo, was largely recorded in QE’s recording studio in the Music Block. The studio has state-of-the-art equipment including a Pro Tools HD system, a Midas Verona 320 console and Neumann and AKG microphones. Mr Adnitt, who was at the School as a pupil between 1988 and 1995, recorded, mixed and co-produced the CD.

Sabroso Mambo has been released to very positive reviews in the music press. “It’s always a joy to receive a new CD from the UK’s Godfather of Latin music – percussion maestro Robin Jones,” wrote the reviewer in bluesandsoul.com. “A special mention must go to the recording and mixing, which really enhances the strong songs, taking them on to another level.” Similarly, Jane Cornwell, writing in Songlines magazine, praised it as “a record that pulses with energy and experience”.

Bandleader Robin Jones is well known in UK Latin music, with a playing career that includes working with Charlie Palmieri, Machito, Mongo Santamaria, Alfredo ‘Chocolate’ Armenteros, and Arturo Sandoval as well as jazz stars Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Sonny Stitt and Lalo Schifrin. King Salsa features a cast of international stars including Bosco De Oliveira (Brazil), Carlos Fuentes (Chile) and lead vocalist Enrique Bringas (Cuba), as well as a driving rhythm section and five-piece brass section.

Sabroso Mambo pays homage to many of Robin Jones’ influences and friends, including legends of the Latin scene such as Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and Moises Simons, as well as introducing new charts written by Chris Kibble, Gavin Broom and Bosco De Oliveira.

In addition to teaching the School’s Music Technology course, Mr Adnitt is a composer, sound designer and audio engineer. He recently co-produced and mixed the Loose Tubes album, Dancing on Frith Street – Jazzwise’s Archive Album of the Year 2010 (Critic’s Choice).

Weave Records, the record company which released the album, is one of QE’s Music Department sponsor companies.

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.