Viewing archives for Alumni Newsletter

Krishan Dave is forging a successful career in finance – and this term he gave current QE pupils some guidance on how they could follow his lead.

Krishan (OE 2002–2009) works at Canary Wharf for Northern Trust Corporation, an international, US-based financial services company. He was recently promoted from his role as an analyst, becoming an investment performance team leader.

His talk at the School’s Careers Convention, which is for Year 11 pupils and their parents, looked at finance, with a focus on investment banking. “The room was very full, so clearly a lot of boys at QE are keen to go into a career in finance,” he said. As well as discussing the different areas of a typical investment bank – front office, middle office and back office – he talked about how the culture varies both between firms and according to the type of job.

Looking at entry routes into finance, he highlighted the importance of work experience, summer internships and ‘spring weeks’ (short programmes run for first-year university students by all the leading investment banks in London during March and April). Krishan’s own CV reflects this: he spent two months with ADM Capital as a summer intern during 2011. There were now ways to get into finance straight from school, he pointed out, and he touched on the “dark world of networking”.

“I was asked about university courses, too. My response was broad: you can do any course, but it needs to be from a good university. If there is a numerical bias to the course, that’s better.” Krishan went to King’s College London to read Mathematics on leaving School in 2009.

“The parents had some interesting questions, especially regarding the impact of Brexit on the financial industry. I replied that it won’t be as bad as most people are saying – London is a huge financial centre – but there may be some gentle impact.”

Having been at Northern Trust since June 2014, Krishan plans to remain with the firm for some time to come and is ambitious to rise further there. “Northern Trust is an excellent place to learn.”

He looks back on his School days with some fondness. “QE gave me a lot and provided a great foundation for my career. I started the same year as Mr Enright did, so it’s great to see him as Headmaster and to see that he has maintained the extremely high standards of the School whilst also overseeing phenomenal redevelopment there.

“The two stand-out things I was involved with were the India Appeal [a charity which raises money for a school in India] and cricket: I was part of the School cricket teams from Year 7 all the way until I left, sacrificing all those Saturdays!”

Krishan still meets up with friends from QE. His spare time is also spent in going to the gym and he is a keen Arsenal fan. Food is a particular interest, and he enjoys visiting food markets as well as eating in restaurants.

Little more than a year after leaving Cambridge and taking up a post as a management consultant with a global company, Kamran Tajbakhsh has a new career.

Kamran (2004–2011) decided in June 2016 to become a performance coach and motivational speaker. It was, he says, a question of pursuing his passion. He is known professionally as Kam Taj.

As a coach, he works primarily with ambitious students and young professionals on performance improvement and goal attainment, with a strong focus on excellence in academic and professional aspects of life. He also speaks and runs training programmes at schools, universities and companies, where he aims to help people take control of their lives, overcome any limiting beliefs and “stride confidently towards attaining their goals”.

His ambition is to take the “empowering resources” of inspiring, globally recognised speakers, such as Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and Eric Thomas, and apply them to younger generations in a way that resonates with them.

“The growing influence of the internet and social media has shifted the mentality of younger generations significantly,” he says. “Whilst empowering, it can also be a cause of anxiety, low confidence and dissatisfaction if not approached with emotional maturity. My mission is to equip the younger generation with the tools they need to successfully navigate this challenge in order to grow as individuals and strive to create the future that they desire, honouring their potential to make a positive impact on their society.”

After gaining 13 A*s at GCSE and three A*s and an A in his A-levels (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Further Mathematics), he won a place at Churchill College, Cambridge. He graduated with a first in Manufacturing Engineering and a Master’s degree with Merit in the same discipline. He then briefly worked as a management consultant, specialising in strategy and due diligence, with Roland Berger, a global consulting firm.

He gave a well-received talk at this year’s QE Careers Convention for Year 11 boys and their parents. Entitled Making Choices, the talk focused on how careers do not have to be limited by the subjects studied in School or at university. “My key message to those indecisive about their future career was to keep as many doors open for themselves as possible by excelling in the academic system, so that when they have a vision for their career in the future, they’re not limited by their academic foundations.”

Kam has happy memories of his time at QE, where he was an avid basketball and tennis player, captaining the School teams in both sports as a senior pupil. He went on to captain Cambridge University’s Lawn Tennis Club’s second team, as well as his college’s tennis club and basketball team. He is grateful to many teachers, including Assistant Head of Maths Wendy Fung for “tolerating my (persistently) impudent behaviour during those challenging years of Further Maths!” Kam wishes all his fellow alumni the very best for 2017.

Further information about Kam’s work is available at www.kamtaj.com

The celebrations surrounding this summer’s outstanding public examination results ensured a very positive start indeed to the new academic year. Our A-level results were the best ever recorded here. The benchmark A*-B figure has now exceeded 98% in four of the past five years, which represents, by any standards, a truly remarkable feat of consistent academic performance at the very highest level.

The strength of those outcomes was recognised by the influential Sunday Times Parent Power guide, which ranked QE as the best boys’ state secondary school. For A-level results alone, QE was rated the best state school in the country, while comparison with the parallel independent schools’ guide revealed that we were beaten only by St Paul’s Girls’ School and are thus the top boys’ school of any stamp, fee-paying or maintained.

In the second half of this term the wealth of extra-curricular opportunities in the performing arts has been especially conspicuous. In addition to a number of enjoyable concerts in School, our young singers performed on a national stage in the BBC Children in Need broadcast. There was external recognition, too, for our actors through the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. This included The Trial of Hamlet, a fundraising event for the festival at the West End Wyndham’s Theatre. Year 12 boys Nicholas Pirabaharan and Keenan Dieobi were selected for the roles of Hamlet and Claudius and performed scenes of the play as flashbacks, while celebrity comedians Lee Mack, Meera Syal, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Hugh Dennis, as well as leading actors Tom Conti and John Heffernan and some of Britain’s most senior lawyers, all improvised the Prince of Denmark’s trial.

Looking beyond just the performing arts, there have been several notable events in the literary sphere. We were pleased to welcome back to the School Surya Bowyer (OE 2007–2014), who is in his final year at Keble College, Oxford. Surya’s passion for literature was evident as he spoke to all the Year 11 boys, encouraging them to study English at A-level and at university. He also gave his time to conduct mock university interviews for pupils considering an English degree.

One very eagerly awaited visitor was Robert Muchamore, the most borrowed author in The Queen’s Library, whose appearance drew more than 400 boys. Since it opened, the new Library has played an important part in the life of the School. May I extend my thanks to those old boys who have already responded to our recently renewed appeal for books: the shelves are half-full and many alumni have been generous in helping us to ensure they become fully stocked. Our librarian, Ciara Murray, has published 19 ‘wish lists’ on Amazon, including a fiction list, as well as lists from our academic departments. If any further Old Elizabethans would like to donate, I would be most grateful. Please do so through Amazon (so that the wish list automatically updates and we avoid duplicates) by clicking on this link and selecting a volume.

Three of our Year 13 A-level Art students, Nabil Haque, Tochi Onuora and Scott Tan, have won much-coveted places on a Royal Academy of Arts programme – attRAct – which offers a range of assistance as they work towards their future careers.

Such success across the broad spectrum of the arts at QE is certainly not accidental. It bears testimony to the importance we attach to these disciplines, as indeed does our current heavy investment in converting the Heard Building so that it will soon provide a new base for our English department. I am pleased to report that work on this next phase of our Estates Strategy is on schedule, and I reiterate my appreciation for the charitable donations from old boys and other supporters that have made it possible. A notable example of giving in 2016 has been a most generous legacy from Arthur Perks (OE 1935–40), a lifelong supporter of the School, who died earlier this year at the age of 91. Arthur won many awards in athletics at QE and continued this winning streak on leaving, becoming county champion in 1946 with a record-breaking time in the two-mile walk. He wore his old boys’ blazer and tie with pride on special occasions. Arthur had a strong faith and St Mary’s Church, East Barnet, played a major part in his life. He met Reverend Frederick Wood and his three sons, David, Freddie and Bernard; David became his best friend and they were in the same class together at QE. In 1944, Arthur qualified as an RAF navigator and was posted to South Africa and France, where he loved to entertain his fellow airmen by singing and playing the piano. After the war, Arthur returned to London to continue studying to become a solicitor and in 1950 was appointed a member of the Law Society. He joined a respected firm, Braikenridge and Edwards, and rose to become a partner. In retirement, he enjoyed touring holidays on the continent, with his wife, Evelyn, as well as watching sport – he was an Arsenal fan and also relished his trips to the Lord’s test matches. His main passion, however, was music, and he greatly enjoyed visits to the opera at Glyndebourne with his wife, Evelyn. He nursed Evelyn lovingly through a long, difficult illness until she passed away in 2006. Arthur made the best of his own final years and died peacefully, slipping away to the strains of Gilbert & Sullivan.

We have also learned recently about one of Arthur’s near-contemporaries, Peter Dennis Mackie (OE 1935–1938), whose name is listed on our World War II roll of honour. Peter came to QE at the age of 13 from Pocklington School in Yorkshire, and it was an enquiry from a former pupil there, Richard George, which inspired our investigations. A report card from the redoubtable Ernest Jenkins (Headmaster,1930–1961) was duly unearthed; it revealed that Peter was “keen on games” and that his “character, manner & appearance [were] all promising and [he] showed signs of being something of [a] leader”. He left without joining the Sixth Form and little is then known of him until 9th April 1944, when, as Flying Officer (Pilot) Mackie, he died in a training accident, leaving a young widow, Doris, and three-week-old son, Alan.

Finally, I have been pleased to learn of fresh successes for our old boys in a number of fields, as covered in this e-newsletter. I must also congratulate Tom Aggar (OE 1995–2002) on winning a bronze medal in his rowing event at Rio – the third Paralympic Games for the four-times world champion.

May I wish all Old Elizabethans and their families a Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Neil Enright

Robert Rinder’s genuine enthusiasm for dancing was clear from the outset of the primetime BBC show’s 14th series – and continued all the way through the autumn.

Robert (OE 1989–1994), who performed under his TV name of Judge Rinder, clearly relished the opportunity to entertain huge audiences in the weekly dancing extravaganza. He proved to be one of the best performers, too; it was not until the start of December that he was eliminated in the quarter-final – the 11th contestant to leave the show out of the 15 who started in September.

“You are never too old to try something new – and everybody should try dance,” he said at the end of his last show.

Another theme that ran throughout his appearances was his appreciation and generous praise for his professional dance partner, Oksana Platero, who was responsible for choreographing their performances. In his final comments, he thanked her again, describing her as a “truly extraordinary person – this teacher, who has led me from somebody who could barely walk to music with no dance experience at all and given me a passion and a love for dance”.

His fellow competitors included former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Olympic gymnast Claudia Frangapane and singer Will Young.

He told the Radio Times: “Strictly is one of those rare things in broadcasting, a show that the entire family can enjoy together, regardless of age or background, which is – above all – the reason I agreed to take part.”

Robert’s stated motivation for taking part also included making his grandmother proud of him; he credits her with giving him a love of dancing. His grandparents, Frances and Harry Rinder, were in the audience when he performed a foxtrot in November.

There were many other memorable moments, both among his actual performances and in the ensuring banter with the four judges. He danced the Charleston dressed as Fred Flintstone, delighting the audience with some over-the-top facial expressions. For the show’s eagerly awaited outing to Blackpool’s famous Tower Ballroom, he and Oksana danced the salsa to the Spice Girls’ Spice up your life. And even when he was eliminated, his impressive ‘hip action’ in a samba performed to the song, December, 1963, from the musical, Jersey Boys, drew praise from the judges.

Robert became famous in 2014 with the launch of his daytime show in which he presides over cases such as disputes over consumer issues, personal and business fall-outs and allegations of negligence.

Although not a judge, he is a highly successful barrister who has focused mainly on international fraud, money-laundering and other financial crime. He was instructed by the British Government as counsel to the Turks and Caicos Islands’ Special Investigation and Prosecution Team, which was established by the Foreign Office to prosecute allegations of bribery, international corruption and fraud. In the UK he has advised on and appeared in cases involving fraud against the NHS, counterfeit medicines, multi-million-pound money laundering and pension fraud.

He has also appeared as counsel in high-profile murder cases and other cases of serious violence, usually for the defence.  These included the manslaughter of detainees in Iraq by British servicemen and the New Year’s murders of 17-year-old Letisha Shakespeare and 18-year-old Charlene Ellis in a drive-by shooting in Birmingham in 2003.

Former pupils, senior staff and other guests gathered in the Main Hall to enjoy sharing memories of QE in the recent and not-so-recent past, while the Headmaster reflected on the five years that have passed since he first spoke at the annual dinner.

The guest speaker was Dominic Roberts (OE 1989–1994), who works as a GP in a socially disadvantaged area of London and is an influential clinical director with the NHS, as previously featured in Alumni News.

Headmaster Neil Enright introduced the doctor, who was a Form Captain and Prefect while at School: “In many ways, Dominic embodies the QE spirit of learning, having gained numerous medical qualifications after graduating, including diplomas in child health, obstetrics and gynaecology, primary care, Ear, Nose & Throat, and, most recently, a postgraduate certificate in medical education from the University of Westminster.”

Dominic’s parents came along as his guests, as did a former QE Biology teacher, Helen Karamalakis.

Other leading figures from the School’s present and its recent past who attended the dinner included:

• • Assistant Head David Ryan (representing the current Senior Leadership Team)

• • Eric Houston (longstanding Second Master and Governor and Trustee of both the Foundation and the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s)

• • The two most recent former Headmasters, Eamonn Harris (1984–1999) and John Marincowitz (1999–2011).

• • Current Chairman of Governors, Barrie Martin, who was joined by his two sons, Piers (OE 1987–1994) and Giles (OE 1992–1999).

The ten-year leavers (the class of 2005–2006), who traditionally attend the dinner, were represented by Zaid Belbagi, who has established a distinguished career as an expert in Middle Eastern affairs and has appeared on the BBC’s Newsnight and on Channel 4 News.

The Headmaster noted the changes in the world of education in the past five years, which, he said, had made “the quality aspect” of education increasingly important. “I’m pleased to be able to say that QE now sends more students to Oxbridge and Russell Group universities than any other state school.”

He explained to the gathered alumni how the School had embraced new technology in those five years, with eQE, the online “virtual School”, now extensively used by boys, staff and parents. He highlighted the strength of the arts and sport at the School, noting that the continued investment in the swimming pool has engendered a resurgence in swimming and water polo, which has resulted in three boys representing their country in water polo in recent years.

And he pointed to the improvements in the physical environment of Queen Elizabeth’s School, including the current work on the Heard Building, as well as the opening of the Dining Hall, The Queen’s Library and Café 1573.

Mr Enright concluded: “In the midst of all this change, one thing that I strongly believe has not changed is the ethos of the school. QE remains as strong and dynamic as ever. In 2016, QE is still by any measure one of the best schools of any type in the country, remaining in the top echelons of league tables, and just as importantly, produces well-rounded young men who are equipped to meet the challenges of a changing world.”

Artist Stephen Walter has already achieved considerable international success – particularly through his characteristic work exploring 'the glory of maps'.

But he remains ambitious – an ambition founded on his high view of Art: “I still believe that Art can make the world a better place, and that the best examples of works of Art can elevate the human species towards the beauties and wonders of the world that we have inherited.”

Stephen (OE 1987-1994) works in two forms – finely detailed semi-abstract landscapes and, secondly, maps and plans. Prints of his maps have become particularly sought-after.

His most famous work is his 2008 map of London, entitled The Island. This features tiny pencil notes indicating locations’ public and private associations, and is part-oral history, part-folklore and part-personal homage. The capital is shown as being adrift in a Home Counties sea: Stephen grew up in New Barnet, and Barnet is depicted as a coastal town.

The Island gained him some renown in 2010 when it was displayed alongside early hand-drawn maps of London at the acclaimed British Library exhibition, Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art. Then last year, the same map was published in book form, which brought him further public attention, including an interview in The Guardian.

Both maps and London have long been subjects of fascination to Stephen, who lives and works in the capital. His studio is at Fish Island on the River Lea close to the site of the 2012 Olympic Park. As a child, he enjoyed pondering over Tolkien’s map of Mordor, imagining what the landscape this represented was like.

At QE, Stephen, who is of English and German heritage, was taught by both the current Head of Art, Ashley West, and by Art teacher Stephen Buckeridge. “I have good memories from QE, especially from the Art Department,” he says. He remembers particularly the emphasis on Art History and the opportunities provided, such as the School arranging for his A-level class to set up studio for a week in the Slade School of Art. “QE formed the first segment and the foundations of the world-class education that I was so lucky to receive.”

Mr West – “a fine teacher and an important influence” – later arranged for him to return to the School for a period as an artist-in-residence, during which time he was commissioned to produce the collages which remain displayed in the front entrance to this day.

After School, he went on to study a Foundation course at Middlesex University, before taking a first in Fine Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. He progressed to The Royal College of Art (RCA) for his Master’s degree in 1999–2001 and then later to a fellowship at the Royal Academy of Arts. He has won a number of awards, including the RCA 2001 Drawing Prize. His most recent shows have included one at the Shapero Modern gallery in Mayfair.

Stephen's own website describes his work as “an investigation into obsessive drawing techniques, semiotics, the glory of maps, and where landscape is seen a receptacle for meaning. Each work is an intricate world in itself. The maps are a tangle of words, symbols and drawn elements where cultural residues inhabit certain locations.” He mainly works in two dimensions on paper through drawing, painting, photography, and reprographics and print.

In recent works, Stephen has gone on to include sculptural forms such as his Hagioscope Frame, an interactive display case designed for viewing his own artwork, Nova Utopia.

In addition to his own work, Stephen continues to enjoy Art in all its guises, especially painting, drawing, sculpture and photography. “I’m still playing football, trekking and making expeditions into the wild places and enjoying long-distance cycling,” he says. He also enjoys Music – he was for many years a DJ – and reading (mainly non-fiction), which he describes as an essential pastime for an artist operating in the world of the arts and ideas.