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QE has again received the Prince’s Teaching Institute Marks for seven academic departments – one of only a handful of schools to have earned and then retained so many of these prestigious awards.

The Mark is open to departments in any state schools that succeed in becoming members of the institute’s Schools Programme. To do this, they must meet mutually agreed objectives, demonstrating their commitment to increasing teachers’ subject knowledge, and to furthering their students’ understanding of and enthusiasm for the subject.

QE received its first PTI Mark for Science in 2009-10 and last year received it for seven subjects for the first time. The QE departments gaining the Mark this year are: English, Geography, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, Latin and Science.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to colleagues from these departments. They will, I know, be delighted that their commitment and expertise have been recognised in this way.”

The awards are given retrospectively for each academic year, and each department must earn its Mark afresh annually.

The Prince’s Teaching Institute is an independent educational charity created by the Prince of Wales, which works in partnership with Cambridge University.  It operates in accordance with the belief that all children, irrespective of background or ability, deserve a rich subject-based experience at school – both within and beyond the examination curriculum.

The Schools Programme for teachers includes a number of day and summer schools, while in addition, PTI regional events are held around the country.

Whilst still at Cambridge, Alex Davis (OE 2006-2013) is already becoming established in his chosen career of journalism. He is rapidly creating a name for himself in student journalism and one of his stories has already been picked up by national news outlets.

“A Cambridge University English Finals question reproduced a poem by Andre Letoit that contained only punctuation and no words,” said Alex, who is reading History at Downing College. “It caused quite a bit of consternation, which I reported in The Tab Cambridge (an online newspaper for university students). The story was picked up by the nationals and various news wires, which was clearly very satisfying.”

Since leaving QE, he has completed internships both at Sky News and ITN and has worked for First News (the UK’s leading children’s weekly newspaper). He currently combines his position as news editor of The Tab Cambridge with a blog on the online news site The Huffington Post. Recent posts include The Power of Popular History, which was chosen as ‘Editor’s Pick’ one week.

Alex is particularly interested in issue-based journalism: “During my internship, I wrote an article for Sky News online about an environmental campaign and I recently undertook a five-week investigation for The Tab into a former deputy head porter blogging salaciously about students.”

Whilst at QE, Alex was active in the Elizabethan Union (the debating society) and represented the School in the 47^th Annual Dinner Debate alongside fellow student Pravin Swarmy, against OEs Promit Anwar (2002-2009) and Tommy Peto (2003-2010). He was the president of QE’s Dramatic Society, running weekly drama classes for younger boys as well as co-directing The Tempest.

He also won a prestigious award from the United Jewish Israel Appeal for his work in leading QE’s Jewish Society. He is currently President of the Cambridge University Jewish Society and was the official Team GB Blogger for the 2013 Maccabiah Games.

He competed for Great Britain in the same games in rugby and plays regularly for Cambridge University U21 XV and Downing College First XV.

Alex’s interest in journalism is longstanding: he pulled together the content for a feature on student volunteering in the spring 2012 edition of the School’s newsletter The Elizabethan. “I really appreciated the opportunities I was offered at School, including editing a school newspaper,” said Alex. “I’m particularly enjoying my time at the Cambridge Tab. It’s the UK’s most-read student newspaper.”

Alex is keen to keep in touch with other alumni: Old Elizabethans who wish to contact him should email the School’s Alumni Office.

A QE boy has been invited to join a critically acclaimed youth choir. Year 13 pupil Kavi Pau was chosen to join the Rodolfus Choir after excelling in a recent Eton Choral Course.

The renowned choir was established 30 years ago by Ralph Allwood, a former Precentor and Director of Music at Eton College. The choir, which comprises singers aged 16-25, tours nationally and internationally and also records on a regular basis.

All Rodolfus Choir members are alumni of the week-long Eton Choral Courses, which run each summer at Eton and in Oxford, Cambridge and Durham. They take the form of classes in sight-singing, aural tests and close-harmony or consort singing. Participants work with renowned directors including Ben Parry, the Director of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, and the composer and conductor, Bob Chilcott.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Kavi,” said QE’s Director of Music Kieron Howe. “It’s a great choir to be a part of, and a great achievement for him, especially given his young age.”

Kavi has studied both piano and singing to Grade 8, as well as clarinet to Grade 5. He is hoping to go to Cambridge University to study Music and intends to apply to King’s College, with the hope of being a choral scholar there and joining its world-famous choir.

The Rodolfus Choir usually undertakes six engagements a year. The forthcoming programme includes a workshop in October followed by carols in Eton College Chapel and at St Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge, London, in December. Also in that month, the choir will be performing in a late-night concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields as part of the Brandenburg Series.

A BBC broadcast of Evensong from St Gabriel’s Church, Pimlico, on New Year’s Eve will be followed by an afternoon recital from Douai Abbey, a Benedictine Community between Newbury and Reading, on New Year’s Day.

“I was delighted to be selected,” said Kavi. “It is a very busy schedule over the next few months, but they try to schedule performances in school holidays, which will certainly make it easier to participate. There’s no doubt performing with such an acclaimed choir offers me a wonderful range of experiences and opportunities.”

Kavi has already enjoyed external acclaim during his time at QE: as a 14-year-old, he won first prize in the Drama Versatility Cup at the North London Festival of Music, Drama and Dance.

He was also part of QE’s Purdy Barbershop Group which won the Senior Popular Category at the prestigious Spring Grove Festival. At the event, the group performed a rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon, which Kavi arranged.

Two QE Sixth-Formers learned about cutting-edge aerospace and structural engineering technologies at summer schools held at universities.

William Forrester, of Year 12, and Marcus Rodin, of Year 13, took up places on courses organised by the educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust. The trust promotes engineering as a career through organising residential courses for people aged 12 to 18.

William (pictured immediately below) spent three days at Kingston University, southwest London, on an Aerospace Engineering course, learning about the basics of aircraft flight, the principles of lightweight structural design and the need for highly efficient propulsion systems. He operated a flight simulator and, working in a small team, was challenged to design and make a rocket-powered aircraft model designed for maximum glide range after launch. Looking ahead, William is keen to pursue a career in aerospace engineering.

Marcus (pictured fourth from left below) attended the four-day Structural Engineering course at Coventry University. There he learned about fundamentals including pressures, stresses and strains, as well as the principles of statics, mechanics and materials. Marcus and his team also won a competition amongst the students to build a bridge with constraints such as a fixed budget and set test criteria, using the knowledge they had gained on the course. They were awarded the prize for “the best understanding of structural behaviour” following a presentation that they gave. The course helped to confirm Marcus’ desire to pursue a career in civil engineering, which he intends to study at university.

“The courses offer students the opportunity to develop life skills such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving and time management,” said Claire Fisher, spokesperson for The Smallpeice Trust. “We also provide information about relevant degree courses under the guidance of technical specialists.”

The participants enjoyed the opportunity to socialise through games evenings, a trip to a local laser-tag game venue, bowling and a barbecue.

Past and present pupils alike are tuning in eagerly to the BBC’s The Great British Bake Off to find out if Old Elizabethan Richard Burr can continue his successful run in the show.

In last week’s quarter-final, Richard (OE 1987-1994) was named ‘star baker’ for the fourth time – a feat never before achieved in the history of the show, according to co-presenter Mel Giedroyc.

He has already progressed through eight rounds of the fifth series of the prime-time cooking programme and seen eight of the original 12 contestants eliminated.

Now he will be hoping for further success in the semi-final on Wednesday 1st October. He must demonstrate his skills in patisserie – the theme for the semi-final – and, if he reaches the final on 8th October, in tackling a demanding trio of specialised baking challenges.

Richard went to St Paul’s C of E Primary School in Mill Hill before coming to QE during the headmastership of Eamonn Harris.

He enjoyed baking with his mother as a small child and then as a teenager had a Saturday job washing up in a local bakery as a teenager, which further fired his enthusiasm for baking.

A family man, Richard is the fourth generation to work in his family’s building business. Married to Sarah and with two daughters, he does most of the family cooking and enjoys baking with his wife. He especially enjoys bread and pastry-making, while making the girls’ birthday cakes are highlights of the family’s year.

Richard has long been a keen fan of The Great British Bake Off. “We watch it every year and really enjoy it,” he told the BBC. “After last year I had quite a few friends and family say ‘you should go on Bake Off’, so I put my money where my mouth was and here I am.”

A keen fisher, diver and cyclist, he also grows his own vegetables and volunteers for the National Wildlife Trust. He is teaching his daughters eco-friendly ways to help animals by building homes for hedgehogs to hibernate in.

In 2012, Richard gained a first class degree from Birkbeck College, London: a BSc in Biodiversity and Conservation. He achieved this part time, whilst at the same time manning the family building firm and perfecting his baking skills.

Old Elizabethan Richard Burr is now widely being tipped as the favourite to win the BBC’s The Great British Bake Off after an impressive showing in the semi-final.

Richard (OE 1987-1994) was named ‘star baker’ for an unprecedented fifth time after impressing the judges with superb filo pastry and exemplary fondant fancies. This was all the more impressive since he admitted only ever using shop-bought filo pastry at home.

His performance in ‘Patisserie Week’ resulted in him progressing triumphantly through to the final on Wednesday 8th October. Only three of the original 12 contestants now remain. The final will require the three to tackle a demanding trio of specialised baking challenges.

Richard, 38, went to St Paul’s C of E Primary School in Mill Hill before coming to QE when Eamonn Harris was Headmaster.

He traces his love of baking back to the time he spent baking with his mother as a small child. Then as a teenager he had a Saturday job washing up in a local bakery as a teenager, which further fired his enthusiasm.

Richard is the fourth generation to work in his family’s building business. Judge Paul Hollywood said his experience as a builder could be seen in his baking: “Whether Richard’s mixing up plaster, cement, dough or pastry, he knows about consistency. It’s like working a cement mixer. That’s why he does so well.”

Married to Sarah and with two daughters, he does most of the family cooking and enjoys baking with his wife. He especially enjoys bread and pastry-making, while making the girls’ birthday cakes are highlights of the family’s year.

Richard has long been a keen fan of The Great British Bake Off. “We watch it every year and really enjoy it,” he told the BBC. “After last year I had quite a few friends and family say ‘you should go on Bake Off’, so I put my money where my mouth was and here I am.”

A keen fisherman, diver and cyclist, he also grows his own vegetables and volunteers for the National Wildlife Trust. He is teaching his daughters eco-friendly ways to help animals by building homes for hedgehogs to hibernate in.

Richard told the School that he is quite proud of the first-class BSc degree in Biodiversity and Conversation that he gained in 2012 from Birkbeck College, London, studying part-time.