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QE’s Combined Cadet Force proudly played their part in celebrating national Armed Forces Day.

Led by Lieutenant Howe (Kieron Howe, the School’s Director of Music), the CCF cadets marched in the Borough of Barnet’s parade together with Sea and Air cadets, with adult soldiers and reservists, and with military veterans from a number of conflicts. The Air Cadets provided the band.

After assembling at St Joseph’s School, the parade marched to Hendon Town Hall, where the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Hugh Rayner, took the salute. The Mayor, who raised an Armed Forces Day flag above the Town Hall, praised the “fine contingent”, which he said was one of the largest among the London boroughs.

The VIP party also included Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Martin Russell, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London and Representative Deputy Lieutenant for Barnet.

Prayers were said and the National Anthem sung before the troops marched off. Afterwards, the parade participants were invited for refreshments at the Town Hall.

First observed in 2006, when it was called Veterans’ Day, Armed Forces Day aims to raise public awareness of the contribution made to the country by the Armed Forces. It also gives the nation an opportunity to show support for those in the Services. The national event this year took place in Stirling.

The Year 8 cricket team have been crowned U13 county champions. The team, led by captain Ameer Khan, beat Twyford C of E High School in the final of the Schools’ Cricket Association of Middlesex U13 Junior Cup.

In a closely fought game, Essam Rama was named Man of the Match for his contribution of 34 runs and three wickets. Rohan Shah and Ayush Sha took catches at crucial stages to keep QE in the game, before Twyford lost their last wicket in the final over, still needing 12 runs.

“I am very pleased for the boys and congratulate them on their success,” said Headmaster, Neil Enright. “This achievement crowns an unbeaten season for the boys, who have exemplified the qualities of individual effort and teamwork.”

The Year 8 XI reached the final at Old Actonians Cricket Club in Ealing having successfully overcome opposition from Christ’s College in the semi-final.

Their successful season included victories over The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School; Berkhamsted School; Watford Grammar School and Enfield Grammar School. Niam Patel and Essam Rama led the batting figures and followed that up with five-wicket hauls on separate occasions.

“I am incredibly proud of the boys,” said PE teacher Nicholas Bird (pictured right, with the team). “They have all played their part this season, with many of them making significant contributions to matches, justifying their place in the team. I look forward to them continuing their cricket journey next year.”

The team will go forward in Year 9 to represent the county against the winners of the London Schools Trophy in the prestigious Gubby Allen Cricket Challenge Cup next summer.

This year’s guest speaker at QE’s Junior Awards Ceremony advised boys to trust in their teachers, believe in themselves and try to be the best they could. Former School Captain Matteo Yoon (2003-2010) is currently at the BPP Law School taking the Accelerated Legal Practice Course, following his graduation from Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he read Law.

In his address as Guest of Honour, he recalled attending Junior Awards as a Year 7 student, almost 10 years ago to the day, and his pride at winning a prize. “It gave me the confidence to know that I was doing at least some things right, to be myself, to keep working hard, and to put my all into everything I did, be it sport, music, or classwork.

During the ceremony in the School Hall, more than 100 prizes were awarded to boys from Year 7 to Year 9. These cover not only academic subjects, but also house awards, prizes for commitment and a number of endowed prizes and special awards. The audience comprised the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Hugh Rayner, QE Chairman of Governors Barrie Martin and his wife, Perin, as well as staff, Governors, parents, Old Elizabethans and the junior award-winners.

The awards themselves should be seen as conveying a message, Matteo said: “These awards are your teachers telling you that you have the same potential as your predecessors; predecessors who are starting careers in the most exciting areas of industry; predecessors who are inspiring change.”

Matteo, who achieved two A*s and two A grades at A-Level, reflected on the support he had received from staff: “Trust in your teachers, because they know how to get the best out of you even when you feel at odds with a subject. Be it through lunchtime workshops, or quick chats after class, I owe a great deal to those sat in front of me today for helping me achieve examination results I could be proud of. If you put the same trust in them as I did, I know that you will do the same.”

He exhorted the boys to recognise the special position they find themselves in at QE, not just compared to schools around the country, but compared with young men of their age around the world. He recommended that they grasp every opportunity presented to them, whether it be sporting, musical or intellectual, and know that in doing so, their future paths would be assured.

Matteo was captain of his college’s Second XI football team and also played rugby for Pembroke. He played for the Cambridge University Colleges rugby XV and also represented the University at water polo. He won the Crowden Award, given for making a distinguished contribution to college life, and was twice awarded the Pembroke College Book Grant for Good Academic Performance; Matteo was also twice nominated for Pembroke College Sportsperson of the Year.

At QE, he was a member of a number of musical ensembles, and was a finalist in the English Speaking Union Public Speaking Competition. He also won a number of School Bursary Awards for outstanding commitment.

After the ceremony, the award-winners and their families mingled with the Headmaster and teachers over refreshments.

An Old Elizabethan taking part in the 2014 Mongol Rally brought his vehicle into School to show the boys. Prasana Uthayakumar (2003-2010) is part of a team of four planning to drive 11,000 miles from London to Ulan Bator in Mongolia in a 13-year-old Skoda to raise money for charity.

“Prasana brought the car in to Red Square during lunchtime, partly to inspire the boys and partly to promote the team’s chosen charities – WaterAid and Cool Earth,” said Extra-Curricular Enrichment Tutor, Martin Bassett Jones. “The event provoked a great deal of interest amongst the boys, who were fired with enthusiasm by the nature of the challenge, which has been described as the greatest adventure in the world by its organisers.”

The Rally is run by The Adventurists, a group organising various arduous activities around the world, and is billed as a challenge rather than a race. No support teams are permitted and there is no recognition for those who finish first. The route traverses as many as 24 countries across rugged terrain. The rally has been running since 2004; each year a number of vehicles have failed to complete the journey.

But Prasana, who has just graduated with a MEng (Mechanical Engineering) Master’s degree from Southampton University, is confident of a successful outcome: “I’m the only engineer on the team. My team-mates are all Physics graduates, so I’m the one who's meant to know all about cars if, or should I say when, we break down! There’s a lot resting on my shoulders, but I’m confident that my engineering abilities coupled with the personal skills I learnt at QE will stand me in good stead.”

Boys were invited to ask questions about the challenge, the route, the charities and the Skoda Fabia Estate. They were able to have their picture taken with the car in return for a £2 donation to the chosen charities.

After no fewer than 255 QE boys from Years 7 and 8 took part in this year’s Junior Maths Challenge, 71 were awarded gold certificates and 16 qualified for the Junior Mathematical Olympiad.

Inspired by the various Challenges run by the UK Mathematics Trust, the School then ran a successful Year 7 Mathematics Fair – a morning of events run as a house competition.

Best-in-school in the national Junior Maths Challenge was Nico Puthu, of Year 8, who scored 124 out of 135, while the Year 7 high scorer was Ben Domb, with 117. The top 40% entrants nationally receive a gold, silver or bronze certificate in the ratio 1:2:3, while around 1,200 of the highest scorers are invited to take part in the Olympiad. Both Year 7 and Year 8 boys took part, with 44 awarded silver and 16 bronze. 

The Year 7 Mathematics Fair comprised a carousel of activities. Some were familiar mathematical problem-solving activities (A Question of Maths, Cross Numbers); others more practical (Origami, Tangrams [a puzzle in which a set of pieces can be assembled in different ways to produce geometric shapes]).  After these activities, all teams took part in the Relay, which combined speed in movement about the room with mental agility in solving a Mathematics problem as quickly as possible. All six houses were also required to create a poster on What is Mathematics?

Each team was supervised by a Year 12 Further Mathematics student. “This Maths Fair was a great opportunity for the Sixth-Formers to interact with Year 7,” said Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung.

The overall winners were Broughton with 699 points, second was Harrisons’ with 689 and third Stapylton with 684. Broughton were subsequently presented with the Scarisbrick Shield in assembly. The award for best poster went to Harrisons’.

Winning team captain Oscar Smith (pictured right) said victory in the fair had been “brilliant” and was “a nice surprise and a good achievement for our form”.

Other comments from the enthusiastic competitors included: “It was really fun, as you had to work in teams”; “I really liked the relay because we had to be quick and it was intense”, and “I liked the tangrams because I hadn’t done anything like it before.”

This year’s Sports Day saw hundreds of boys compete in glorious weather, making it a real high point in the School’s calendar.

Sports Day continues to grow: the programme for track alone included no fewer than 53 separate events, ranging from the Year 7 100m races to the Year 9 & 10 triathlon.

All boys in Years 7-10 took part in at least one event, competing for their houses in sports including tug-of-war, Eton fives, tennis and table tennis, as well as track & field.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to all the boys and staff for all their contributions to making Sports Day such a success. I especially congratulate Broughton, to which I was delighted to present the cup after an admirable house performance.”

Sports Day was organised by PE teacher Nicholas Bird. “The day ran very smoothly thanks to the support and goodwill of all of the members of staff and, of course, to the hard work of my colleagues in the PE department,” he said. “It was good to see more colleagues than ever volunteering for the staff team in the QE Mile.

“Whilst there were too many highlights to mention, a particular mention should go to the house rowing competition, during which each house managed to row a staggering 25km in two hours. This really is a remarkable achievement of physical endeavour!”