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An after-school lecture by a national space journalist attracted huge interest from the boys.

Some 200 pupils packed into the Main Hall for the voluntary assembly by Peggy Hollinger, Space Industry Editor for the Financial Times.

She made a powerful case for the benefits of space travel and exploration, answering one boy’s question about what is gained from it with a single word – “Knowledge!” – before adding: “We don’t know what knowledge we will get. We don’t know what benefits we will get. But if we don’t try, we won’t get it.”

Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “Peggy Hollinger is wonderful, and it was fantastic to see how she captivated the audience.”

In a career at the FT spanning 38 years, she has previously held roles including International Business Editor and Paris Bureau Chief.

Her wide-ranging talk covered topics including journalism and the importance of space, both economically and militarily.

The event was organised by Year 12’s Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen and Keshav Aggarwal.

“She championed the important role played by journalism – and by the Financial Times in particular – stating that the FT’s job was to follow where the money goes and look at those who were moving it,” said Vu-Lam.

Her degree was in Mediaeval History, but that had not hampered her career: it was her drive to follow current affairs that led to her going into journalism.

In answer to one question from the floor about why the media feels more polarised than in the past, she blamed the pressure on organisations to seek audience engagement, before adding this warning: “If you only follow the clicks…and you only listen to people who tell you what you want to hear, then things will never change. You will go further and further into polarisation.”

Space is now a domain for warfare, she said, citing the USA, China and Russia as the main actors, and stated that Europe could be at risk of falling behind if it cannot reconcile continental with individual national goals. European countries should look for areas of expertise, just as Elon Musk’s SpaceX has found its expertise in low-Earth orbits, she suggested.

Asked to enlarge on the military uses of space, she spoke about the war in Ukraine, where space has been used not only for surveillance, but also to carry out cyber-attacks.

Another question asked: “Who gains from going to space?” In reply, she pointed to the huge return on investment available, with an £8 return recorded for every £2–3 invested in the UK space industry.

A senior teacher, a sixth-former, and QE as a whole all won awards in the International Computer Science Competition (ICSC).

Queen Elizabeth’s is one of only three schools worldwide to receive an Award for Excellence in the global competition, which this year drew more than 3,800 entrants from middle schools, high schools and universities.

The award is given to schools which had many outstanding pupils achieving high results, or which showed particular support for their pupils.

The School’s individual winners were Head of Digital Teaching & Learning Michael Noonan and Year 12’s Snehal Das.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to both the winners of personal prizes and, of course, to all the boys who participated and put in such a superb collective effort. Such co-curricular events are a tremendous way for our boys to hone their computing skills and become future-ready Elizabethans, confident of their place in our fast-changing digital world.”

Mr Noonan was one of just eight educators worldwide, and the only one in Europe, to win a Teacher Impact Award.

Snehal, an avowed computer science enthusiast, won an Ambassador Award – the UK’s only such award – for the “excellent encouragement” he provided as an ambassador helping to organise the competition rounds.

“The ICSC competition was an exciting way to explore…computer science,” said Snehal. “It allowed me to put my computational thinking skills to the test, whilst also allowing me to broaden my knowledge by exploring various research articles.

“As an ambassador of the competition, I also had the pleasure of spreading awareness about the field of computer science to younger years.”

ICSC aims to stimulate logical thinking and deepen computer science knowledge. There are three age categories: junior, which is up to 16; youth, up to 19; and senior, which is for first-year university students and above.

All participants receive the same set of problems, but the passing criteria varied by age group.

QE’s individual success stories included bronze honours for Snehal and silver for Kavish Jayasekera, of Year 12, who said: “I feel proud of my silver: it meant I was in the top 2% of participants. The progression of the competition was very good, with a relatively easy qualification round, and subsequent rounds building on the concepts and ideas learnt in the last rounds. There was not a lot of preparation required for the first two rounds, as they were less time-pressured and I could look up specific concepts as needed, but I did go through some helpful functions in Python before the final round, as it helped when answering the timed programming questions.”

Rishabh Datta, of Year 10, said: “The problems in the pre-final round were difficult but not impossible, and I found it fun optimising code in unexpected ways. I was certainly happy with my 12 score – which was in the top 60% of the final-round participants – since I hadn’t ever officially studied computer science.”

Aaryan Prabhaker, also of Year 10, welcomed the competition as “a great opportunity outside of the curriculum…The three rounds became progressively difficult, and I loved how challenging it was through the variety of questions (coding, logic, research papers).”

It was, Year 11’s Kostiantyn Halushka agreed, a “splendid” competition: “Completing the final round questions in mere minutes was quite intense, but the adrenaline rush pushing me to keep working on the problems was fantastic.”

Vivaan Gupta relished the opportunity the competition gave him to learn more about computer science and would fully recommend it to others. “I took part since I enjoy coding,” he said.

Year 12 pupil Parv Gandhi, who, like Vivaan, was a final-round participant, added: “The ICSC was a great place where I could learn and really challenge myself!”

• Pictured above are Parv, Snehal, Kavish and Vivaan.

Year 12’s Vivan Paul has been named Young Geographer of the Year in his age category in a Royal Geographical Society competition.

Vivan’s winning entry on the competition theme of Understanding islands, which was created using ArcGIS StoryMaps, won him joint first place in the 16–18 (Key Stage 5) age category.

QE’s Head of Geography, Chris Butler, said: “Vivan’s achievement is a testament to his intellectual curiosity and commitment to understanding the complexities of our world. He represents a new and exciting breed of geographer at Queen Elizabeth’s School who have embraced all that the subject has to offer – from cutting-edge digital tools to critical global thinking.

“We are immensely proud of his success and the example he sets for others.”

The annual competition celebrates outstanding geographical thinking and creativity among young people. This year, more than 400 schools participated, with many holding their own preliminary heats. More than 1,200 entries were submitted to the society.

Entrants were challenged to create posters or ArcGIS StoryMaps that highlighted the unique geographies, challenges, and connections between islands worldwide, as well as the communities and ecosystems they support.

Vivan’s winning entry focused on the islands of Nauru, Haiti, the South China Sea and the Maldives. His work examined the systemic exploitation of these islands by large transnational corporations and the resulting spiral of debt and corruption that binds them together.

The project offered an analysis of how global economic forces intersect with local vulnerabilities, presenting a nuanced view of the risks these islands face at both global and local scales.

The Royal Geographical Society, which was founded in 1830, commended Vivan’s submission for its innovative approach to illustrating island connections and its insightful exploration of the socio-economic and environmental challenges confronting these regions.

Professor Joe Smith, the society’s Director, said: “I’d like to give my warmest congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who entered this year’s Young Geographer of the Year competition. Islands, including the one we live on, are uniquely affected by climate change, but they also have unique opportunities to address these challenges. The high standard of entries we received across this year’s competition gives me confidence that the next generation of geographers is already asking the right questions about the issues facing island communities and how these can teach us about the wider world.”

Vivan attended this month’s awards ceremony at the society’s South Kensington base, where he is pictured with other winners and highly commended entrants. He was presented with his certificate by the society’s Vice President for Education, Alan Parkinson.

• Vivan’s winning entry can be viewed here.

A string of pupil organists got the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols off to a rousing start, while the sweet sounds of soloists and of the Chamber Choir helped make it a memorable and moving occasion.

The congregation at St John the Baptist Church were treated to some lesser-known carols from the Chamber Choir and Barbershop group. They also enjoyed joining in themselves throughout the service with festive favourites, culminating in Hark! The Herald Angels sing.

Held by tradition on the eve of the final day of term, the service in the parish church followed days of seasonal activities at QE, including Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, and a toy collection for Sebby’s Corner, the family charity on the adjacent Queen’s Road Industrial Estate.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The carol service was ambitious in scale and the music impressive, from epic fanfares and orchestral flourishes, to pitch-perfect vocals in pieces such as the Chamber Choir’s Masters in this Hall, and not forgetting the belting congregational carols! The boys who gave readings delivered them with aplomb. All in all, it was both a beautiful and stirring occasion.

“My thanks go to Father Sam Rossiter and the churchwardens, and to all the School staff whose tireless efforts make such splendid occasions possible.”

After the initial organ voluntaries, given by organists from Years 7–10, there were two minutes of silent reflection, before the Chamber Choir sang the Introit, O Come Emmanuel. In customary fashion, the final reading, given by the Headmaster, was the first verses of the prologue to St John’s gospel, starting: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

The service ended with the clergy, choir and dignitaries processing out of the church and with Year 12 organist Noah Morley playing as the recessional, William Mathias’s Fanfare.

VIP guests at the carol service included the Deputy Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Edith David, and the Representative Deputy Lieutenant, Mr Martin Russell, who attended alongside staff, governors, Old Elizabethans, Year 7 pupils and their parents, and other friends of the School.

• Click on the thumbnails to view the images.

The Winter Concert saw hundreds of musicians put on a seasonal spectacular in the Shearly Hall.

With this year’s event moved closer to the end of term, there was even more of a festive feel. Santa hats and reindeer antlers were much in evidence, and the massed vocalists of the School Choir, accompanied by the Jazz Band, delivered a rousing finale of Run, Rudolph, Run.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our musicians brilliantly captured the fun and joy of the season, but combined that with a very high standard of musicianship throughout.

“There really was something for everyone, whether that was toe-tapping to Junior Jazz playing Billy Joel, rocking out to the Electric Guitar Ensemble’s rendition of a Metallica track, or being transported to the ballet for the thrilling and stirring ending of Swan Lake.

“Two-thirds of the items on the programme were conducted or directed by students, which is remarkable. And we enjoyed some great festive moments – including elves and even a boy in a shirt adorned with tree lights!

“My thanks go to the Music department whose work ethic, attention to detail, and inspiring leadership gets the boys to this level. I am also grateful to those pupils who fulfilled roles including helping with stage management and welcoming guests on the doors. Their work, together with that of our fantastic Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s volunteers, made for a smooth and enjoyable evening for all.”

The Senior Winds performed a selection from West Side Story. Fans of the Last Night of the Proms enjoyed the rising tempo of The Sailor’s Hornpipe, aided by the counting skills of Wendy Fung, Head of Academic Administration, who joined Director of Music Ruth Partington on percussion.

In perhaps the biggest-ever end to the first half of a QE concert, the full orchestra and all of Junior String, Senior Strings, Junior Winds and Senior Winds massed on the staging – even spilling off it! – for Tchaikovsky’s Trepak. Again, the boys were aided by members of staff on percussion, including Assistant Head Crispin Bonham-Carter; Head of Year 10 Celia Wallace; Head of Biology Gillian Ridge; Head of English Robert Hyland; and Cover Supervisor Mina Shah.

The Headmaster awarded Music colours to 20 pupils, with Music Bars going to Leo Sellis, of Year 13. The recognition is for longstanding commitment and excellence, but also for making a difference to others.

Miss Partington said: “The way in which pupils are given responsibility and then help those around them – not necessarily just younger pupils – ensures there are always new stars coming through and shining brightly. That help can involve simply setting an example or it can, for instance, see them assisting others in tackling more complex repertoire.”

• Click on the thumbnails to view the images.