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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. 

Sixth-former Hardik Ingale won a visit to Downing Street and a tour of the Treasury after reaching the final of the Young Economist of the Year competition.

Hardik’s essay was one of only five entries to reach the final in the Discover Economics contest, which was backed by the Royal Economic Society.

He impressed the judges with his carefully researched exploration of How can economics explain the high price of a supercar?

Head of Economics Krishna Shah said: “Hardik entered the competition on his own initiative during the summer holidays and was meticulous in his approach. I congratulate him on this considerable success.”

Hardik’s choice of topic reflected his interest in Formula One.

His research included:

• Academic articles from the JSTOR digital library;
• Online articles offering diverse perspectives;
• YouTube videos explaining supercar production and market dynamics;
• Investigation into car companies, their products, and economic strategies.

His central argument was that the high price of supercars could be attributed to multiple economic factors – including high manufacturing costs, the costs involved in developing technological innovation and in maintaining the exclusivity of a brand, and the dominance of a small number of firms in this market. Most of all, though, he placed a strong emphasis on psychological factors – including the motivations consumers, who buy supercars for their value as status symbols.

The final of the competition was held at accountants’ KPMG’s offices. Hardik, who is in Year 12, gave a ten-minute presentation, which was followed by a five-minute question-and-answer session with the judges, who were drawn from Government policy bodies as well as the Financial Times, who sponsored the competition, together with KPMG UK.

Hardik, who hopes to read Economics or Finance at university, described his trip to Downing Street as “amazing”. As well as being photographed outside Number 10, he visited 11 Downing Street, the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, meeting the head of the Government Economic Service, Sam Beckett. He also toured the Treasury and met officials there, enjoying some discussions about careers in public service and government. The day even included meeting Number 10’s famous feline resident, Larry the cat!

Thirteen Sixth-Form geographers heard Oxford’s Professor Danny Dorling deliver a powerful exposition of the national and global threat posed by poverty and inequality.

His lecture, Inequality: the next crisis and children, was packed with detail and backed with richly illustrated statistics.

Delivered at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington, London, it proved a revelation to many. Year 13’s Hitarth Patel said: “I found the extent to which inequality is prevalent within the UK astonishing,” and Shravan Jayaprakash, of Year 12, described the lecture as “an exhilarating experience which broadened my perspectives about many issues in our country today, especially the widening inequality we face”.

In promoting the lecture, for the RGS’s school members, the society stated: “The greatest concern worldwide, for the future of where we live, is not climate change and its impacts; it is not extinction and loss of biodiversity, it is not artificial intelligence or asteroids – none of these worries come close to what concerns us most.

“More than any other future issue, most people in the world worry about inequality, poverty, and the cost of living; and they worry, above all else, for their children. Are they right to be most concerned in this way and, if so, what is to be done?”

Prof Dorling is a social geographer who is the 1971 Professor of Geography, attached to St Peter’s College, Oxford, as well as a visiting professor at both Goldsmiths and the University of Bristol. He is known for his support for Labour, particularly when Jeremy Corbyn led the party.

He has spoken on radio, featured on television and written newspaper articles. He is the author of more than 20 books, including two published in 2024 – Seven Children: Inequality and the Geography of a Failing State, and Peak Injustice: Solving Britain’s Inequality Crisis – and one which came out this year, The Next Crisis: What We Think about the Future.

The QE group, drawn from both Year 12 and Year 13, were led by Deputy Head Anne Macdonald (Academic), who teaches Geography.

She said: “Growing inequality in the UK is a complex contemporary issue that cuts across the disciplines of geography and economics (and other social sciences). Danny Dorling’s academic work in this area is so compelling because it is grounded in extensive data-driven research. His work about the impacts of inequality on children from across the income spectrum encourages our students to think about their place in modern Britain and develop empathy for others who might face more barriers.”

Hamza Pasha, of Year 13, shared his fellow pupils’ reaction to the lecture. “I found Danny Dorling’s graphical presentation of inequality statistics helped me realise the magnitude of this issue and I was also surprised to learn how much more unequal the UK is in comparison with other countries.”

Young musicians enjoyed an action-packed five-day tour, which gave them multiple opportunities to perform in Belgium as well as the chance to sample the country’s cultural delights.

They played at three very diverse venues, beginning with Antwerp’s oldest parish church, Sint-Jacob (St James’s). Since the one-hour performance coincided with National Flemish Day, local dignitaries were invited along.

Besides the church performance, the boys played by arrangement for 45 minutes at a bandstand (the Kiosk de Musique) in the historic Parc de Bruxelles in the Belgian capital.

They also performed for an hour in the town square (Grote Markt) of Ypres (now officially known  by its Flemish name of Ieper) in front of the magnificent Cloth Hall. Originally a series of mediaeval buildings completed in 1304, the Cloth Hall was almost completely destroyed in World War I and subsequently rebuilt.

Director of Music Ruth Partington said: “This was a very successful Music department tour, with some high-quality musicianship on display. I know the boys enjoyed the opportunities it gave them to perform in an unfamiliar environment. It was notable that all the items were conducted and, in the case of the tour choir, accompanied by pupils. The boys showed great maturity and leadership throughout. They also relished the full programme of activities we put on, from rides on rollercoasters through to enjoying some Belgian chocolate.”

The boys travelled from Barnet by coach, arriving first in Dunkirk after a journey through the Channel Tunnel on Le Shuttle.

In the French port, they visited a museum focusing on the town’s World War II history, which features real memorabilia found on the beach. This museum tells the story of Dunkirk across the war, from the well-known Battle of France in 1940, with its evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force to the town’s liberation by Czechoslovakian soldiers in 1945.

After crossing the border into Belgium, the tour party gained an insight into life on the front lines in World War I when they called in at the Trench of Death in Diksmuide – one of the conflict’s most treacherous trench systems. The system had areas of ‘no man’s land’ as small as 50 metres wide.

The tourists also:

• Explored the canals of Bruges on a boat trip;
• Sampled Belgian chocolate at the Choco-Story museum, where they saw a live demonstration of praline-making and, of course, enjoyed the tasting opportunities;
• Rode the rollercoasters and enjoyed the zoo attractions at Bellewaerde Park, Belgium’s oldest theme park, built in 1954 on the site of a World War I battleground;
• Enjoyed a walking tour of Gent’s key sites and took in the mediaeval Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts) in the heart of the city;
• Visited Brussels’ The Parliamentarium – an interactive exhibition about the past, present and future of the European Union and Parliament;
• Climbed the city’s 102m-tall Atomium, one of Brussels’ key landmarks, which gives panoramic views across the city and was built for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Its nine stainless steel-clad spheres resemble an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the images. 

The tour ensembles were: Winds, Strings, and Choir.

They were conducted by: Eshaan Anil; Joseph Donovan; Parth Jain; Lamie Lam; Vihaan Salunke; and Jeremy Shi. The choir was accompanied by Zehao Wu.

Sixth-former Tanush Gupta has won first prize in a prestigious European competition for his video on genetic diversity.

His name was announced in front of more than 5,000 international scientists and doctors at the European Human Genetics Conference in Milan.

The prize from the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) in its 17th annual European DNA Day Video Contest, includes €400 for Tanush and €1,000 for the School.

Head of Biology Gillian Ridge said: “This is really quite a considerable achievement: Tanush’s video was meticulously put together and he worked on it independently. Many congratulations to him on this success.”

Pupils from 26 European countries submitted 31 videos in video contest and 298 essays in the parallel essay competition this year.

The task set for the entrants was: Please, discuss the importance of understanding genetic diversity for health and disease. Support your example with specific DNA variants and genes.

Tanush submitted a five-minute video entitled Genes Across the Globe: Why Genetic Diversity Matters that was amply illustrated throughout with colour drawings and simple animations.

In the video he highlights the current focus of genetic medical research being on European populations, with deleterious consequences for people of other ethnicities: “If genetic research is not inclusive, certain populations suffer from undetected risks and ineffective medical interventions,” he says.

Tanush concludes: “Genetics isn’t just about understanding the past, it’s about shaping the future of medicine. The more inclusive our research, the better our ability to predict, prevent, and treat diseases for everyone.

“So next time you hear about a groundbreaking genetic discovery, ask yourself: ‘Who does this benefit, and who’s being left behind?’ Because science should serve all of humanity, not just a select few.”

The entries were evaluated by 45 experts in the field, who selected three winners in each category, while also awarding 11 honourable mentions over both competition categories.

In their prize citation, DNA Day Co-ordinator Dr Christophe Cordier, ESHG President Professor William Newman and ESHG Education Committee Chair Professor Inga Prokopenko told Tanush: “Your video…has impressed the members of the jury based on its originality, its scientific content, and the fact that you expressed so clearly the benefits and consequences for science and society.

“We do hope that your interest in genetics and DNA will continue to grow over the years and that you will continue to follow the developments in the field, which promise to become more and more spectacular.”

• You can watch Tanush’s video here.

The shadow of the 47th president of the USA looms large over the latest edition of The Econobethan – QE’s pupil-run Economics journal.

Under the overall theme of International Relations, the 24th edition of the publication includes a special front section headed Has Trump damaged the dollar? which looks at the impact of tariffs and at the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency.

Articles in the main body of The Econobethan mostly home in on specific nations, examining, for example, the economic cost of India and Pakistan’s damaged relations, or how recent problems have harmed the reputation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Citing the maxim of US founding father Benjamin Franklin that ‘no nation was ever ruined by trade’, Economics teacher and Enrichment tutor Celia Wallace said:  “This is a rich and thought-provoking edition, offering a range of perspectives on how nations interact and the economic outcomes of those interactions.”

The 50-page edition was overseen by the Year 12 editorial team of Zain Ahmed, Shourya Garg, Adithya Raghuraman and Shuban Singh.

In their introduction, they write: “The first section of the edition focuses on one of the more recent, prevalent points of contention in international relations debates…

“The articles in this section argue for and against Trump’s international policy, specifically focusing on its effect on the dollar.”

Among the writers here is Year 11 GCSE economist Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen, whose piece is entitled: The Method Behind the Madman Theory: how President Trump’s second-term agenda has affected the US dollar. He begins by explaining that the Madman Theory, also known as the Unpredictability Doctrine, is not without precedent, having reportedly been adopted by President Nixon, too. After setting out some of Donald Trump’s decisions, and his ‘promises of bold economic growth’ occurring at the same time as a $2.8 trillion jump in national debt, Vu-Lam says he hopes to ‘shed light on the rationale behind this apparent madness’.

Regarding the main section, the editorial adds: “Articles focus on the development of relationships, including the formation of the UN and the UK’s international status as both an empire and a leader of diplomacy.

“They also consider the economic vulnerability of nations when relations falter, such as the breakdown of trade blocs and the effects on landlocked nations. This edition helps to show the complexities of international relations as well as the domino-like knock-on effects of unsuitable international policy.”

Contributors come from Years 9–11. Many illustrate their articles with tables and graphs.

Others, such as Year 11 GCSE economist Aayush Shukla, in his piece on China’s economic history (From Footprints to Footing: The Evolution of China), or his fellow Year 11 pupil, Noah Morley, on his historical exploration of Japan’s relationship with Europe (Japan’s Evolving Relationship with Europe), use photographs or reproductions of paintings.

• The Econobethan may be read here.