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The Queen’s Library has long had a key role in the School’s outreach programme to Barnet primary schools – so who better to help it mark its 12th birthday than some local Year 5 boys and girls and a group of enthusiastic readers from QE?

A team of Year 7s were on hand to support the visitors from Barnet’s Underhill and Whitings Hill primary schools, backed by a trio of sixth-formers.

Head of Library Services Jenni Blackford, who organised the day, said: “We are lucky to have a well-stocked library as well as students who want to share their love of reading and the resources we have available. It was only fitting that on our 12th anniversary, we opened our doors to the community – especially young children who are reluctant readers – to help them learn about libraries, books and reading in a fun way.

“Many of our own pupils here develop a passion for English and for reading, and The Queen’s Library provides the perfect place for them to share that passion with pride.”

The Queen’s Library is a well-resourced facility in the heart of the School, which is widely used for academic scholarship, as well as reading for pleasure. It is staffed by a small team of proactive and engaged librarians.

The visiting Year 5 pupils came spent a day working alongside the Year 7 and Year 12 pupils to develop their literacy and oracy skills in an engaging environment.

“Encouraged by our friendly Year 7s, the visiting pupils took part in a quiz and designed their own book cover,” said Mrs Blackford. “Year 12 students then took over to deliver an engaging creative writing workshop that incorporated word games, sensory description and…a disappearing classroom!

“Community events like this provide fantastic opportunities for inter-generational collaboration, a safe space for children to learn, and allow our boys to share their passion to inspire younger learners.”

Among those who exhibit that passion is Year 7’s Sai Vinesh Sriskandarajah. He said: “I like helping with young children… and have enjoyed seeing lots of smiling faces. I think they have learned an abundance of skills, including teamwork, collaboration and resilience.”

Year 12’s Suren Fereydoni shared similar sentiments: “I think Literacy and being able to write creatively are some of the most important skills to have as both a child and an adult. So, in me being able to help children discover how to do both is exciting and feels nice to help out.”

Together with Sai Vinesh and Suren, the other QE pupils involved were:

• Year 7: Vihaan Sinha, Vihaan Chitaley, Giritrah Ghosh, Aryan Narsian, Hari Chikani, Bradley Leung and Geethik Satti.
• Year 12: Rian Doshi and Akira Norimura.

They may be several years away from applying to university, but boys from Years 7 & 8 were able to enjoy a taste of life as an undergraduate at the grandest of all the Oxford colleges.

Forty-five boys drew inspiration for the future and learned about what studying at a world-leading university involves during the trip to Christ Church – the Borough of Barnet’s partner college at Oxford.

The day included lunch in the college’s Dining Hall — the iconic 1520s structure upon which the Hogwarts Great Hall in the Harry Potter films is based. There was also a chance to meet an Old Elizabethan – Harik Sodhi (2018–2025) – currently studying at Christ Church.

Nathan Lawson, QE Futures Coordinator and Geography teacher said: “At QE, we believe it’s never too early to inspire students to aim high and be future-ready. Through our partnerships and alumni network, they can gain first-hand insights that shows them anything is possible with determination, hard work, and persistence.

“This experience helped the boys broaden their aspirations, better understand what studying at a top university involves, and build confidence by interacting directly with undergraduates who were once in their position.”

Christ Church’s alumni include 13 British prime ministers, King Edward VII, William Penn, Lewis Carroll (author of Alice in Wonderland), poet W. H. Auden, philosopher John Locke, and scientist Robert Hooke.

The day began with a warm welcome from Dr Ana Hastoy, the college’s Admissions and Access Manager, and her team, who delivered an ‘all you need to know’ session on applying to Oxford, alongside practical advice on UK universities, funding, and applications.

Lunch in the Dining Hall gave the boys the chance to admire the hammerbeam roof and stained-glass windows, as well as dozens of historic artworks, including an oil painting by an unknown artist of Queen Elizabeth I (who in 1573 gave QE its royal charter).

The QE boys then took part in a Q&A and college tour led by current undergraduates, gaining authentic insights into study at Oxford and life at The House, as Christ Church is sometimes known. As well as recounting his own journey from QE to Christ Church and offering some practical tips on his degree subject (Engineering Science), first-year student Harik encouraged the boys to believe in themselves and have the confidence to apply there when the time comes. Harik secured his place by gaining straight A* grades at A-level last August. The summer also saw him become the first-ever QE pupil to win a silver medal at the International Physics Olympiad: he was the highest-ranked performer from western Europe at the 55th IPhO in Paris.

The visit concluded with an academic session, Making Meaning: Objects, History and Power in Museums, to introduce the young visitors to university-level thinking about how museums shape narratives and public understanding.

QE has achieved its highest-ever position in the national final of the Senior Team Maths Challenge.

The Sixth Form team came fourth out of 50 élite teams at the national final in Manchester, only narrowly missing out on the top three places. It is the first time QE has achieved a top-ten finish in the challenge.

Their achievement follows an earlier triumph at the regional final in Cambridge, where the four QE boys had a perfect score and took joint first place.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This was a tremendous achievement in this long-running and highly regarded UK Maths Trust competition, reflecting not only our team’s talent,  resilience and collaborative abilities, but also the great strength of Mathematics generally at QE. My congratulations go to the team and to their teachers.”

The team comprised the 2026 School Captain, Tunishq Mitra, and his fellow Year 12 pupil, Mohith Sigirisetti, together with Year 13’s Hisham Khan and William Joanes.

In the national final, they achieved 100 per cent correct answers in the group round, crossnumber round, and shuttle round. In the round which required teams to create a poster on a given topic, the QE contingent lost out by a very small margin to the joint first-place schools, Winchester College and Tonbridge School, which had also had perfect scores in the main three rounds.

Mathematics teacher Sammi Zhu said: “For the actual maths, therefore, our team scored 100 per cent and were joint-first! That is an extraordinary mathematical accomplishment which reflects both their depth of understanding and excellent teamwork.

“I would like to add my congratulations to these four students for their hard work and outstanding achievement.”

At the regional final held at The Leys School, Cambridge, in November, the QE team competed in a field of 20 teams.  In a highly competitive battle for first place, QE’s perfect score left it in a three-way tie with longstanding challenge rivals Haberdashers’ Boys’ School and The Perse School.

• Click on the thumbnails to view the images.

QE pupils enjoyed the opportunity to broaden their political thinking when the School welcomed one of Britain’s most instantly recognisable Conservative figures – the former Cabinet Minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Sir Jacob is the latest in a range of speakers from across the political spectrum to visit. The occasion gave boys the opportunity to engage more deeply with politics and current affairs, and, through a question-and-answer session, to challenge him by putting to him some alternative perspectives.

While politicians are often dismissed in the modern world as without principle, Sir Jacob told the audience that his own experience of Parliament – and not only among those of his own party – was different: “…Most politicians are decent, honest, and have integrity,” he said.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are grateful to Sir Jacob for taking the time to visit. His visit, and those of other political figures who come here, help our pupils to develop their understanding in the political sphere, encouraging them to become deep thinkers and compelling communicators in our interconnected and fast-changing world.”

Sir Jacob spoke at a very well-attended QE Politics Society meeting. He was invited by the student leaders of that society, Keshav Aggarwal and Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen. He revealed that he had, in fact, felt compelled to come, believing that the invitation betokened genuine student interest in his career.

Sir Jacob is a former Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the (Privy) Council. Although he lost his seat in the 2024 General Election, he remains a prominent figure, running his own programme, State of the Nation, on GB News, and publishing regularly on YouTube and Substack.

His visit came amid a tumultuous period in politics, with the Prime Minister under severe pressure from the continued fallout from the decision to appoint Lord Mandelson as US Ambassador. Sir Jacob felt that the government was now paralysed: those supportive of the PM being sent out on the airwaves; those against him, plotting; and the civil service waiting to see what happens, with no incentive to advance a policy or strategy if they might have a new boss in weeks, days or hours. His tip for the next Labour leader and PM was Ed Miliband.

In a lively and thought-provoking take on everything from energy policy and international trade to the future of party politics, Sir Jacob’s talk included the following points:

• Individual liberty is essential to protecting both the rights of the individual and a strong economy;
• Governments could not run complex structures: he would rather have “the NHS run by Tesco, than Tesco run by the NHS”;
• Adversarial politics, which allows for the expression of opposing views, is the best way of scrutinising ideas before they are implemented;
• Green energy decisions made by both the current and previous governments had hampered economic growth, and an overemphasis on green energy has made us “cold and poor”;
• The equal status of being a British citizen: he pointed out that all citizens of Britain are equal, whether they had just been granted citizenship or had ancestors dating back a thousand years;
• The need to expose young people to a breadth of political ideas: only when thus exposed could they challenge the status quo and bring about positive and meaningful change, he said.

Vu-Lam said: “Drawing from his portfolio of past Cabinet positions, Sir Jacob’s speech was fascinating, with reflections on his public service and predictions on the future of UK partisan politics. It was great to see students challenging conservative talking points and being answered with poise.”

Sir Jacob invited challenge from the audience and was duly questioned about net zero, immigration policy, the legacy of Brexit on the UK economy, and the defections from his Conservative Party to Reform UK.

During his visit, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg gave a one-hour interview to Keshav and Vu-Lam for a podcast episode on their channel.

The society will next welcome Dan Tomlinson MP, Labour MP for Chipping Barnet and Exchequer Secretary at the Treasury, early in March.

In a two-day residential workshop at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, six Industrial Cadets from QE enjoyed some very privileged access.

The two Year 12 Engineering teams not only had the opportunity to study at the internationally renowned Dyson Centre for Industrial Design, but also to use specialist equipment that even Cambridge Engineering students are not allowed to touch at first.

The teams, who are both working with major companies to develop products to safeguard the health of construction workers, went to Cambridge for the workshop organised by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT) as part of its Industrial Cadets Gold Project scheme.

QE has a long record of success with projects developed through EDT programmes, with past teams frequently singled out for praise by industry experts.

Technology teacher Tony Green, who accompanied the sixth-formers, said: “The Industrial Cadets Gold Project Workshop introduces young people to an exciting programme that offers a unique experience bringing together university study and industry.

“For our students, having the opportunity to study at the Dyson centre and to use tools and machinery that Cambridge undergrads don’t get to use until later on in their course was a real coup.”

During the workshop, the boys were challenged to solve a real-world problem set by industry partners, giving them first-hand exposure to STEM careers, university life and business thinking.

One of the QE pupils, Abhinav Sandeep, said: “We had an extremely rewarding two days at Cambridge and we’re very grateful for the opportunity! The fact that we were able to interact with a machine that only late-year Cambridge undergraduates and PhD students could use was sublime.”

One QE team is working with Overbury plc, the UK’s leading fit-out specialist, which has challenged the boys to develop a passive wearable aid for construction workers that mitigates the onset of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs).

The other has joined with Morgan Lovell plc, a leading company in the design and building construction of commercial buildings, to work on a prototype for a wearable hearing protection device that alerts construction workers to hazardous noise exposure, thus reducing the risk of long-term hearing damage.

Both companies are represented by QE’s industry sponsor, Mr Alex Wood, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager at Morgan Lovell.

Abhinav, who is part of Team OVERBURY, praised the breadth of facilities that was made available to them as they built their device: “We used everything from sewing machines to soldering kits… We also benefitted from the variety of working spaces, such as the workshop for production and the library for data analysis.”

Team OVERBURY comprises the following QE Year 12 students: Dan Ji Chan, Abhinav Sandeep and Kavish Jayasekera.

Team MORGAN LOVELL is: Ayush Saha, Zane Shah and Haadi Siddiqui.