International football fever has broken out at QE – and while some eagerly await the results of a certain game at Wembley tonight, celebrations of soccer successes even closer to home are already in full flow!
Boys from four year groups – 7, 8, 9 and 12 – turned out for a two-day, charity tournament to raise funds for QE’s long-running appeal in support of a school in India, while later this week, Years 8 & 9 will be taking part in a sponsored walk for the same cause.
Over the 18 years it has been running, the Sai School Appeal has funded significant improvements at the Sri Sathya Sai (English Medium) School in Kerala, including the construction of a new building, various repairs and, recently, the provision of computer room that enables pupils there to sit digitally-based examinations.
Languages teacher Katrin Hood, who mentors the Sixth Form team which runs the appeal, said: “The Sai School is going through a very difficult time at the moment; the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the area particularly hard. The boys have, therefore, been very keen to raise money and are being really active, in every sense of the word, in showing their support.”
Year 12 prefects Vishruth Dhamodharan and Varun Vijay Kumar, who lead the 2021 Sai School Appeal team, ran the five-a-side football tournament on both days.
Day 1 saw Year 12 and Year 9, while on day 2, it was Year 7 and Year 8 who took to the field. There was also a staff match in which a (largely) PE departmental team took on a squad drawn from other departments, with the former securing a 3-1 victory.
The winning teams from each year group, not including any substitutions, were:
- Year 7 – Veer Sanjeev, Peter Atanasov, Olic Fan, Yashwant Reddy Sunkara, Thomas Young
- Year 8 – Hamza Pasha, Jake Owens, Ubaidah Rahman, Rudra Patel, Sharvesh Sudhagar
- Year 9 – Avi Juneja, Rushil Akula, Seyed Jalili, Hadi Al-Esia, Raghav Kaushik
- Year 12 – Ahmed Rana, Shadman Rahman, Abdullah Chisti, Hathmi Abdul Haleem, Avik Gupta
“The event has so far raised £260, with money still coming in,” said Ms Hood. “I am grateful to Vishruth and Varun who did an excellent job on both days.”
This week’s sponsored walk, which starts and finishes at QE, will see Year 8 and Year 9 boys covering 10km to raise money both for the Sai School Appeal and for QE’s Piano Fund, dedicated to equipping the new Music School.