Engaging with the big stories: pupil-written publications tackle topics including the existential threat of a “silicon species”
QE boys have been flexing their intellectual muscles in pupil-run publications tackling everything from the risks and opportunities presented by AI through to in-depth looks at the latest medical advances.
New editions of Artificial Times, Bioquest and The Political Times – all of them both written and edited by pupils – have just been published.
The first of these contains a wide range of perspectives on AI, examining its impact on education, society, industry, sustainability, and ethics. Its publication comes as industry experts speak out about the risk that AI could pose. They include Microsoft AI’s chief executive, Old Elizabethan Mustafa Suleyman (1995–2002), who warns that unless AI is properly controlled, it could lead to the emergence of a “silicon species” that would compete with humans for resources.
Mustafa co-founded DeepMind with his fellow OE, Sir Demis Hassabis (1988–1990), who in 2024 won a Nobel prize for Chemistry after deploying AI to predict complex protein structures. Demis has also spoken of the risks posed by AI.
Assistant Head Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “With the public discourse on artificial intelligence reaching new levels of intensity, it is good to see current pupils engaging in the debate. Our current School Plan, Boundless, prioritises our pupils becoming ‘deep thinkers and compelling communicators’ who are ‘future-ready’.
“Artificial Times, Bioquest and Political Times – and other regular pupil-run magazines, such as the Economics journal, The Econobethan, and The Arabella, covering the arts – are great examples of free-thinking scholarship in action.
“The boys’ writing in these publications demonstrates not only that our students follow the big issues of our day, but that they are also ready to grapple with them on their own initiative.
“Furthermore, through writing their articles and taking part in the publications’ editorial teams, they not only develop their written communication skills, but also show that they are well on the way to becoming ‘leaders of influence and valued collaborators’ – another of our Boundless priorities.”
Artificial Times was founded last year by Olic Fan and Hussain Hashmi, who are now in Year 13. This term’s edition – the third – features an introduction from Trudi Barrow, a specialist in design education named as AI Specialist Edufuturist of the Year 2026. It includes pupils’ detailed examinations of various aspects of AI and its implications, from Year 13 pupil Dev Malde’s The Hidden Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence to Year 11’s Arihaant Venuraju take on Bias in AI: How it Occurs, How it’s Dangerous, and How it can be Avoided. Separately, the risks of AI inspired one Year 11 pupil, Aaryan Prabhaker, to spend part of his summer penning a work of fiction on the subject: he has now presented the book to Headmaster Neil Enright.
The theme and title of the new Bioquest QE pupil publication is Sports, Driven By Biology, a set of articles highlighting biological issues across a range of different sports.
The topics covered include: How are Injuries Caused and How Do They Heal? by Year 13’s Samir Cheema; ADHD: A Curse or a Blessing, by Savya Gupta, of Year 12; Fast and Slow: The Biology of Athletics, by Zoheb Haq, of Year 13; and The Biology and Biomechanics of Mouthguards in Sport, by Taha Sebbar, of Year 13. Sushan Naresh led its eight-strong editorial team, all drawn from Year 13
In its 19 pages, The Political Times reflects on this year’s change of Prime Minister, with Year 8’s Praanaj Rai tracking Andy Burnham’s Road to PM and Adam Ahmed, of Year 9, asking the question, King of the North, or Political Chameleon?
It tackles wider topics, too. In The Political Times‘ biggest section, entitled Westminster Watch, Ehan Rattani, of Year 9, writes about The Politics of Decline and Year 11’s Sri Koustubh Yallambhatla asks How Short-Termism is Plaguing Britain.
And while most of the publication engages with domestic politics, Year 13’s Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen looks at How Washington Lost Iran, while Year 9’s Hridhaan Joshi explores political aspects of the FIFA World Cup.