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From OEs Andrei Sandu and Darshan Patel comes an inspiring account showing the power of the guidance that our alumni community can give current pupils who are thinking about their futures.

Their joint story starts at the 2018 Careers Convention, where Andrei (OE 2007–2014) was representing the Civil Service and Darshan was a Year 12 student uncertain about his future. It ends with Andrei and Darshan (OE 2012–2019) unexpectedly working together at the Cabinet Office!

Andrei left QE in 2014 to study Economics at Durham, joining the Civil Service as an economist after graduating. “Only a handful of others on my course considered it as a career option – indeed I found out about the Civil Service ‘by accident’ through a friend.”

After very positive experiences in his first year, including being entrusted to advise a Minister at a meeting of the Council of the EU in Brussels, he has been doing what he can to raise awareness of jobs in the Civil Service.

“Through my career, I’ve enjoyed working in roles where I can use insights from economics and data to influence policy development on a range of interesting issues, including trade negotiations and international industrial policy. I now head up a team of economists in the Cabinet Office.

“I’ve taken part in QE’s Careers Convention each year because I think it benefits the students and the Civil Service in general – I never expected it to benefit me personally!”

Darshan takes up the story. “I was in the first year of Sixth Form, not really thinking about my career and what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I enjoyed Economics and its real-world applications.

“When I met Andrei at his stall, he told me that he was an economist at the Civil Service. I had no idea what either of those terms meant, but I quickly realised that this was exactly what I was looking for; a way to use what I was learning in the classroom to have a genuine positive impact on people and the economy. Following that conversation, I was sure that I would study Economics at university and apply to the Civil Service upon graduation.”

A first degree followed – also at Durham – and then a Master’s in Economics at Queen Mary University of London.

“Fast forward to 2024, I successfully applied for a job at the Cabinet Office, and I was amazed to find out that Andrei was the head of the team I was joining. I am really enjoying my work, and I feel like I am having an impact every single day. I would highly recommend a career in the Civil Service to any Economics student that wants the same – but whatever career path you’re thinking about, follow your passions, reach out to people and learn about all that’s available to you!”

For his part, Andrei concludes: “I wasn’t involved in the recruitment process for Darshan, so was amazed to find out we’d reconnected in this way, and he’s been an asset to the team ever since.”

 

“Not many readers of QE Connect will remember me, I presume, but I have still been asked to reminisce about my time at the School. My name is Dieter Pinkowski and I was the German assistant at Queen Elizabeth’s Boys’ School in Barnet from September 1974 to June 1975.

Almost half a century later, I decided to contact the School and ask whether I would be welcome to walk down memory lane one day in September 2024 – 50 years after I had first set foot there. I received a positive answer from Matthew Rose [Head of External Relations]. Both Matthew and the Headmaster made me feel very welcome on the day. I was shown around the buildings, I talked to a class of A-level students of German and I was invited to have a cup of coffee in the Headmaster’s study, where we had a lengthy conversation.

In 1974, as a 21-year-old university student of English and History (at TU Braunschweig) who wanted to spend at least a year in England before graduating, I was happy to be offered employment by the London Borough of Barnet as a foreign language assistant at QE (and Edgware Comprehensive) for ten months at a monthly salary of £66. I lived on Byng Road at first and moved to Normandy Avenue early in 1975.

At QE, my mentor was Kenneth W Carter, Head of Modern Languages. The colleagues teaching German that I remember best were Knuth Saam and John Osborne, who both helped me to settle down in my new environment and occasionally asked me to accompany them to their German classes.

My main job, however, was to do German conversation lessons, grammar and vocabulary with the A-level students. Being 21, the age gap between the sixth-formers and me was not that large, and I spent as much time in the Sixth Form common room as in the teachers’ staff room. Even today I remember all my A-level students (Upper Sixth: Andrew Norris, Keith Newton [pictured here], John Dixon, Adrian (Sid) Sinclair, Alistair Johnstone, Lower Sixth: David Peacock and Steven Cohen) and also a number of other sixth-formers (David Hulford, Peter Ward and Ben Glatt, Mark Gardener). I still exchange Christmas cards with John, who went up to Oxford to read German, and I helped first Andy and, years later, Pete to find employment and settle down in Germany. Being busy with my own career and family I lost contact with them when they moved to other parts of Germany and started their families. With Steven I sometimes went to watch his favourite club, Spurs, (even though I was, and still am, an Arsenal fan) and I enjoyed the friendly banter there. With Ben G. and a few others I went to Knebworth Park to see Pink Floyd perform Wish You Were Here for the very first time in public, and with Andy and Dave I attended a number of Cambridge Folk Festivals in the following years.

What did I do after my year at QE? Well, after finishing university, I trained to become a teacher of English and History, and eventually taught my subjects at a German grammar school. When I retired in 2019, I could proudly look back on 40 years of teaching.

Today I still try to visit Britain at least once a year. Having discovered long-distance walking for myself after my retirement, I have walked some of the National Trails: Cleveland Way, Hadrian’s Wall Path, Offa’s Dyke Path, Pennine Way – a pastime and a challenge I can warmly recommend.”

Dr Andrew Thomas’s social policy research helped pave the way for major changes in the way the British state operates, ranging from the development of HMRC’s web-based tax returns to the ending of statutory retirement ages.

Yet Andrew (OE 1966-1971), who is now fully retired himself, started his working life in a very different field, going into retail banking when he left QE after his first term of A-levels.

“Although I enjoyed school enormously and made many friends, I did not enjoy lessons – at the time I was not very academic,” he said. He was a choirboy during his QE years at St Mary’s Church, East Barnet, where both choirmasters were QE Physics teachers! Pictured here are Mr ARW ‘Gabby’ Hayes (third from the left in the second row) and Mr Donald Fairbairn (sixth from the left, also second row), with Andrew, aged about 12 or 13 (back row, second from the right).

He left banking after three years to attend Barnet College of FE (1974 – 1976) to take A-levels, and then went on to read Psychology at York University. There he was offered a Social Science Research Council grant to pursue his undergraduate research. He later gained his doctorate, also at York, and was awarded the KM Stott prize for distinguished post-graduate research.

Andrew initially worked as a Research Fellow for St Marys Hospital Medical School and Charing Cross Medical School exploring, with a consultant paediatrician and a speech therapist, The transition to adulthood for young people with physical and learning disabilities (1983 – 1988) – research that was published in a number medical and scientific publications, including the British Medical Journal. He even published one academic article jointly with his brother, Roger Thomas (who was featured in the Summer Term edition of QE Connect), on how to prevent children from smoking.

Subsequently moving into social policy research, using qualitative methods, he worked for eight years for the National Centre for Social Research. He left to set up a new Social Policy Research Centre at BMRB/Kantar, where he was promoted to Director after a year.

In all, he spent 19 years with BMRB/Kantar, undertaking and managing some 350 social policy research projects. “While I undertook research for the majority of Government departments, my main clients were the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue & Customs and the Department of Employment. 90% of the research is in the public domain.”

He retired from the company in 2015 and went freelance. Fully retired since COVID-19 hit in 2020, he maintains an interest in social policy issues, but his focus in retirement is more community-orientated: he is a church warden, treasurer for two church councils, and chair of his local parish council. He is pictured, top with his wife, Mona.

2024 leaver Indrajit Datta has been awarded a £30,000 scholarship to support him during his degree in Music and sound recording.

Until this summer, Indrajit was frequently on hand to help with sound and lighting at QE, increasingly taking responsibility for concerts and other events.

After securing his first-choice place at the University of Surrey’s 54-year-old Tonmeister course, he has now won the Air Diversity Scholarship for Tonmeisters, which gives him £10,000 for each year of the course.

Director of Music Ruth Partington: “It was lovely to hear from Indrajit and I am so pleased that he has secured this scholarship. During his senior years as a pupil here, he was a mainstay of our concert support and was much valued within the Music department!

“Commendably, he also took pains to ensure that he passed on what he had learned at the sound desk to a new generation of pupils.”

The scholarship is open to those from underrepresented ethnic groups, with a financially disadvantaged background. It is open only to students from the UK on the Tonmeister course, which was established in 1970. The course combines rigorous musical study, advanced investigation of audio engineering and mastery of sound-recording operation and practice. It boasts several Grammy, Emmy, Oscar and Mercury Music award-winners amongst its alumni.

The award is sponsored by AIR studios in Hampstead, established by Beatles producer Sir George Martin.

In his application, Indrajit had to explain how the scholarship would make a difference to him at university and how it would help him achieve his career aspirations.

Indrajit developed his twin interest in Music and sound recording while a QE pupil. A pianist himself, he was involved in raising money for new pianos for the Friends’ Recital Hall and Music Rooms, gaining his first experience of live-streaming concerts during the pandemic with the Pianoathon – part of virtual Founder’s Day in 2021.

His A-level Music composition, Sonata for Live Piano and Electronics, broke new ground at QE with its blend of digital technology and live performance.

Highlights in his final year at QE included his role in recording QE’s 450th anniversary anthem –   And Be it Known, the anniversary anthem commissioned by the School from international composer Howard Goodall – in The Friends’ Recital Hall. “I was given complete autonomy with thousands of pounds of equipment and was really able to test myself,” he said.

This spring, his electronic arrangement of Britney Spears’ Toxic, combined with the appearance of some glow sticks, provided a rave-like neon spectacle at the Leavers’ Concert.

“My role at School has been fundamental in gaining knowledge and experience. I’ve been able to push the boundaries and use new techniques,” he said in the summer. “I go into my degree feeling very confident and a step ahead.”

After benefitting from Indrajit’s knowledge and experience, a new group of sound specialists has now emerged, led by Year 11’s Ben Newton, Abhinav Sandeep and Chinmaya Dave.

 

QE’s PE & Games department hosted a new OE vs OE cricket match for alumni who have left over the past two decades, with the teams split by age.

And, says Director of Sport Jonathan Hart, what a game it was, ending with a “thrilling victory” for the ‘oldies’! “It’s intended as a celebration of past cricket talent aimed also at strengthening ties among alumni – we’re hoping to make it an annual fixture.”

With no alumni vs the School game on Founder’s Day this year, this match represented a unique opportunity for OEs who enjoy cricket to get together at QE this term.

“Despite recent heavy rain making the wicket challenging for batting, the older OE team managed to post a respectable 109 in their allotted 20 overs,” said Mr Hart.

“In response, the younger OE side started strongly and were cruising at the halfway mark, needing just 5 runs per over. However, the game took a dramatic turn with two key retirements and an unexpected injury, leading to a classic batting collapse. Needing 15 runs from the final over, the younger team fell short by 9 runs, handing the ‘oldies’ a thrilling victory.

“This exciting and memorable match on Stapylton Field left attendees keen to establish a tradition. It was great to see former staff members Tim Bennett and Mark Peplow there, too.”

The line-ups

‘Oldies’
Rohan Radia
Omar Mohamed
Nir Shah
Drew Williams
Nik Patel
Kunal Shah
Kushal Patel
Chris Deane
Shahil Sheth
Seb Feszczur-Hatchett
Niam Radia
Haider Jabir
Mehul Thanki
Jaimin Patel

 

‘Youngers’
Vivek Nair
Bhav Rambhiya
Kevin Van der Geest
Jish Mathan
Rahul Patel
Rishaanth Ananthajeyasri
Yaamir Khurana
Dilan Sheth
Vigneswaran Thelaxshan
Bavan Gunaseelan
Mukilan Bakeerathan
Niraj Shah

• Click on the thumbnails to view the photos.

 

 

Pavir Patel sent the Headmaster this photo of himself, Akshat Sharma and Richard Ou connecting in San Francisco.

Richard (OE 2010-2015) brought us the story behind the image: “All three of us are founders looking to build billion-dollar companies in Silicon Valley. Quite a few QE boys that I’ve met in the US have been entrepreneurs, too, all having raised not so insignificant amounts of capital. It feels like we’re following in the footsteps of Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman maybe a few years or a decade behind.

“What I am really excited about is more people from QE coming to the US. I think this is the place to be.”

Pavir (OE 2003–2010) and Akshat (OE 2012–2019) are part of the long-established international Entrepreneur First accelerator, which runs one of its four programmes in San Francisco. “However, they’d not met until after Pavir’s encounter with me,” says Richard. “I met Pavir at a FinTech AI hackathon hosted at the Digital Garage office in San Francisco. The conversation went something like this:”

Richard: “Where in the UK are you from?”

Pavir: “London, what about you?”

Richard: “I’m from London as well. Whereabouts?”

Pavir: “Stratford, and you?”

Richard: “Highgate”

Pavir: “I used to go to school up north of Highgate!”

Richard: “Really, where?”

Pavir: “QE Boys”

Richard: “Holy sh*t, I went to QE as well!”

Richard later met Akshat at the Entrepreneur First office.

As for Pavir and Akshat, they knew each other through being in the same accelerator, but did not realise the full extent of their connection until a conversation in a Waymo (self-driving car) turned to their backgrounds. “It was surreal,” says Akshat. “We were mates already and were speaking about our homes in the UK and school experiences…and there was a moment of realisation of ‘Wait a second – that sounds very familiar’ when we realised we both went to QE!”

Since then, the three have created a group chat and have been expanding it to include more OEs in San Francisco.

Richard said he realised even before going to university where he needed to be to pursue his goal of founding and growing a startup. “I knew that if I wanted to do it, the only place I could was the US. The problem was that education in the US was so expensive – four years of a degree course can easily be $250,000.”

The solution he arrived at was to go to King’s College London, majoring in Physics (“my passion”) for his first degree and then come to the US for a Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania – “only two years!” He worked out some further ways to reduce the financial burden, including becoming a Resident Advisor (RA) – a peer mentor for other students – which comes with the major plus that free housing and food are provided.

The idea for his business came about when he graduated from Penn. last year and was looking for a graduation photographer. “I realised it was really hard – there is not really any infrastructure for freelancing.”

With time on his hands, he worked out a plan for a business to put that right, checking that he had a Minimum Viable Business (MVB). He shared the plan with the photographer he had eventually found, Jerry Cai. “As soon as I pitched it to him, he said: ‘I want in.’”

The two became co-founders of Agorum, described on its website as “a freelancer marketplace connecting clients with skilled creatives”. They have started initially by focusing on freelancers who require a physical presence for their work – photographers, DJs and private chefs.

The process has not always been easy. “Funding was difficult at first. We tried raising funds last year when the economy was not doing very well.”

Since then, however, they have been scaling rapidly, and Richard is focused on taking the business global. Agorum was recently valued at $10m.

“I think what changed things was moving to the Bay area: I don’t think there is an eco-system like the Bay’s that exists anywhere else in the world.

He acknowledges the help provided by his accelerator – VIP-X (different from Pavir’s and Akshat’s). VIP-X is run by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school and caters primarily for people associated with Penn. and Wharton. It takes no equity and offers what are essentially grants, not loans.

“I think one of the hardest parts of doing a startup is the loneliness and distance that comes with it,” says Richard. “Few people can relate.” In particular, he has found the constant need for absolute discretion about his plans for the business hard.  “As the CEO, there is only so much you can ever say.”

“As my role has changed from managing a team of 1.5 people to now a team of ten, the problems are constantly evolving.”

“The thing is persistence,” Richard says, stressing the importance of listening to clients, who sometimes provide the only clue as to a way forward.  “There is something about this gut instinct – and it usually comes from your customer. It becomes your driving force.”

Richard has no doubt as to the source of his strength. “When I look back at my time at QE, it was hard. A lot of homework and pressure. Retrospectively, that is what helped, giving me the resilience I am drawing on now. A lot of people have shared that with me, too. Things were always hard, but that raised your tolerance for a lot of things.”

For his part, Akshat is currently building a company called Orbit. The sad truth about the current digital age is that “we have never been historically unhappier,” he says. “Orbit will empower people by making mental health as transparent and actionable as physical health through a non-invasive brain wearable. Orbit is unlocking cognition by building the first foundation model of the brain!”

In addition to his work with Entrepreneur First, Akshat is part of the first cohort of Founders – the University of Cambridge’s own accelerator programme. He graduated from Cambridge in Biomedical Engineering last year, launching Orbit at the start of 2024.

“At the Neuro Optics Lab [in Cambridge], I developed the first, and only, brain computer interface using HD DOT, a novel imaging approach to track human brain function at comparable resolutions to an fMRI. This modality, being cheap, portable and high resolution, is uniquely positioned to create the foundation model of our brains!”

Akshat has won multiple awards at international conferences and is writing a first-author paper on the subject.

By leveraging the novel wearable technology, Orbit is focussing on making brain-tracking as simple and accessible as Fitbit made fitness-tracking – “all in the comfort of your favourite baseball cap or beanie!” as he puts it.

“With each version, Orbit builds the largest, real-world brain data-sets to unlock new secrets about the way we perceive the world around us – our cognition. It starts by understanding mental workload and aims to progress to complex mental states, including anxiety, stress and depression. Each version helps us regain control of a new emotion, at each step regaining happiness through giving us a deeper understanding and control of our brain.”

Finally, Pavir Patel’s business is Outerop. Like Akshat’s business, it launched at the beginning of this year. Outerop helps grow businesses online using AI, making it easier for them to build high-quality, reliable Large Language Model (LLM) products and to start creating self-optimising LLM pipelines (a series of steps where the output of one is the input of the other). Its slogan is: “Build GenAI products your customers love.”

Since reading Economics at Nottingham, Pavir has, he says, “done all sorts – from incubating J P Morgan’s first AI startup doing NLP; setting up their FinTech team in Asia (Hong Kong was awesome!) and scaling Europe’s leading broker/crypto exchange, Bitpanda Pro, to spinning off a company with a Series A raise [a company’s first significant round of venture-capital financing] to launching an e-commerce business with my wife”.