The Elizabethan
From the Headmaster
Dear Parents,
This week marks not only the end of another successful academic year, but also the end of the time covered by our outgoing School Plan, Building on Distinction. I am happy to confirm that the governors have ratified our new plan, setting out our priorities for development for 2025–2030: I look forward to sharing that with everyone in the early part of the new School year.
At this juncture, then, it is good to take stock and celebrate the very positive impact that Building on Distinction
has had on Queen Elizabeth’s School – a plan that was drawn up, and then launched, amid the uncertainty of COVID-19.
Not long after the UK emerged from the pandemic, in May 2022, our splendid new building incorporating the Friends’ Recital Hall and Music Rooms opened with a gala festival. Soon after, QE received its sixth consecutive top rating from Ofsted. That same year we were named State Secondary School of the Year by The Sunday Times Schools’ Guide. Those positive independent endorsements paved the way for our 450th anniversary in 2023. The whole
year was punctuated by celebration, with the entire School making the trip to Westminster Abbey for a service of thanksgiving on the anniversary itself, 24th March. We have benefited from the complete refurbishment of two Chemistry laboratories and, more recently, from the opening of The Robert Dudley Studio. This superb facility this term provided the venue for the annual School Play – Oedipus – for the first time.
Academically, just as the plan’s name foresaw, we have built on our previous success, with well over 50% of our 2024 leavers receiving offers from top-five
SUMMER COLOUR : QE traditions old and new combined to make Founder’s Day 2025 a memorable and joyous occasion. See p9.
universities in the QS World University Rankings. The total number of offers from Oxford and Cambridge in 2023–2025 now stands at a remarkable 157.
During the lifespan of Building on Distinction the School has launched two significant programmes that have helped us maintain real momentum. QE Flourish co-ordinates and enhances our extensive and diverse co-curricular activities, ensuring that the QE experience is truly an enriching one. QE Futures helps our pupils find their best path to university and careers. A growing number of special careerrelated events for all ages serve both to inspire boys and to give them solid information on which to base their later choices. Drawing on all that we learned about remote education during the pandemic, we have invested considerable time, research and money to put in place our digital strategy and, progressively, our 1:1 programme. Our teachers are now profiting from the many hitherto unavailable opportunities that this technology offers them, thus bringing whole new dimensions to the boys’ learning.
“Maintaining real momentum”
YEARS
School year, including the parental and pupil surveys. Your responses clearly recognised and celebrated our strong position. And, just as importantly, there was broad agreement on what our next priorities should be. Those priorities certainly include making the most of our campus through a new long-term Estates Strategy. I am pleased to announce the start of one of the first fruits of that – a £2.5m refurbishment of the exterior of our Main Building. To carry out this major project, we received a very significant Government grant of almost £2m, as well as at least £0.5m from FQE. Main Building, which opened in 1932, was designed to reflect the School’s Tudor roots. While we certainly want to add new buildings in the future, it is vital that we steward this heritage well, protecting the attractive existing fabric and, at the same time, improving our dayto-day learning and working environment.
School Hall. The few remaining original windows will be replaced with doubleglazed units that are in keeping with the building’s architecture.
Just as Building on Distinction has helped us steer so successfully through the post-pandemic period and kept us moving forward, the new School Plan sets out the right course for the School to advance still more over the next five years. It was really heartening to see the unity of purpose and thinking within all sections of the Elizabethan community when we conducted our research for the new plan earlier this
“Major project to start”
The project will begin on the first day of the summer holidays, when a start will be made on erecting the scaffolding. This large undertaking will involve: fitting 130,000 new roof tiles; the replacement of multiple flat roofs; and work on the external elevations, including re-pointing and repairs to the coping stones. In very practical terms, the refurbishment will deal with several leaks and instances of mould on internal walls. Some internal redecoration will be necessary. Sustainability is a major aspect of the work. We will be fitting improved insulation, as well as installing solar panels on the south-west-facing pitched roof to one side of the Main
It has been great to see so many parents here for events during this busy term, not least the parent-volunteers serving as FQE Ambassadors. Valediction proved a fitting farewell for our leavers, greatly enlivened by the attendance of Britain’s best-loved character actress, Alison Steadman. At the Founder’s Day church service, our 2015 School Captain, Norbert Sobolak, gave a stirring address to the Year 7s present – “Dream so big it scares you” – while this week we welcomed back another illustrious Old Elizabethan, Ramesh Pari (1997–2004), as our guest of honour at Junior Awards. The Technology Showcase attracted considerable interest. And the FQE Fete, as usual, helped put the fun into Founder’s Day! Among our guests on that day was a delegation from Global Education (GEDU), our partners in QE Global Schools. The group stayed for the following week, with plenty of collaboration taking place between them and the staff at the School, as preparations continue towards opening schools in UAE and India – a truly pioneering initiative born out of our commitment, in Building on Distinction, to ‘bold innovation’.
I wish our QE families a relaxing summer and I look forward to seeing our GCSE and A-level candidates again on their respective results days in August.
Neil Enright Headmaster
ROYAL TEA: The Headmaster met King Charles as he represented QE at a Buckingham Palace garden party.
EIGHTY
ON: Five ensembles gave an outdoor lunchtime concert on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Ancient to modern: classical play in new facility
Sophocles’ Oedipus the Tyrant was the first School
Play ever to be staged in The Robert Dudley Studio.
Assistant Head Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “I was concerned our resident theatre director, Penny Gkritzapi, might have bitten off more than she could chew: Oedipus tells the awful story of the young prince destined to marry his mother and kill his father. However,
Thousands
we have established a proud tradition of tackling weighty topics – and it was a triumph, with Year 10’s Namish Thakur a convincing Oedipus. It was wonderful to use the studio, with its amazing lighting and sound facilities.”
visit “unique” QE
Nearly 4,000 people flocked to Queen’s Road for this month’s annual Open Day – a clear sign of the continuing huge interest in a QE education among families across a wide geographical area.
Open Day came a month after
International physicist
Year 13’s Harik Sodhi will be representing his country in Paris this summer as a member of the British national team in the International Physics Olympiad.
Having sailed through three rounds of the UK Olympiad, Harik then shone among 14 high-fliers at a national team selection camp in Oxford.
How to get into Oxbridge – come to QE!
New research reveals that QE is the top state school for offers from Oxford and Cambridge.
publication of the influential Good Schools Guide’s latest review, which described QE as “a traditional, wellorganised state school where all expectations are high…[and] a unique and unashamed meritocracy in which clever, hard-working boys who like a challenge will thrive”.
A Sunday Times survey of offers in 2024 showed that QE’s tally of 62 QE leavers with Oxbridge offers was matched in the state sector only by Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, which has 2,400 full-time A-level students. The survey was entitled How to get into Oxbridge – by the state schools that do it best. The only school to exceed QE’s total was the independent Westminster School.
Over the past three years, 157 QE pupils have received Oxbridge offers. QE also had a higher application-to-offer conversion rate than any other state school securing 20 or more offers.
Opening eyes, informing thinking
Helping pupils of all ages find their path
The QE Futures programme starts young. This term saw all 192 Year 7 boys working with complex consumer research data in a day organised in partnership with global technology giant Meta (owner of Facebook and WhatsApp) and Digdata, a programme promoting careers in data to young people.
Assistant Head James Kane (Pupil Destinations) says: “The Year 7 day emphasised digital and critical thinking skills. Specifically, their data work with Excel informed thinking about how WhatsApp could be improved. They then designed and presented a pitch to Meta executives. It’s a good example of how QE Futures works, inspiring pupils and broadening their thinking. This has been a busy Futures term, with Old Elizabethans featuring heavily, lending their professional expertise.”
Highlights included 41 Year 12s heading to HSBC at Canary Wharf. Among those providing insights was Asif Shamsad (OE 2012–2019), an HSBC Commercial Banking Degree Apprentice. “It was a momentous day, opening students’ eyes to bankbased careers beyond traditional investment banking jobs, such as client-facing and more data-based roles,” Mr Kane adds.
Lunchtime Futures Talks covered careers in:
• AI AND CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES, with Mustafa Gülercan, founder of Clouds, a UK company providing consultancy for Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace
• ACADEMIA/ RESEARCH, with Emily Jones – PhD in Biology at UCL
• SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, with Rahil Shah (OE 2012–2019), a software engineer at Bloomberg.
Futures-themed assemblies provided “meaningful encounters with those in higher education and training”. Year 8 enjoyed a briefing from the Government’s Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge (ASK) programme about apprenticeships and T-levels (a new alternative to A-levels), whilst lower school pupils fired their questions about university at OEs Eesa Ahmed and Haran Sritharan (both 2017-2024) in a joint Year 7/Year 10 assembly. Mike Nicholson, Director of Recruitment, Admissions & Participation at Cambridge, spoke to Year 12s. The same sixth-formers had their own chance to ask about life as a student when 2024’s leavers returned for the University Convention. Also paying a return visit was entrepreneur Amanda Slavin, who led a day for Year 9 on Developing Employability Skills through Entrepreneurship
There is a new QE Futures page on eQE . QE Futures also prioritises involving parents and has a dedicated eQE page for them. A well-attended briefing launched the 2026 UCAS process. Pupils and parents turned out in force for the Year 11 Futures Evening, too. Speakers included: Dr Ana Hastoy, Admissions & Access Manager at Christ Church, Oxford; Cambridge undergraduate Utsav Atri (OE 2015–2022); and 2024 leavers including IBM analyst Yash Narain and Cambridge undergraduate Shrey Patel.
REAL WORLD, REAL SKILLS: YEAR 11 WORK EXPERIENCE
“ The programme’s an exciting element of QE Futures: pupils experience the world of work firsthand, developing vital employability skills such as communication, critical thinking, digital fluency, teamwork, leadership, and resilience,” says Mr Kane. “Importantly, alongside the skills, work experience builds confidence that will serve them in whatever path they eventually choose.” Placements can be virtual, in-person, or a mix of both.
• In his “enriching” week with CAPGEMINI, Advay Bhat, was introduced to cutting-edge ideas such as chaos engineering and agile sustainability in the global consultancy firm’s fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Dhruv Pai worked at a DENTAL CLINIC, witnessing everything from check-ups to implant procedures and gaining a deep appreciation for the empathy, precision, and teamwork behind excellent patient care—especially in high-pressure moments.
• Ahsan Rahman’s on-site internship at DEUTSCHE BANK gave him insight into how teamwork and communication are essential in both virtual and in-person settings.
• At RODIĆ DAVIDSON ARCHITECTS, Victor Varbanov impressed OE Nikolas Ward (2003–2010), Associate at the firm, who said: “It makes me proud to know that the values that were instilled when I was at QE (20 or so years ago!) are still to the fore.”
QE is always seeking support for the Futures programme. If you are potentially interested in giving a talk, facilitating work experience, or participating in a careers event, please scan the QR code to register your interest.
Entertaining VIPs on Music
tour
Musicians from QE enjoyed the chance to play for local dignitaries on National Flemish Day during their tour of Belgium. Public figures were invited along for the performance in Antwerp’s oldest parish church, Sint-Jacob.
The boys kept on the move during their five-day tour, also playing in the historic Parc de Bruxelles in the Belgian capital, and then in Ypres town square.
There was plenty of time to explore, too. Arriving in Dunkirk, they visited a museum focusing on the town’s World War II history, before crossing into Belgium and calling at the Trench of Death in Diksmuide – one of World War I’s most treacherous trench systems.
They also:
• Explored the canals of Bruges on a boat trip
• Sampled Belgian chocolate at the Choco-Story museum
• Relished the rollercoasters at Bellewaerde Park, Belgium’s oldest theme park
• Enjoyed a walking tour of Gent’s key sites and took in Gravensteen, its mediaeval castle
• Visited Brussels’ The Parliamentarium – an interactive exhibition about the European Union and Parliament – and the city’s 300ft Atomium landmark.
Musicians’ grand finale
Fifteen ensembles performed as Year 13 musicians enjoyed one final chance to show off their talents. Music played at the Leavers’ Concert ranged from Grieg, Mozart and Mahler to Irving Berlin, Kenny Loggins and Metallica.
Rising to the occasion
The 14th-century splendour of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle reverberated to the sounds of QE’s Chamber Choir singing Evensong. The 40-strong choir sang Brewer in D as the canticles, Lead me, Lord by S.S. Wesley as the anthem, and Humphrey Clucas’s The Preces [prayers] and Responses
Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “As many noted, the choir did themselves proud, delivering the high level of musicality and sensitivity appropriate for such a prestigious occasion.”
STOP PRESS: And the winner is…
Harrisons’ beat last year’s winner, Broughton, to become QE’s champion House for 2024–2025. Its 1,656 points placed it comfortably ahead of Broughton, on 1,625 points, with Pearce in third place.
The eagerly awaited announcement formed the climax to the traditional end-of-year assembly, where the Headmaster presented the Eric Shearly House Cup.
Flourishing in the gardens –and lots of other places besides!
The Flourish programme aims to get the boys out and about, making the most of QE’s prime location close to both the capital and surrounding rural counties.
That’s especially true during the Summer Term’s Flourish Days, when every pupil and member of staff enjoys the chance to relax a little away from the classroom.
Flourish Days this year included Year 8’s visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew; Year 7 at Whipsnade Zoo; Verulamium Roman Museum in St Albans (Year 8); the Science Museum (Year 9); and Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker (Year 10).
Year 7 enjoyed letting off steam on a sponsored walk in the countryside,
while Year 12 went on a hike in the Chilterns. Year 9 looked to the skies on a visit to RAF Hendon. Shakespeare took centre-stage when Year 12 went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bridge Theatre and Year 10 to watch Romeo and Juliet at the Globe.
Head of English Robert Hyland: “Our now annual trips to the Globe make the Flourish festival one of my favourite weeks of the year. It may have all the trappings of a 17th-century playhouse, but plays are still being explored in very modern ways.”
Conflict and croquet
Year 9 boys did not just learn about History during their World War I battlefields trip to Ypres and the Somme – they lived it, too. They went to Talbot House, where soldiers relaxed away from the front lines. History & Politics teacher John Haswell said: “They drank tea, played chess & croquet, and sang at the piano, just as the soldiers did.”
Valete
After a combined total of 65 years at the School, teachers Burgunde Lukasser and Liam Hargadon retire at the end of term.
The Headmaster paid tribute. “Burgunde has been a wonderful Head of German, and served as Assistant Head of Languages in recent years. In her 29 years here, she has led many a trip, including the German exchange in Bielefeld. While latterly working only part-time, she has still been in on many of the days she is supposed to have been off!
“Liam was a member of the senior management team, Head of Politics (a highly informed and passionate subject expert) and was a Head of Year in the Sixth Form for many years. Slowly cutting back on his working days and leadership responsibilities, he has finished, after 36 years at Queen’s Road, as a part-time teacher of History & Politics, still bringing in notable guest speakers, recently including Lord Heseltine and Sir Vince Cable.
“I thank both of them for their dedication to the boys and our School, and I wish them all the very best in retirement.”
From the archives: QE’s 1950s growing pains
The £2.5m project to restore and improve the exterior of Main Building is the first major work on the structure since the 1950s.
At the beginning of that decade, it was not yet 20 years old, yet expansion was urgently needed. For one thing, the School was about to take an additional (third) form at entry. For another, a 1941 Luftwaffe bombing raid had left QE without a refectory. With the Main Hall having to double as a dining room, the School was “seriously handicapped”, an inspector warned in November 1951.
By then, building work had, in fact, been under way for about eight months. The scheme, making the most of meagre county
funds, included covering the original two quadrangles to the height of one storey and internal changes to create classroom space. It was not popular, and, in July, The Elizabethan waxed both lyrical and indignant: “Those of us in the lower corridor grope in Stygian darkness (the windows and doors now bricked up) amid the hazards of flying brick and falling masonry, while those nearest the Junior [east] End also battle, like Magellan of old, with howling winds and billowing canvas.”
By Christmas 1951, the project was complete, yet it was not enough. Starting at Easter 1953, two rooms were added to the west, or senior, end. The Elizabethan editorial of July 1953 was sarcastic (“shows surprisingly
little originality…But it is not yet complete; perhaps the architect has a roof-garden up his sleeve”). An Elizabethan article in April 1955 on the finished work was more positive, saying the rooms “admirably match the rest of the building”. It continued that, although not part of the original plan, “with some suddenness, the idea of further extensions, at the East End, to balance those recently made at the West End, was taken up; and, as we write, the builders…are busy”. The tight symmetry of the original frontage was gone, but The Elizabethan’s editorial of July 1955 now struck an emollient tone: the architects had removed Main Building’s “somewhat oppressive regularity”.
By 1955, 14 long years had passed since the refectory was destroyed. Finally, it was agreed that one would be built, though in a new block, not as part of Main Building. The work dragged on, 1957’s GCE examinations arriving to “the clamour of drills and cement-mixers”
– The Elizabethan July 1957. At last, in the following spring “the building programme was triumphantly finished”, with “the Hall…returned to its proper dignity” – The Elizabethan April 1958.
As it turned out, that writer spoke too soon. For the very next edition of The Elizabethan, in July, announced that builders were returning to “make what it is sincerely hoped will be the last of set of the extensive
First in Europe
Year 12’s Tanush Gupta won first prize in the European Society of Human Genetics competition connected with European DNA Day. His video on Genes Across the Globe: Why Genetic Diversity Matters impressed the 45-strong expert jury. The winners were announced in front of more than 5,000 international scientists and doctors at the European Human Genetics Conference in Milan. Tanush won £800 for the School.
National runners-up
Year 8’s Arya Hombal and Noble Laturia, with Liam Chen and Advik Gupta, of Year 9, took second place in the UK Maths Trust’s Team Maths Challenge national final, having previously won their regional round.
alterations”. These included, notably, extending the library. It is believed the work continued well into autumn.
The photos show Main Building both before the 1950s expansion and in 1956, with the new wings in place. There is also an unsigned 1953 sketch of builders at work.
Medics’ success
A scientific poster detailing six Year 13 students’ innovative approach to treating a rare autoimmune condition won them a top-ten finish in Imperial College’s Medicine in Schools Team Prize Competition. Most of the team hope to become medics and scientists.
Fun, formality and fundraising
Founder’s Day 2025 not only drew the crowds, it was a superb fundraiser, too. The latest total stands at £43,532 – 74% higher than the £25,000 target. Funds raised go towards refurbishing two Biology laboratories.
The day began with the traditional service at the parish church and then the Roll Call and Reading of the School Chronicle in front of Main Building.
At the FQE fete on Stapylton Field, the bowl-at-a-teacher stall in the cricket cage was one of dozens of popular attractions. An archival display in the
Taking awards in Texas
Having qualified for the World Championships in Dallas, four QE robotics teams went on to win a string of awards there.
Year 10 teams Rogue and Nova reached the final 16 in their respective divisions and both won a prestigious Design Award in the V5RC competition. Later, the Year 9 VIQRC teams shone. Team Constellation won QE’s third Design Award of the championships, while Omega’s prowess in robot construction
Main School Hall included the 1573 founding charter.
The Headmaster said: “A splendid day from beginning to end! The fete offered something for everyone – including great international food and some really diverse entertainment.”
Planning a global future
Among the hundreds of visitors at Founder’s Day were a team from GEDU Global Education –the School’s partner in the QE Global Schools initiative.
The team then stayed for several days, during which senior staff spent time with them finessing the plans to open schools bearing the QE stamp in UAE and India.
The Headmaster said: “Our GEDU colleagues enjoyed a healthy dose of QE culture on Founder’s Day and invested considerable time into learning all about what goes on here at the Founding School. We had so much fun with them, fine-tuning the mission, vision and values of the QE Global Schools.”
was recognised with a Build Award. The teams also won a colourful costume competition.
Head of Digital Teaching & Learning
Michael Noonan said: “The Design
Award is the highest judged accolade in the divisions, so winning three gave us immense pride. The costume competition success was a great bonus, rewarding our teams’ dazzlingly creative pit displays and costumes.”
From making toys to analysing blood spatter!
Head of Technology Bilaal Khan and a group of Year 12s worked with primary school children to bring to life the youngsters’ designs for simple mechanical toys.
Mr Khan and the sixth-formers spent three afternoons at Foulds School helping to make the wooden toys, which all featured cams of various shapes, including snail, oval and hexagonal. The Year 12s helped the boys and girls cut the cams and assemble the toys. Mr Khan demonstrated how to use equipment such as drills and saws.
Assistant Head (Pupil Progress) Sarah Westcott said: “This was a really nice example of our community outreach work, which was deeply appreciated by the staff at Foulds School.”
There were also events for QE's local partner primary schools covering
Mathematics & English, Art, and Humanities.
The Queen’s Library hosted an event for reluctant readers. Year 12’s Aarav Agarwal and Simi Bloom led a creative writing session, which included a book-related quiz that helped the children learn how to choose a book. And there was a repeat of the popular forensic science session at QE, where children learned about the analysis of fingerprints, hair & fibres (under a microscope), and blood spatter to build a case against a suspect in a fictional crime. QE pupils have volunteered in these schools, too, as part of the voluntary service programme.
QE’s champion
Kanak Shah, the School’s Head of Extracurricular Enrichment, has been named LGBT+ Staff Champion of the Year by Just Like Us.
The charity’s CEO, Laura Mackay, visited the School to present the award.
This term, the Equality, Diversity and
Flying high
QE’s Team M.A.S.A.L.A. won the Excellence in Arts category at this year’s Wings of Hope Achievement Awards (WOHAA).
The School’s Team Horizon were not only runners-up in the Excellence in Sport category, but also gave a violin recital as part of the entertainment at the awards ceremony held at London Business School.
Boys from QE were also among the semi-finalist teams who presented their WOHAA projects at the House of Lords in front of a panel of judges that included peers, Members of the House of Commons, businesspeople, and journalists.
The Wings of Hope charity provides financial support to children in poor countries to help with their education. It is a popular cause at QE, with many fundraising events held this year.
Inclusion Ambassadors (Year 12 senior prefects), Felix Calder and Suhaas Sabbella, have overseen a range of EDI-related activities. Pride Week in June included a celebration lunch, as well as form-time quizzes, rainbow bracelet and keyring-making, and the screening of a film, Love, Simon, in the Main School Hall.
Creators to the fore!
The Technology Design Showcase was a vibrant celebration of the work pupils from Year 7 to Year 13 have produced during the year.
Head of Technology Bilaal Khan said: “Every student featured demonstrated creativity, technical skill, and a passion for innovation.”
• Year 7 showed off wind turbines, movement-inspired chair designs, and sketching skills.
• Year 8 showcased interactive memory games and sleek 3D-printed model F1 cars.
• Year 9 presented their innovative
projects for the Fixperts communitybased programme.
• Year 11 and 13 displayed their nonexamination assessment projects.
A five-strong panel, drawn from business and industry, selected Yashsay Maheshwary, of Year 9, as the Key Stage 3 winner for excellence in design and innovation, while Year 7’s Ayaan Agarwal won a new QE woodworking competition.
National Technology champion
Year 13’s Muhammad Shah has been crowned The Big Bang UK Young Technologist of the Year 2025. Mark Wood, from sponsor Siemens GB&I, said: "Muhammad stood out with his decentralised communication system… [He] demonstrated independent learning and great communication and presentation skills.”
By popular acclaim!
Nine pupils have won Jack Petchey Achievement Awards, while a Leader Award went to Science teacher and form tutor Xiangming Xu. The awards ceremony took place at the Arts Depot in Barnet. The selection process gave all QE boys the opportunity to cast votes. The pupil awards went to: Year 10’s Soham Bhatnagar, Arhan Panjwani, and Ayaan Bhat; Year 11’s Jack Tan; Year 12’s Viyath Wanninayaka, Suhaas Sabbella, and Aadam Aslam; and Year 13’s Rayat Ferdous and Shaurya Madan.
Top to bottom: speeches and awards
The School bade farewell to most senior students at Valediction last month, while this week it was time for QE’s youngest stars to shine at Junior Awards.
Valediction, which incorporates Year 13 prizes, welcomed as guest of honour Alison Steadman, Britain’s favourite character actress, famous for numerous roles including that of Mrs Bennet in the 1995 television adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, in which Mr Bingley was played by Crispin Bonham-Carter –
now QE’s Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement). She was also Pam Shipman in the record-breaking comedy Gavin and Stacey
At Junior Awards, Ramesh Pari (OE 1997–2004) was the guest of honour, presenting prizes to boys in Years 7, 8 & 9. Ramesh, Head of Delivery Services for Ocado, advised them both to "fail brilliantly" (by aspiring to wildly ambitious goals) and to "celebrate loudly" their successes.
Stapylton still on top
Stapylton kept their Sports Day crown, with boys from Years 7 to 10 all playing their part in a commanding victory.
This year’s win by the blue House was in contrast to last year, when Stapylton wrested victory from Broughton – champions for several years – by a single point.
Director of Sport Jonathan Hart said:
“It was a day of fun and sun, with the boys working well together in their Houses and giving their all. My thanks go my colleagues and everyone else who helped keep everything running smoothly in what is quite a major logistical undertaking.”
The boys compete in a wide array of events, including track and field
disciplines. The QE Mile (a 16x100m relay) traditionally rounds off the day. The staff team won that this year, notwithstanding a good turn of speed from several pupils, including Year 12's Ubaidah Rahman, running in his socks!
Middlesex’s finest!
QE’s U15 squad pushed past Harrow School to claim the Middlesex Cup – the climax of a season that saw teams from three QE age groups reach their respective county finals.
For more on this and on the term’s other sports news, read our Sports Bulletin
First pictures from Sri Lanka
The day after Sports Day, QE’s hardworking PE staff immediately set off for the biennial senior cricket and rugby tour to Sri Lanka. So far, the tourists have already seen elephants and enjoyed a little sporting action at the famous Nittawela Rugby Stadium, home of Kandy Sports Club.