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Old Elizabethans are taking a flexible approach to help pupils prepare for their futures at university and beyond in the current unprecedented circumstances.

Several alumni have been hosting online events providing careers and higher education guidance. The School has played its part in faciltating discussions by opening up the QE Connect alumni platform to boys in Year 11 and above.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This programme of OE support has created terrific resources for our senior boys, who are inevitably missing out on some of the opportunities that would normally have been available to them in School, such as lunchtime talks and our Year 12 Universities Convention, which we had to cancel. Most of these sessions have been conducted live over Zoom or MS Teams, enabling full interaction between the participants and the OEs.

“It is a very direct example of the wider Elizabethan community being engaged to help current pupils, and I am very grateful indeed to the alumni who have gone the extra mile to provide advice and support.

“Through QE Connect, older pupils can now seek out mentoring and guidance from OEs with relevant experience. I would urge as many of our current students, including Year 13 leavers, as possible to sign up, not just for their own benefit now, but also because in doing so they are taking the first steps towards providing similar support to the generation that follows them.”

Binu Perera, a 2019 leaver now in his first year of reading Medicine at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, held a Zoom meeting for more than 20 aspiring medics, which was facilitated by Assistant Head (Pupil Development) Michael Feven. During the video call, he covered areas including Oxbridge application procedures and entrance tests, UCAS statements and university interviews.

Another of last year’s leavers, Rohan Shah, recorded a ‘vtalk’ for boys interesting in reading Economics at university – the subject Rohan is currently studying at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He covered both the preparations he undertook to secure his university place and how he has found his first year there. Concluding his 21-minute talk, he wished the boys: “Good luck with your preparation and hopefully I will be seeing you at Cambridge in a couple of years.”

Karan Dewnani (OE 2006–2013), who has forged a successful career as a civil engineer since graduating with a Master’s degree in Civil and Structural Engineering from Sheffield in 2017, recorded a fully illustrated talk on Civil Engineering as a Career. Karan, who currently works for global engineering consultancy Arcadis, featured examples of projects he has worked on, including the HS2 railway line.

Recordings of Binu’s, Rohan’s and Karan’s contributions have been uploaded to QE Connect’s main feed.
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Other OEs taking part in similar activity to support current pupils recently include:

• Jonathan Hollingsworth (OE 2006-2013), who works as an Investment Analyst for Rathbones, ran a discussion-led session with a group of Year 12 boys on his unconventional route into finance, during which he covered the pros and cons of his decision not to take Economics or Mathematics at A-level, and his decision to read Law at university.
• Nicholas Stern (OE 1997-2004) spoke to Year 12s about his career as a Vice President at Barclays International and, before that, at Morgan Stanley, where he had been an intern. He gave the boys his own insights into how the financial sector will be affected by the current crisis.
• Kiran Modi (OE 2007-2014), a Business Analyst with McKinsey, and Aum Thacker (2008–2015), an Analyst with ThirdWay Africa, delivered a session developing boys’ critical thinking skills, in the context of interview preparation, personal statement advice, and preparation for Oxbridge Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) papers. Kiran also recently promoted the McKinsey Leadership Academy to senior boys at QE. Subsequently, four Year 13 pupils – Deeps Gandhi, Aryan Jain, Rishi Shah and Kevin Van der Geest – were accepted on to the programme.

Regular meetings on academic progress and all-round wellbeing involving boys and their form tutors have long been an important part of the School’s pastoral programme.

This half-term conducting the bespoke tutorials online using video-conferencing technology was first trialled and then rolled out across all year groups. The aim has been to replicate, so far as possible, the benefits of the tutorials the boys enjoy when physically in School.

The tutorials will now be continued in order to keep up good communications between tutors and the boys, to aid collaboration, to enable social interaction with a pastoral focus, and to help identify where boys might need more intervention and support.

They have been adapted, where necessary, to fit the circumstances. For example, generally a number of boys are involved at the same time, so that they can have some social interaction among themselves and can share ideas, advice and what they are finding challenging.

Boys across the School say they have found the tutorials rewarding and enjoyable, while Head of Year 9 Rosemary Hall reports that boys, parents and teachers alike have stated how great it has been to see each other. “Akshaj Pawar, of 9H, even said that all of his questions had been answered!”

The use of video technology has been widely appreciated by teachers who had been eager to ‘check in’ with those in their charge. Oliver O’Gorman, who is form tutor of 9U, said: “It is much nicer to have a conversation with the boys via Zoom rather than in an online forum; you can really see how they are getting on and it was really obvious that they all enjoyed the experience and were looking forward to our next chat already.” Ugan Pretheshan, a member of that form, said: “It definitely makes it feel like a more normal morning – getting to see my classmates and my form tutor and just having a chat.”

Tom Batchelor, who is 7L’s form tutor, concurs with Mr O’Gorman: “The group bespoke Zoom meetings have a been a welcome opportunity for students to share their worries and concerns during this lockdown period. Students have benefited from listening to others’ experiences, and having structured discussions on strategies has allowed them to evaluate their own current method. It has also allowed them to reflect on their personal long-term targets, celebrate their successes and to set exciting targets for the challenging term ahead.” Mr Batchelor has also introduced some fun group activities, including a form quiz.

Danyal Talha and Yash Kedia are both in his form group. “During my online bespoke tutorial, I really enjoyed seeing some of my classmates and my form tutor, because we have not been able to see each other for a fairly long time,” said Danyal. “I feel that the ‘bespokes’ are a very good way of supporting us during these tough times by allowing us to speak to our form tutors and discuss any possible difficulties we are facing, or just to catch up with what we are finding useful. Overall, they are very useful, and I look forward to my next one”.

Yash said: “I have found them extremely helpful as they are ways of communicating to others while still separated. They are a way of socialising and still keeping in touch while in lockdown. I feel supported when we have these as we have someone to talk to, other than people at home. I have enjoyed these interactions as we are still able to talk to our classmates even if it might not be face to face.”

Year 10 form tutor Rebecca Grundy said: “It’s been really great to hear how the boys have been getting on with online learning, as well as how they’ve been keeping in touch with each other. Some of them have shown me drawings they have done and the baked goods they have made in their spare time. Mostly it’s just been lovely to hear their voices again!”

While both learning and friendships have continued to flourish during lockdown, the introduction of the video bespoke tutorials has, though, revealed one break with the recent past among young Elizabethans. “It’s been funny to see the hairstyles some of the boys are now ‘cultivating’ since the barbers have shut, taking advantage of not having to comply with the School hair regulations with regards to length and colour!” Miss Hall said.

The five weeks of the Summer Term thus far have seen a significant number of pastoral interventions that have allowed us to stay in touch with all our students and to provide support and advice where it is needed, writes Deputy Head (Pastoral) David Ryan.

Form tutors have been meeting their tutees for online bespoke tutorial sessions; in these, it has been great to see how creative the boys are being in dealing with the challenges of lockdown, and I know that they have enjoyed seeing each other, as well as their tutor. Alongside this, the morning registration process that we have set up has helped our students establish a good routine and allowed us to pick up on issues speedily and respond to them. It is right that the boys feel that their queries are responded to quickly, and I am pleased that we have been able to do so. In addition to bringing these two major areas online, there have been other pastoral interventions involving individual boys.

One of the realities of the current situation, of course, is that everyone’s experience of the lockdown is different: some of our boys are sharing PCs, others have their own; some are fasting, some aren’t; some have families that have not been badly affected by Covid-19, while for some of you the opposite is definitely the case. Our aim in pastoral sessions is to help the boys get through whatever the situation is for them and know that while we may currently be remote physically, we are not remote in a wider sense, as we can still do many things to help those who need assistance.

It is definitely worth adding one thing: we are a school and the people who work here have made that choice because we want to help young people. Therefore, seeing our students in online tutorials, knowing that they are well and trying to support them is not our ‘new normal’…it is very much our ‘normal normal’ – it’s what we do every day! We want to maintain this, whatever the weeks ahead may bring. We do so in the knowledge that our work, alongside that of all other key workers, can help our country get through the crisis and assist our students and their families in this challenging period.

While the coronavirus has had a profound impact on our lives, it is important to think ahead to the future and the world beyond the current situation – and that’s exactly what PDT sessions will be doing in the next half-term. Boys in some year groups will be undertaking research projects which seek to allow them to combine their knowledge with research skills in a way that will be necessary in their future careers.

Every societal problem can be seen as a problem to be resolved. And in response to the coronavirus, people in various sectors will be seeking answers to the question What should we do if there were to be another global pandemic like this one? Every profession needs new ideas, and in the next 5-10 years every current QE student will potentially be starting his career. So, it is important that they think widely and think ‘big’ about the careers they are interested in. They could perhaps link those thoughts to the current situation, according to their own abilities, interests and aspirations. Here are a few sector-specific pointers and topics for them to ponder:

• Prospective scientists – vaccines and treatments
• Prospective computer scientists – creating apps and other programs which allow a country to track the spread of a pandemic
• Prospective engineers – setting up a building for the best social distancing
• Prospective teachers – how best to provide learning through online platforms
• Prospective economists – what a future government should do to protect its economy
• Prospective lawyers and politicians – the laws a government should enact and how to lead in a political crisis

All the boys need to think positively about the future and to be part a community that develops and shares ideas; every global leader, every CEO, every entrepreneur and every innovator had to start somewhere, and that ‘somewhere’ was usually their home or their school where they learned, thought, reflected and then came up with new ideas. In undertaking a research project, that is what we want the boys to be doing in the weeks to come. We hope that they learn much and we will look forward to hearing about their findings.

Heads of Year find boys generally coping well with remote learning, while passing on expert advice to help them tackle the acknowledged challenges of life in lockdown.

Thomas Harrison, Head of Year 7

The vast majority of you are doing fantastically well during lockdown. You have produced a lot of great work, both as scans and in digital format. Now that our normal Year 7 PDT Mars Lander project is under way, I hope you enjoy planning your trip to the red planet, while also learning to reference the materials you use – a key aspect of researching ethically.

I have been pleased to see you continuing to use the forums to chat about work and about what you have been up to – and to set each other puzzles and riddles, too. We are getting to the end of our first cycle of ‘bespokes’ and shortly all of you will have met with your form tutor and other students. It’s been good to see you taking inspiration from the School’s use of Zoom to set up your own working groups in places – well done to Simi Bloom and Tristan Fink in 7U, and to Dharm Gajjar in 7B.

In our fortnightly assemblies, we have been focusing on your achievements as a year group during the closure, as well as sharing tips for managing work. Our focus this week on mental health is, I hope, a helpful reminder of the importance of looking after yourselves during lockdown.

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Sean Kelly, Head of Year 8

This half-term we saw a range of measures introduced to connect with each other, and I am so proud of how each and every one of you has risen to the formidable challenge of working from home. I love the way you use your work and social forums to discuss work and other interests and I have been very impressed by the maturity you have shown on these platforms. I hope you feel you have had a productive half-term, and, importantly, that you have made time to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we are having.

The morning registration has been a great way for you to get into a positive daily routine, and although [Body Coach star] Joe Wicks still causes some of you to register late, on the whole, I have been very impressed with how punctual you are. It has also been great to see so many of you keeping on top of your tasks – and reaching out to your teachers where you are struggling.

Finally, the bespoke tutorials have given you a chance to speak face-to-face with your form tutor and with other members of your form. The feedback from these has been overwhelmingly positive.

Thank you for persevering in very difficult circumstances. I hope you enjoy a well-earned half- term break. Stay safe everyone and we will talk soon.

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Rosie Hall, Head of Year 9

It is important to recognise the challenges that isolation and remote learning pose: it has not always been easy for a year group who thrive in learning collaboratively, are very sociable and love being in the playground playing football. It’s ok to acknowledge that you have found this hard: some of you have had days when motivating yourselves has been difficult. This reflects the feelings of the nation, if not the world!

Boys have been engaging in the Wellbeing 60 Day Home Learning Challenge to help them cope with the ‘new normal’ and to take their mind off the news, which can sometimes be overwhelming.

I have been really impressed with, and proud of, the boys who have found time to: create PPE masks (Soumil Sahjpall and Hussain Alaswad amongst others); learn different languages; get involved in the PE department challenges (many of you did this); win MFL competitions (Darren Lee and Patrick Bivol); submit videos for the Ravenscroft Nursing Home virtual concert (lots were involved in this, too); try out some home cooking; do some art, or build jet plane models. Many of you, I am pleased to say, are still receiving lots of Good Notes.

If there is one take-away message for the year group, it is this: in line with the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week, be kind. Kind to yourself, in giving yourself regular breaks when working, not spending too long in front of the screen and sticking to the timing guidance provided by subject teachers. Kind to those you are living with – consider how can you help out. And kind to your peers – who could you call to have a proper chat with, rather than messaging online?

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Tim Waite, Year 10

We all realise that the last few weeks have been a challenge for many of you, for many different reasons.

However, I have to say that I have been impressed overall by the amount of self-motivation which so many of you are demonstrating, and it has been good to hear how you are also making the most of the positives of the lockdown, whether that is in enjoying spending time with family, or in taking the time to read, to exercise, to play instruments, to do a little baking (when you can get hold of flour, of course…), or in very many other ways besides.

Be assured that your teachers and tutors are keen to get back in the classrooms with you all and to get you ready for Year 11.

Remember: communication is key to success, now as much as ever – do contact your teachers, tutors or me with any questions or issues you have.

Finally, enjoy the sun and have a great half-term break, with my best wishes to you all and your loved ones.

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Simon Walker, Year 11

With the main goal you originally had for the year now no longer there, I would like to draw your attention to two things: first, how you can stay purposeful; and, second, the mutually reinforcing relationship that staying purposeful has with good mental health.

Having a good mix of activities is key to staying purposeful. Try to balance: hobbies or personal projects; your GCSE–A-Level transition work, and the super-curricular or careers-related. As a School we are addressing all three areas. On Monday, for example, around a third of you joined a webinar in which Dr Ana Hastoy, of Christ Church, Oxford, provided an overview of the process of applying to Oxford. Time spent preparing for your future is not only beneficial in its own right, but will help maintain the direction and momentum that are part of staying purposeful.

Equally, at the moment, constructive activities done for enjoyment can be amongst the most important, helping you sustain good morale; it has been heartening to hear about Year 11 students’ activities, like learning a new language online, developing cooking skills, or even taking up horticulture. I encourage you to share ideas with one another and to collaborate in socially distanced activities, as some have already been doing. Beyond this, I urge you to continue to participate in the School community more broadly – I enjoyed the introductions that some of you gave to your GCSE music compositions for last week’s concert.

Good routines are a necessary foundation of remaining purposeful. Structuring your time is important: you will accomplish more by avoiding distractions. The sense of accomplishment thus derived is important in itself, helping you stay positive and optimistic. Another core aspect of good routines is good sleep patterns, given their close connection with good mental health. For Mental Health Awareness Week, charity Time to Change are focusing on this and have prepared an activity pack. I will be setting you an eQE task to complete one of these activities.

Finally, I wish you and your families good health and a restful half-term holiday.

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Helen Davies, Year 12

Firstly, a huge “well done” for everything that you have all achieved so far. I am extremely impressed with the way that so many of you have adapted so quickly and effectively to online learning and our remote school.

Not only has a large amount of academic work been completed thoroughly and to a high standard, a great number of you have also been involved in webinars and Zoom conferences with a variety of OEs and external providers, and I have also heard about a wide and varied range of super-curricular and extra-curricular activities that you have each individually been involved in. It is wonderful to see so many of you not only adapting but indeed thriving and continuing to lead your peers with your activities and achievements.

Inevitably, some of you have also come up against challenging circumstances and may not be finding the current situation so easy, for a variety of reasons. My greatest advice to you is to think about the long term. Our current situation, although very strange, is only temporary, and it is vital that you focus on long-term goals and consider how you can best prepare yourself for when the lockdown is lifted.

I hope that you all have a good break over the half-term holiday and that you use the time to get some exercise and sunshine, to rest and to catch up on any work that you are behind on, as necessary.

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Michael Feven, Year 13

It was fantastic to see so many of you at the Year 13 book return earlier this week. It goes without saying that the events of the past few months are not how we would have wished your time at QE to end, and I look forward to seeing you all again at a happier occasion once the situation permits, hopefully in the next academic year.

In the meantime, it was great to hear of all the wonderfully creative ways in which you have been spending your time since 19th March, be it an improvised version of table tennis, making furniture out of walnut shells, or learning a new language (who knew that there were so many budding Japanese speakers in Year 13?). And, of course, many of you have been taking the opportunity to consolidate your A-level learning and to get ahead with your undergraduate courses.

Don’t forget there are a number of important deadlines coming up. Remember: to apply for student finance by this Friday, 22nd May (it’s possible to apply later, but your funding won’t be guaranteed for the start of term); to confirm UCAS decisions by 18th June, and of course, don’t forget A-Level results day, which takes place on 13th August (more details to follow).

Most importantly, remember that we are still here for you, and are able to provide you with as much guidance and support as you need: just get in touch. In the meantime, take care, look out for one another, and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

The History department has thrown down a VE Day 75th anniversary challenge to the boys: recreate one of the famous photographs from the celebrations marking the end of European hostilities in World War II.

The dedicated VE Day page in the eQE History section suggests pupils can perhaps: get their family involved; bring in some suitably evocative props; use their computer skills to convey a party atmosphere, or even give their image a clever modern twist.

The page includes a range of suitable images to replicate as well as links to information to find out more about VE Day, and, for those whose talents are more culinary than photographic, another suggested activity: boys are urged to try baking or cooking, using a recipe of that period, when food rationing was in place.

In addition, the page features an interview with Old Elizabethan Ken Cooper, who was a pupil at QE from 1942 until 1950.

“I joined the School in September 1942, by which time I and my peers had lived through the 1940-41 Blitz on London. We had grown used to nightly air-raids and during one of these in 1941 a bomb had hit the School and destroyed the refectory. This meant that we not only assembled in Hall at the start of every school day, but also returned there for lunch. We sat in our Houses at long tables, one for juniors and one for seniors, with the Housemaster seated at the end of the senior table. This gave a good sense of togetherness, but the food was abominable….potatoes nearer black than white and meat as hard as leather, often lined with colours suggesting it was more suitable for animals than for humans.

“When the sirens went during school hours, we left the classroom and sat in the corridors with our backs to the walls for our lessons. There was a small air-raid shelter on the old Gun Field, but it was always full of water and never used during my time. There were no after-school activities; when the bell went, we had to head for home in hope of making it before the next air raid.”

Although he cannot remember taking part in any VE Day events at the School, he adds: “I well remember the street parties where we all sat at tables in the middle of the road, celebrating with whatever food and drink we had and giving thanks that six years of war with the Nazis were over.”

Britain’s wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, is said to have advised “never let a good crisis go to waste” and, in that spirit, our Enrichment teams are tirelessly innovating to provide home access to as many as possible of the clubs and activities boys enjoy at school, writes Crispin Bonham-Carter, Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement).

Many of these new facilities will continue to benefit students well after the current lockdown. Our Home Enrichment eQE pages, for example, are regularly updated and guide students towards a myriad of creative, healthy, academic and caring activities.

Many of our clubs and societies have moved online, and the student club leaders have recommended ways students can continue to pursue their interests in lockdown, with recommendations of books, films, podcasts, articles, competitions, videos and more.

Our charity work continues. In addition to the Technology department’s work producing PPE for the NHS, our student musicians, after having had their concert cancelled at the nearby Ravenscroft Nursing Home, simply took it online and have now provided the home with enough live video recordings for five concerts! [Pictured is a contribution from cellist Raphael Herberg, of Year 11.] Plans are also afoot for events to support the local Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice, this year’s main QE charity.

We are keenly aware that what students are missing most of all is each other. Accordingly, much of our energy is directed towards bringing students together, whether it be in the various subject competitions, the wonderful online concerts and exhibitions or the new forums being established within departments.

Finally, some advice for those with motivation-fatigue:

• Make your self-enrichment a habit. Build it into your day like brushing your teeth
• It’s much better to do a little often, rather than a lot rarely
• Reward yourself when you’ve done it
• Build yourself an enrichment streak – keep a record of days when you’ve kept to schedule.

Rome wasn’t built in a day – but they were laying bricks every hour. Keep positive, keep active and stay enriched!