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Sixth-former Paarth Aggarwal has again won the national category for his age group in a global technology competition. 

Paarth’s AI-powered app for visually impaired people took first prize among UK entrants in Intel’s AI Global Impact Festival 2025. 

Paarth last year won the same UK prize, having then entered an app that offered personalised learning to children with autism.  

Congratulating him, QE’s Head of Technology, Bilaal Khan, said: “Many congratulations to Paarth, who has shown great initiative in pursuing these opportunities: his enthusiasm for the exciting possibilities that AI and other new technologies offer is inspiring.” 

Intel’s annual challenge aims to encourage next-generation technologists and to showcase AI innovations and impact. This year, there were more than 1,000 entries worldwide.  

On learning of his success as the winner for the UK AI Changemakers category for ages 13–17, Paarth, of Year 12, said:  “The competition was challenging and it required me to put in countless hours researching, developing, and refining the project, which focused on enhancing independence for individuals with visual impairments.” 

Called NavigateAssist, his winning app describes the surroundings in natural language, so helping to reduce feelings of isolation, thereby boosting self-confidence and fostering independence in visually impaired people. 

Users can take a picture of their surroundings, or of an object, and ask questions, receiving detailed answers in real time. This helps them navigate the world more easily. 

Paarth hopes his success will “encourage more students to explore the world of AI, inspire them to become the next generation of AI innovators, and realise the limitless possibilities for them in their future life”. 

He wins a prize worth $100 and a certificate. 

Tech spec
NavigateAssist uses AI, including GenAI, a subset of artificial intelligence that focuses on creating new content. 

To build the app, Paarth used Intel’s Core Ultra processor and its OpenVINO software toolkit running on the company’s AIDevCloud. 

• To watch Paarth’s video entry and learn more about the app, click here. 

Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, has secured initial approval to open the first international branch campus under its QE Global Schools initiative. 

Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, will provide an education delivered to the same high academic standards that have made QE Barnet one of the UK’s leading schools. The new school will offer the QE Essentials – the coherent set of meticulously developed programmes, initiatives and concepts which together underpin a QE education. 

QE Barnet is working with its partner, GEDU Global Education, to open independent, fee-paying schools in UAE and India – the first such venture by a UK state school. The international schools will open under the QE banner but will operate as independent campuses, each with its own principal, senior leadership team, and teaching staff. 

The approval from Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) clears the way for the school to open next August: applications for places open on 4 November 2025. 

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are delighted to have received this encouragement from the KHDA to offer a rounded and enriching QE education to children in the UAE, spreading opportunity and supporting students to become the leaders of their generation.  

“We are also excited by the potential for international collaboration, which, in time, will build a global network of Elizabethans for the benefit of our new students as well as those within the state sector in Barnet. 

“Our intention is also to use revenue from QE Global Schools to support long-term educational excellence at Queen’s Road.”

The announcement drew praise from Edward Hobart, His Majesty’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, who said: “I am delighted that Queen Elizabeth’s School will open in Dubai Sports City next year. This milestone represents the first time a British state-funded grammar school has expanded globally, testament to the enduring strength of UK-UAE educational partnerships.” 

“By bringing QE’s proven educational methodology and 450-year heritage of academic excellence to Dubai, it increases the opportunity for young people in the UAE to access world-class British education. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this world-class institution will have on students and the broader educational landscape in the UAE.” 

Dubai Sports City is a complex built around five major sports venues that provides a mix of residential, retail, leisure and recreational facilities. Teaching at the new school will follow England’s National Curriculum. 

Caroline Pendleton-Nash, CEO of Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools, said: “This landmark approval allows us to accelerate our vision to deliver world-leading K-12 education* to students from across the UAE. 

“While the model of establishing international branches is familiar among leading UK independent schools, this marks the first time in history that a distinguished UK state grammar school has embarked upon such a partnership. It represents an unprecedented and truly exciting milestone for global education.  

“Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City, will be a co-educational school, opening initially from Nursery to Year 8, with a phased growth through to the sixth form. Its location in Dubai Sports City affords our students privileged access to unrivalled sporting facilities, embedding sport and physical excellence as a defining pillar of their education. This will be brought to life through our QE Flourish Programme, which nurtures character and personal development across the strands of Care, Challenge, Create and Compete, realising the boundless potential of our students.” 

QE Flourish is one of the QE Essentials. Other elements include: an emphasis on free-thinking scholarship; bespoke pastoral care with a focus on character education (supported by the House system at QE Barnet); QE Futures, which helps all pupils find their individual pathways after school; and membership of QE Connect, the supportive global alumni network. 

“The Dubai branch campus will remain faithful to the mission, ethos, tradition, and exacting academic standards of Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, while embracing Dubai’s spirit of innovation and ambition,” Ms Pendleton-Nash added. “Our mission is to nurture confident, able, and responsible young people who are prepared to lead happy and fulfilled adult lives and to make a positive contribution to others. In uniting the heritage of one of the UK’s most distinguished schools with the vision of Dubai, we aspire to set a new global benchmark for educational excellence.” 

*  K-12 is short for kindergarten through to 12th grade, reflecting the US school system from the age of around 5 to 17 or 18.  

• Top is an artist’s impression of the new campus in Dubai. Also pictured above is Mr Enright with GEDU Group CEO Dr Vishwajeet Rana and with Ms Pendleton-Nash.

GCSE Art students enjoyed exclusive access to a Sir Grayson Perry exhibition on a visit to a London art gallery. 

The Year 11 boys had the popular exhibition, Delusions of Grandeur, to themselves during their visit to The Wallace Collection museum. 

They then had the chance to give their own creative responses in a special workshop. 

And before leaving, the group found time to see the gallery’s famous portrait of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester – a key figure in QE’s founding in 1573. 

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This Art department trip amply demonstrates the advantages of our proximity to London, which gives our boys easy access to all the exciting opportunities that the capital presents.” 

The purpose of the trip was to explore the work of Grayson Perry, who is known especially for his ceramic vases and tapestries. The results of this exploration then informed the boys’ own work on the theme of Personal Identity.   

Arranged to mark the artist’s 65th birthday, the exhibition featured more than 40 new works. It was the largest contemporary exhibition ever held at the museum. 

Art teacher Linda Mitchell said: “We were lucky to have exclusive access to the exhibition in the morning. 

“We then had an excellent workshop, where students could respond to the work by Perry through drawing, painting, collage and print-making. 

“It was a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding day.” 

Several of the boys afterwards gave their reflections on the day:  

• Gyan Nadhavajhala praised Perry’s “handling of pre-existing images and his fusion of different media…. His combination of older, physical art with modern tools such as Photoshop drew me in and differentiated his work from others’.” 

• Akshay Jigajinni was impressed by the artist’s “inspiring” manipulation of colour and shape. “I truly felt that each splash of paint or each pen stroke evoked a different emotion.” 

• Alan Fang was also struck by the use of colour, as well as by the sheer range of work on display, from single-colour sculptures and tapestries to an extremely colourful sculpture that featured multi-coloured pins. 

• Kevin Peduru Hewa liked “the quickness and looseness of the drawings in the first room…and the 3D quality and use of materials in the second room”.  

With the visit to the exhibition and the workshop complete, that still left time for the boys to take in all The Wallace Collection’s other artworks, including the portrait of Dudley, which is attributed to Steven van der Meulen. Dated to 1560-1564, it is thought to be the earliest portrait surviving of the earl at whose request Queen Elizabeth I granted the charter for the establishment of Queen Elizabeth’s School. 
 

Year 9 pupil Ibrohim Saidahror won a silver medal after reaching the final in his category at the British Taekwondo National Kyorugi Championships. 

Ibrohim competed in two bouts to secure his silver in Sheffield, winning his semi-final 2-0, before losing by the same margin in the gold medal match against opponent Finley Lamour.

QE’s Director of Sport, Jonathan Hart, said: “Our congratulations go to Ibrohim on this achievement: behind it lies a great deal of dedication and hard work to develop his skills and strength.” 

Ibrohim sparred in the –37kg category novice cadet category with competitors aged 12–15 (he is 13).  

Each fight comprised up to three 90-second rounds, with the winner being the first to win two of the rounds. Points could be scored to the body or the head, with ‘knock-out’ also a possible outcome.  

Jubilant on his return from the championships, held at the English Institute of Sport (EIS) in Sheffield, he said: “”I started taekwondo to learn self-defence, but I really enjoy it. It is great for my flexibility and core strength.”   

Ibrohim trains in West London at the Superior Taekwondo Academy and competes regularly at regional and national competitions. He plans to keep up with the sport.  

Last term’s Sports Bulletin reported on him winning a gold medal in a sparring competition at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff. “I am very proud of this achievement as it shows my determination and discipline in training,” he said at the time. 

Eleven QE pupils performed in front of more than 30,000 people for London’s Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar Square.

The 11 boys, drawn from Years 8–12, each portrayed various characters in Ramayana Musical Act as part of the programme for Diwali on the Square, one of the capital’s largest cultural events, organised by the Mayor of London’s office.

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is an important celebration for Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities. It symbolises the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic relating the life of Lord Rama.

The QE contingent made up more than half of the 20-strong cast for the performance produced by MAD House Production – a creative initiative by four QE parents, Abhinav Sahai, Deepika Banerjee Sahai, Mayuri Harish, and Priya Shivkumar, which was supported by the parents of all the other performers.

Speaking on behalf of the production team, Mr Sahai said: “The QE boys represented the School with remarkable poise, confidence, and creativity on one of the biggest stages in the city.”

“These young performers have done more than master choreography – they have embraced the timeless lessons of the Ramayana: courage, righteousness, loyalty, and compassion – and turned them into purposeful action.

“In the true spirit of giving that Diwali embodies, the children have also raised over £1,400 for Save the Children UK, spreading the light of hope not just here, but across the world.”

The performance was the culmination of months of dedicated practice and countless hours of rehearsals, where the boys balanced their academic commitments with artistic preparation.

“They thus demonstrated discipline, teamwork, and passion,” Mr Sahai added. “They not only brought the timeless story of the Ramayana to life but also created memories that will last a lifetime.”

“This remarkable feat stands as a testament to QE’s holistic approach to education — nurturing confidence, creativity, and leadership alongside academic excellence. The boys truly embodied the QE spirit.”

The QE performers were:

• Year 8: Atharv Shivakumar
• Year 9: Adhrit Dey
• Year 10: Rishabh Datta, Eeswar Manchikanti, Aaryan Prabhaker, Adyansh Sahai, Ryan Uppal, Pranav Yoganand
• Year 11: Aarnav Mahajan, Pranav Nayak
• Year 12: Shashank Pothuganti.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the images.