School celebrates despite the weather – and the band played on

Rain on Founder’s Day failed to dampen the spirits of staff and boys, who celebrated this high point in the QE calendar with their customary pride and enthusiasm.

While the annual cricket match between the School and the Old Elizabethans had to be cancelled, many other features of the day proved popular – especially the culinary comforts provided by the international food tent!

In the morning’s Thanksgiving Service at Chipping Barnet Parish Church, guest speaker Christos Karaolis (OE 1995-2002) (pictured left below) spoke on the importance of friendships forged and lessons learned during his time at QE: “To this day, I still regularly see my friends from School who have gone on to have successful and diverse careers … our common thread is the School that gave us so much and put us on the road to those successes.”

Mr Karaolis, who completed a degree in Law at Trinity College, Oxford, worked as a political writer for John Prestcott before taking the Bar. He said: “It taught me a crucial lesson for my adult life; you can disagree, sometimes strongly, with someone for their views or beliefs, but still respect, and indeed like them, for their hard work and commitment.”

He recalled how much he had gained at QE from the Young Enterprise scheme and how he applied knowledge acquired then on a daily basis in his current employment as a business strategy consultant. “Use the advice of more experienced people – older boys, Old Elizabethans and those who you might just see as old; your teachers and parents; as I know their ideas and inspiration count for so much.”

Drizzle started to fall as the Headmaster began the traditional roll call in front of the School. “I was very impressed by the boys’ stoicism despite the weather,” he said afterwards. “It was unfortunate the cricket match had to be cancelled, but the field was something of a morass. Despite that, the day was a great success and we are confident that we will raise as much money this year as ever. The food tents were magnificent and formed one of the day’s highlights,” added Mr Enright.

The international food tent featured Indian, Chinese, West African, Sri Lankan, Turkish and (new for this year) Mediterranean foods. There was also a barbecue tent, home make cakes, and strawberries and cream.

The Concert Band disdained the wet conditions and played with considerable composure, demonstrating their musical abilities and adding to the sense of occasion.