Viewing archives for Uncategorized

Ashley-James Turner (2001-2008), has been named Student of the Year by Mansfield College, Oxford. Ashley-James, who graduated last summer, read Geography and was presented with his award at the Mansfield College Association’s AGM.

The association commended him for his “friendliness, cheeriness and warmness that is characteristic of the Mansfield Community”. The citation acknowledged his achievements with the college’s Boat Club and his ability to motivate the rowers. “It is no exaggeration to say that through his persistent kindness, openness and hospitality, Ashley-James Turner has helped to make Mansfield an even better place than it already was,” the citation concluded.

QE Headmaster, Neil Enright, attended the lunch at which Ashley-James received his award: “I had the pleasure of teaching him Geography A-level. I remember him as an exemplary student and a very able and enthusiastic geographer. His ability to analyse information and see patterns was outstanding for a Sixth Form student and set him apart from his peers. It was with great pleasure, but no surprise, that I learned that Ashley-James had been named Mansfield’s Student of the Year.”

Of the latest intake of Mansfield undergraduates, 84% came from the state sector (the highest proportion of all Oxford colleges) and Mansfield has jumped up to 12th place this year in the Norrington Table, Oxford University’s ranking of its undergraduate colleges.

Ashley-James paid tribute to the support and guidance Mr Enright gave him when selecting his college. “Mansfield is one of the smallest colleges in Oxford, but undoubtedly the right college for me, fostering a fantastic sense of community within the setting of a beautiful castle and open quad… After just four weeks of rowing I was selected to row in the college first boat, where I remained for three years, winning Oxford blades at the end of my first year.” Becoming Boat Club Captain in his second year was a great honour and, although a gruelling experience involving 5.30am starts and three-and-a-half hours of daily rowing and training, it was “an incredibly satisfying experience” in which he took “Mansfield to the highest position it has ever been on the river”. He was elected club President in his third year.

Ashley-James has been travelling in Asia since his graduation and is hoping to return to a career in environmental consultancy. “I developed an interest in the subject whilst undertaking a seven-month research project in Iceland looking at fluoride emissions from the volcano,” he said. “The research is being used by the Icelandic Fluoride Group, and I have been told it might be used by the EU to inform fluoride safety standards in the future.”

A prestigious water polo event drew together top club players from a number of schools from across London and from as far away as Lincolnshire to QE’s Olympic-size Martin Swimming Pool.

Teams from King’s College School Wimbledon, The King’s School, Grantham and the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School competed in one of the preliminary rounds of the U15 London Schools’ Water Polo League, the first time QE has hosted this event.

Ten boys from Years 9 and 10 represented the School in what Nick Bird, the teacher in charge of water polo at QE, described as “an entertaining, high quality and high profile tournament.”

Unfortunately QE’s captain and one of the more experienced players, Dinos Caryotis, was taken ill on the day and had to miss the tournament. “Marcus Rodin of Year 10 stood in as captain and did a great job motivating the team, who initially struggled with an unsettled starting line-up. Sam Carling and Alex Northcliffe also made notable contributions, despite both being a year younger than many of the other competitors,” said Mr Bird.

QE were drawn against eventual winners Grantham in their first match and slipped to a 6-0 deficit in the first half, finally losing 8-2. The second match was a fiercely fought contest, with KCS eventually winning a close encounter 3-2. “By the final game we had lost our vice captain and, although the team continued to battle, fatigue caught up with the squad and we lost our final game 3-0 to the well-organised Habs team,” said Mr Bird.

The team now moves on to the second round of the preliminary tournament which takes place at the beginning of February at the City of London School.
 

Alumnus Greg White (2004-2011) has been awarded one of only eight Vice-Chancellor’s scholarships by the University of East Anglia. Greg, who last summer achieved A* in his Music Technology and Art & Design A-levels, A in English and B in Sociology, has taken up a place at UEA to read Creative Music Technology.

The Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship is worth £4,000 per annum for three years and is only awarded to students of “outstanding ability and potential”. The university only considers students who achieve at least three A grades at A-level whilst maintaining a high level of involvement in extra-curricular activities.

Greg paid tribute to the contribution his experiences at QE made to his success: “I am sure that the fantastic concert opportunities the Music department granted me around the country, and overseas, played a very large part in my selection for the scholarship.

Whilst at QE, Greg was a drummer and percussionist who also played bass guitar. He performed with the Concert Band, the Big Band and the Symphony Orchestra.

QE’s Director of Music Kieron Howe said “We place great importance on offering our students a wide range of musical opportunities and experiences at the School, whether that involves performing or working with our studio equipment. Greg was a talented and enthusiastic student and we are delighted with his achievement and wish him every success in his future.”
 

Two year 12 pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s School have been awarded prestigious Arkwright Scholarships.

Vignesh Gopalan (below) and Mehul Jesani (pictured left) secured the valuable engineering awards after a rigorous selection process in Year 11. Funded by a charity, the Arkwright Scholarship Trust, the scholarships are awarded to high-ability students to support them in their Sixth Form studies. The aim is to identify and nurture future leaders in engineering and related areas of design, encouraging them to pursue engineering at university and in their careers.

“We are very pleased that Vignesh and Mehul have gained Arkwright Scholarships,” said the School’s Head of Design, Simon Vincent. “The Arkwright Scholarship Trust encourages its scholars to act as ambassadors of flourishing Design and Technology departments in their schools, and the boys have joined a growing roll of QE pupils who have achieved that aim.”

The award is £500 per annum: £300 goes to the student and £200 to the student’s school’s Technology department to be spent on equipment or resources. The scholarship runs over two years and is reviewed at the end of the first year.

The selection process requires candidates to make a detailed application, to sit an aptitude paper and to be interviewed. During the interview, students present their GCSE project work to a panel of interviewers and discuss their commitment to design, engineering and technology.

The Arkwright Scholarships were established in 1991, when a group of committed headteachers decided to take action to increase the profile of Design & Technology. The charity was named after the 18th Century engineer, Sir Richard Arkwright (1732 – 1792), who perfected the water frame (a machine for spinning textiles that is powered by a water wheel) and is widely regarded as the father of the modern factory system. Last year the trust awarded 298 Sixth Form Scholarships nationally and introduced a new undergraduate Scholarship.
 

Ben Pugh (2002-2009) played a significant role in his team’s quarter-final victory in the BBC quiz show, University Challenge. Pembroke College, Cambridge stormed to a 145- point lead – a position from which fellow Cambridge team, Clare College, could not recover, despite a spirited fight back.

As in earlier rounds, Ben made his mark by answering a number of starter questions – covering a broad range of topics including politics, philosophy, the American constitution and geographical terminology.

After a brief lull in which Clare College edged closer, Pembroke picked up the pace to win 250 – 175. This second straight quarter-final victory saw them through to the semi-finals.

Ben, who is reading German and Russian, achieved top grades in his A-levels during his time as a student at QE.

A Year 11 pupil has been placed equal 15^th in the British Mathematical Olympiad. Gabriel Gendler is only the second QE boy ever to qualify for the second round of this competition.

He achieved his high position despite being younger than most of his fellow Olympiad competitors, many of whom were Sixth-Formers. Gabriel was invited to participate in the competition because of his outstanding previous performance in the Senior Maths Challenge. Both the Challenge and the British Mathematical Olympiad are run by the UK Mathematics Trust.

Along with five other QE boys – and around 1,300 strong mathematicians from around the country – Gabriel first sat the Round 1 Olympiad test. This consisted of six extended questions which had to be completed in three-and-a-half hours. Gabriel scored 50 out of a possible 60 marks and was awarded a silver medal, a book prize and entry to the second round.

Only 34 students nationally qualified for Round 2, in which participants had three-and-a-half hours to attempt four extended questions. Gabriel’s score of 12 points gained him joint 15^th position overall.

“We offer our warmest congratulations to Gabriel,” said Mathematics teacher Wendy Fung. “He performed very well in a competition which attracts the brightest and best of young mathematicians from across the UK each year. This experience will stand him in good stead for future competitions.”