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The spirits of QE’s Combined Cadet Force remained high during their spring training camp, despite their getting ambushed and enduring freezing nights in a forest.

During the two-day exercise in Mereworth Woods in Kent, the cadets focused on learning and practising 1 Star Fieldcraft – training which includes looking after yourself and your equipment, being self-reliant in the field, and the basic skills of a rifleman.

Contingent Commander (and the PE & Games department’s Head of Aquatics) Richard Scally Said: “Alongside 1 Star Fieldcraft, they learned a range of important military skills, including camouflage and concealment, movement in the field, and working effectively as a team.

“The training helped cadets build confidence, discipline, and leadership abilities while also strengthening their understanding of how to operate in outdoor conditions.

“Although cold at night, the weather was mostly kind during the exercise, allowing activities to run smoothly throughout the day. Despite the cold, everyone showed great resilience and enthusiasm.”

Among those taking part was Year 10’s Niketh Putta, who recalled the highs and the lows of his time at the military training facility near Sevenoaks.

The first day involved walking through the forest carrying 15kg Bergen rucksacks. “We got ‘ambushed’ within the first hour, so we had to dive into the leaves and camouflage ourselves –we spent a full hour just waiting completely still, hidden in the bushes.”

After that, the cadets set up camp in triangle formation, built ‘bashas’ (simple army-specified shelters) and “tried to sleep in negative temperatures with insects crawling around us. It was a rough day,” said Niketh.

The night was not yet finished, either: there was still sentry duty to be faced. This, Niketh said, involved “waking up at 2am to keep watch in complete silence in the pitch black. It had us rethinking our life’s decisions!”

To stay connected, one of the boys would make a ‘cacaw’ sound into the darkness. If a reply came, the cadets would meet up secretly.

Afterwards, Niketh reflected on the whole camp: “It was one of those experiences you just don’t forget. Both days were spent shooting blank rounds at enemies through trees, crawling through mud, eating rations and doing things on paper that sound absolutely miserable. And yet we were still laughing the whole way through.

“Nobody tells you this, but it’s never really about the experience. It’s about who you’re in it with. The cold felt less cold. The long nights felt shorter. The hard moments turned into jokes before they even finished happening. Surround yourself with people who make the hard stuff worth it. That’s everything you’ll ever need.”

After pupils and staff put their back into weeks of work at the new QE allotment, the School has been given the RHS School Gardening Award Level 1.

The QE plot at the Byng Road community allotments is already planted up with potatoes, strawberries and asparagus.

The School chose today to announce its receipt of the award because it is internationally recognised as Earth Day – a day dedicated to raising environmental awareness and encouraging sustainability.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our new School plan, Boundless, has as one of its six priorities that we will help our pupils become ‘sustainability-literate’: what better example of that could there be than this gardening project?

“It is good to see that our allotment has so quickly become a vibrant hub of learning, teamwork, and environmental action.”

Among those enthusiastically backing the project is Year 13’s Shailen Patel, who has contributed the grant he won as part of a Jack Petchey Foundation Environmental Award.

Others, both inside and outside the School, have variously donated time, tools, materials and encouragement.

The work has involved much preparation of the ground. Those involved enjoyed some early encouragement with the emergence of asparagus spears; the asparagus had apparently been planted by a previous user of the allotment.

The RHS  level 1 award recognises: that those involved understand the benefits of gardening; that the growing space is accessible for those with disabilities; and that the gardening work has actually started. Recipients are sent a copy of Your Wellbeing Garden, an RHS book, and a packet of seeds.

Earth Day, which this year has the theme of Our Power, Our Planet, is concentrating on collective, citizen-led actions to drive environmental change.

Earth Day marks the climax of Earth Month, which is celebrated every April.

Forty-six boys triumphantly conquered Kinder Scout, explored deep inside a cave, and overcame their fears to abseil off a high bridge during a memorable trip to the Peak District.

The Year 8 pupils cheerfully endured testing weather conditions – and enjoyed some sunshine, too! – as they got to grips with the great outdoors.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “QE Flourish trips such as this are so important in helping boys develop their Boundless potential: they open minds, build confidence, and create memories that last, while offering benefits for physical and mental health.”

During the three-day trip to Derbyshire’s Peak District, the boys made their way deep into Edale’s Giant’s Hole – a cave near Castleton – to learn about stalactite formation.

Their 15km hike up the 636m Kinder Scout saw them battling blizzards, hail storms and 40 mph wind gusts – all interspersed with bursts of glorious sunshine.

The following day, it was time for a new challenge – stepping off a lofty stone bridge and abseiling to the ground.

During the trip, there were opportunities to learn map-reading and compass skills, while the boys pitted their wits against each other in an eagerly contested after-dinner quiz at the YHA Activities Centre in Edale, run by Mathematics teacher Nadeem Kydd.

The trip was led by Assistant Head (Co-Curricular and Partnerships) Crispin Bonham-Carter, who heads the QE Flourish programme.

“Our brilliant pupils showed incredible courage and teamwork throughout. My thanks go to them, to our staff team, and to the boys’ supportive parents,” said Mr Bonham-Carter.

In addition to Mr Bonham-Carter and Mr Kydd, the staff team comprised: Head of Technology Bilaal Khan, Languages teacher Elisa Perra, Science teacher Philip Collington, and Philosophy, Religion & Society teacher Brooke Farron.

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Well over 400 pupils performed in the Leavers’ Concert, with many from the lower years turning out to support the musicians of Year 13.

The Class of 2026 have made a significant impact on music at QE. To name just three of their number – and there are many similar examples – Leo Sellis and Ryuki Watanabe form the backbone of several ensembles, which they encourage to take on more complex repertoire, while accomplished accompanist Colin Copcea provides essential support at rehearsals and performances.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This was an outstanding concert, celebrating senior musicians who have contributed greatly to our supportive QE music community and thus have played a part in developing the confidence, skills and enjoyment of other pupils.”

The Leavers’ Concert was played to a sell-out audience in the Shearly Hall. It began, appropriately enough, with The Final Countdown by Europe, played by a specially formed Year 13 ensemble.

The remainder of the programme featured genres ranging from jazz to rock, from film music to ragtime (Scott Joplin’s Bethena Waltz, performed by the Junior Strings). Many of the ensembles were directed by Sixth Form musicians.

The end of the first half saw the School Orchestra take their places to perform, firstly, selections from Grieg’s Peer Gynt (together with the Senior Strings ensemble), and then pieces by Prokofiev and Debussy.

After enjoying interval refreshments served in the Dining Hall, the audience returned to hear the second half get under way with the Indian Ensemble performing works from both south and north India.

Towards the conclusion of the programme, the Headmaster stepped forward to present Music colours, with Mathematics teacher Navjeet Swatch, QE’s ‘resident’ tuba player, honoured alongside pupils.

The boys themselves offered their heartfelt thanks to Music teachers Caroline Grint and Jas Hutchinson-Bazely, and to Head of Department Ruth Partington, who joined QE as Director of Music on the same day they started in Year 7 in September 2019.

A grand finale saw the School Choir and Orchestra massing to perform excerpts from Les Misérables.

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Queen Elizabeth’s enters the record books this term as the first school ever to have two teams in the 30-team national final of the English Schools Chess Championship.

The seeds of this remarkable double success were sown back in the Autumn Term, when Team A took first place in the regional qualifier at St Albans School, with Team B the runners-up.

They then won their coveted places at June’s University of Nottingham final with a string of victories over some familiar but tough rivals in the zonal stages.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It’s been an exhilarating year for our chess players, who deserve great praise for playing so well in the regional and zonal rounds, and for putting QE firmly in the spotlight with their double qualification for the national final. What a fantastic achievement! We wish them all well in Nottingham.”

In the zonal stages, QE’s B team went first. After seeing off North London Collegiate School convincingly by 11.5 points to 0.5, they progressed to an away semi-final against Harrow. It was a tougher and tenser challenge, which came down to the last of the six games. This was duly won, giving QE a 4-2 victory.

Merchant Taylors’ had beaten Haberdashers’ in the other semi-final, thus deciding Team B’s opponents in the zonal final. Crucial early points were secured on boards 5 and 6, and although the rest of their points came much later, the B team secured their place in the national final, beating Merchant Taylors’ by a three-point margin, winning 4.5–1.5.

As for the A team, they did things in style, winning all 24 of their individual zonal games! After first wiping out Bishop Douglass School 12-0 and Dame Alice Owen’s 6-0, they took on Haberdashers’ Boys’ the week after the B team’s zonal final triumph. They duly trounced Habs 6-0 in their own zonal final to claim their place at Nottingham among the other zonal final winners.

Teacher in charge of chess Geoff Roberts hailed the boys’ history-making feat. He added: “While the old format may possibly have seen schools with teams in both the main and plate national final competitions, no school has ever had two teams qualify since the English Chess Federation moved to the straightforward 30-team format a decade or so ago,” he said.

The QE teams comprise boys from Year 7 all the way through to Year 13.

Team A
Advait Keerthi Kumar, Year 8
Aayush Dewangan, Year 10
Rohan Katkar, Year 11
Rithwik Gururaj, Year 12
Nishchal Thatte, Year 12
Daiwik Solanki, Year 13

Team B
Gautam Sriram, Year 7
Hubert Bates, Year 8
Djad Ben-Eshak, Year 8
Kian Aggarwal, Year 10
Bharath Jayakumar, Year 10
Akshaj Khandelwal, Year 10
Shlok Parakh, Year 10
Ashwin Ravithas, Year 10