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A group from the School's Combined Cadet Force enjoyed a valuable insight into the workings of the Royal Military Academy during a visit to Sandhurst.

Fifteen boys, accompanied by Lieutenant Kieron Howe, who is also QE’s Director of Music, were given a tour of the Academy’s extensive grounds. They also enjoyed lunch, a talk on the history of the facility and an opportunity to meet Officer Cadets and Officers.

The visit was hosted by Old Elizabethan Captain Charles Russell (1997-2004), of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, who is currently a platoon commander on the permanent staff at Sandhurst. The day started with an introduction by an academic member of the Academy’s staff, Sebastian Puncher, who talked through the development of the college since its foundation in 1812.

“The boys walked up the steps into Old College, an experience that Officer Cadets undergo on their first day of training and then not again until the day they pass out,” said Lt. Howe. “We were shown the Indian Army Memorial Room, with its window dedicated to the Gurkha regiment amongst others. We also saw the five-metre-wide painting of the moment when the battle of Waterloo turned in Wellington’s favour, painted by Sir William Allan in 1847.”

The tour continued with a drive around Chapel Square, followed by lunch at New College amongst the Officer Cadets. The boys then moved on to the Officer’s Mess for coffee and took the opportunity to ask Captain Russell searching questions, before he had to leave to go on exercise. The visit concluded with a drive around the rest of the extensive grounds, taking in a little rugby before setting off back.

“Charlie [Captain Russell] was brilliant with the guys,” said Lt. Howe. “And they have gained a vast amount of knowledge about the workings of the Academy and also a better picture of life in the Army as a whole. It was a really insightful day.”

 A third of participants from QE in this year's Intermediate Maths Challenge have qualified for the two follow-on rounds. Of the 263 boys from Years 9 to 11 who took part, 12 have qualified for the intermediate Olympiad and a further 75 for the Intermediate Kangaroo.

“We are delighted with how well the boys have done,” said Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung. “It is particularly pleasing to see a significant increase in the number who have qualified for the follow-on rounds – up to 87 this year, compared to 62 last year.”

The top 500 scorers from each school year group are invited to take part in the Olympiad, while a further 5,500 are invited to sit the Kangaroo papers.

QE’s best performance came from Year 10 pupil Lucas Duke, who scored 123 out of 135. “I am ecstatic about my result!” he said.

Sam Carling was top in Year 11, with a score of 105, and the best-placed Year 9 pupil was Keenan Dieobi, with 113.

The top 40% of entrants nationally receive a gold, silver or bronze certificate in the ratio 1:2:3. Overall, nearly 93% of QE boys gained certificates, with 91 QE awarded gold; 99 silver and 54 bronze.

Federico Rocco, Drew Sellis and Oscar Smith have been awarded Music scholarships after outstanding performances in the final concert stage of this year's School competition.

They were chosen as the winners from among the 12 boys who played in the competition concert. The 12 had successfully progressed through two short-listings to reach this stage.

The contest offers Year 7 boys both an opportunity to perform and learn from their performances, as well as financial support for the winners towards their musical development.

“The final few selected to perform in the concert are all to be congratulated,” said QE’s Director of Music, Kieron Howe. “They represent a nucleus of talent in Year 7 of which we are justly proud.”

The Chief Adjudicator for the competition concert was Nadia Lasserson and the accompanist Danielle Salamon. Ms Lasserson studied at the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Manns Memorial Prize. An experienced performer of concertos, lieder and chamber music, she also has wide experience of piano teaching and is an examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

Federico started playing the piano aged four and has passed all his grade examinations up to and including Grade 6 with distinction. In the final, he performed Danza de la Rosa by Enrique Granados and Sonata VII (from 8 keyboard sonatas) by Thomas Arne.

Drew has been studying alto saxophone for four-and-a-half years and has passed Grade 8 with distinction. He has passed Grade 6 on the piano and sings regularly with the Finchley Children’s Music Group and also sings with the School’s Choir and Chamber Choir, as well as performing with QE’s Senior and Junior Concert Bands and with the QE Junior Saxophone Quartet. For his performance, he chose A Wise Bud by Jason Rebello and Charleston (from Tango and Charleston) by Trevor Hold.

Oscar Smith has been learning clarinet since 2009 and, like Drew, is a member of both the Senior and Junior Concert Bands. For his competition concert performance, he played Black Sheep of the Family by Christopher Norton and Catch It! by James Rae.

The 38th annual Queen Elizabeth’s School Seven-a-Side Tournament proved to be a double success for QE: not only was it an organisational and sporting triumph, but the School’s own U14 side was among the top-placed sides.

Sixty-six teams from 36 schools travelled to Barnet for the tournament and enjoyed a day of high-quality competition and glorious sunshine – in stark contrast to last year, when the event had to be cancelled because of rain.

Competitors included leading schools in both the private and state sectors. They came from far and wide, with some making journeys from as far afield as Somerset, Kent and the Gower in Wales.

The morning consists of scheduled matches, with each team playing three times in the group stages at U14 and U16 levels. The winner of each group proceeds to the Main quarter-finals, while the second-placed team goes through to the Plate quarter-finals.

This year, the U14 Main trophy was won by Eton College, with Brighton College the runners-up.

The QE U14 boys reached the Plate final, where they lost out to Bedford School. It was one of QE’s best results in the tournament for some years.

At U16 level, the Main trophy went to Gowerton School from Swansea, with Berkhamsted School the losing finalist. Epsom College won the Plate, beating Whitgift School from Croydon into second place.

Nine full-size pitches are used, including all those belonging to the School, as well as two at Barnet RFC. It is believed to be the country’s second-biggest schools sevens tournament, as well as the only one for which there is no entrance fee.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was a splendid day, with some excellent rugby played. I was especially pleased to see our U14 boys doing so well: their success at this age of course augurs well for rugby at QE in the next few years.

“I must also pay tribute to our Head of Games, Mark Peplow, for once again pulling off a tremendous feat of organisation and logistics with his customary aplomb.”

Teams arrive from 8.30am. From then until the final presentation of trophies by the Headmaster at around 6pm, an army of QE helpers is kept busy ensuring that all runs smoothly.

Parents drawn from the ranks of the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s serve bacon sandwiches for breakfast and chilli and baked potatoes for lunch. Many QE boys, from Year 7 upwards, help out on the day by acting as runners, delivering results and passing on information between pitches. St John Ambulance volunteers are on hand to provide any medical assistance required.

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QE U14 rugby sevens team’s success: match reports

QE’s U14 team fought a valiant campaign throughout the day in the national rugby sevens tournament hosted by the School – and were rewarded with second place in the Plate final.

It was the best result by any QE team, whether at U14 or U16 level, since 2002.

PE teacher James Clarke said: “We had a slow start to the tournament, losing heavily to Judd School in our opening group game, but we bounced back superbly with a hard-fought win over Dartford Grammar School followed by a comprehensive victory over Wellington College.”

Having thus successfully progressed beyond the morning group stages, the QE boys then continued to impress.

“We beat Aylesbury Grammar School well in the quarter-finals and overcame John Fisher School in a nail-biting semi-final, but just couldn't capitalise on our chances against Bedford in the final,” said Mr Clarke. Bedford eventually ran out as 26-5 winners of the U14 Plate.

The keys to the QE boys’ victories were clear, he added. “We had a direct approach in the tournament due to the physical nature of our team, with strong tackling in defence and good offloading in attack, leading to some well-finished tries by our ‘speedsters’, Liam Hagley and Ola Ogunade.

“The captain for the tournament was Justin Lee and my star player was Simon Rey, with Showgo Kimura and Sahil Shah not far behind.”

More than 100 awards were presented to QE’s high achievers by the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University at Senior Awards – one of the academic highlights of the School’s calendar.

The ceremony in the School Hall represents an opportunity for the School to reward excellence in boys from Year 10 to the Sixth Form. Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor at Oxford since 2009, was the guest of honour, while the VIP party also included the Deputy Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Bridget Perry.

The evening featured musical interludes from some of the School’s leading musicians, with pieces by composers including Puccini, Mendelssohn and César Franck. The soloists were Thomas Archbold (alto saxophone), Jamie Mui (voice) and Simon Purdy (violin).

Parents were able to enjoy a buffet supper in the Shearly Hall, mingling with the special guests and with teachers.
In his address, Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The boys present here this evening to collect their prizes from Professor Hamilton have found their places in our School community; they are excelling among their very capable and talented peers and this occasion is a wonderful occasion for us to publicly recognise them as examples of outstanding performance.”

Like the prize-winners, Professor Hamilton was a grammar school boy: he attended the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, in the days when it was still in the state sector. Today he is both a distinguished chemist and a greatly respected university administrator on both sides of the Atlantic, having been Provost at Yale from 2004 to 2008. He is only the second vice-chancellor to have been recruited externally in Oxford’s long history.

In his speech, he drew parallels between Oxford and QE: both value uncompromising academic excellence and both are hard to get into – an unavoidable consequence of their being complete meritocracies. Neither is interested in parental income, in where students live or in their religious background. Professor Hamilton said Oxford undertakes extensive outreach work and he pointed out that a majority of undergraduates are from state schools, with 10 per cent coming from homes where the combined income is less than £16,000. For this latter group, generous bursaries are available and fees may be waived.

Professor Hamilton amused the audience of boys, parents, staff and guests by stating that the boys should always argue with their teachers – although purely in academic terms; they should question and challenge received wisdom.

He then praised teachers, pointing out that the impact of an inspirational teacher can last a lifetime. The Professor said he valued their efforts so highly that every year at Oxford, first-year students from state schools were invited to nominate an outstanding teacher who had sparked a passion in them. A small number – perhaps ten or 12 – were then chosen for the University of Oxford Inspirational Teachers Award and invited to a reception in Oxford.

Able boys at QE should not hesitate to apply to Oxford, Professor Hamilton urged. In fact, if they did so and were successful, not only would he be able to meet some of them, but he might also meet some of their teachers, provided of course that they had been nominated for the awards.

The subject prizes awarded reflected the full breadth of the academic curriculum. There were also awards for extra-curricular achievement – such as the prize for debating & public speaking and the Combined Cadet Force Prize – and for contributions to the life of the School, such as those for leadership & involvement and for commitment & service.

A QE Sixth-Former has won first prize in a challenging cryptography competition.

Bhavik Mehta, of Year 12, was placed first in Part B of the National Cipher Challenge 2013, an annual competition run by the University of Southampton.

He was awarded a prize of £1,000 from the Government’s intelligence agency, GCHQ, at a special ceremony at Bletchley Park – famous as the base of the team who broke the German Enigma code during World War II.

The competition was open to children in full-time education and attracted 1,500 entries. It comprised eight rounds – each with two challenges of increasing complexity. The challenges in the A section were not time-critical and consisted of encrypted letters. Part B, in which Bhavik was placed first, was based on extracts from fictional diaries, and contestants were awarded points based on the speed of the submission of the solution as well as accuracy.

“I am delighted for Bhavik on his achievement” said Fiona Wynn, a Mathematics teacher who runs a lunchtime cryptography club at the School. “Bhavik has been entering this competition since Year 8 and has even written his own code-breaking computer program, which helped him to his success. Although he can’t attend the School club due to Prefect duties, he has been very generous in sharing resources with us.

“Other members of the club also took part in the competition and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The competition was based on a story of a girl kidnapped by the Nazis and forced to forge a copy of the Mona Lisa. The boys became almost as enthusiastic about the underlying story as they did about the code-breaking,” added Miss Wynn.

The lunchtime club, which started with 12 boys, has now grown to 20. Members are currently going through the history of cryptography. The boys are learning how to solve different types of codes, many of which involve complex mathematics.