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Eleven Year 12 pupils headed for Imperial College London for the Environmental Design Challenge – a competition that encourages young people to work collaboratively to design eco-friendly human settlements.

Joining the international challenge for the first time, the QE sixth-formers worked with some 70 pupils from other schools to produce ideas for “a sustainable transformation of Milton Keynes” on a trip organised by QE’s Physics and Geography departments.

One member of the group, Tanush Madadi, won an individual award for Best Leadership in a non-leadership position.

The Environmental Design Challenge (EDC) is organised by the Space Science and Engineering Foundation, organisers of a series of competitions connected with outer space, including the UK Space Design Competition (SDC), in which QE has a long and successful record.

Head of Physics Jonathan Brooke said: “The EDC takes the structure of the UK SDC and broadens its appeal to include Year 12 students with a breadth of interests linked to sustainability and public policy. It coincides with several of the priorities of our Boundless School Plan – especially nurturing pupils so that they become ‘sustainability literate’.”

“Working to a tight deadline, the boys had to cope with the stress of working under pressure,” said Mr Brooke, “It was a great opportunity for them to develop project work skills they will need at university and in employment, to get them out of their comfort zone, and to collaborate with people they were meeting for the first time.”

All three ‘companies’ formed on the day comprised pupils from several schools, with the QE contingent split between two of them. These two companies called themselves Milton Greens and Keen for Keynes.

The three companies worked on a presentation to find solutions to three tasks related to MK’s “sustainable transformation”:

• Reimagining Milton Keynes’ transportation
• Developing a strategy for sustainable growth
• Designing a climate-resilient development.

Keen for Keynes (pictured here on stage celebrating their win) won the competition on the day.

Geography teacher Elin Hopley said the boys drew on their knowledge from the GCSE and A-level courses, as well as from research done on the day: “I was hugely impressed by the significant amount of work all the participants had put into their presentations. The room was buzzing with excitement as groups prepared to present and answer the judging panel’s questions.”

Tanush, who won his award for his contribution to Milton Greens, said: “Pitching our socio-economic strategy to industry judges at Imperial College London was a fantastic, rewarding learning experience.”

Other QE participants equally reflected on a rewarding trip. Aarnav Mahajan enjoyed applying his interest in mathematics and science to some real-world challenges. Adithya Ananthakrishnan found it inspiring to work with “so many other like-minded young people”, while acknowledging that presenting to a large audience forced him out of his “comfort zone, which was extremely valuable”. And Danyal Rahim, who aspires to work in sustainability-related fields, said: “One of the highlights was collaborating with other schools in large teams, with never-ending pizzas sustaining us throughout the day!”

As work progresses on a new rugby stadium in the Far East that will be the world’s largest, Year 8 pupils saw behind the scenes at the current holder of that crown, the mighty Twickenham.

The boys had the chance to see how the 82,000-capacity Allianz Stadium Twickenham –the world’s biggest dedicated rugby union venue – was built.

Their day in south-west London included a tour of Twickenham that also involved visits to the England changing rooms, going into the President’s Suite (Twickenham’s VIP facility), and learning about the history of the stadium.

Pupil Lele Cen said: “As I am interested in engineering, it was great to see the whole stadium. It was exciting to see how it was constructed and how in the VIP area they have glass where people can look out, but not look in.”

The day began at Rosslyn Park FC, where pupils took part in a lively training session led by members of the club’s U23 squad. This gave the boys the opportunity to develop their rugby skills while focusing on teamwork, communication and decision-making.

After lunch, the group travelled to Twickenham and took a guided stadium tour, offering them a glimpse behind the scenes in areas normally reserved for players, officials and VIP guests, as well as a visit to the Rose and Poppy Memorial Gates, unveiled in 2016 as a tribute to rugby players from around the world who have lost their lives in war.

The day concluded with a visit to the World Rugby Museum, in the stadium’s south stand, where pupils explored the rich history and development of the game. Interactive exhibits and historical displays brought rugby’s traditions and evolution to life.

Lele’s fellow Year 8 pupil, Kai Hau, said his time at Rosslyn Park had shown him “how much work goes into a training session”. He added that he had enjoyed touring Twickenham, including “the privilege to go to the President’s Suite and sit in the area that royalty sat in to watch the game”.

PE teacher Nicholas Langley-Pope, who organised the day, said: “The trip was a fantastic opportunity for pupils to develop their rugby knowledge, enhance their practical skills, and experience the history and culture of the sport first-hand. The pupils represented the School exceptionally well throughout the day and should be commended for their engagement, behaviour, and enthusiasm.”

QE mathematician Rachit Banker is the first and – to date – only winner of the Outstanding Achievement distinction given by The Archimedes Awards Academic Council.

Rachit, who is in Year 10, won the accolade for his efforts as the first QE pupil to undertake and successfully complete the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Bronze Mathematics Skills Pathway.

Congratulating him on his “particularly special accomplishment”, a spokesperson for the Archimedes Awards – an international competition for young mathematicians – said: “Beyond completing the programme, Rachit demonstrated remarkable creativity by developing two original mathematical challenges, The Coin Flip Conundrum and The Penultimate Proof Paradox. Both were selected for publication by The Archimedes Awards, together with their worked solutions and marking schemes.”

Earlier this year, QE became one of just ten schools nationally to be recognised as an Accredited Archimedes Mathematical Thinking School.

The 13-week pathway is a new national opportunity for students to pursue Maths as a dedicated D of E skills activity.

Rachit joined the pathway independently after taking part in the Archimedes Awards competition and being invited to participate in the programme as part of its 2025–2026 inaugural cohort.

QE Head of Mathematics Jessica Steer said: “Rachit did very well indeed, amply demonstrating at least two of the priorities in our Boundless School Plan, namely helping pupils become deep thinkers and compelling communicators, as well as self-aware people who make things happen.”

Over the 13 weeks, he tackled a series of challenging mathematical problems covering topics including geometry, combinatorics, number theory, game theory and combinatorics (the branch of Mathematics that studies counting, arranging, and selecting objects in finite or discrete systems). Geometry proved to be a particular favourite for Rachit.

Rachit said: “My experience of the programme went exceptionally well as not only could I develop my problem-solving and perseverance skills by tackling difficult, yet fun, Maths problems, but also my creative skills: I am most proud of all the problems that I created as part of the programme.”

Inspiration for The Archimedes Awards comes from Archimedes of Syracuse – the most famous mathematician and inventor in ancient Greece.

Year 13’s Noah Morley has become the third QE pupil this century to be offered an organ scholarship from Oxford or Cambridge.

His scholarship counts as a major success for QE’s three-year-old musical partnership with Barnet’s St John the Baptist Church, in which Noah played a pioneering role.

He follows in the footsteps of Cambridge organ scholars Peter Yarde Martin (OE 2002–2007) and Drew Sellis (OE 2013–2020).

Noah’s scholarship offer from Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, comes after he played a leading part in two recent landmark musical events for QE – the Chamber Choir singing evensong at Christ Church, Oxford, and a Royal College of Organists (RCO) concert at St Lawrence Jewry Church in the City of London.

Assistant Director of Music Jas Hutchinson-Bazely, who helped Noah obtain the Cambridge scholarship, said: “This is a wonderful achievement and is richly deserved following his enthusiastic involvement in our organ scholarship at the parish church for the past three years.

“He has fulfilled his duties both there and in School with distinction, and is a brilliant role model to our increasing number of young organists. Hopefully, he will inspire many more to follow his lead, and we wish him every success.”

Noah began learning the organ at QE in Year 9. Under the partnership with St John’s, Noah, who was then in Year 10, was named as an inaugural QE organ scholar, together with sixth-former Joel Swedensky (now singing as a choral scholar with the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge).

Noah is currently the Senior Organ Scholar in the scheme, with Year 9’s Arthur Wang as Junior Scholar.

If he secures the A-level results he needs to secure his place at Cambridge, Noah will have the privilege of playing the organ three times a week in the college chapel. He said: “Being awarded the scholarship is very important to me. My organ teacher is very proud.”

Noah is taught at QE by organ and voice teacher Adam Hope, who rehearses the School’s Chamber Choir. In the Summer Term, Noah played voluntaries at Christ Church’s Rieger organ before and after evensong at Christ Church, as well as accompanying the choir during the service [pictured top].

This term, he was among the star performers in the concert in the City church beside the Guildhall – the second time that QE, which became an RCO-Accredited Institution in 2025, has been invited to take part in the RCO Young Performers concert series. Also performing were 11 other pupil organists and singers from Years 8–13.

The historic venue, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, is the official church of the Lord Mayor and the Corporation of London. The church is home to a Klais organ, built in 2001 as a Millennium Project

QE’s concert was introduced by Madeline Smith, Director of Relationships at the RCO. The organists performed works by composers including Elgar, Bach and Vivaldi, while the singers presented pieces by Purcell, Torelli and Ireland.

The performers were supported by Year 9 pupil Hoting Tan [pictured in the blue shirt], who acted as the organists’ console assistant for the day. Having recently started learning the organ himself, Hoting was able to observe and learn from more experienced musicians.

Year 8 organist Hercules Li said: “I enjoyed playing on a new organ and I liked the large variety of sounds. I also enjoyed being able to walk through the organ and see all the pipes inside it.”

Robin Peng, of Year 9, added: “I really liked the immersive sound and atmosphere the organ produced, and how I could feel the mechanisms working behind the keys and creating the sound almost magically.”

Queen Elizabeth’s School tops a new national league table from The Telegraph based on a range of performance data.

In its coverage comparing the country’s 163 grammar schools, the newspaper places QE firmly at the head of its rankings: “Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet is the best grammar school in England based on key academic data for both GCSE and A-level students,” writes Data Editor Ben Butcher.

The Telegraph assessed the selective schools according to eight separate criteria. While exam performance was the most heavily weighted factor, the league table awarded points in areas including Progress 8 (a Government measure that looks at pupils’ academic progress from primary school to GCSE), attendance, the proportion of pupils going on to university, and breadth of curriculum.

Publication of the league table comes less than a month after the latest Ofsted report on the School. This gave QE the highest ‘exceptional’ rating across all of the seven areas that the inspectors looked at when they visited last term – a rare accolade given to only a handful of schools nationwide.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It is very gratifying to read this data-driven recognition of the excellence of a QE education. This success is, of course, the fruit of a host of factors identified by the Ofsted team, such as my colleagues’ ‘extremely high expectations for behaviour, conduct and attitudes to learning’, our ‘remarkably ambitious’ curriculum, and our focus on equipping pupils with ‘knowledge, resilience and flexibility of thought’.”

While The Telegraph’s league table looked at QE’s very strong 2024–2025 A-level and GCSE results, this summer’s outcomes were even better. The top A* grade went to 63% of all A-levels taken at QE, with the proportion at A*–B reaching 98%. At GCSE, the results were the School’s best-ever, with more than two-thirds of exams awarded a level 9.