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Five QE sixth-formers have scored multiple successes in Cambridge University competitions.

Wen Lee, who has just started Year 13, was named runner-up in the Homerton College Essay Programme for his composition on Can renewable energy save us from a climate catastrophe?

Four other students were among the top-ten winners in the Cambridge Biology Challenge – also associated with Homerton – after impressing the judges across the competition’s four rounds. Shashank Pothuganti, of Year 13, entered as an individual and came fifth out of 941 entries, while a Year 12 team comprising Akein Abeysinghe, Felix Chen and Pranay Thokala finished just behind him, in sixth place.

Deputy Head (Academic) Anne Macdonald said: “The success of our five students in these highly demanding competitions is due reward for their intelligence, their thoughtful approach, and their impressive degree of commitment. At QE, in the words of our Boundless School Plan, we seek to nurture ‘deep thinkers and compelling communicators’: what better example of that could there be than these pupils? Our congratulations go to them all.”

After applying to the essay programme because of his interest in the topic and the opportunity it gave him to bring together his A-level studies in Economics and Geography, Wen’s first success was in being selected to take part. For his essay, he researched the complex relationship between energy, economics and climate change.

One of only 50 young people selected to take part in the conference held for the parallel essay and design programmes, he enjoyed a tour of Homerton College and the insight he was given into life there.

He took part in a series of activities designed to encourage students to think critically about global challenges. One of the highlights was a ‘mini Model United Nations’ activity, where conference delegates worked in groups representing different countries and considered how global warming could be addressed from their country’s individual perspective.

The conference concluded with an awards ceremony, where Wen was only one of two students to receive a prize for his essay category. He received a plaque, certificate and a book.

In the Cambridge Biology Challenge, Shashank took part as an individual, which meant he was competing against teams of up to five. He was awarded a distinction in all four rounds, as well as a badge of merit in three rounds. In the third, he was overall runner-up.

The demanding challenge required teams to respond to four questions over the course of eight months:

1. Can new life be created?
2. Why is Maths a gift for biologists?
3. What does it mean for a non-human organism to be intelligent?
4. What skills are needed for success in Biology?

Not only did Shashank contribute essays, he also submitted videos and a visual novel. The latter two media were a new departure for him, involving him “stepping out of his comfort zone”, as he put it.

As well as all the research, critical thinking and problem-solving he deployed across the rounds, Shashank faced the added challenge that the final round came just before his AS exams, so he had to juggle his entry with his School studies.

It was his debut in the challenge, whereas his three fellow QE entrants had all entered the previous year. Determined to build on their previous performances – when Pranay’s team finished 11th and Felix and Pranay’s team placed 17th– their combined approach this year saw them rise up the leader board to take their sixth spot.

The QE entrants were invited to a special conference and awards ceremony at Homerton, where they attended a lecture, toured the college and took part in a series of activities and puzzles.

Like their fellow competitor Shashank, Felix, Pranay and Akein are passionate about Biology, with Pranay and Akein hoping to pursue careers in medicine.

QE boys have been flexing their intellectual muscles in pupil-run publications tackling everything from the risks and opportunities presented by AI through to in-depth looks at the latest medical advances.

New editions of Artificial Times, Bioquest and The Political Times – all of them both written and edited by pupils – have just been published.

The first of these contains a wide range of perspectives on AI, examining its impact on education, society, industry, sustainability, and ethics. Its publication comes as industry experts speak out about the risk that AI could pose. They include Microsoft AI’s chief executive, Old Elizabethan Mustafa Suleyman (1995–2002), who warns that unless AI is properly controlled, it could lead to the emergence of a “silicon species” that would compete with humans for resources.

Mustafa co-founded DeepMind with his fellow OE, Sir Demis Hassabis (1988–1990), who in 2024 won a Nobel prize for Chemistry after deploying AI to predict complex protein structures. Demis has also spoken of the risks posed by AI.

Assistant Head Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “With the public discourse on artificial intelligence reaching new levels of intensity, it is good to see current pupils engaging in the debate. Our current School Plan, Boundless, prioritises our pupils becoming ‘deep thinkers and compelling communicators’ who are ‘future-ready’.

“Artificial Times, Bioquest and Political Times – and other regular pupil-run magazines, such as the Economics journal, The Econobethan, and The Arabella, covering the arts – are great examples of free-thinking scholarship in action.

“The boys’ writing in these publications demonstrates not only that our students follow the big issues of our day, but that they are also ready to grapple with them on their own initiative.

“Furthermore, through writing their articles and taking part in the publications’ editorial teams, they not only develop their written communication skills, but also show that they are well on the way to becoming ‘leaders of influence and valued collaborators’ – another of our Boundless priorities.”

Artificial Times was founded last year by Olic Fan and Hussain Hashmi, who are now in Year 13. This term’s edition – the third – features an introduction from Trudi Barrow, a specialist in design education named as AI Specialist Edufuturist of the Year 2026. It includes pupils’ detailed examinations of various aspects of AI and its implications, from Year 13 pupil Dev Malde’s The Hidden Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence to Year 11’s Arihaant Venuraju take on Bias in AI: How it Occurs, How it’s Dangerous, and How it can be Avoided. Separately, the risks of AI inspired one Year 11 pupil, Aaryan Prabhaker, to spend part of his summer penning a work of fiction on the subject: he has now presented the book to Headmaster Neil Enright.

The theme and title of the new Bioquest QE pupil publication is Sports, Driven By Biology, a set of articles highlighting biological issues across a range of different sports.

The topics covered include: How are Injuries Caused and How Do They Heal? by Year 13’s Samir Cheema; ADHD: A Curse or a Blessing, by Savya Gupta, of Year 12; Fast and Slow: The Biology of Athletics, by Zoheb Haq, of Year 13; and The Biology and Biomechanics of Mouthguards in Sport, by Taha Sebbar, of Year 13. Sushan Naresh led its eight-strong editorial team, all drawn from Year 13

In its 19 pages, The Political Times reflects on this year’s change of Prime Minister, with Year 8’s Praanaj Rai tracking Andy Burnham’s Road to PM and Adam Ahmed, of Year 9, asking the question, King of the North, or Political Chameleon?

It tackles wider topics, too. In The Political Times‘ biggest section, entitled Westminster Watch, Ehan Rattani, of Year 9, writes about The Politics of Decline and Year 11’s Sri Koustubh Yallambhatla asks How Short-Termism is Plaguing Britain. 

And while most of the publication engages with domestic politics, Year 13’s Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen looks at How Washington Lost Iran, while Year 9’s Hridhaan Joshi explores political aspects of the FIFA World Cup.

A QE team’s hi-tech solution to the global problem of food waste won them second prize in an international competition. 

Inspired by sixth-former Ishan Jakkulwar’s experiences of seeing illegal food waste-dumping in India, Team Flux tackled the challenge by developing an autonomous drone that uses machine-learning to detect emissions from supermarkets’ food waste.   

The team won medals and a certificate after taking the runner-up spot in the British International Education Association STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) Youth Innovation Competition. 

Congratulating the team, Head of Technology Bilaal Khan said: “Their success demonstrates how creativity, collaboration and STEM knowledge can be combined to develop innovative solutions to real-world challenges. “ 

Alongside team leader Ishan, Team Flux comprised his fellow Year 12 pupils, Vivaan Shah and Aditya Shah, together with Dhruva Bhardwaj, who left QE this summer after completing Year 11.  

The four enthusiastically tackled the competition theme of How can we reduce waste in the food chain? by training their drone using machine-learning.    

An Arkwright Engineering Scholar, Ishan had recognised that using autonomous technology could reduce the time, cost and manpower needed to identify and address food waste. The competition provided an opportunity to develop his interest in engineering and hardware, while securing the prize reinforced his ambition to become an engineer.   

“Winning second prize was a nice surprise, especially, as it was the first time I have experimented with hardware,” he said. Ishan also believes that participating in the competition helped him secure work experience in robotics at UCL over the summer. 

Aditya’s focus was on the design process, on selecting and sourcing materials for the hardware, and on conducting research around the process of patenting the product.

The team hope to develop their model into a working prototype, while also exploring its potential value as intellectual property.

“It felt like a big achievement that people realised that our project had a lot of potential and could be used to create positive change in the future,” Aditya said. 

For his part, Vivaan took responsibility for project-management, keeping the team on track with timings and deadlines.

He also modelled aspects of the prototype using OnShape and Fusion 360, carrying out virtual stress and thermal testing, as well as contributing to the original design through detailed sketches and exploded diagrams. 

Two Sixth Form teams of QE engineers won prizes at a national awards ceremony in London after spending nine months developing innovative projects for the construction industry.

Team Overbury took the Innovation Award and Team Morgan Lovell the Business Pitch Award at the Engineering Development Trust’s (EDT) Industrial Cadets Gold Project Celebration and Award Ceremony at University College London.

The pupils, who have now entered Year 13, worked on their projects as part of the Engineering Education Scheme, sponsored by EDT, which included a two-day residential workshop at Cambridge University’s Dyson Centre for Industrial Design.

Technology teacher Tony Green said: “I am immensely proud of our QE engineers. Their awards recognise a great deal of hard work and perseverance, as well as the fruits of the mentorship they enjoyed with industry experts.”

Mr Green thanked QE’s industry sponsor for the projects, Mr Alex Wood, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager for Morgan Lovell, who are specialists in the design and construction of commercial buildings. Mr Wood also represented another construction industry firm, office fit-out and refurbishment specialists, Overbury.

QE’s Team Overbury worked on the development of a wearable solution for a construction worker – an exoskeleton designed to help employees with their tasks. The team comprised Dan Ji Chan, Abhinav Sandeep & Hasnain Jiwa.

Team Morgan Lovell members – Ayush Saha, Zane Shah & Haadi Siddiqui – developed a prototype of a sound sensor potentiometer. The product was designed to help construction workers guard against the occupational hazard of excessive noise. They won their award after presenting their ideas in a Dragons’ Den-style pitch.

The awards ceremony, a premier STEM showcase, brought together pupils, teachers, and industry experts. The QE teams are pictured at the ceremony with the EDT’s CEO, Julie Feest OBE.

Team Morgan Lovell’s leader, Zane Shah, said: “One of the highlights was seeing the impressive work produced by other teams and having the opportunity to network with students and professionals. We also enjoyed meeting and speaking with UCL engineering students, sharing our project, and demonstrating the hard work that went into its development.”

The whole day was a “rewarding experience”, with their business pitch “particularly memorable”, he added.

Abhinav, Team Overbury’s leader, said: “With little prior knowledge of the construction industry, building our modular exoskeleton Tenacis over three physical iterations was a significant step up from anything we’d done previously. It was a great honour to win the Innovation award, which recognised the unique cam-and-pulley mechanisms Tenacis has, differentiating itself from the market. Winning the award at UCL only made the experience more memorable.”

Head of Chemistry Amy Irvine was picked from among hundreds of teachers at competing schools to win the only award of its kind in a global competition.

Dr Irvine picked up the sole Teacher Award for Most Final Round Participants from the organisers of the International Chemistry Competition, which attracted schools from 190 countries.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are very proud of Dr Irvine’s success – a just reward for all that she does to encourage enriching co-curricular activities and to promote a love of her subject.”

The award honours teachers who have shown outstanding dedication in supporting their students and in fostering a strong engagement with Chemistry and Science.

Fifty QE pupils from across the year groups took part, with 36 passing the final round. They included silver medal-winner Raihan Ahmed, who has just entered Year 13, as well as 20 boys who took bronze.

Pupils had to read challenging research papers and then combine their knowledge with problem-solving skills to answer the questions.

News of the International Chemistry Competition results came after a year of Chemistry competition participation.

This has included:

• Sixty-eight sixth-formers competing in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC) UK Chemistry Olympiad winning a silver (46) or gold (22) medal, putting them in the top 8.5% of more than 17,000 competitors nationally. The paper involved tackling questions on henna tattoos, urine and chlorine in swimming pools, and malodorous isocyanide chemicals. The gold winners are listed below;
• Thirty Year 12 (now Year 13) students taking on the role of crime-busting analytical chemists helping the police in the RSC’s Schools Analyst Competition. First place in the QE round was awarded to Team Chemystery Club (Ishan Nakadi, Tuhin Mitra, Rahul Wimalendran). They were tasked with investigating a mysterious illness that had struck a person working in a local pharmacy. This involved completing challenging practical analytical techniques such as gravimetric analysis, titrations, and thin-layer chromatography;
• Fifty-two Year 12 pupils winning an award in the Cambridge C3L6 competition, with 31 of them gaining a gold award. Alex Kronabetter, Nayan Santheepan and Param Patel achieved very high scores, putting them near the top of the 15,000-plus pupils who took part nationally. The questions tested their knowledge of topics such as rates and isomerism that went far beyond their classroom syllabus.

“I am very proud of every student who has taken part in chemistry competitions and enrichment activities in the department in the past few months. They are fantastic role models who show a love of learning beyond the taught school curriculum!” said Dr Irvine.

UK Chemistry Olympiad gold medal-winners:

Year 12 (now Year 13 – pictured here)

Ashaj Vyas, Shashank Pothuganti, Adib Asfi, Mohith Sigirisetti, Ishan Nakadi, Wilson Xu, Ayaan Amin, Ishaan Mishra, Vihaan Salunke, Tuhin Mitra and Siddhant Pochalwar.

Year 13 (this summer’s leavers)

Shreyas Chandrasekar, Pranay Chawla, Ram Chockalingam, Ayan Hirani, Rohan Iranganti, Krithin Jaichandran, Hisham Khan, Robert Kotwinski, Ranajay Mehta, Timothy Mok and Zayn Phoplankar.

As they already start looking ahead to next summer’s GCSEs, three new Year 11s are celebrating their AI-powered revision app winning a top award.

The Blertly app developed by Abhiram Kakarla, Dhrishiv Panjabi and Eshwara Masina took first prize in the Best Use of AI category at this year’s TeenTech Awards.

Another QE team, whose project was also among those selected to go through to the  awards finals, won an Honourable Mention in the Next Gen Home Innovation category with their smart alarm clock.

The School’s Head of Technology, Bilaal Khan, said: “My congratulations go to these pupils, who showed a great deal of initiative and talent in using technology to provide solutions to real-world problems.”

In their promotional video for the competition, Abhiram explained what problem their app aimed to solve: “We realised that students spend far too long figuring out how to revise – [more] than actually revising. Notes in one place, flashcards in another, and AI somewhere else. So, we built Blertly to bring everything we know together into one unified platform.”

Dhrishiv added: “It plans your revision, connects with apps you already use, and adapts around your schedule. And instead of just giving answers, it actually helps you learn through personalised lessons, active recall, and exam practice.”

The TeenTech Awards were first run by the charity in 2012–2013. This year’s finals were held at the Institution of Engineering and Technology at Savoy Place, London, hosted by TeenTech’s CEO, Maggie Philbin, the veteran technology broadcaster.

The charity announced that the Best Use of AI category had been especially popular this year.

The award, which went jointly to the QE team and a team from Merchant Taylors’, was announced by Andy Kiln, Chief Technology Officer from sponsor SSCL, a large UK public sector-support company. He thanked entrants “for the huge dose of positivity” and asked that “they continue to dream big and shape the world”.

As well as individually receiving gift cards and a goody bag, the trio’s success secured a £1,000 award for the QE Technology department.

Aarav Abhijit Pathak and Adyansh Sahai, both of Year 11, entered the Next Gen Home Innovation category with their AquaLux Alarm Clock – an innovative Internet of Things (IoT) project. The awards programme summarised the problem it aimed to solve: “We’ve all been there. The alarm screams. You hit snooze and wake up forty minutes late, groggy and dehydrated.”

The alarm clock used some creative ways to encourage users to get out of bed and start their day on time – including checking whether a bedroom light is on and only stopping if the user has consumed his or her morning bedside drink. Their fully functional prototype was built from salvaged components.