Viewing archives for Academic enrichment

QE boys teamed up with pupils from a local leading girls’ school for a morning of enthusiastic debates on some of the hottest topics of the day.

After the initial quickfire rounds, the morning with the guests from The Henrietta Barnett School (HBS) culminated in a final impassioned debate on the motion This House believes it was right to arrest the protesters at the King’s coronation.

Hosted by QE, the debating challenge was attended by 144 selected Year 8 pupils from the two schools.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our academic partnership with HBS provides a valuable opportunity for large numbers of our boys to work alongside young women, whether in subject-related symposia or, as on this occasion, in engaging with them in topical and political discussions.

“When it comes to developing your skills in debating, there is nothing like having to stand in front of a large audience – including many people that you don’t know – after a very limited preparation time and talking about something of which you may not have deep knowledge, setting out an argument concisely and then defending it adroitly when challenged!

“Such experiences constitute an important preparation for working alongside both women and men in pupils’ later lives, whether in higher education or in their careers.”

After the HBS pupils arrived at the start of the morning, they and the boys were split into six mixed groups in different rooms and given 20 minutes to work together using previously prepared material.

The event was run according to the ‘extended Mace format’, based on the long-running universities debating competition known originally as the Observer Mace. In this format, the debate is opened to audience participation after the first round of opening statements and rebuttals.

There were eight teams, comprising three debaters each, who took part in four debates. Other roles were a chair, who was responsible for keeping order and running the debate, a timekeeper and two reporters in each group, who took notes and helped teachers picked the best debater from their room.

Four debates took place over a period of 90 minutes. The motions debated were:

• This House would use animals for experimentation
• This House believes 16-year-olds should have the right to vote
• This House believes that all owners of large dogs should have to pass a test to prove they are able to control them
• This House would abolish homework.

After a break, the final debate took place in the Main Hall, featuring the best debaters from each of the six groups.

They were again given just 20 minutes to prepare. An initial vote indicated a roughly even split in the audience between those for and against the motion.

After the side arguing for the motion – the ‘Proposition’ – argued that the protest could have turned violent, the Opposition swiftly countered, pointing out that far from being violent, the protesters were not even disrupting the coronation, and adding that the police were, in fact, violating the protesters’ rights. The Proposition’s second speaker bolstered the arguments in favour of the motion by adducing the example of the Capitol riots in the USA.

When opened to the floor, there was a succession of attacks on the Proposition’s arguments, while the vagueness of the motion was itself criticised. After the audience debate, both sides summarised their arguments. A vote was again taken, and the result was now a landslide for the Opposition.

As many of QE’s Vex robotics teams pit themselves against the best on the planet this term at the world championships in Dallas, the senior boys in the VRC competition are celebrating strong performances at their national finals.

This year, QE sent six teams to the VRC National Championships at Telford International Centre for the first time. With six junior teams also making the journey, Queen Elizabeth’s School had more teams at the national finals than any other organisation.

Head of Technology Michael Noonan said the senior teams headed for Telford with the feeling that a national championship might be on the cards for the first time since 2020 – and so it proved! After the tough final stages, Year 10’s Team Nova duly took the crown.

“Our Nova team did tremendously well. They started very strongly out of the blocks, then slipped down the rankings on day two, before coming back strongly and mustering a great performance in the final to clinch the title,” said Mr Noonan. “My congratulations also go to our other senior performers, who include those in Year 12 who did well, but are unable to go to the world championships because of this term’s public examinations.”

The QE boys benefitted from the support of corporate sponsor, Kingston Technology, sporting QE hoodies bearing the Kingston logo.

Nova competed along with three other Year 10 teams – Typhoon, Oblivion and Shattersquad – and two Year 12 teams, Hybrid and Tempest.

The teams were split evenly between the Lovelace and Brunel divisions in the competition at Telford. While the older teams struggled a little, not least because of problems caused by some last-minute adjustments, Nova and Typhoon began well.

On day two, some high-scoring losses sent Nova and Hybrid down the rankings, but Nova, together with Team Tempest, managed to consolidate their positions in the Skills challenge, with the former finishing second and Team Tempest climbing to fifth.

At the conclusion of the divisional group stages, Team Nova were fourth in the Brunel division. QE’s best performance in the Lovelace division came from Typhoon, who were fifth.

As the final stages progressed, high-performing QE sides found themselves facing each other, with Typhoon defeating Shattersquad in a Lovelace quarter-final and Nova beating Hybrid in a Brunel semi-final.

“This paved the way for teams from QE to participate in both divisional finals, and the real possibility of an all-QE national final between the winners in each division,” said Mr Noonan.

It was not to be, however. After a complicated series of events started when illegal parts were spotted on another team’s robot, Typhoon had to battle against the disadvantage of having to disable part of their own robot. They fought bravely alongside their alliance partner, but in the end, lost their deciding game by a single point, 133-134. “Divisional runners up, their pride was still intact and they learned a great deal from this experience,” said Mr Noonan.

Nova and their alliance partner had a tough final, but having won their first match 153-143, they went on to a final score of 195-143 to secure the much-coveted national championship. Nova also took a Build award and Hybrid a Design award.

Pupils learned about the often grim – yet sometimes surprisingly positive – realities of life at the time the School was founded in 1573.

Year 8 boys conducted experiments to explore improvements in shipbuilding during Elizabeth I’s reign, to show how food was preserved in an age before refrigeration and to make their own Tudor-style soap.

The 450^th anniversary Science festival also featured a poster competition open to Years 7–9, while  Year 12 Biology students enjoyed some cutting-edge lectures and demonstrations at a Biology in Action day in London.

The Science festival was one of a number being run by academic departments under QE’s new Flourish extra-curricular programme.

Assistant Head Crispin Bonham-Carter (Pupil Involvement), who leads Flourish, said: “Subject festivals are a great way to stimulate boys’ academic curiosity by exploring topics outside the normal run of the curriculum.

“It is fascinating to see how my colleagues in the Science department have used the occasion of the anniversary to take a practical look at a diverse set of Science-related topics, to stimulate boys’ artistic creativity, and even to challenge one or two false beliefs about the Tudor age.”

The Year 8 boys carried out their experiments in a series of special workshops in their Biology, Chemistry and Physics lessons. They produced, said Head of Biology Gillian Ridge, some “fantastic work”.

One set of experiments focused on the challenges of keeping food safe in an age before modern refrigeration.

The boys grew bacteria on agar plates in different conditions to find out which preservation methods worked best. Agar plates are Petri dishes that contains a growth medium solidified with agar; they are used to culture microorganisms.

In their illustrated report on their experiments, Year 8 pupils Rishan Virmani and Sathvik Velan noted that they had “learned about the lack of hygiene awareness within Tudor society, and that biology and self-preservation [were not] important”.

The boys also found out about soap in the Tudor period, learning that, contrary to popular belief, it would have been used in every household, regardless of status or wealth.

After instruction in the principles of saponification – the chemical process of making soap – pupils tried their hand at making their own.

Another hands-on session involved making model boats out of aluminium foil to see which boat shape could hold the most mass. The boys learned that innovations by shipwrights during Elizabeth I’s reign allowed the introduction of ships that were faster, more manoeuvrable and carried heavier guns. The superiority of English ships was an important factor of the defeat of the Spanish Armada invasion fleet in 1588.

After their trip to London, the A-level Biology students prepared presentations to share what they had learned with the rest of Year 12 and with Year 11.

The Lower School poster competition was judged according to three criteria:

• Creativity
• Content (being clear, accurate and informative about a STEM topic)
• Effective communication.

Year 8’s Aathi Jeyanth won the competition with his colourful look at the food chain, which included cartoon drawings of animals.

Click on the thumbnails below to see highlights of the poster competition. First is Aathi’s winning entry, followed by posters produced by: Aaryan Prabhaker, Year 7; Arihaant Venuraju, Year 7; Zhekai Mao, Year 7, and Akshaj Vyas, of Year 9.

The PE department rounded off the season with its own anniversary celebrations in a QE 450 Rugby Festival.

With events targeted at players from all years, the festival was one of a number of innovative subject festivals being held as part of QE’s new Flourish extra-curricular programme.

Director of Sport Jon Hart said: “Competitive rugby has been played at QE for more than 100 years, so it occupies an important place in the School’s history. Therefore, we wanted to ensure the game was included in QE’s 450th anniversary celebrations.

“At the same time, our festival provided opportunities for boys of all ages – from giving our youngest Elizabethans the opportunity to have fun and develop a love of the game by playing against each other in an inter-House competition, through to helping our leading young sportsmen finesse their performance through learning about nutrition.”

The festival began with last month’s 47th Annual QE Rugby Sevens Tournament, the second-largest schools sevens tournament in the country.

Played at U14 as well as U16 level for the first time since before the pandemic, the tournament attracted 64 teams from many of England’s leading rugby schools. Tonbridge and Harrow schools took the U16 and U14 cups respectively, while QE’s own players performed well, achieving emphatic wins in both age categories.

The second event combined rugby skills with charity fundraising: a kicking event for pupils from Years 7–10 which raised money for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice in Barnet. The hospice has for some years been a popular target for fundraising efforts at QE.

Next came a Year 7 inter-House rugby competition. All Year 7 boys took part in this event, which ran during the course of an afternoon. Each of the School’s six Houses took on all of the other Houses.

Finally, caterers Holroyd Howe gave a specialist nutrition presentation, to which selected sportsmen from Years 7–10, including top rugby players, were invited. The aim was to develop these young athletes’ understanding of the important effect that nutrition has on sporting performance.

With the QE 450th anniversary celebrations at the forefront of everyone’s mind, the subject chosen for this year’s Dinner Debate was especially apt.

Sixth-formers gathered to take on the visiting Old Elizabethans, debating the motion, This House would leave the past behind us.

In his address, Saifullah Shah (OE 2013–2020) alluded to the anniversary year, which has as its slogan, Thriving from ancient roots.

And there were reminders of the 450th anniversary celebrations even during the meal: dessert was served accompanied by white chocolate discs bearing the anniversary logo.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The Dinner Debate was a successful evening, continuing the happy and energetic mood from our thanksgiving service in Westminster Abbey and with a motion that caused us to think about the nature and importance of the past, while looking to the future. It certainly provoked some lively discussion, taking the debate down a number of interesting avenues.”

“The dinner participants also made a little bit of history themselves: our 2022 School, Captain Theo Mama-Kahn, led the loyal toast to ‘The King’, rather than ‘The Queen’, for the first time in the Dinner Debate’s history.”

The event, which this year was chaired by Jai Patel, of Year 13, helps prepare the boys for some of the social occasions they may encounter early in their time at university. The debate follows the Oxford/Cambridge Union style.

With its distinctive atmosphere, it also serves as somewhat of a staging post between the boys’ present as pupils and their future as Old Elizabethans.

“The Dinner Debate is important in promoting oracy and free-thinking scholarship, but it is also a fun and relaxed evening, which most seem to enjoy!” the Headmaster added.

Before the debate, the votes were counted as follows: 14 for; 126 against; 30 abstentions.

The motion was proposed by the Year 13 pair of Ashwin Sridhar and Sudhamshu Gummadavelly. Opposing it with Saifullah was Mipham Samten (OE 2012–2019). Many Year 13s contributed from the floor.

Ashwin and Sudhamshu argued that ‘leave’ does not mean ‘forget’, making the case that the past and its injustices should not be allowed to define the future, and that we should move forward with equality of opportunity (rather than imposing discrimination of a different form, such as quotas to seek redress). They cited as a positive example the reconciliation seen in Spain after its civil war and the end of General Franco’s regime, where old differences were left behind.

The opposing OEs defined the key term differently, accusing the boys of wanting to ‘have their cake and eat it’. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat its errors.

However, at the end of the debate, the proposers’ case had won many over, and the final totals were: 76 for; 55 against; and 39 abstentions. Thus, it was a victory for the School, the Upper Sixth pair successfully convincing people that the past could be left behind, even while its lessons were still being learned.

In his address, Saifullah, a third-year Law student at Downing College, Cambridge, began thus: “From the celebration of this School’s 450th anniversary, the motion of the upcoming debate and the range of familiar faces on display, the past would appear to have all of us in its embrace tonight.”

He related how he had suffered some early disappointments at Cambridge in moots (mock judicial proceedings set up to examine a hypothetical case as an academic exercise) and was considering stopping doing them altogether, but then scored a memorable success after applying to take part in a Cambridge Union debate. “Given the stakes and the competition, I had no expectations going into the audition. But I also had nothing to lose and, against all the odds, I prevailed. My fellow speakers included a Queen’s Counsel, a Cambridge Professor and most memorably, Lord Neuberger and Lord Sumption, two former justices of the Supreme Court. Debating alongside my childhood heroes whose judgements had helped inspire me to study law was a surreal experience, and one that I will never forget.”

The experience heralded an era of competition success for Saifullah: he has now a record ten mooting and mock trial competitions, and has been a student speaker in six Cambridge Union Debates, the most in recent history.

He concluded by telling the assembled sixth-formers: “Your time in school will not define your legacy and your purpose as students is not to reap fruit but to sow seeds. You don’t need to be School Captain or valedictorian, and it is often the trees that bloom latest that have the perfect blossom. The road ahead of you is tough, it is treacherous, and it will push you to your limits. But if you walk your path with courage, with conviction and with hope, then you will not only survive but thrive.”

A QE team fought off a challenge from three other schools to win a legal competition, attracting praise for their performances both as defence and as prosecution.

The 14-strong Year 9 team took part in two mock trials in the local heat of the Young Citizens Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial competition.

They won the heat, even though the verdict for the trial in which they were the defence was ‘guilty’.

Congratulating them, Enrichment tutor Kanak Shah said: “The boys’ preparation in the run-up to the heat and their performance on the day were both important factors in their success.”

Ms Shah accompanied the boys to the competition heat, along with fellow Enrichment tutor Eleanor Pickering.

The mock trials were of a defendant charged with possession of an offensive weapon – a lump hammer – in a public place. The case turned on whether the hammer was used offensively.

The boys auditioned to be part of the team some months ago. The successful candidates then prepared their case over the ensuing period, guided by Ms Shah. The team comprised not only prosecution and defence lawyers but also magistrates, witnesses, legal advisors and an usher.

The competition judges were, in fact, real-life magistrates. “We had even had a visit from Magistrate Catherina Daly previously to help us prepare our case,” said Ms Shah. And, adding further to the competition’s verisimilitude, the heat was held at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.

In the first trial, the lawyers for the defence were QE’s Keshav Aggarwal and Soham Sapra. The ‘guilty’ verdict here had had no bearing on the judges’ scores. QE won the round, with the judges highlighting their “strong team performance”.

Roles were reversed in round 2, where the QE pairing of Aahan Shah and Shashank Devaguptapu spoke as prosecutors. The verdict was again ‘guilty’, and QE once more won the round. In their notes, the judges stated: “It was a strong performance and showed good preparation, knowing facts. Confident in delivery.”

The rest of the QE team were:

• Magistrates – Hardik Ingale, Ishan Nakadi & Avan Khan
• Witnesses – Shubhay Chawla, Nimesh Nirojan, Jitin Sanapala & Eesa Bhaijee
• Legal advisors – Daniel Kollo & Orko Ghosh
• Usher – Nafis Meah.

The Young Citizens Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial competition is for 12–14 year-olds from state schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.