Queen’s Today Lent and Summer Terms 2020
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Au revoir, Queen’s! Departures
Mr Roger French ( joined Queen’s in 2014) – Biology/Science My abiding memory of Queen’s will be the warmth of all my colleagues, as I adjusted to teaching girls, after a lifetime teaching boys - but especially the support of Dr Davies, whom I’m proud to call a friend. Another memory will be discovering that I had taught (in my previous life) the father of a student. I was quite overcome when he thanked me in public. And my last memory will be the sheer amount of stairs and corridors at Queen’s! It will be good to see much more of my wife, my sons and granddaughters. We’ll take trips outside school holidays and I’ll go to car club events in my classic Daimler Dart. I also intend to resume watercolour painting.
Mrs Sarah Harrison (joined Queen’s in 1983) – Classics In 1983 there was no uniform, so you could see a IS in a 1950s outfit with a stylish hat, or a Class 2 in a bat costume. I have great memories of all the performances, like the Latin plays (a Class 2 brought in an inflatable dinghy once), the Featherstone Castle films, and a Sound of Music sketch in which I was a nun. The Queen’s Greek choruses were demanding for us to rehearse, but so worth it. What do I look forward to in retirement? Queen’s reunions of course! There are more epics to read, perhaps one or two to write, and places to explore. If I’m a granny someday, I’ll be making Greek myth finger puppets and cardboard temples. Can’t wait!
Mrs Lucy Penny ( joined Queen’s in 1996) – Classics I will remember the ‘lightbulb moments’, when students respond to a Greek myth in a really funny way, suddenly grasp the difference between the nominative and the accusative, or show insight into pre-Socratic philosophers. What we can learn from the students is also a key part of the job and one I really enjoy. I will also remember the medieval castle we used to stay in for the annual Northumberland trip. The students really gained from a week spent largely outdoors. I’m looking forward to getting a rescue dog and my husband and I are planning to walk across the Alps to Rome. I’ll also volunteer with a charity in Camden which helps homeless people and refugees.
Mrs Helen Sperling (joined Queen’s in 1988) – Geography Since 1988, the boarding house has gone, to be replaced eventually by the Humanities office, a new classroom, the English office and many other rooms. The Hall is new, too. Oh yes, and the school uniform. My best memories will be all the pupils and staff and their amazing knowledge and insights. I am not retiring! I plan to be as busy as ever and using what I have learnt so far and applying it to development and climate change mitigation issues as widely as I can.
And some lockdown arrivals… Daisy Tuesday Delany Collinson was born on 14th April, while Raphael Michael Blatt Evans arrived on 13th May.
Left: Mrs Delany (Geography) with her family Right: Miss Blatt (History of Art) with her family.
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Foreword Welcome to the summer edition of Queen’s Today, chronicling a period in the College’s history unlike any seen before. Our activities during lockdown permeate this issue, and I hope you enjoy getting a flavour of what the pupils and staff at QCL and QCPS have been achieving; we have certainly been no less busy, and hopefully no less together, despite being apart. This is also the last edition before Emma moves on from QCPS to her exciting new role as Founding Head of the Independent School of Jakarta; her successor, Laura Hall is interviewed on pages 8 and 9. Emma has been a superb Headmistress and wonderfully supportive colleague, and we wish her every happiness and success in her new adventure. Mr Richard Tillett, Principal of Queen’s College
Mrs Emma Webb, Headmistress of Queen’s College Preparatory School
Photograph by Isabella, Old Queen
Contents 4
The Dance Show
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Interview with Mrs Libby Dowling
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Pre-lockdown trips and events
12-13
Queen’s and the NHS
6-7
Interview with Professor Griselda Pollock
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An OQ in sustainable engineering
8-9
Interview with Mrs Laura Hall
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A story from Queen’s archive
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QCPS in lockdown
16-17
Special pre- and post-A level programme
18-19
Career changers
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10
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The Development Office, Queen’s College, 43-49 Harley Street, London W1G 8BT 020 7291 7018 development@qcl.org.uk www.qcl.org.uk Please send stories for Queen’s Today to Mrs Josie Baker, Editor: jbaker@qcl.org.uk Queen’s College, London is a registered charity no. 312726 Cover photo © Leila Barbaro; Dance Show February 2020; soloist, Lennox, Class 2 (see review overleaf) Queen’s Today
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Queen’s Dance Show “Some of the ability on display was simply astonishing” Dance gives the pupils a physical outlet from their academic work without having to leave the college. It allows them to work together, often outside their comfort zone, for a common goal. It is also completely up to date; here are the pupils performing to rap, R&B and every other type of contemporary pop music. Some of the ability on display was simply astonishing, with pupils completing an extraordinary range of springs, tumbles and cartwheels. The more sombre numbers were just as impressive, such as the beautiful duet by the Johnson sisters or the routine on the theme of ocean waves, choreographed by Mary from I Seniors and performed with spellbinding grace by two current and two former pupils. Since arriving at Queen’s at the beginning of last academic year, our two Dance teachers, Miss Rebecca Edwards and Miss Kiarnah Rait-McDonald, have revitalised this area of school life, working seamlessly together in the planning and execution of the subject. They have inspired the pupils to love Dance, and to create bold, ambitious, varied choreography. Pupils have been encouraged to keep up with their dance at home during lockdown and you can view the virtual ‘Spring into Dance’ on our website, including an al fresco solo by Lennox, this issue’s cover star. Photographs by Leila Barbaro
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Events and visits: February 2020 Little did we know we would soon have to shut the school for the first time in its 172-year history… Bletchley Park visit
The I Junior Computer Science pupils travelled to Hut “H” at Bletchley Park, which is the home of the National Computing Museum and the world's largest collection of working historic computers. We had an engrossing tour, with demonstrations including the Turing-Welchman Bombe and the Colossus of the 1940s. The museum took us through this significant period of technological history, putting into perspective the mobile phone, which is the culmination of all the efforts and dreams from the 1940s to the present. Editor’s note: Mr Phil Nelkin, Queen’s Director of IT and Head of Computer Science is leaving us to set up a consultancy business at the end of this academic year. We have so much to thank him for, not least organising the technology for us to teach remotely from March 20th onwards and responding to our many queries with enormous patience. In a typical Mr Nelkin touch, he even showed us how to set our backgrounds in Microsoft Teams as the TARDIS. We wish him all the best!
Come and Sing: A Night at the Movies
Musicians ranging from Class 3 singers to professional orchestral players came together to perform film music, to raise money for Queen’s Bursary Fund and the Cardinal Hume Centre, a local charity which helps to prevent homelessness of young people. Since it was ‘A Night at the Movies’, there had to be (at least) two pieces composed by the master of film music, John Williams, which the massed choir and the orchestra performed. However, there was a wide variety of music in the programme, including Nina, IJ, singing the classic ‘Over the Rainbow’ beautifully, and Didi, IS and Natasha, IIJ wowing the audience with ‘Sull’aria’ by Mozart. Over £2000 was raised. Sophia, IIJ During lockdown, a full programme of private music lessons has continued remotely, while Mr Hughes and Miss D’Arcy, along with brass tutor Miss Mitchell, have been busy arranging and recording collaborative videos featuring students and staff, with guest appearances from one or two pets. Enjoy them on our website here: https://www.qcl.org.uk/co-curricular/creative-arts/music
Stock Market Challenge
Students from I Junior, along with guests from Charter School North Dulwich, contested a closely fought Stock Market Challenge. The challenge uses a “real-time” screen simulation over five “days” to track share prices in nine (fictional) companies, sterling/dollar exchange rates and “breaking news”. The actual trading is all done on paper, in an old-style open outcry trading floor. I Senior Economists ran the event as Trading Floor Managers and provided an upbeat soundtrack. The aim of this activity is to give students an insight into financial markets and to start them thinking about A-level choices and careers. Lucky Team 13, comprising Brooke, Anoushka and two visiting students, won with a total portfolio value of £563,000 (not bad from a starting stake of £15,000).
Queen’s Today
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Interview with Professor Griselda Pollock by Miss Katy Blatt, Head of History of Art
“I have written a book on Charlotte Salomon, because of the inspiration of the women who taught me at Queen’s” Griselda Pollock is Professor of Social and Critical Histories in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds. A world-leading figure in Art History and Cultural Studies, she was recently awarded the prestigious 2020 Holberg Prize in recognition of her profound impact on Art History especially through the development of Feminist Studies in the field. She is also a specialist in Art and Holocaust Studies. The Holberg Prize was established by the Norwegian government in 2003. It is similar to the Nobel Prize, but is for academic work in arts, humanities, social sciences, law and theology. This is the first time the prize of circa £500,000 has been awarded to an Art Historian. So, when did the History of Art start? When I got to Canada I watched [US legal drama] Perry Mason and I thought ‘That’s what I’m going to do!’ I got into Oxford to do Law at 16, but they said I was very young. I came back a year later, choosing to study History instead. There I encountered Francis Haskell, who was the Professor of Art History and gave enthralling lectures about Napoleonic and Romantic French painting. In my final year, I chose to do his module on Baudelaire and the artists of his time. After university, I was advised to ‘do a secretarial course’ – that was advice for a young woman with an Oxford degree in History in the 1970s. The idea was we would be the PAs and secretaries of the men who’d get the prestigious jobs as publishers, etc. This was the beginning of the women’s movement, so I refused and went to do an MA in Art History at The Courtauld Institute of Art, supporting myself by working in a shoe shop. When I finished, I got a job quite easily as the art schools had become polytechnics and had to have Art History in their new BA degrees. Then I got my first full time lectureship at Manchester University in 1974. Could you tell us a little bit about your time at Queen’s? I was there from 1964 to 1966. I was born in South Africa and then my parents migrated to Canada. Then we moved to Britain. My sister went to Queen’s, and I also begged to be sent there to do my A-levels. I had the most amazing time. The teaching was just extraordinary. We had a wonderful English teacher called Mrs Clark and two Latin teachers who enthralled me. And then we had a wonderful History teacher and a memorable French teacher. I’m pretty sure David Suchet based Poirot on him! I was also taught by Mrs Blumenthal, a Jewish refugee from Berlin, who taught us Comparative Literature. I think it was this experience that made me an intellectual, because I suddenly thought ‘I love this stuff’.
As a feminist, I was interested in women artists. We were not taught about any at the Courtauld. Once you saw them in the museums, although sometimes in the basements. I found that it was only in the twentieth century that Art History ignored them, and museums did not collect. So that changed everything. I knew it was my job to challenge this. And make Art History inclusive and complete. Could you tell us about your Charlotte Salomon monograph? [Charlotte Salomon and the Theatre of Memory, Yale University Press, 2018] I discovered the work of Charlotte Salomon in the early 1990s, through the first publication on her single, complete
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Kristallnacht - Charlotte Salomon Foundation
work “Life? Or Theatre?” an amazing painting project with text and music composed of 784 images painted between 1941-1942, whilst she was living in exile in the South of France. In the 1980s she was not recognised as a modern artist, but she was being exhibited in Holocaust museums round the world because she had been murdered by the Nazis in 1943 aged only 26. Like everybody else who discovers her work, I responded “Wow! Why didn’t I know about her”? I knew I had to write about this work. At first people treated her work as a diary in pictures. ’She is the visual Anne Frank.’ Or they focused on what they thought was the tragic story of all the people who died in her life and her own horrifying death. I do not think the work is autobiographical. I wanted to develop a feminist art historical reading of this unique artwork. We also had to develop ‘Jewish Studies’ in Art History, to give us a framework within which to analyse the paintings of this fascinating artist. It took me over 16 years to finish the book, to feel that I had really seen and understood what she had made. It did not fit into any existing category or style. It was opera, cinema, text, painting and murder mystery all in one. And what I found was an artist who was so sharp, so angry, so acute in her analysis of the adult world, as only a discontented teenager can be. At the heart of it is the question: why did so many women in her family take their own lives? So in a sense, to go back to the question you asked me at the beginning, the
encounter with Mrs Blumenthal and her wonderful sense of European Jewish traditions and literature that led me to learn German in my gap year, was one of the gifts Queen’s gave me, along with all the other teachers in English and History. I have been able to write a book on Charlotte Salomon, probably because of the inspiration of the women who taught me at Queen’s, not because of what I learned when I studied conventional Art History. Massive congratulations for winning the Holberg Prize! How did you feel when you got it? Well, it’s curious, because it’s all suspended – there was going to be a symposium and masterclasses with the graduate students and a big public lecture and a ceremony in Oslo, and now nothing will take place until 2021. I’m sorry about it because I was hoping the publicity would make Art History more visible and feminism in Art History more widely discussed. It is wonderful to have this recognition. Could you give me a sound bite saying why it is so important that A-level students study History of Art today? We are now in a culture so saturated with images, that the skills you learn from Art History for reading images and having a critical sense of how they work, teaches you that ways of seeing are historically variable and that they influence who you think you are. Art History introduces you to the past, which may be strange and puzzling compared to now, but that makes you look at your own culture in a different light. How strange are we? Art History is the only subject that gives you both a way to look and understand images and objects and a way to understand historical change through cultural form. That’s what makes it so challenging and endlessly fascinating. Watch a video interview with Griselda here https://youtu.be/mGVtJydKHgo
Queen’s Today
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Interview with Mrs Laura Hall “We’re having to be much more transparent in everything that we do and that’s very exciting and empowering.” Mrs Laura Hall joins Queen’s College Preparatory School as Headmistress in September. What was your own education like? As a child I moved around a lot, which had a significant impact on my deciding to become a teacher. My parents were in the Forces. I was born in Scotland and then we went to Cyprus. I spent the majority of my primary school education there and it was just the most amazing experience: it was so sensory. Then we came back to the Isle of Mull in Scotland where my grandparents live and I went to the local primary school, which had about 15 children at the time – from early years to 11 – and then to Tobermory High School, which had 200 pupils travelling from a 100 mile radius. I was only there for three months and then we moved to Wiltshire where I went to grammar school. So, I went to lots of different schools – I think in total something like 8 schools before I was 15. The biggest issues I had were the academics, because in Cyprus, the curriculum was much more free-flowing, and I don’t remember learning much Mathematics, for example, so when I got to Mull, everyone was significantly ahead of me and I really struggled. Just getting through the day was hard and then sitting with piles of homework, which I wasn’t used to, either. How have you been coping with lockdown? Early on, we purchased as many plants as we could. I’m not a gardener – my husband’s the gardener – but it’s been absolutely lovely to get involved in that. Exercise has absolutely kept me sane. As soon as I’m awake, I go and do some exercise. Lockdown has really highlighted to me how children need that structure and routine in their day, too. That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot: how we can provide a high level of education from September onward and what that will look like. Routine and structure are important for children of all ages. Something I’ve loved about looking at the Instagram feed for QCPS is what the teachers are sharing. The sense of community is really emphasised and that is because we are on the front line in some respects. We’re having to be much more transparent in everything that we do and that’s very exciting and empowering. Children have absolutely loved that they can make videos of their learning and what they’re doing at the weekends. It’s fast-forwarding us into the 21st century.
I was streets behind really, and it wasn’t until I got to the grammar school a couple of years later and actually took ownership myself that I could plug those gaps. I had brilliant teachers to help me, but I remember tearful evenings aged 10 or 11, with my father trying to help me understand fractions, and I just couldn’t do it! That’s what made me so passionate about teaching Mathematics to that age group, because it wasn’t easy for me as a child. So, what was your degree subject? Art History. I loved my degree. I started off reading English as well as Art History, but in the end, medieval illuminated manuscripts were not for me. I went to Edinburgh and then I went to Bristol. But the reason Art History became my passion was more because of my interest in cultural history and the way that was depicted and how people lived and that’s what I found really interesting. I spent two years in my twenties travelling the world on cruise ships, lecturing Americans about Midwestern art, depicting places that I hadn’t ever been to and also Europeans on the Haussmannisation of Paris and I’d never been to Paris. I was 23 years old and had no life experience whatsoever! But it was fun, and I learnt a lot about lecturing.
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What inspired you to become a teacher? Teaching was something that I always was passionate about and interested in. And then this opportunity came up to work in the primary school on Mull that I had been to for a couple of months with those 15 children. The teacher who had taught me when I was 11 years old was now the Head Teacher and she encouraged me into teaching, so I came to London to do my PGCE. I think a lot of teachers probably were quite naughty at school. I certainly was, especially from the age of about 15, into sixth form. I have lovely relationships with those teachers now. What are the main challenges for students, their parents and their teachers, when it’s time to move up to senior school? Obviously the first thing is ensuring that from much earlier than year 6, from year 4 really, we’re starting to think about the right school for every child and that’s an ongoing process that takes into consideration their interests and needs. That’s the first step in a seamless transition: making sure that we’re looking at the right schools. And then from year 5, communication is absolutely key – having open communication between the school, the parents and the child, triangulated. We have to ensure that we give students skills of independence and resilience, including skills to organise themselves as well as the learning elements, because senior schools are so different from prep schools. I know that the thing the children worry about the most when they come to moving into their senior school, is making friends. Friends are so important when you are 11! And making sure that you find your crowd. School is about that social element and that’s often the thing that students coming in worry about the most. It’s not the academics, because we’ve got really supportive families behind us. So those triangulated lines of communication between the school, the parents and the children are really important.
Queen’s Today
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Queen’s College Preparatory School in lockdown As you can see, the pupils at the Preparatory School have been busy during lockdown. From making models inspired by Ted Hughes’ book ‘The Iron Man’, to celebrating Roald Dahl’s ‘The Enormous Crocodile’, to cooking delicious food while learning about weight and mass in Maths, students have been busy learning online, but not too busy to fit in a bit of dancing. Abstract expressionist artist Laura Gee took up residence in the virtual studio, inspiring some colourful paintings. Meanwhile, Bella in Form VI ran 6.5km with 10 other children in her garden (social distancing measures were in place), raising £10,000 for the Imperial Health Charity. Finally, Lily in Form I helped her mum prepare over 2,000 care bags ready to be distributed to their local hospital. Well done, everyone. In June, following Government guidelines, some pupils were able to return to school, with other year groups continuing their learning at home. We were delighted then to be able to open QCPS to all year groups for the final few days of the term. It was wonderful to get a chance to see the pupils in person before the summer holiday!
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Interview with Mrs Libby Dowling, School Nurse “It became very obvious, even before I came to the interview, that this was a school that looked after the whole child.” Not many school nurses start their new job during a global pandemic. Mrs Libby Dowling endeared herself to staff and students alike by giving out moraleboosting chocolate in those last strange days before the school shut down.
What were you doing before you came to Queen’s? Before I came to Queen’s I was a Senior Clinical Advisor at Diabetes UK and before that, I was a Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Nurse in the NHS. One of the campaigns I was involved with at Diabetes UK was called ‘Make the Grade’. We ended up changing the law to put a legal duty on schools to look after children with medical conditions, which hadn’t happened before. So why Queen’s? Diabetes fascinates me, both the physical side of it and the emotional side of living with a long term condition. But I’d been at Diabetes UK a long time and I was moving further and further away from looking after children and I missed it. When I saw the advert for the College nurse at Queen’s, what really jumped out at me was the care for the children. It became very obvious, even before I came to the interview, that this was a school that looked after the whole child. Not just their exam results, or their attendance, or even just their health, but their emotional health too. I really loved that. And when I started the job, it just shines through and I think it’s an absolutely lovely atmosphere to be in. What can we do to keep our children happy and healthy at the moment? It is a weird situation, and I think the first thing we can do is not try to pretend it’s normal. I’ve been doing pastoral phone calls and I’ve been amazed at how resilient some of the pupils are, and how honest they’ve been about what they’re struggling with. They’re missing their friends and the school environment. But it’s also about being kind to ourselves. We need to ask ourselves: ‘How am I feeling?’ and not just try to get through it. I think it’s been very challenging for parents, who are probably trying to do their job from home, or they’ve been furloughed from their job, and also have to be the child’s teacher and that is tough. However, some parents are absolutely loving it, because they’ve having more contact with their children than before. That’s a nice thing that’s come out of lockdown – more family time. We know you like chocolate. Do you have a favourite type of biscuit? I do love a biscuit and generally anything chocolate goes down well. But, if I’m allowed to have two, I have another favourite, which is the humble custard cream.
Queen’s Today
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The Queen’s community and the Covid crisis “It has been one of the biggest challenges I have faced both within my life and career.” Becky Smith, Nurse (Becky is Dr Smith’s wife – Dr Smith teaches Maths and Computer Science at Queen’s) Why did you enter nursing and when did you know that that was going to be your career path? I entered nursing knowing that it was a great combination of both the subjects I liked at school and the things I was passionate about outside of school. I loved studying Biology, PE and Maths at A-level and nursing was a great combination of all of these subjects. Outside of this I loved working with people and love the equality the NHS has to offer: treating all people with dignity and compassion, no matter their background. Out of the different disciplines within the medical world, nursing offered me the most flexibility in terms of future career choices, leading me into my current area of work in Critical Care and Trauma nursing. What’s it been like working in a hospital for the last few months? Have there been any particularly memorable moments? How have you managed to keep your morale up? It has been one of the biggest challenges I have faced in my life and career. Everyone working within the NHS has gone above and beyond, working outside of their comfort zone. The most difficult thing has been contemplating the amount of loss over this
time from one disease, and as nurses, how we can give people a dignified end of life where they cannot have family or friends with them. We have had to learn new ways to check in with each other regularly and take a moment away from the new stresses and strains of this disease. One amazing donation was a ‘silent disco’. We’ve been using it on our night shift breaks. Dancing to cheesy pop at 2am helps you forget about everything else happening! Is it really uncomfortable wearing PPE? It’s definitely as uncomfortable as it looks – but you get used to it. The main difficulty is how hard it is to communicate with your colleagues and the patients, as they are unable to see your mouth move and your voice is muffled. What are you looking forward to doing when the current crisis is over? I am looking forward to going on a really fun holiday. I love to explore new places and try new foods. I can’t wait to do this with my friends from work. We’ve become so close and love to spend our days off visiting cool places together.
Mr Andrew Granath – Obituary We were very sad to receive news of the death of our former History and Politics teacher, Andrew Granath, from Covid-19. Andrew was a wonderfully warm, wise colleague who worked with us in 2018 following his retirement from full-time teaching, and was adored by the pupils in his care. He will be very sorely missed and our heartfelt condolences go out to his widow, Jenny, and their children.
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“I have come out of this crisis with a whole new skill set, particularly in supporting patients who are ventilated.” Max Gumpert, Nurse (Max is the son of Mrs Gumpert, Head of Religious Studies at Queen’s) patients who are ventilated. I also feel the NHS as a whole will benefit from this increased skill set in the future. The moments that have meant the most to me are when I now come across a patient who I looked after in ITU. The survival rate for intubated patients was depressingly low and it is a great feeling when I can now talk to people I spent weeks looking after, while they were unconscious. That said, I think something that has been under reported so far, is the long-term health consequences this disease will have. Many ex-Covid patients are going to require years of physical and mental therapy in addition to many who will suffer from long term lung and kidney damage. Is it really uncomfortable wearing PPE? Yes. The masks are so tight they don’t let you breathe properly through your nose and cut into your face in various places. Wearing the gowns and layers of gloves makes you feel constantly feel overheated and dehydrated. On top of that, with all the gear on it makes it nearly impossible to hear anything anyone else is saying. What are you looking forward to doing when the current crisis is over?
Why did you enter nursing and when did you know that that was going to be your career path?
I have a holiday booked to Croatia in July. Still hopeful that will be allowed! Otherwise I’m just crossing my fingers I will be allowed to play cricket before the summer is over.
I have been a nurse since October 2018 at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosciences. I decided to become a nurse after working with medical NGOs in various refugee camps across Greece and the Balkans during the refugee crisis of 2015-16. Some students and teachers at Queen’s might remember generously donating to my soup/tea kitchen which I set up during this period. I also came to the College’s own Derry-Anne Hammond for some careers advice! What’s it been like working in a hospital for the last few months? Have there been any particularly memorable moments? How have you managed to keep your morale up? Working in hospital has been a very stressful experience recently. I was redeployed at the peak of the virus to a Covid intensive care unit for 2 months. In this role I worked alongside ITU trained nurses to provide care to the very sickest patients. Obviously, there were times when I felt completely swamped but in retrospect, I really appreciate the experience I have had. I think I have come out of this crisis with a whole new skill set, particularly in supporting
Miss Roisin Archer from Queen’s, not deterred by the cancellation of the London Marathon, ran 200 laps of the car park of her local Homebase during lockdown, raising over £1,000 for NHS Charities Together. Queen’s Today
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Tushara Rose (OQ 2005 - 2012) Redesigning Australian universities to be more sustainable “Queen’s was an empowering environment to grow up in.” Can you tell us about an important transition in your career? Immediately after leaving Queen’s, I spent my gap year at EDF Energy in Gloucester, working as a graphite core engineer for nuclear reactors. Accustomed to wearing fancy dress and dancing through the halls of Harley Street, I suddenly found myself in ironed shirts and pencil skirts, in a dimly lit box on an industrial estate, with 3,000 fellow employees. At Queen’s I had been encouraged to share my thoughts; now I was just the intern. It became my mission to excel at work and inject fun into the office. I joined as many projects as possible and pushed them beyond scope, which resulted in two awards and sponsorship through university. What are your main work projects right now? I now work as an Environmentally Sustainable Design Engineer in Melbourne and have recently been involved in projects at Australia’s two largest universities. With Monash University, my team has been redesigning their pharmaceutical laboratories, including a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facility. Due to the sensitive nature of pharmaceutical research, we must consider temperature and humidity control, potential contamination and interference with a magnetic field. RMIT University has employed us to minimise the carbon footprint of its three campuses. Having conducted energy audits and modelling, we are now in the design phase, using innovative technologies to meet the heavy demand of the sites, while aiming to eliminate energy wastage. How has lockdown been for you?
What is your main memory of Queen’s? Queen’s was a place that allowed me the freedom to be an individual, providing a safe space to push boundaries both socially and academically. I was allowed to wear ridiculous hats every day, sing outrageous songs at end-ofterm entertainments and coordinate many extra-curricular activities. It was an empowering environment to grow up in.
I’ve rather enjoyed it. Most of my projects have been put on hold, so I have been playing music and writing songs in all genres, from free jazz to electronic ambient. I cycle to the beach at least weekly and have even built a synthesiser! Also, for the first time since the 1st Juniors, I have finally caught up on sleep. What advice would you give current students? Define your value system and set your goals from there. Establish your personal philosophy. Read! If you can understand your drivers, you will be more secure in your decision making and able to act towards personal fulfilment. Separate what others expect of you from what you expect of yourself and trust that you know what is best for you. Don’t be embarrassed if you get things wrong, just try again.
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Stories from the Queen’s College Archive “I absolutely refuse to give any information” Dr Octavia Lewin: an Old Queen pioneer in ear, nose and throat treatment Octavia Lewin was born in Hertfordshire in 1869. She was educated privately by a German governess and prepared for university at Queen’s, taking her degree at Girton College where she read Natural Sciences. She was Arnott Scholar at Queen’s and held the Goldsmith Scholarship at Girton. Octavia qualified in Medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women (founded by Sophia Jex-Blake, another Old Queen), the Royal Free Hospital and the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin and became the assistant physician at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. She specialised in diseases of the ear, nose and throat. World War I was one of the first opportunities for female doctors to gain a wider acceptance and to demonstrate that they could work in the medical profession at a higher level than nursing. Octavia served as assistant surgeon to the English Military Hospital at Dieppe and as chief physician at the French Military Hospital at Charenton.
Octavia Margaret Sophia Lewin by Olive Edis, platinum print, 1920s © National Portrait Gallery, London
Later in the war, she worked at “Endell Street” in London, the only British army hospital to be staffed and run entirely by women for the duration of the war. In an unnerving parallel to current events, the team at Endell Street that had saved thousands during the war had no effective weapon against the “Spanish” ‘flu that killed many of its younger staff, as well as patients. Perhaps this explains Octavia’s lifelong passion for hygiene education. After the military hospitals closed in 1919, the UK’s medical schools returned to barring female students, and female doctors were sidelined once again. Octavia – who sounds from her prolific letters to the newspapers like someone not easy to sideline – joined the Central London Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital. She became an advocate of breathing exercises for children and visited schools as a rhinologist for London County Council. She was also a campaigner for female suffrage. The 1911 census was conducted at the time the Votes for Women campaign was growing vigorously. Suffrage organisations decided to boycott the census in protest at women’s exclusion from the franchise. The Women’s Tax Resistance League achieved considerable success in encouraging its small but determined membership to rebel. Octavia wrote on her census form: “I absolutely refuse to give any information”, before listing her impressive academic credentials.
Photograph of Octavia Lewin as a first-year student at Girton College in 1888
Octavia was in practice at 25 Wimpole Street, London in 1911, and at 8 Manchester Square, London in 1948 (the year Girton was granted full status by Cambridge University). She died in 1955. This book, published earlier this year, mentions Olivia only in passing, however, it gives a moving insight into the incredible achievements of this generation of medical women: Wendy Moore, ‘Endell Street: The Trailblazing Women who Ran World War One’s Most Remarkable Military Hospital’ (Atlantic Books, 2020)
Queen’s Today
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Queen’s Seniors’ Transition & Enrichment Programme Since A-levels were cancelled, Queen’s students in their final year have embarked on some challenging courses, taught by Queen’s staff, to prepare them for their next steps after school. Students have also been working on life skills such as coding, cooking and learning to drive. Here are some student comments, as well as some exciting news from one student. “I have been taking the Critical Thinking course and it is greatly beneficial. I am now more confident to go from A-levels to university study as I can approach essay writing and research critically.” Tara “Art in the World has been a very stimulating course. We have looked at how people value and put a price on works of art, art scandals and race and art. We will be speaking to professionals in the art industry and can ask them questions first hand.” Alex “In Sports and Exercise Science we have covered a range of pertinent topics from the skeletal and respiratory system to why women are more likely to injure their ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) than men. A debate ensued about gender equality in sport.” Ariella “I have had a wonderful experience with ‘The USA, 19452000’ course. We have delved into the culture of America during the 1950s-70s, discussing how art, music and other creative outlets like literature were heavily influenced by the contemporary political state of the USA.” Sophia
“I applied for the Bank of England Degree Apprenticeship course and after an online application, psychometric tests and a video interview, I was invited to their virtual assessment centre. This consisted of two group exercises and an interview. A week later, I received the amazing news that I had landed a position at the UK Deposit Takers division at the Bank.” Beatrice Mrs Lucy Penny, Co-Head of Classics: “I was so pleased to hear of Bea’s success. I joined the Bank of England in the 1970s, after university, as a coder and then went into banking supervision. Our job was to ensure that people who put money in the high street banks could get it back and to issue banking licences. I felt I was doing something really worthwhile. My last job was in payment systems, managing the risk of money being transferred from one account to another – we think ‘ping’, it’s gone – but there’s the risk of incompetence, fraud or technical problems. Technology changes but the challenges go on!”
“After co-running Feminist Society, I jumped at the idea of the Feminism and Gender course. We’ve studied a wide range of significant feminist literature, each week focussing on a new wave.” Jemima “After signing up to the ‘How to Succeed at Interviews’ Course’, I can approach interviews with confidence by doing effective preparation beforehand and making a good first impression.” Isabelle “In Covid Watch – the virus and international politics, I have really enjoyed addressing conspiracy theories surrounding the outbreak of Covid-19 as well learning about comparative data which makes it a challenging task to understand how each country is coping.” Jewel “Personal Finance has been extremely interesting and informative. Throughout the weeks we have learnt what the importance of money is and some top tips on how to benefit yourself for the future.” Katie
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Queen’s pre A-level programme Students whose GCSEs were cancelled have been taking the opportunity to get ahead on their A-level studies, as well as to expand their knowledge by taking a fourth subject. All academic subjects have offered these courses and we have chosen a selection of comments below to give a flavour of how students have been getting on.
“In Maths, Dr Smith has made our lessons extremely fun by challenging us with his bespoke mathematical worksheets such as, ‘Death by’ Probability, factorising and indices. We’ve gone from ‘help!’ to ‘oh...I see!’. In Biology, we’ve had fun debating ‘What is Life?’ with our classmates and Dr Davies, on Microsoft Teams. We have also been studying concepts like endosymbiosis and skills such as recognising different scales e.g. microscale, macroscale and nanoscale. In Chemistry, we’ve been looking at the everyday things. This has really got the class engaged with what we are learning as we can now understand what is happening exactly when we use objects such as paper towels and irons. Finally, in Physics, we’ve been researching breakthroughs such as the Higgs Boson and matter & antimatter.” Bianca and Olivia “I have taken the Economics pre A-level course, which has been fascinating. I am positive that the skills I am currently acquiring, such as data analysis and numeracy concepts are transferrable to whichever field I wish to pursue, possibly Medicine.” Sofia JB “During the pre-A-level Geography course, we’ve developed our ability to judge how reliable sources of information are, which is particularly useful preparation for A-level. We have also learned about medical geography, mapping of the cholera outbreak in 1854 and linking this to the spread of Covid-19 today.” Zana
Mrs Sperling comments: “There is a great deal of Geography that never makes it on to a school syllabus. As well as studying Covid-19, we have looked at meteorology and tried to establish the cause of bushfires in Australia and the series of high intensity and destructive winter storms we suffered in the UK earlier in the year. This leads into Geography A-level and, I hope, university Geography afterwards for more Queen’s College students.” “At GCSE level, English, History and Philosophy have been some of my favourite subjects, which is why I had been looking forward to diving into them at a higher level. What I have really enjoyed about these pre A-level lessons so far is that we are encouraged to go beyond the classroom in order to stretch our interest. History of Art, so far, has been a fascinating subject. Although I haven’t studied it at GCSE, what attracted me was the fact that it contains so many elements of other subjects.” Sofia M Meanwhile, the rest of the College have been working hard on their normal lessons, remotely via Microsoft Teams and Firefly. The beautiful photograph of Battersea Park is by Maria Claudia in I Seniors and was submitted to our Easter competitions.
Queen’s Today
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Meet the Career Changers “As I was a young woman in a very male dominated profession - they were probably trying to ‘dare’ me to see if I was brave enough…” Interview by Mrs Alexandra Horner, Queen’s Director of Communications and Development. Many people switch to a teaching career later in life, after successful first careers. Our teachers at Queen’s are no exception. During lockdown I caught up with two of our teachers who had particularly interesting former careers: Mrs Josie Baker (Teacher in Charge of Economics and Editor of Queen’s Today) and Ms Cathy Rogers (Head of Geography). What was your first career?
What was the highlight of your career before teaching?
JB: My first job after university was working at Clonter Opera Farm – which, with my marketing hat on, I swiftly rebranded as Clonter Opera Theatre (as putting ‘Opera’ and ‘Farm’ together creates massive cognitive dissonance). It was the perfect graduate job as I got to do everything from counselling weeping opera singers, to interim stage management, to unblocking the toilets. I gathered some fantastic material for my novel (as yet unpublished, with names changed to protect the guilty!) More seriously, this experience got me started on a successful career in arts management.
JB: My happiest memories from working in the arts are definitely the opening nights. You’ve been working so hard (in my case always behind the scenes) to get things organised, but it is such an great feeling when you see it all come together and the curtain comes up. I really feel for those working in the arts right now, as the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on that sector is so profound. I do hope we will all get to experience some more opening nights in theatres and concerts halls in London soon. CR: When I was a Health & Safety Inspector, I was responsible for Blackpool Pleasure Beach. The guys who owned the ‘Big Dipper’ invited me to join them on a walk up and down all the dips of this giant roller coaster, to check it was safe. I think that – as I was a young woman of only 23 in a very male dominated profession – they were probably trying to ‘dare’ me to see if I was brave enough. But it was an amazing experience and I must be one of only a handful of people who’ve ever had the chance to ‘walk the Big Dipper’!
Mrs Baker trying her hand at page turning, circa 1998
CR: My first ‘proper’ job was running a health promotion programme for my local Health Authority, on a double decker bus. Sadly, I didn’t get to actually drive the bus, but we did tour all around the North West visiting lots of workplaces to measure people’s fitness, test their blood pressure etc. This was the 1980s, before the whole health and fitness movement took off, so this bus was really ahead of its time. I then continued my public sector career by getting a job as an Inspector for the Health & Safety Executive. There were only a few female Health & Safety Inspectors then in the whole country and it was a pretty eye-opening experience. Later on, I also qualified as a personal trainer and enjoyed running sports and spin classes; perhaps a throwback to that double-decker bus!
The (former) Big Dipper on Blackpool Pleasure Beach
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Any lowlights...?
What made you decide to be a teacher?
JB: I think my worst moment was sitting in the Royal Festival Hall and suddenly realising I had made a mistake in the programme, which over a thousand people were currently reading. I had managed to make a composer live for over 150 years (as I’d got the 16th and 17th centuries mixed up). Luckily not many people noticed, but it taught me a huge lesson about attention to detail - I never want to experience that ‘sinking feeling’ again. This is why I’m always such a stickler for typos when I edit Queen’s Today!
JB: While I have always been fascinated by Economics, the late 1990s and early 2000s were quite a boring time, with Gordon Brown ‘abolishing’ the boom and bust cycle. Then this huge crisis happened, and we saw banks like Lehman Brothers collapse. Suddenly the study of Economics seemed important again. The second factor was more random; I got off a bus around this time to find a Year 7 pupil close to tears, as he was lost. I talked to him about his school as I walked him to the station (having established that he knew how to get home from there). That chance conversation had a big impact; I realised I’d enjoyed talking to the boy and helping him. From my very first day as a teacher I’ve loved it – both my pupils and colleagues are so interesting, and I learn so much every day.
CR: On my very first day as a Health & Safety Inspector I was sent to a factory where there had been a fatality. A young factory worker had been dragged into a high-speed machine and, appallingly, the largest remaining part of him was his thumb. It’s hard to think of a more harrowing first day at a job than having to investigate this tragic accident, but it actually became a bit of a landmark legal case, so I was lucky to get to work on it. JB: Crikey, that really puts my typo in the programme into perspective...
CR: When I was working for the HSE, the civil service was quite an inflexible and old-fashioned place to work. It’s very different now, but then they would simply inform you that your job was moving to the other end of the country; you’d have no say in the matter. I wanted more flexibility and autonomy over my life. The other reason was really my love of Geography. I’d had an exceptional Geography A-level teacher and I wanted to share with others the love of the subject that he’d inspired in me. Now, as Head of Geography at Queen’s, I’m so lucky – I get to ‘nerd out’ over rocks for a living! Ms Rogers enjoying the geology of the French Alps.
Rameau did live a long time (81 years) but not quite as long as it claimed in the programme
Queen’s Today
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Freedom in captivity What do you call freedom? To say that one and one make two? Or to run through the streets like the wind? Or is it just to feel free? Freedom is the right to say and feel what you want to; Not just to step out of a cage and say, ‘I’m free’ You can say that inside the cage. Does it make you free? If you make freedom corporal, you may never be free. But if mental, even the caged bird can be free. So, tell me; What do you call freedom? Are we already free, if we think it? Etta, Class 2
Photo: Ella KB, Class 2
Postponement of Alumnae Drinks Party Given the current government guidance related to Covid-19, we are very sadly having to postpone the Alumnae Drinks Party that we had scheduled for Wednesday, 11th September. We will be in touch again once we have alternative plans. In the meantime, if you have any questions about alumnae matters, please contact Lottie Smart on csmart@qcl.org.uk. 20
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