You are warmly invited to spend Founder’s Day 2026 with us! It’s a joyous occasion when the whole Elizabethan community comes together to celebrate the School and its 453-year history in Barnet.

The day begins with the thanksgiving service at the Parish Church. (Space is limited, but please do register below if you are among the groups, including alumni, who qualify for a seat.) After that, the Roll Call and Reading of the School Chronicle take place back at Queen’s Road.

One o’clock brings the start of the FQE Fete on Stapylton Field at the front of the School. Always a fun and colourful event, it’s open to all. That includes current boys and their families, current and former staff, and Old Elizabethans, and also their friends and family, and local residents – the more, the merrier!

Our extensive digital brochure provides a site map, detailed fete programme, and special features, as well as advertising from supporting companies. It is available here.

We’ve been pleased to see more Old Elizabethans turning out on Founder’s Day, and we have again organised a buffet lunch for alumni – details below.

Founder’s Day is always a highlight of our School year. Amid a difficult national economic situation, its fundraising element is more important than ever in ensuring our School keeps progressing. We want to keep on improving the life chances of boys from all backgrounds, providing fantastic facilities as a state school and offering places purely on academic merit. 

Do take the time tomorrow to cast an eye over our Main Building – now newly resplendent with the scaffolding removed and 130,000 roof tiles replaced as part of its biggest refurbishment and upgrade in some 70 years.

See below for details of how you can view our exciting plans for a new Sports Hall tomorrow. As QE keeps thus keeps moving ahead in Barnet, it is amazing to see our Elizabethan community start to grow internationally through the forthcoming opening of the first Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools.

I am very pleased that we are being joined tomorrow by the Founding Principals of QE Dubai Sports City and QE Gurugram in India, Dan Clark and Craig Cook. In a special presentation, they will receive a replica of our Great Seal during the thanksgiving service to take to their new schools as they move towards opening. 

I know that Mr Clark and Dr Cook are taking great inspiration from the support and involvement of FQE and the active engagement of our Old Elizabethans. For our part, we are hugely thankful for all that our volunteers have done to put the fete together and to those others who are playing a part in the formal celebrations on the day. It is set to be another splendid – and hopefully sunny – occasion.

My thanks go to all for their support – and I look forward to seeing as many friends as possible here tomorrow.

Mr Neil Enright
Headmaster