Viewing archives for Careers

Professionals from fields as diverse as advertising, finance and law provided Year 9 boys with a snapshot of their own chosen employment during a speed careers event at the School.

Careers 4U was organised in conjunction with Barnet Education Business Partnership. During the day, the boys, in groups of five, met 25 volunteers working in areas that also included web design, construction and the police service. They received a brief overview of possible career paths and were challenged to solve a typical problem that a professional might face in his or her daily work.

Sarah Westcott, Head of Pupil Development and Lower School Science, said: “The aim of the event was to broaden the boys’ awareness of different routes into a variety of possible careers. They clearly found the day both useful and stimulating as it provided them with an insight into the requisite personal characteristics as well as the required entry academic achievements.”

Barnet EBP is a charitable trust whose remit is to support work-related learning and enterprise education. Manager Ken Williams said: “Our volunteers really enjoyed it; so much so that some have already signed up for next year! They had nothing but praise for QE staff and boys.”

Old Elizabethan Kam Taj returned to the School to lead a workshop on Oxbridge preparation for 32 sixth-formers.

Kam, a performance coach and motivational speaker, who himself studied at Churchill College, Cambridge, covered topics ranging from university interviews to procrastination in the all-day session.

The course was part of the extensive programme QE provides to support senior boys as they make university applications and consider career choices that best match their talents and aptitudes. Applications to Oxford and Cambridge must be made by 15 October for places starting the following autumn. QE boys secured 144 places at the two universities in the five years from 2013 to 2017.

Afterwards, Kam (Kamran Tajbaksh, OE 2004–2011) praised his Year 12 audience who had “stayed engaged and receptive for the duration of the course”, even though, as he pointed out, they had just completed their examinations and were looking forward to the start of the summer holidays in just a few days’ time.

While at QE, Kam achieved 13 A* grades at GCSE and four A*s with one A at A-level. On graduating with a first in Manufacturing Engineering, Kam initially took up a post as a management consultant with a global company. However, he had begun doing performance coaching work while still at university: “It was far more fulfilling than academics (even more so than my sports!) – and my clients were achieving great results.”

So, in 2016, he “left the strategy consulting world and began living my dream for myself”.
He recently published his first book 8 Principles of Exam Domination, which aims to help pupils achieve their desired grades with minimal stress.

His talk covered topics entitled:

• Acing uni interviews
• Overcoming procrastination
• Planning & prioritisation
• Mindset management

Kam also introduced a new topic, with the QE boys the first to hear about his Motivational Fire Formula.

Afterwards, Kam thanked the School from his Instagram account and wished all the boys a “great summer” and hoped they would “come back refreshed and ready to smash Year 13!”

Six Year 12 pupils came third in the national final of a competition designed to show teenagers what it is like to be a chartered accountant.

The sixth-formers had reached the last 50 at the final in Birmingham after first seeing off competitors in three previous rounds of the BASE contest, which is organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

They won a coveted Highly Commended trophy as well as the prize of spending a day at the London offices of Ernst & Young (EY). Nationwide, the competition attracted entries from 500 schools and more than 4,000 pupils.

In the earlier rounds, the team had to present ideas for a fictional technology company. In the final challenge, however, they were given a fresh business study and required to think like chartered accountants, planning an appropriate strategy to enable the business to move forward.

Economics teacher Kimberley Jackson said: “They had to use knowledge acquired through their Economics lessons to analyse the problems surrounding acquisitions and mergers and to reflect upon important current issues impacting businesses, such as cyber safety and data protection.

“The team delivered a short presentation to a panel of judges and were asked many challenging questions. The judges were very impressed with their informative and well-delivered presentation.

“The boys all thoroughly enjoyed the experience of presenting and the chance to network with major employers such as PwC, EY and KPMG. They now look forward to competing again in 2018-19.”

The team comprised Shakeel Ahmed, Tarun Alexander, Millan George, Parth Gosalia, Manan Shah and Rohan Shah.

Sixth-former Darsh Thacker’s ambitious artwork has been chosen for the Royal Academy A-level Summer Exhibition Online 2018. He beat off competition from some 2,000 entries to be included among the exhibitors.

Darsh’s project, measuring 2.56 x 2m, was displayed recently at the School along with work by his fellow QE Year 13 Fine Art A-level students. For these final pieces of work, many of the boys drew inspiration from research into their own planned career paths.

Darsh is going on to study Dentistry and his project explores the division between the personal and the clinical spheres. He employed a range of contrasting materials, including plaster of Paris casts, string, nails and even chewing gum.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I am delighted at this very exciting news and I congratulate Darsh on his success. I found this piece of work very impressive when I visited the class recently at the end of their course.”

“In fact, I was impressed generally with what the boys had achieved: they had used the freedom they had to experiment with materials and ideas to such good effect. Clearly, they had taken the opportunity to engage in the type of detailed and meticulous research, allied to personal expression, that we seek to instil in our boys.”

Head of Art Stephen Buckeridge said: “This year’s leavers were encouraged to find a subject that was deeply personal to them and that would sustain ideas and outcomes throughout the year. As starting a project is never easy, we encouraged the boys to record and explore ideas in the broadest sense – including note-making, research, photography, drawing and making. The breadth of investigation at the beginning was important; as the projects progressed, the ideas became more refined.”

The boys were required to show evidence of deeper thinking, and “encouraged to be ambitious with their final outcomes, which are supported by a written final statement which articulates ideas and makes connections, both historically and contextually,” Mr Buckeridge added.

An expert panel of judges selected Darsh’s work as one of only 43 winning entries from more than 2,000 submissions by over 1,400 young artists.

One of the judges, Royal Academician Mali Morris, said: “Our thanks to every student who entered – all contributed to the excitement of this project. We were amazed by the strength of the shortlisted works, by their energy, inventiveness and sense of exploration. Every kind of feeling was here, from tenderness to rage, solemnity to hilarity, in a wide range of materials and processes. Congratulations to all the students and their teachers, and cheers to the schools that believe that art is still a vital subject.”

In his explanation posted as part of the online exhibition, Darsh explained the thinking behind both his artwork and its unusual title, Savium: “I became interested in examining the link between the clinical and the personal using an unconventional material. The intimacy yet inaccessibility of the word Savium also alludes to my ulterior (and superior) interest in the dichotomy between the clinical and the personal. I became intrigued in how the personal space of the body might be examined in a forensic manner. In the end this strange display successfully evoked the fundamental tension at the heart of dentistry; that of intimacy and distance, the personal and the sterile.”

Among QE’s other Year 13 Fine Art students were:

• Anand Joshi, whose artwork on the Human Condition depicted a cell. He read and researched existentialism and the writings of Michel Foucault. The French philosopher and social theorist wrote extensively on the topics of power and knowledge.
• Milan Shah, who is going on to read Politics and whose work explored ideas relating to politics and news. He used collage and mixed-media to look at how we respond to information in the modern technological world.

Ramesh Paripooranananthan is forging a successful career as a London architect – interspersed with globe-trotting trips to attend the weddings of Old Elizabethans in the Far East!

Ramesh, who uses the surname Pari professionally, works with BB Partnership – a London practice specialising in mid to high-end residential projects. He was recently lead project architect on a £250m-plus mixed-use development in Brent, the largest in the firm’s 25-year history.

He is currently overseeing the construction of two largely subterranean houses in the capital. It is a solution that is being used increasingly in London, especially where space is at a particular premium. The design includes lightwells and courtyards cut into the ground to let light pass down into the spaces underground.

The project is, however, not without its challenges, as Ramesh explained: “This is a much more expensive method of construction; we only investigate this when we have situations where planners will not let us build up. Both houses have already made the architectural press due to the controversy over the application, and I am sure they will also make it again once they are completed.

He adds: “Digging into the ground in central London is always a tricky business as you never know what you will find. I worked on a job a couple of years ago where we found a World War II bunker underneath the offices we were refurbishing!”

Ramesh (OE 1997–2004), who was in Underne House, studied at Central St Martins and then at Nottingham University, where he qualified as a Chartered Architect after eight years’ working and studying. He credits QE for the resilience and perseverance necessary for that period.

He previously featured in Alumni News in 2015 when 12 OEs attended his wedding to Millie, whom he had met at Nottingham. (“There are still just the two of us, but starting a family in the near future is on the agenda, he says. “In the meantime, my hobbies – photography and running – and my nephews – four boys – keep me very busy!”)

Recently, it has been Ramesh’s turn to return the compliment: in November, he travelled with several old boys to Hong Kong for the wedding of his QE contemporary, Dennis Yiu, and then journeyed on to Thailand for the nuptials of Bimal Sualy, from the year below. Both grooms were in Stapylton. “I spoke to Bimal for the first time when we both attended the University of Nottingham and now I am one of his groomsmen – small world!” says Ramesh.

Ramesh is pictured above on the far left with other old boys from his year, left-right, as follows: Bhavin Shah (Stapylton); Paraag Gudka (Pearce); the groom, Dennis; Johan Byran (Stapylton); Kunal Shah (Stapylton); Sandeep Dasgupta (Stapylton) and Rahul Patel (Stapylton).

The second group photo shows, left-right, back row: Warren Balakrishnan (Underne); Rachita Lokubalasuriya (Leicester); Chivaar Gami (Leicester) and Ramesh. In the front row are: Ashish Gohil (Leicester); the groom, Bimal, and Dhanish Mahmood (Leicester). All except Ramesh are from the class of 2005.

Ramesh was among the alumni taking part in this year’s Careers Convention for Year 11 boys and their parents. “I try and give back to the School however I can.”

During the autumn, QE pupils came to his office for mock university interviews. “I was very proud last year to see that the three boys I worked with went on to study architecture at brilliant universities. I think it is fantastic the School is building this network for the students, as this wasn’t in place when I was there. This will only help the student body.”

A leading economic journalist kept his audience of GCSE and A-level pupils enthralled with a talk that covered topics ranging from pension thefts more than a decade ago to the global stock market falls of recent weeks.

Liam Halligan is Economics Commentator with The Telegraph Group. He is also a Permanent Panellist for CNN Talk, a commentator for UnHerd – a weekly internet publication edited by Tim Montgomerie, formerly of The Times – and Editor-at-Large at bne IntelliNews, a source of English-language news and analysis about 34 countries, from Poland to Turkey and Mongolia to Russia.

In his talk to the School’s Economics Society, he recalled some of the news stories and issues he has covered, as well as giving advice on the rewards and challenges of journalism as a career. His latest cover story for the Spectator, headlined The Crash We Need, welcomed this month’s sharp falls in the markets as a necessary correction.

Thanking Mr Halligan after the talk, Headmaster Neil Enright, who is a fellow Governor with Mr Halligan at The John Lyon School in Harrow, said: “I know that the boys greatly appreciate the opportunity to hear from and question those who hold prominent positions in fields such as journalism. I am sure they will have taken away a good insight into aspects of print and broadcast media.

“It is particularly important for our boys to hear from those who, like many of them, may not have grown up in highly academic or professionally networked families, but have nevertheless achieved notable success. The persistence and dedication that it takes to establish oneself in an industry whereby such heritage is almost the norm is something that we work to cultivate and support in our boys.”

During his visit, Mr Halligan, who took a first-class class degree in Economics at the University of Warwick and an MPhil at Oxford, recounted how he helped to exonerate RAF pilots blamed for the 1994 Mull of Kintyre Chinook helicopter crash many years after the disaster and how he exposed pension thefts in 2007. His career also included covering post-Soviet Russia for both The Economist and the Wall Street Journal in the turbulent period in the early 1990s after the break-up of the USSR.

He particularly highlighted the stress of deadlines and the need to be able to work under time pressure. He once received a call from the editor of the Spectator asking him to write the cover story in just four hours.

“You need to be able to entertain, as well as educate and inform, have a spirit of adventure and be willing to challenge decision-makers,” Mr Halligan told the boys. “Success follows those who are confident, driven and versatile. You also need to be a good colleague, as well as being informed about a wide range of topics.”

There were a number of questions from the audience. Year 12 pupil Parth Gosalia said: “When asked about his views on the state of the Government, Mr Halligan told us that politics is very vibrant and that this is, indeed, a very promising time for the UK.”

The questions turned to the effect Brexit would have on the UK economy – an issue about which Mr Halligan was optimistic. “He argued in favour of a clean break from the EU and the Single Market,” said Parth. “His case for Brexit seemed to epitomise the entirety of his talk, in that it provided a fresh perspective to the assembled students.”

It was ‘standing room only’ when two high-profile figures from the world of international and Premier League football visited the School.

Boys and staff alike turned out in force to hear from David Dein, a respected entrepreneur and businessman who was Vice-Chairman of Arsenal from 1983 to 2007 and is also a former Vice-Chairman of the FA, and Gary Mabbutt, a former professional footballer for Spurs and England.

Mr Dein spoke predominantly about the business side of the Premier League, describing its establishment in 1992 and charting its growth. He also touched on his role at Arsenal, where he was instrumental in appointing the then little-known manager, Arsene Wenger, and in the signing of legendary players like Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas. Under Wenger, the club has won the Premier League title three times and the FA Cup seven times.

Mr Dein brought former FA Cup-winning Spurs captain, Gary Mabbutt, with him as a special guest. Mr Mabbutt, who made more than 750 professional appearances for club and country, spoke largely about the role of the Professional Footballers’ Association and the way it supports players both during their playing careers and afterwards.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The boys, my colleagues and I all appreciated the opportunity to hear David’s first-hand account of the birth of the Premier League and enjoyed his insight into many aspects of the modern game. I know that the boys will have been able to take away a good deal of advice relevant to business and their careers, beyond simply the remit of football.”

“They always value being able to put their questions to those pre-eminent in their respective fields and particularly relished this opportunity. Despite our being a rugby-playing School, football is, of course, one of their favourite topics for discussion.”

Mr Dein, who led the unsuccessful England bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018, talked about the importance of teamwork, demonstrating this by inviting a boy to snap a single pencil and then to try again when 11 pencils were banded together.

He also used a can of the ‘magic paint’ used by referees to mark where a ball should be spotted for a free kick and where the players’ defensive wall should stand, recounting being pitched the product by its inventor when visiting South America. After spraying the School’s Conference Centre floor, he joked: “This is designed to last for about three minutes – oh, that’s on grass. On this floor, it should be gone in about three months!”

He involved the boys in his demonstrations, with his presentation stimulating a lively question-and-answer session. “It’s important to always strive to be your best and to get up each day thinking, ‘how can I be better than yesterday?’” said Mr Dein. He noted that at Arsenal, the last two players to leave the training ground were invariably Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, two of the club’s most talented players.

The visit was organised through the auspices of Performing Artistes – an organisation providing speakers from the worlds of entertainment, media, politics and sports – with Mr Dein inviting Mr Mabbutt along to provide some ‘North London balance’.

Mr Mabbutt has been involved with the PFA for a number of years. It was established in 1907 and is the longest-established sports’ union in the world. Its aims are to protect, improve and negotiate the conditions, rights and status of all professional players. In recent times it has supported its members in disputes with the Premier League, the Football League and the Football Association with regard to the PFA’s entitlement to a percentage of television revenue. It is also notable for the work it does to support players and former players who may be struggling with addiction, depression or mental health issues.

“We all learned much about the role of the PFA and the support they give to players both during and beyond their careers. I know that my Spurs-supporting colleagues were especially thrilled to meet Gary,” added Mr Enright.

A leading figure in the world of legal academia inspired boys interested in pursuing a career in the Law when he returned to the School to give a talk to senior pupils. Old Elizabethan Ishan Kolhatkar (1989-1996) is Deputy Dean of Education Services at BPP, a top private university dedicated to Law, business and other professions.

After studying Law himself at BPP following a degree in Computer Science at Queen Mary, University of London, Mr Kolhatkar’s career began at the Bar, before he returned to academia to the Bar Professional Teaching Course (BPTC). In addition to writing content and validation documents for a course to help BPTC students bridge the gap between the BPTC and the pupillage, he teaches advocacy part-time and takes on pro-bono work.

He spoke to the boys of the importance of asking questions, of mastering detail and of seeing the “bigger picture”. “Asking questions is the best way of learning,” he said. “Be the ‘brave one’ and ask questions in a learning environment. You will gain from it and so will the room, but you’ll also be the one directing where the discussion goes.”

He explained that being able to see the bigger picture is what sets the best apart. “You might be an expert in a narrow part of the law, but you need to be able to understand how things fit together, and understand the overall process.”

He told the boys that he himself had been attracted to Law because he loved talking and he advised them to practice the art: “Seek out people with different opinions; be willing to debate in the knowledge that they might not change their minds. Keep focussed on the issues – don’t just resort to shouting.”

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Ishan was an inspiring and engaging guest. The boys undoubtedly gain from the opportunity to hear from leaders in their fields. He touched on many of the themes germane to our boys: inquisitiveness and curiosity, intelligent debate, the development of a rounded personality and a desire to contribute to the wider community.”

In addition to his teaching role, Mr Kolhatkar is an External Examiner in advanced criminal litigation for The Bar Standards Board. This work takes in a number of BPTC providers, including City Law School, Cardiff University and Manchester Metropolitan University. His role is to ensure that assessments are properly set and marked in accordance with the intended learning outcomes of the module and the BPTC as a whole. He also speaks regularly at Middle Temple students’ events, on topics such as examination technique on the BPTC. (Middle Court is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers.) In his spare time, Mr Kolhatkar writes a blog for aspiring lawyers.

Year 13 pupil Dhruv Kanabar attended the talk and said: “Mr Kolhatkar provided a detailed insight into becoming a successful and effective advocate. It was particularly useful to hear his views on looking at the Law in the context of a bigger picture and how different elements are inherently linked.”

A QE old boy treated three current pupils to a rare behind-the-scenes tour of Buckingham Palace – and gave them an insight into careers on offer there.

Christopher Sandamas (OE 1978-1983) is Chief Clerk to the Palace and offered the opportunity for three boys and a member of staff to find out more about the inner workings of ‘Buck House’.

“We thought the best way to choose three pupils was to run an essay competition,” said teacher Sarah Westcott who accompanied the boys on the visit. “They all had to write about what it means to be British.” Year 8 boys Hector Cooper and Zakariya Shah, and Ivin Jose, of Year 7, were the winners. Their essays covered a broad range of experience, including growing up in France, how the traditions of British life are interwoven with the increasingly technological world, and an evaluation of the tolerance and multiculturalism experienced in modern Britain.

“After we cleared the security checks at the Palace gates, we had tea in Christopher’s office, where he outlined the duties of the Private Secretary’s office and his role as Chief Clerk,” said Dr Westcott.

“We were given an extensive tour of the Palace, including state rooms and some areas not usually open to visitors. We received the impression very much of a ‘working palace’, where functions of various types – be they investitures, garden parties or state visits – occur on a regular basis.”

The party was also given a ‘back stairs’ view of the Palace – meeting the numerous people who support the Queen in her duties, from handling correspondence with Heads of State or members of the public and acting as intermediaries with various departments of Government to organising her extensive engagements list.

The boys were given an insight into careers within the Palace organisation and the skills necessary for such roles. “The key message of how important it is to study what you enjoy came through loud and clear,” added Dr Westcott. “Many of the staff we met had backgrounds in the arts, particularly History and Politics with experience in research.”

The tour concluded with lunch in the staff dining room, where Christopher was keen to hear about the boys’ current experiences at QE, and to share his own memories. He was interested to hear about the boys’ preconceptions about Palace employees and was amused by Hector Cooper’s comments on how “normal and pleasant” the people working at the palace are.

“I think we were all amazed at the number of people working behind the scenes to support the Royal Household’s work and how welcoming they were when asked to tell us about their roles. It was a wonderful experience and we are all grateful to Christopher for giving us this rare opportunity,” concluded Dr Westcott.

The Tigertones, Princeton’s signature male a cappella group, brought the distinctive sounds of American close harmony to QE in a specially arranged concert.

The group performed for the Upper School as part of their autumn tour of London. They delivered a 30-minute set comprising exclusively their own arrangements of popular songs, ranging from Coldplay’s Viva la Vida and Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours, to the Scottish folk song, Loch Lomond, and an energetic rendition of the barbershop classic, Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby.

The visit was initiated by QE parent Mr Muammer Cakir (father of Batu Cakir in Year 9), who studied at Princeton as a postgraduate. Having learned about the group’s tour through the Princeton alumni network, he got in touch and helped make the arrangements to bring them to QE. Mr Cakir was a special guest of the Headmaster, Neil Enright, for the concert.

The Tigertones were introduced by sixth-former Mehul Meghani and thanked by Nikhil Shah, who, like Mehul, is a Vice-Captain in Year 13.

Mr Enright said: “The Tigertones were very good, delivering a rich and well-blended sound, with lots of confidence and personality both in their performance and when they spoke to the boys. We hosted them for lunch and gave them a tour of the school – they seemed impressed with our history, achievements and facilities.

“I am most grateful to Mr Cakir for his help in making possible this visit, which, I am sure, will have played a part in reminding our boys to consider Princeton and other US destinations when they are making their university choices. Ivy League universities have bec ome increasingly popular with QE leavers; it is a trend we are happy to encourage.”

After their performance, the Tigertones took questions from the boys on everything from matters relating to the group itself – their creative process, the reasons for the ensemble remaining all-male and the auditions system –  through to the differences between the US and UK university systems. One of the main things they highlighted was that in the US, undergraduates can continue to study a range of subjects for two years before picking their major – in contrast to the early specialisation required in the UK.

“We now look forward to an influx of new interest in our own barbershop and a cappella groups at QE!” the Headmaster concluded.