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Year 13 debaters Ciaran Price and Christan Emmanuel successfully convinced their classmates to keep petrol and diesel-engined vehicles off the roads in the 55th Elizabethan Union Annual Dinner Debate.

The pair took on Old Elizabethan challengers Ravi Karia and Jathieesan Umaasuthan (both OE 2011–2018), who argued against the motion, This House would ban all non-electric vehicles.

The weekend event is tailored to give senior boys experience of the type of formal occasions they are likely to participate in at university and later in life.

Head of Academic Enrichment Nisha Mayer said: “This was a welcome return for our dinner debate after the disruption of the past two years. It was a relaxed, pleasantly lively evening, with an engaging debate that saw effective arguments made on both sides.”

A three-course meal, including vegan options, was served in the Dining Hall before the debate in the Main School Hall.

“Not only was it the first time some had worn black-tie, but I understand that one boy’s clip-on bow tie had been manufactured only that morning using a 3D printer!” added Mrs Mayer.

Lawyer Izzet Hassan (OE 2005–2021), the after-dinner speaker, “gave a very heartfelt speech, with recollections from his days at QE and really solid advice for Year 13 to take away”, Mrs Mayer added.

The evening included the traditional toasts to Queen Elizabeth II and to “the pious memory of Queen Elizabeth I”.

The visitors were formally proposed by the 2021 School Captain, Siddhant Kansal, of Year 13, while the Elizabethan Union was proposed by Izzet, who last month took up a new post with international law firm Kirkland & Ellis.

Accompanying Izzet was his contemporary, Oli Palmer, who is now a teacher. The pair plan to return for this November’s Old Elizabethan Association Dinner, along with others from their year group, who will make up this year’s ten-year leavers cohort at the event.

Other roles during the evening were undertaken by Year 13 pupils, with Utsav Atri the chairman and Jash Nanavati the designated photographer.

Votes were taken before and after the debate, both of which were in favour of the motion.

A trio of Old Elizabethan Economics graduates gave senior pupils interested in following in their footsteps valuable career and life insights in a series of talks.

Zainul Jafferji (2000-2007), Zain Gulamali (2005–2012) and Yemi Falana (2008–2015) gave advice on topics ranging from critical thinking to internships during the programme of talks organised by the Economics department.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our alumni are heavily involved in helping current pupils in a wide variety of ways, from mentoring to conducting mock interviews. I am very grateful to Zainul, Zain and Yemi for giving their time so generously to guide QE economists of the future.”

Zainul visited on three consecutive weeks, while Zain and Yemi gave virtual talks.

It was, Zain told the Headmaster afterwards, “lovely to get a chance to ‘give back’… always keen to help where I can. I still remember how I felt when I was in their shoes and how important QE has been in my life since I left.”

Zainul Jafferji,  who took a Master’s in Economics (MPhil) at Cambridge, told Year 12 members of the Economics Group about applying for, and studying, Economics at Cambridge; he set out career paths, and he explained how to think like an economist.

On his first visit, he told members of the Economics Group about Cambridge’s Economics admissions process. Not only had taking a diverse range of A-level subjects (Mathematics, Economics, Physics, German) given him an edge and enabled him to stand out from the crowd, but his German is useful even today when he is advising German companies in his role as a Management Consultant, he said.

He urged the boys to start researching universities and courses early, suggesting they use the School’s online alumni network, QE Connect, to speak to OEs before applying. This was doubly important for Cambridge where the choice of college is important: he advised researching a college’s financial situation, location and, perhaps most importantly (!), menus, before applying.

Zainul stressed the importance of regularly reading The Economist and other Economics literature to prepare for interviews and advised the boys to hone their speaking skills by getting involved in debating and taking LAMDA speaking examinations.

He concluded the session by telling the boys to expect an intense, independently led course at Cambridge:  they would be either alone or in small groups in their tutorials and so would have nowhere to hide if they had not prepared correctly, he advised.

In week two, he outlined the four main career paths for Economics undergraduates: investment banking, management consulting, public policy and further study.

University of Cambridge career fairs begin three weeks after term starts, and applications for ‘Spring Weeks’ (an Easter internship) start soon after. It was, he said, important to apply early for “ferociously competitive” areas such as banking and consulting.

Zainul was able to secure a Spring Week at Royal Bank of Scotland in his first year. (He maintained that the bank’s financial collapse soon after, in 2008, was despite, rather than because of, his work there!)

In his final session, Zainul spoke on critical-thinking skills. He outlined the key skills required to think like an economist and to construct powerful, compelling arguments.

Students then split into three groups, looking at topics covering macroeconomics, microeconomics and econometrics. One group tackled the most current of issues: the impact of sanctions on Russia on the UK economy. He helped them to move beyond CPI as a measure and to better understand the worry of a wage-price spiral taking hold.

Afterwards, Economics teacher Sheerwan O’Shea-Nejad  said: “Zainul has been an excellent guide for the students through the process of choosing a university, thriving there, getting a job and excelling once employed.”

In his virtual talk, Zain Gulamali, who read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Warwick, said boys should start at university as they meant to finish, rejecting any thoughts of “the first year doesn’t count so I will work harder in the second and third years”.

He advised them to start applying for work experience immediately: there was no such thing as bad work experience, since even a boring placement could show them what to avoid.

Zain previously worked at an accountancy firm to qualify as an ACA accountant, but is now employed in the finance department of multi-national mining company Anglo-American.

He warned of the dangers of ending up in an unfulfilling repetitive career just to earn a large salary and impress others.

In his talk, which was also delivered online, Bristol graduate Yemi Falana related how he had switched from Medicine to Economics at university. He said frankly that his parents were keener on Medicine than he was.

Yemi stressed the importance of applying for internships early – even during A-levels. His included two with Goldman Sachs, where he then went on to take up a full-time post as an analyst in 2018.

Now an Associate with the investment bank, he advised researching the work-life balance and job security of different roles carefully, remarking on how he works shorter hours than the deal-making teams, and appreciates the opportunity to have more of a personal life.

Taking part in the BBC’s MasterChef had long been a dream, yet Old Elizabethan Rishi Nanavati assumed the programme would not be interested in his vegetarian and vegan food.

But when the young dentist went along to try out for the show last year, he found that far from ruling him out, the MasterChef team were “actually quite intrigued: they loved what I did”.

Rishi (OE 2006–2013) went on impress in the first episode of the current series with his dish, a coconut, lemongrass and chilli aloo tikki served with a coriander yoghurt, a tapioca cracker and topped with lime leaf sherbert and a raw mango chutney.

MasterChef judge John Torode calling the dish “bang on the money”, and Rishi was the first of the nine contestants to progress to the next round.

His dessert, a dark chocolate pavé topped with a pistachio dust and crystallised pistachios with a cardamon shortbread biscuit, saffron caramel and a cardamom crumb, was described by the celebrity chef as “professional level”.

He reached the quarter-final stage before being eliminated and is very positive about the whole experience. “I loved it. It was definitely very intense. There’s a lot of pressure, you have to stick to the timings, and you are cooking in front of two of the biggest food critics.” [John Torode and Greg Wallace]

Rishi, who is 27, relished the “amazing feedback” and the opportunity to cook alongside “very talented people”.

He had told an interviewer ahead of the series’ broadcast: “I’ve been a vegetarian all my life and really want to showcase the potential that vegetarian and vegan food really has, especially with a fusion of pan-Asian flavours.”

Now back home, he posted to his Instagram followers last week: “Still can’t believe this happened. For modern vegetarian food to be on a national platform and having the opportunity to be the one to portray it. That’s a dream come true.”

Rishi told QE Connect: “I started helping around the kitchen around the age of seven or eight, doing really simple jobs. When I was 12 or 13, I started doing recipe development.”

Looking back, he can see that his time at QE helped lay the platform for his current success, both in his career and in his ability to cope with the intense demands of the show. “I think the pressure of School did set me up for future pressure – in a good way! It was a lot of hard work and I got used to working hard and working independently.

“And I had a very good time and made friends for life.”

Rishi who lives back at his parents’ home in Pinner, remains in close contact with a group of eight alumni, including two, Nihir Shah and Vishal Davda, who read Dentistry with him at Bristol.

In the past few years, he has started to share his passion for cooking with others, through food blogging and social media.

Asked about how he plans to balance his cooking and his dentistry, he said: “I would love to juggle both. Dentistry does give you flexibility.” After the excitement of the show, he is now taking a few months to decide how to move forward.

• Rishi is on Instagram, @dish­­­_by_rish, and also blogs at https://www.dishbyrish.co.uk

Teams from across the south of England battled it out in the 46th Queen Elizabeth’s School Sevens Tournament – the first running of the event since 2019.

The day brought overall victory in the U16 Cup to Trinity School, Croydon, while tournament newcomers Woodlands School were convincing winners in the Plate competition (for sides achieving second place in the group stages), beating Tonbridge School 36–7 in the final.

Although ultimately thwarted in their three matches, QE’s own U16 side battled hard, their playing punctuated by sparkling individual performances, especially from rising star Taro Niimura, of Year 11.

They were cheered on by a good turn-out of Old Elizabethans, their numbers swelled by 2001 leavers who took the opportunity to gather for a reunion.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was splendid to be able to host the tournament after a two-year break imposed by the pandemic, and to enjoy a super day of competition: there really was an abundance of skill, tenacity and physicality on display.

“My congratulations go to Trinity School on achieving overall victory in a close-fought final against Wellington College, and to Woodlands School on their triumphant debut.”

“Although we were disappointed that the U14 competition had to be cancelled because poor weather led to a reduction in the number of pitches available, we nonetheless look back on a successful day. My thanks go to the referees, St John Ambulance and the sponsors, Inspire Sports.”

QE’s Head of Rugby, James Clarke, said: “It was great to have the tournament back after Covid! There was plenty of excellent rugby on display, despite some challenging conditions.”

The home side faced a tough opening fixture against Wellingborough School. “Wellingborough showed a good turn of pace in finding any gaps in the QE defence and exerting significant pressure, resulting in our team struggling to retain possession for multiple phases,” said Mr Clarke.

“However, the match was lit up, from a QE perspective, by a brilliant solo try from Taro Niimura. Having been put through a gap by a well-timed pass inside the QE 22 metre zone, he ran the length of the pitch, beating at least three defenders on the way. One of the tries of the tournament! Whilst only a consolation in the context of the match, which was lost 29-7, it was a worthy moment for the home support to celebrate – including the OEs gathered on the touchline.”

The next QE game, against New Hall, brought “a skilful and spirited performance and a big improvement on the first match,” said Mr Clarke. “Momentum swung this way and that, with QE overhauling an early deficit to lead 14-12 at one stage. A clean break from New Hall had them charging, seemingly unstoppably, to the line, only for Taro to make another stand-out contribution, this time in defence. Sprinting back 70m or so, he made up ground to tackle his opponent just a few feet short of the try line – an incredible effort and demonstration of desire.

“Unfortunately, the supporting New Hall player was able to pick and go from the breakdown and get over the line for what proved to be the winning score. QE thought they may have won the game when an overlap put Year 11’s Dharun Thambiayah through to score, only for play to be brought back for a marginal forward pass. Whilst the boys were disappointed to lose a match that really could have gone either way, there was pride in the performance.”

After this narrow 19-14 defeat, in their final fixture, QE took on Dulwich College and put in “a resilient battling performance in which the rub of the green went against QE. The match got off to the worst possible start, with Dulwich reclaiming their own kick-off (think Mack Hansen for Ireland v France in this year’s Six Nations!) to score immediately. QE played themselves back into the game, crossing for a first-half try of their own. An unfortunate yellow card for a trip tackle saw QE down a man, but the two-minute period was well-handled, with no loss of score.

“In the second half, just one score behind, Niimura again seemed to be away down the wing with a clear 60m to the try line, only for play to be brought back for a QE penalty – the referee not realising the advantage was with QE in that moment. With QE pressing hard for a try, Dulwich managed to secure a third to kill off the match and win 17-5.”

Mr Clarke congratulated Year 10 boys on stepping up to compete alongside the Year 11s.

This year’s tournament featured a Coaches Corner for the first time, where there were stalls from a number of companies, including the sponsors, Inspire Sports.

The 2022 winners will receive tickets to a Premiership rugby match.

Among the supporters backing the tournament winners, Trinity, was USA Sevens’ Head Coach, Mike Friday. Former Sevens coach for England and Kenya, and a former professional player with London Wasps who captained the England Sevens, he has taken the USA to its current position as one of the very best teams in the world.

The group of 2001 leavers not only enjoyed the rugby together, but also went on a tour of the School with the Headmaster and with Development Officer Sharla Worrall.

Also among the spectators were other staff and boys, while teams of helpers comprising senior boys and some Year 7s supported Mr Clarke and his colleagues in running the event.

• For full results, visit the tournament microsite.

A major new photographic installation charts the history of School photos at QE, as preparations for next year’s 450^th anniversary gather pace.

The carefully curated collection of 232 photos of form groups, year groups, sports teams and prefect teams is displayed along the ground-floor corridor of the Main Building.

The installation, called Ties through Time, spans the decades from 1880 onwards, charting not only changing kits and uniforms, hair styles and even postures, but also the development of photography. It has been made possible by the work that has gone into QE Collections, the School’s free-to-use digital archive, which was launched last year.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It has been very exciting to have the ground floor of our Main Building transformed with this celebration of continuity and change. The photos are a striking visual representation of our inspiring heritage, showing many thousands of people with this one thing in common: they all attended our School.”

Mr Enright paid tribute to the late Richard Newton (OE 1956-1964), whose vision and financial support made possible the extensive work currently going on to organise and digitise the School’s archive ahead of the 450th anniversary of QE’s founding in 1573.

“One of the sparks for the entire QE Collections project was Richard’s desire to see the preservation of the old group photographs that used to line the top-floor corridor,” he explained. “He has left a great legacy to the Elizabethan community in Barnet and we are indebted to him.”

The new display of photos extends either side of the Main School Hall. When the earliest were taken, photography, which is generally considered to have started in 1839, was still expensive and required specialist knowledge. Following the introduction of the Kodak camera in 1888, however, camera owners no longer had to develop film themselves.

In the years since, camera technology has undergone frequent change, with, for example, the introduction of colour and, more recently, of digital technology, replacing analogue film.

Work on the installation was led by Surya Bowyer (OE 2007–2014), founding Curator of QE Collections, with creative input from John Mgbadiefe and Rachael Simcox at architecture and design firm Bisset Adams.

The photos in the display, and countless other images and documents , can be seen remotely by visiting QE Collections.

Thirty-five Elizabethans received offers from Oxford and Cambridge universities this year, having successfully surmounted all the extra challenges posed by Covid throughout their A-level studies.

The 29 Cambridge and six Oxford places offered take the total number of Oxbridge offers secured by QE boys over the past three years to 114.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Huge congratulations to these students for showing such fortitude and for maintaining their focus throughout their extraordinary Sixth Form years, when they have had to contend with extended lockdowns, the cancellation of all the public examinations they were to have sat, and university interviews that were held online.

“Despite all these difficulties, they were still able to demonstrate their ability, keen interest, and the positive contribution they would make to university life. Their success is the result of careful preparation, hard work over many years, the support of their families and others, and of the little bit of luck you need in such a highly competitive process – we have other very deserving candidates who did not secure Oxbridge offers.

“We are, of course, very proud to celebrate this achievement, which consolidates our consistent record of sending large numbers of leavers to Oxford and Cambridge every year. It should be said, however, that it is not the be all and end all here: many of our other Year 13s are currently receiving exciting offers for well-regarded courses at internationally respected universities around the country.”

“I must mention the significant efforts of their teachers in helping these 35 Elizabethans secure their Oxbridge offers, whether through lessons, arranging mock interviews, running extension classes, producing UCAS references, co-ordinating entries for admissions assessments, or contributing to the many and wide-ranging enrichment opportunities available to our boys. I also thank the many Old Elizabethans and other friends of the School who rallied round to offer mock interviews in online format.”

Among the broad range of courses are:

• Engineering (six offers)
• Medicine (five)
• Mathematics (four)
• Human, Social & Political Sciences (three)
• Economics (three).

The highest number of offers came from three Cambridge colleges, with four apiece from Gonville & Gaius, St Catharine’s and Girton.

While a large majority of the 35 offers received this year are for current Year 13 boys, two have been made to 2021 leavers, namely Deshraam Ganeshamoorthy and Yuvan Vasanthakumaran. Deshraam is spending this year working for Springboard Pro, a company that develops advanced medical devices, having won the placement through the national Year in Industry scheme. His success thus exemplifies the possibilities of pursuing an alternative route to university.

Two former classmates stressed the importance of being true to your authentic self as they spoke to sixth-formers about their lives and careers.

Arjun Paliwal and Matthew Chew, who both attended QE from 2006–2013 and were in the same Pearce form group, returned as guest speakers for the Year 12 luncheon. The annual event gives Year 12 boys the experience of the sort of formal meal, including speeches, that they are likely to encounter at university and in their later careers.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The luncheon is part of our programme aimed at supporting boys in line with the commitment in our mission statement to produce young men who are ‘confident’ and to ‘nurture intellectual, verbal and social skills, giving pupils the ability to act appropriately in any situation’. It is also, of course, a nice opportunity to get together over a long lunch, with the boys being joined by their form tutors and by senior staff.

“My thanks go to Matthew and Arjun who had some sage advice for current Elizabethans as they developed their theme of authenticity with respect to their respective careers, as well as touching on their sexuality.

“I am also grateful to the volunteers from the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s, as well as to some Year 9 helpers, who made the event possible and helped it run smoothly.”

The lunch was the first formal occasion presided over by the 2022 School Captain, Theo Mama-Kahn, who was the master of ceremonies. He was supported by Senior Vice-Captains Antony Yassa – who introduced Arjun and Matthew – and Ansh Jassra, who said the grace and delivered the vote of thanks following the speeches.

The two OEs both work in different roles within digital advertising – Matthew as a Paid Social Account Director at MediaCom UK and Arjun as a Client Solutions Manager, Luxury, for Meta (parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram). Both are also members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

In his speech, Arjun spoke of the importance of “finding and owning your rhythm”, which he defined as “the intersection of authenticity, energy and motion: knowing who you are, harnessing the energy that comes from that and then bringing it to everything you do”.

Doing so is difficult but nonetheless important, he said. He recounted his experience of debating with his parents whether or not to go to university: Arjun eventually went on to take a first in Fine Art at Oxford.

He added: “I came out as bisexual a couple of years ago and since then have not only felt prouder and more confident in myself, but I’ve also allowed my sexuality to become one of my superpowers. There are as many ways to be a man as there are men; we don’t have to be universal.”

Arjun also cited Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ now-famous speech at Stanford University in 2005: “…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

He told the Year 12 boys: “I love this quote because it reminds me that going forward takes courage and authenticity…All you can really do is be the best version of yourself, own your rhythm and wear it proudly on your sleeve. Then let things fall into place around you. You’ll be well-armed to face the challenges that come and truly present to maximise the great moments that fill your world.”

For his part, Matthew recalled how he pursued his passion for German, spending time in Germany, where he still has many friends. He read German with Management Studies at UCL. Studying a language helped him think in a different way, he explained. He reserved special praise for the QE Languages department and was thrilled to catch up with Burgunde Lukasser-Weitlaner, Assistant Head of Languages (Modern), and Languages teacher Helen Shephard during his visit.

He stressed that “the path through life is not always a means to an end”, urging boys to own their decisions – “good and bad” – since “they make you who you are”, thus again corresponding to Steve Job’s maxim about joining the dots.

Matthew, who is a voice on LGBTQIA+ matters at a company-wide level, mentioned some of the initiatives he has been involved with, such as the move by Mars to replace the normal rainbow colouring of its Skittles sweets with grey to celebrate Pride Month.

With questions opened to the floor, the boys quizzed the pair on the use of targeted advertisements, given their respective roles in digital advertising. Arjun explained that, in his personal view, targeting was about showing people content they cared about, and that online advertising can be the lifeblood of many small businesses who would otherwise be really struggling. Matthew concurred, adding that there has been a big investment in processing data safely. It was noted that Meta has information about these matters on its privacy site.

Two sixth-formers organised a quiz in aid of a charity named after an old boy of the School, as quizzes continue to prove popular throughout the Elizabethan community.

Year 13’s Vishruth Dhamodharan and Varun Vijay Kumar brought together teams from Year 7 and 8 and from 9 and 10 to compete to raise money for Guy’s Trust.

In a separate event, the eagerly-awaited inter-House QIQE quiz returned this year, with Harrisons’ taking the honours in a keenly fought final.

And both competitions followed the success of The Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s quiz earlier in the term – the Friends’ first in-person charity event since before the pandemic.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I congratulate both the winners and the organisers of these events. Quizzes seem to appeal to many here: they give people an opportunity to indulge their competitive spirit and demonstrate their knowledge, while at the same time competitors have a good deal of fun and, often, raise money for good causes, too.”

Vishruth and Varun were inspired by the good work done by educational charity Guy’s Trust in the developing world, and organised the quiz to support it, raising £163.50. The charity is named after marine biologist, scuba instructor, paraglider and adventurer Guy Joseph (OE 1997-2002), who died aged 25 in a paragliding accident in the Pyrenees in October 2011. It has recently funded the installation of water systems to nine primary schools in Cambodia so that the children there have clean drinking water.

Twelve teams from Years 9 and 10 battled it out, covering subjects including Mathematics, Literature and Science. The winning team was Year 9’s Riyan Siyani, Adithya Raghuraman, Danyal Talha and Ram Chockalingam – the curiously named Team SIUUUUUUUUUU.

Next it was the turn of the first two years. After a tense three-way tie, Year 8’s Keeyan Shah, Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen, Ishaan Jugran and Olic Fan – Team Dino Nuggies – emerged as the winners.

In the QIQE quiz, teams comprised one pupil from each of Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. The University Challenge-style format involved ‘starters for ten’ (with boys raising their table-tennis bat paddles for attention) and then three five-point bonuses on another topic.

Under the watchful eye of quizmaster Tom Harrison, Head of Year 7, Harrisons’ and Underne progressed to the final in front of Years 7-10 on the basis of their posting the highest scores in the preliminary rounds.

Harrisons’ ultimately came out narrowly on top in the Shearly Hall, winning 145–135.

“It was hugely exciting, and there was an impressive array of general knowledge on display,” said Mr Harrison.

QE’s First XV pulled on their navy and sky blue-hooped shirts for one last time as they took on rivals Habs at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium, 99 years after the fixture was first played between the two schools.

The evening got off to a great start, with resounding wins against Haberdashers’ Boys’ School by the Year 8 A and B teams, who racked up scores of 65-0 and 45-0 respectively.

And, with the First XV buoyant after two consecutive wins against St Ignatius College and Watford Grammar School, hopes were high that they could avenge their loss to Habs earlier in the season in the National Vase.

In the end, it was not to be – Habs overturned a half-time 10-0 deficit to emerge as narrow victors on the night – but Head of Rugby James Clarke had nothing but praise for his players: “It was a great game with a monumental defensive effort and a result that could have gone our way on a different night. The squad has come an awful long way from the early season struggles after a year of missed rugby due to COVID. I am extremely proud of the effort, attitude and commitment that the whole squad have shown this year.”

The games proved a big draw across the Elizabethan community. “It was lovely to see so many of our younger boys, parents, siblings and Old Elizabethans in attendance,  and our senior players were most grateful for the vocal support.”

The Year 8 games had been worthy curtain-raisers for the later First XV match, said Mr Clarke, with the convincing victories representing a major improvement by the A team in particular, who had lost 6 tries to 5 earlier in the season in the reverse fixture. The A team is coached by PE teacher Peter Pickford. Alvin Xu was named Player of the Match for the A team, while Faaiz Adil took the accolade for the B team.

In the main match, after repelling an early Habs onslaught, QE took the lead through Alex Diamond scoring in the far corner.

“After withstanding further pressure following the restart, QE eventually worked their way up the pitch via some intelligent kicking from scrumhalf Taro Niimura and were now within striking range of the same corner. The forwards took charge as they tried to drive over the try line from close range but were met with fierce resistance. After recycling possession multiple times and bringing in reinforcements, Aditya Narayan dived over for a well-earned score to stretch our lead to 10-0. We maintained this cushion until the relief of the half-time whistle after some, at times, heroic defending out wide, including a try-saving tackle from Saalif Jilani.

“The second half saw us playing against the elements and into an increasingly strong wind. Habs made full use of this advantage and pinned us deep within our half from the kick-off.  Despite us clearing our lines reasonably well, Habs threw the ball wide to create an overlap and break our defence to go over for the score.”

Habs scored an “excellent conversion”, leaving QE holding a narrow 10-7 lead. “After an injury stoppage, a typically strong QE scrum gave our backline a platform to play from, and the backs showed some excellent skills to move the ball wide behind several decoy runners and stretch and test Habs on the outside, but to no avail. Several penalties were conceded to cost us field position, and the pressure was starting to mount. Habs kicked a penalty in front of the posts to level the score at 10-10 and swing momentum in their favour. Following some initial strong defence, Habs’ again threatened out wide and their speedster slipped a tackle to score in the far corner. Advantage Habs’ with the score now 15-10 to them.

“For the final ten minutes of the match, QE had a sustained amount of possession and were ‘camped’ at the right end of the field. Habs were out on their feet, with players continuously going down with cramp and the game being stopped and started, which only added to the tension of a one-score game. After several penalties against Habs, QE had one final attempt, but couldn’t quite get the ball to stick and were thwarted in their attempts to overturn the early season result.”

“Special mentions must go to the leadership group of captain Alexandre Lee and his two vice-captains Conor Parker-Delves and Ronak Santilale,” said Mr Clarke. Player of the match was Alex Diamond.

The QE First XV squad
1. Ronak Santilale – vice-captain (Year 13); 2. Manav Khindri (Year 13); 3. Victor Angelov (Year 12); 4. Jayden Savage (Year 13); 5. Nnanna Okore (Year 13); 6. Aditya Narayan (Year 13); 7. Alexandre Lee – captain (Year 13); 8. Kelvin Aye (Year 12); 9. Taro Niimura (Year 11); 10. Danny Adey (Year 12); 11. Shadman Rahman (Year 13); 12. Keir Parker-Delves (Year 11); 13. Harvey Lamb (Year 13); 14. Alex Diamond (Year 13); 15. Saalif Jilani (Year 13).

Replacements: 16. Ryan Jayaraj (Year 12); 17. Ishraq Zamee (Year 13); 18. Dilan Patel (Year 12); 19. Aadarsh Khimasia (Year 13); 20. Alex Woodcock (Year 13).

Old Elizabethan Makoto Takahashi, a global expert on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant meltdown in Japan, gave a group of current sixth-formers a special invitation to an exhibition he has curated.

Featuring photography and a number of essays, the exhibition, which marks the tenth anniversary of the nuclear disaster and the earthquake and tsunami that precipitated it, is being held at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The earthquake and tsunami killed more than 15,000 and triggered a triple meltdown at the power station, forcing 200,000 people from their homes.

Makoto (OE 2003-2010) treated the 13 Art & Design and Geography A-level students to a lecture and a personal tour.

Head of Art Craig Wheatley said: “The exhibition explores the lingering legacy of the 2011 disaster. There is a sophisticated and diverse range of photography that challenged the boys’ appreciation of both the aesthetic and conceptual. Having Makoto’s insight was invaluable; his willingness to explain and unpack the work was matched by the boys’ enthusiasm and desire to learn more.”

“In his QE days, Makoto was himself a talented A-level artist and geographer,” Mr Wheatley said.

He is a lecturer at the Technical University of Munich and will be returning to the Harvard Kennedy School of Governance as a Fulbright-Lloyd’s Fellow in early 2022.

He began work on the Fukushima Daiichi disaster ten years ago, soon after it happened. He received his BA, MPhil and PhD from Cambridge University and was a visiting fellow at Waseda University in Tokyo.

His thesis, which examined how claims to expert authority are made in conditions of low public trust, received the American Association of Geographers’ Jacques May Thesis Prize.

The exhibition, entitled Picturing the Invisible, sees his research interests coming together with his longstanding engagement with the London art scene: while in the Sixth Form at QE, he took part in in the Royal Academy’s attRAct programme and in the Louis Vuitton Young Arts Program; he has also been an Event Manager at the OPEN Ealing community art gallery.

Expressing his gratitude to Makoto, Mr Wheatley added: “As a cross curricular trip between the Art and Geography departments, this was a fabulous opportunity for learning.  It combined detailed analysis of visual language with geological narrative of the ‘worst crisis Japan has faced since World War II’.”

The exhibition is on until 23^rd December.