No fewer than 12 Old Elizabethans went to the wedding of Ramesh Paripooranananthan and his bride Millie – an indication that 11 years after he left the School, he retains very fond memories of QE!
In fact, Ramesh (OE 1997–2004) is clear that the School was instrumental in laying the foundations for his burgeoning career as an architect.
“I qualified as a Chartered Architect in November 2014 – the culmination of six years’ full-time education, two years’ working and studying, and three separate qualifications completed in this time. I do want to point out that the ‘QE way’ of resilience and perseverance was key, especially during the tough times.”
Ramesh studied at the University of Nottingham, which he says is rightly a popular destination for QE leavers, not least because it is in “a fantastic city with a lot to offer”.
He met his bride-to-be in his first year at Nottingham and they have been together throughout the subsequent nine years. Millie is a pharmacist. The couple have just stepped on to the property ladder, having bought a house in north London.
Among the dozen alumni at the wedding were three fellow 2004 leavers acting as his best men, Sandeep Dasgupta, Manan Upadhyay and Paraag Gudka.
Ramesh currently works at Atelier Architecture in Tring, a practice which specialises in bespoke modern design within the rural urban fringe. “The flexibility of my job is what keeps me motivated and enjoying it. My current work ranges from designing a luxury, one-off house to tackling a golf clubhouse & hotel.”
Ramesh was in the first A-level Geography class that Neil Enright taught at QE and the Headmaster retains fond memories of him and his classmates. He has twice been back to the School to assist with careers events, most recently when he gave mock interviews to Year 12 boys hoping to study Architecture at university.
“The School will always be dear to me,” he says. “Even 11 years detached from my time there, I believe many of my decisions are still influenced by the experience.
“The friendships made at QE are the most important of my life. Though life gets in the way and often much time passes between our socials, when we meet, we fall back into old ways, acting like the teenagers we were on the Red Square playground during our breaks.