Viewing archives for

This week saw QE mark National Writing Day as girls and boys from five Barnet primary schools got to grips with literacy and numeracy challenges during an exciting morning at Queen’s Road.

The Year 5 children worked in teams in competitive taster sessions designed by QE teachers, with support and encouragement along the way from Year 8 boys.

The morning helped give the young visitors the tools they need to wax creative in their writing through a vocabulary challenge and a poetry exercise.

Headmaster Neil Enright, who presented certificates to the winning teams, said: “It was great to see the enthusiasm of all our young visitors, and I warmly congratulate the winners. My thanks go to the visiting primary school teachers and teaching assistants for helping to make the day a resounding success, not forgetting, of course, the contribution of QE teachers and of our Year 8 helpers.

“This was part of our long-running outreach programme with local partner primary schools. We are always delighted to welcome their children here and thus strengthen our community connections. The programme is very much in line with our historic identity as a Barnet school – which goes right back to our 1573 royal charter. Through involving our own Year 8, we also ensure it’s aligned with one of the priorities of our new Boundless School plan, namely to nurture our pupils in becoming ‘community-orientated’.”

The outreach programme is coordinated by Sarah Westcott, Assistant Head (Inclusion and Wellbeing). This year, visiting youngsters have already taken part in Art and forensic science sessions. Still to be run are taster sessions in History, Geography and Economics.

On this occasion, the Year 5 pupils from Foulds, Whitings Hill, St Catherine’s RC, Underhill and Northside primary schools worked in teams to tackle four rounds of English and Mathematics activities:

• Round 1 was a word definitions challenge, designed to broaden vocabulary, recognising that this is one of the building blocks of effective writing. It was led by English teacher Panayiota Menelaou. Winners: Foulds team 1;
• Round 2 involved number puzzles and was delivered by Maths teacher Nadeem Kydd. Winners: Whitings Hill team 1;
• Round 3 focused on poetry-writing and helped the children express themselves in this specific genre. Head of English Robert Hyland presided. Winners: St Catherine’s team 1;
• Round 4 was entitled Shuttling Maths and was led by Maths teacher Phillip Brady. Winners: Foulds team 2.

The overall winners of the day were team 2 from Foulds School.

The day was organised by the English and Mathematics Heads of Department.

It was, said Mr Hyland, a pleasure to host the young visitors: “Holding taster sessions like these is a great way for QE teachers to share the love of their subject with pupils in the local community.”

His Maths counterpart, Jessica Steer, said: “We were delighted to welcome such resilient, enthusiastic children to our School. The challenges they faced were demanding, but they approached each one with determination, teamwork, and positivity. Their schools should be incredibly proud of the way they supported one another, worked collaboratively, and represented their communities throughout the event.”

Mrs Menelaou added: “These taster sessions are a fun opportunity for Year 5 pupils to experience Maths and English in a secondary school setting, helping them become familiar with the next step in their educational journey while interacting with our Year 8 students.”

Alongside developing their problem-solving skills, pupils enjoyed making new friendships and experiencing life in a secondary school environment. Their day included a well-earned break in the playground.

The Year 8 helpers were: Aditya Bhandari, Aarush Mehta, Vidyut Naryan, Aman Morjaria, Kushal Pasupuleti, Yajat Vyas, Eashaan Saha, Maanush Shah, Kiyansh Gupta, Patheen Patel and Duc Ta.

• National Writing Day is an annual celebration of writing run by an independent charity, the National Literacy Trust.

Six senior pupils have won Jack Petchey Achievement Awards, the School announced today.

The Jack Petchey Foundation allocated the awards after hearing from the six’s friends and classmates, who were invited to vote for those they felt contributed the most.

Today’s announcement follows yesterday’s news about a Jack Petchey Leader Award for Biology teacher Sam Acors.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My sincere congratulations go to these six students. Our Boundless School plan sets out that we seek to nurture our pupils in becoming, among other things, Self-aware people who make things happen, Leaders of influence and valued collaborators, and Community-orientated. What better examples of those qualities could there be than these six Elizabethans?”

The achievement awards go to: Year 10’s Pranav Bonagiri and Arnay Gupta; Year 11’s Abishek Prenav and Rohan Katkar; and, in Year 12, Zane Shah and Hasnain Jiwa:

• Pranav was recognised for his exceptional contributions to both robotics and sport. As a volunteer mentor, he supported two Year 9 robotics teams that progressed to the VEX Robotics World Championship. He was also a member of the Year 10 team that won the prestigious Innovation Award at the competition. Pranav’s award also acknowledges his success in Eton Fives. Alongside his playing partner, he earned Players of the Match honours at the Eton Fives National Championships and made a significant contribution to QE finishing top of their division.
• Arnay was similarly recognised for his dedication to robotics. He mentors Year 8 and Year 9 VEX Robotics teams, helping them prepare for competitions, while also assisting with the organisation of events.
• Abishek won his award primarily for his work as founder and programme director of I’m Possible – a youth mental health peer-mentorship service preventing suicides, which featured in a documentary, Manosphere, on S4C and BBC iPlayer. Abishek is the co-founder and executive director of MenTomorrow, an initiative which seeks to redefine masculinity for the next generation. In addition, he is one of 20 ‘change-makers’ from across the world invited to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) headquarters in New York for the Transforming Global Education Summit and was also invited by the United Nations Secretariat to its Palais Des Nations office in Geneva.
• Rohan received his award mainly for being an upstanding all-round academic student. A high-flyer even within the elevated context of QE, he also finds time to help others, mentoring younger pupils in Maths as well as in chess. Rohan is part of the Chess A team that will be going to the National Chess Championship Finals in Nottingham in the next few days.
• Nominated primarily for his work with the QE Islamic Society, Zane spearheaded with his peers a charity drive for Islamic Relief. To help raise the profile of the campaign and revive the society’s speaker programme (which had been dormant for six years), Zane invited in Saleh Rashid from Islamic Relief. The Islamic Society over a number of years raised more than £5,000 – with Zane’s own contributions including sponsorship from running a half-marathon – and were recognised with Charity Week Awards.
• An exceptional role model, Hasnain was praised by his peers for his leadership and mentorship with younger boys. This is in Vex Robotics competitions and CAD (Computer-Aided Design) activities. Additionally, he offers advice on A-level selection and careers.

The Jack Petchey Foundation was set up by businessman and entrepreneur Sir Jack Petchey, who died in 2024 at the age of 98. Since 1999, the foundation has been recognising and celebrating the achievements of young people across London and Essex.

The award-winners, including Dr Acors, have been invited to receive a medallion at a special awards ceremony on 7th July. They also win a pin, certificate, a book on Sir Jack and a £300 grant to spend on a project that benefits QE. The coordinator of the awards in School is Economics teacher Kishen Patel.

Biology teacher Sam Acors has won a Jack Petchey Leader Award after being nominated by his pupils.

QE is announcing the award to Dr Acors on National Thank a Teacher Day.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It seems especially fitting to be able to congratulate Sam today on this award, which is well deserved.

“It’s also an excellent opportunity to celebrate the immense contribution that all our hard-working, dedicated and inspirational staff make to the success of Queen Elizabeth’s School.”

Dr Acors joined QE last year after working as a post-doctoral researcher at Imperial College London. His doctorate from King’s College London was awarded in March 2024.

His pupils praised him for the good humour he brings to his teaching, as well as his supportive and nurturing approach.

Expressing his appreciation for the award today, he said: “It feels good to have made an impact on the students and be appreciated. I got into teaching to make a positive difference to young people’s lives, so having won an award that suggests I have influenced many of our pupils means a great deal to me. That being said, the students at QE are outstanding, so it makes our job as teachers that bit easier.”

The Jack Petchey Foundation was set up by entrepreneur Sir Jack Petchey, who died in 2024 at the age of 98. Since 1999, the foundation has been recognising and celebrating the achievements of young people across London and Essex.

The foundation’s Leader Awards recognise the ‘above and beyond’ commitment of adults who help young people. It encourages their schools and organisations to get the young people themselves involved in making nominations for the awards.

The Thank a Teacher campaign is run by the Teaching Awards Trust and has a vision to help create a society which values and celebrates “the great work that takes place in education every day across the UK”.

The Trust was established in 1998 by Lord David Puttnam, with the support of all the leading political parties, the teaching unions and the wider education community, as well as industry and media partners.

Dr Acors’ research at King’s included working with post-doctoral researcher Dr Nathalia Almedia to create populations, or lines, of a special type of human stem cell, which could help uncover why HIV leads to different outcomes in different people.

Announcing this development in February this year, Professor Mike Malim, co-senior author of the paper, said: “This has been a long journey for us, and I am particularly pleased for Nathalia Almeida and Sam Acors whose dedication and attention to detail enabled the creation of this panel of lines. It will be fascinating to see what we and others can discover about HIV biology and pathogenesis in the years to come.”

Year 9 pupil Ibrohim Saidahror has topped the podium at the Sixth Wales Taekwondo International Championships, winning a gold medal on his category debut.

Ibrohim took the top prize in the  -37kg Class A Cadet category in an event which attracted more than 500 athletes.

Having seen off fellow competitor Pius Junior Appiah in the semi-final, he achieved a 2–0 victory against Ethan Holmes from the Core Taekwondo Academy based in Kendal, Cumbria, in the final.

In what was a memorable day, he also completed his first refereeing assignment at the event, which was held at the Sport Wales National Centre in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

Director of Sport Jonathan Hart said: “My congratulations go to Ibrohim on an impressive achievement – one which is the fruit of a great deal of hard work, discipline and dedication to the sport.”

Ibrohim took up taekwondo seven years ago and trains at the Superior Taekwondo Academy in Greenford.

His previous achievements include winning a silver medal last autumn in the -37kg novice category at the British Taekwondo National Kyorugi Championships in Sheffield and, before that, taking gold in a sparring competition, also at Sophia Gardens.

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art renowned for its dynamic high, spinning and aerial kicks. In competition, athletes score points by delivering powerful strikes to legal target areas on the torso and head.

Reflecting afterwards on his victory, Ibrohim said: “It’s the first time I have won gold in a long while, so it meant a lot. However, it is the first time I competed in this category, so winning gold means even more. I am glad I managed to adapt successfully.”

QE AI supremo Paarth Aggarwal is celebrating after his latest app won plaudits in a competition linked to the world’s top-ranked university.

His SafeEat smartphone scanner for elderly and visually impaired users was one of just seven out of 2,176 entries in the Global Appathon to receive ‘honourable mentions’ alongside the winners.

The competition, which drew entries from more than 140 countries and regions, required participants to link their apps to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Year 12 pupil Paarth, who has been invited to attend next month’s MIT App Inventor Global Education Summit at the MIT Stata Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has enjoyed a string of AI competition successes, including taking first prize for his age category among UK entrants in Intel’s AI Global Impact Festival in both 2024 and 2025.

QE’s Head of Technology, Bilaal Khan, said: “It is exciting to see our pupils at the forefront of technological development: my congratulations go to Paarth on another noteworthy achievement.”

SafeEat is an AI-powered food ingredient list scanner designed to help elderly and visually impaired users make informed food choices based on their personal allergies, intolerances, and dietary restrictions.

The app makes ingredient labels easier to understand, and helps users determine whether a product is safe to eat.

To build their apps, competition entrants had to use the MIT App Inventor – a free tool developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, currently ranked number one in the QS world university rankings.

Paarth submitted a three-minute video about the app, in which he not only explained what it could do, but also demonstrated it live to a potential user in a local supermarket.

His commendation certificate was signed by Professor Hal Abelson, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and Dr Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation.

Paarth said: “A single mistake on a food label can trigger a life-threatening allergic reaction, but technology has the power to change that. I am incredibly honoured that my app, SafeEat, won the honourable mention for accessibility.”