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From Food Technology to PE, boys are finding their feet in their home learning environments and still relishing being part of the QE community.

After some initial concerns about how they would deal with the workload, a number of boys have reported that they are managing well and, furthermore, enjoying the experience of working at their own pace.

Keon Robert, of Year 7, said: “Obviously it is not quite like school, but I am handling it well. The workload is manageable, but I am missing the company of my friends and classmates.”

He has particularly enjoyed working through eQE. “I find the Year 7 forums help me communicate with my friends during lockdown. We discuss various interesting and enjoyable topics, such as sport and politics. The forums can also be utilised to help us with our work. It shows that even during lockdown, the QE community is still willing to help others in need, via the internet.

“What I also enjoy about eQE is that I can access all the work that has been set with the push of a button. It has helped me get on top of my workload, and I am much more organised.”

Keon has been a keen participant in the PE department’s weekly challenges. “Not only has my fitness improved, but I have also seen an increase in my interaction with my family since they usually do the challenges alongside me.”

He took part in the Brave New World poetry competition and was delighted to win first prize. He has also entered an external competition – Galactic Challenge’s Digital Competition, “It caught my eye the other day, and my friends and I decided we could enter it. This is an extra-curricular activity I enjoy as we have regular online meetings with each other, and I can see how they are getting on.”

Keon’s Year 7 peer, Edward Muscat, has earned himself a mention in his local newspaper, the Islington Gazette. He and his parents, along with six other neighbouring families have raised more than £3,000 by running 85 blocks around their homes in a relay marathon, being careful to observe social distancing and, in Edward’s case, wearing a mask. The money raised will go to NHS Charities Together.

“I am enjoying learning from home,” he said. “It’s good to have the full day’s classes on eQE when I log on in the morning; all the resources I need are always available, and I can work at my own pace.

“In History, we are studying American history from the European settlement onwards, which I am finding fascinating. Food ‘tech’ at home is great, because we can eat it immediately! Physics is quite challenging as we are learning about forces, which is completely different from anything I have studied before.”

In addition to the marathon, Edward is doing a great deal of sport with his dad in the garden. He has found he has had more time to practise for his online Zoom piano lessons. And as well as eating the results of his Food Technology classes, Edward has also been brewing ginger beer from a starter kit. “It is fermenting nicely and should be ready any day!”

Music, especially the Virtual Orchestra and Choir, has figured significantly in the lockdown life of  third Year 7 boy, Leo Sellis. “I especially enjoyed the Virtual Orchestra because I love making music, especially the pieces we are performing, and I cannot wait to hear the outcome.

“I have also really enjoyed my Music lessons because we are doing theory, which is my favourite part. I am challenging myself by trying for Grade 6 since I have just completed my Grade 5.”

Leo has found home learning quite relaxing, but has acknowledged that it has occasionally been hard to learn new content without teachers’ immediate help. “I like working through eQE, because it means that I can have a slightly more relaxed timetable and be able to take short breaks whenever I feel I need one.”

He has also been taking regular exercise. “I like all the fun challenges I am sent by the PE department.”

He has found the Year 7 forums have given him an opportunity to broaden his circle of friends: “The forums are a good place to talk to people that I do not usually talk to at school.”

The twin importance of message and method in fighting climate change was brought to the fore in the two winning entries in the Geography department’s Earth Day competitions.

The competitions were held to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

With this year’s Earth Day theme being Climate Action, the winner of the writing competition emphasised the importance of using the right people to convey environmental messages, while the victor in the parallel photography competition emphasised the positive impact that even small steps could have.

Head of Geography Emily Parry said: “Well done to all of the boys who entered the competitions. It was impressive to see the boys engage with the enormous challenge of climate change and heartening to see their appreciation of the wonder of our planet and passion for it to be protected.”

The first task was to write in 500 words or less an answer in response to the question: How can we save our planet from climate change? The second was for boys to submit a photograph they had taken illustrating the impact, for good or ill, of humans on ecosystems, accompanied by a 100-word explanation.

Ananth Iyer, of Year 8, took the prize for the photography competition with his striking image of a bird feeder in his back garden. He explained his choice of subject: “It celebrates the positive impact that humans can have on our environment. It can provide food for birds and all sorts of other animals when they are finding it tough. Small things like these can have a huge impact.”

Congratulating Ananth, Miss Parry said: “We appreciated the simplicity of Ananth’s photograph and how it showed that it is possible for anyone to take a small action which can have a positive impact upon ecosystems.”

First prize for the writing competition went to Rahul Doshi, of Year 10, who submitted an argument that insufficient numbers of people are aware of the threat of climate change.

“Rahul creatively answered the question How can we save our planet from climate change? by recognising that it is first necessary for everyone to accept that climate change is actually a threat! He draws attention to the importance of having messengers, such as David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, to effectively communicate climate science to people of all ages and backgrounds,” said Miss Parry.

Rahul proposed the use of respected messengers to increase recognition. He wrote: “With over 46% of UK citizens believing that the threat is overstated and 10% completely denying that humans are to blame for climate change, it is clear that not enough people currently are aware of the threat climate change poses to our planet. There needs to be a big push to get messengers – people who we all relate to – to get this message across. If we do not, this planet faces a grave future.”

The competitions were launched on Earth Day on 22 April through eQE and were accompanied by tips and links to websites with suggestions for background reading material. These ranged from National Geographic’s suggestions for lightening our ecological load to an Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) article about how to build a bug house.

Here is our latest summary of news and innovative developments from across the departments.

Robert Hyland, Head of English

Colleagues have really embraced the virtual environment. For example, Year 7 can virtually explore Mars before describing its environment, while Year 8 students are producing their own portfolio celebrating Kindness in a Crisis. Year 12 have benefited from excellent video lectures on topics as diverse as the critical reception of Hamlet and the poetry of Wilfred Owen. Micah King’s YouTube channel, which includes detailed analyses of poems from the GCSE anthology originally designed as a Year 11 revision resource, are now proving invaluable for Year 10. Staff have been experimenting with online forums to facilitate discussion – a vital element in English learning.

We have also shared wider enrichment available on the internet. In mid-April, Year 10 were scheduled to visit the Globe Theatre to see Romeo and Juliet; instead, the Globe fortuitously released a performance on YouTube.

After the success of the Brave New World poetry challenge, we are planning more competitions.

Teachers are making time for their own professional development: in a pedagogical reading club within the department, colleagues will be reading a book about English teaching and discussing it via Zoom.

I and Crispin Bonham-Carter have been using audio files to give whole-class feedback and explain misconceptions, and Sarah Snowdon has enjoyed the advantages of clarity and efficiency that online marking gives. When the School closure is over, we’re hoping that some of what we’ve learnt will stay with us!

Ruth Partington, Director of Music

Our Virtual Concert Programme is proving popular, with the Year 10 launch concert up to 355 views at the time of writing. The first-round deadline for recordings for our Virtual Orchestra and Virtual Choir concerts falls this week: I strongly encourage all instrumentalists and singers to seize the chance to get involved. Cultural activities at this time are important – and Music is a great way to enrich body, mind and soul – but these fantastic opportunities are only viable with sufficient engagement.

After half-term, we have a weekly year-group concert. We will shortly be calling for boys to record performances. So, start practising and planning! Recordings can be audio-only or videos; we welcome a range of performance styles, instruments and genres.

All boys learning an instrument are having weekly lessons via Skype or Zoom. At GCSE and A-level, we are using tools such as multi-media PowerPoints and encouraging boys to use free online music notation programs.

In Key Stage 3, boys are working on Music Theory – a subject surrounded by myths! In reality, its study is not just advantageous, but utterly essential to deepening understanding and appreciation, and to improving our abilities. It allows us to understand how Music has been put together by spotting patterns, rules and sequences. We can then apply these, improving sight-reading, improvisation and composition skills. Resources are available on eQE and we are offering dedicated Music Theory forums for all grades and levels.

Jonathan Hart, Director of Sport

The PE department has the unique challenge of keeping everyone active and healthy in this very difficult period. Taking into consideration each pupil’s possible living situation means that we have to be creative with our activities and provision in the hope that all pupils can take part and feel as though they are still part of the QE community.

We are releasing a fun and exciting challenge each week for everyone to take part in and giving awards for the best-designed workout. We have been giving advice on diet and nutrition in an attempt to encourage pupils to take more ownership of what they eat throughout lockdown, and have also been setting three quizzes a week to keep them entertained. The web pages are divided into age-appropriate Lower School and Upper School sections.

I am pleased to say that the boys have responded well – on QE’s Instagram, you can see can the video clips some have submitted showing themselves tackling the weekly challenges, which have included activities such as the plank challenge (exercises designed to strengthen the core and build up endurance) and football ‘keepy uppy’.

Moving forward, the department is in the process of setting up our very first virtual inter-House competition!

Surya Bowyer, Head of Library Services

In addition to a carefully curated selection of content aimed specifically at boys in lockdown, we have now launched Roundness – our own cross-disciplinary podcast. Episode 1, entitled I don’t believe in climate change, is about the weather – whether the weather is important (or not), about how we understand big, faceless things like the weather, and about how slippery the truth can be…You can listen and subscribe to Roundness on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whichever app you get your podcasts from, or you can listen directly from the eQE Roundness page.

The Library’s extensive eQE pages include a Book of the Week, as well as a host of other recommended reading on the Lockdown Reading page, some of it recommended for particular age groups, some suitable for all. There are quick links to huge selections of free e-books and to free audiobooks. And there is our own Virtual Culture guide to virtual museums and galleries for lockdown and beyond. The Arabella magazine, covered elsewhere in this edition of QE Update, is hosted by the Library’s eQE section.

One coping strategy when we face a crisis like Covid-19 is to document our experiences in some way. More than 350 years ago, that was exactly what Samuel Pepys, a young civil servant living in London, did in his diary when the capital was hit by the Great Plague in 1665 – the worst epidemic to hit England since the Black Death of 1348. His reaction, and that of his fellow Londoners, is set out in a dedicated eQE page: it is, I think, a fascinating read, especially at this time, and the whole section is copiously illustrated, too.

As the Summer Term gets into its stride, some Lower School boys have been reflecting on their remote learning experiences.

From the early frustrations of not being able to meet friends and the challenge of summoning up the requisite self-discipline, to the acquisition of new skills, boys are having to adapt to a new way of living and learning.

Trying to keep to a similar time frame to that of a typical day at School, including taking regular exercise, has been Dylan Domb’s main priority. He was also one of the QE boys who, at the suggestion of the Head of Technology, Michael Noonan, has been using his 3D printer at home to manufacture face shields for NHS workers. “I delivered my first batch on Monday, so somewhere in the country, front-line NHS workers will be wearing the masks that I have made.”

Praising the versatility of the staff, Dylan, of Year 10,  said: “Home learning has been a new and exciting endeavour for me. I have been given access to a whole host of new resources.”

He has been able to continue studying at a steady pace, using eQE – particularly the facility to ask questions of teachers and receive feedback on his work – just as he would at school. A picture of Dylan’s desk illustrates the article on remote learning by Deputy Head (Academic) in this edition of QE Update.

Dhruv Chadha, of Year 9, misses being in class but is finding the new experience interesting. “I like that all the resources that we would normally be offered in the classroom are on eQE and that we can ask our teachers questions, as it is really helpful. The resources provided are, in my opinion, reducing the damage which is being created right now.”

He has also been making use of the time to try out new things he would not usually have time for and has been learning Korean, Persian and Arabic. “I find these particularly challenging and fun, and I plan to continue studying them after this situation is over.”

Anoop Donthireddy, of Year 8, initially found the completely new style of learning something of a challenge but he is getting used to it now. “You need to follow the teachers’ online instructions carefully to complete the tasks in the correct way within the due date.” He has found working through eQE has become easier and that the teachers’ online help and the resources available there have provided him with the support he needs. “I miss the Science practicals and the after-school clubs, but I have been using the James Dyson Foundation Challenges and maths diagnostics quizzes, which are interesting and fun.”

At first, Rahul Belavadi, of Year 10, was challenged by the change of pace but is now finding the system “quite successful”, as questions can be sent through eQE. In his view, the quality of his learning has not been badly affected by the circumstances. In particular, he has developed his independent learning skills and has valued having more time to take detailed notes, which he thinks will be useful for revision in the future.

“My progress hasn’t really been hindered, as lesson PowerPoints are sent out through eQE, so the teacher’s comments are still part of the lesson,” he said.

He particularly enjoyed the Kerboodle tasks that were set for Biology, finding them engaging, as the questions were set out in a quiz-like style.

Rahul is using his free time to volunteer at a hospital. He distributes donations to staff members in the wards. “I have found this really rewarding, as anything small which makes their life easier, such as a dinner, definitely goes a long way.”

Deputy Head (Academic) Anne Macdonald explains the principles underpinning remote learning at the School and how these are being applied progressively, as the educational experience evolves and new methods and resources are integrated into eQE.

In normal times, our teachers habitually work together across departments, benefiting from the experience of colleagues as they plan lessons and deploy resources in the classroom. During the current extraordinary circumstances, we are strongly encouraging staff to maintain and strengthen this approach, making the most of each other’s particular knowledge and expertise so that departments work efficiently through collaboratively planning both remote learning activities and the use of resources.

We are working hard to balance the need to provide a curriculum that brings the challenge that our boys need with a recognition that it will take students longer to complete work independently, with less opportunity for the spontaneous collaboration and interaction that is readily available in the classroom. Ongoing feedback from the boys through their bespoke online tutorials will provide us with some of the information we need in order to strike this balance successfully. For however long the current situation continues, we want to make sure that remote learning at QE places our boys on a trajectory for future exam success.

We are, therefore, pointing boys towards an increasing range of internal and external online tools and learning resources, where we adjudge that these provide appropriate challenge for QE pupils. These include, for example, resources from our own Queen’s Library, University of Oxford podcasts and TED talks. A new addition is the Classoos online textbook service, which the School can now access. Departments may reorganise curriculum content a little to ensure it is best adapted to the needs and capacity of pupils studying from home, whilst ensuring that plenty of additional opportunities are available to stretch those boys looking for extension. Teachers in some subjects are also considering how they might set some work which is not computer-based.

Audio and video-recording – especially when embedded in other materials such as PowerPoint presentations – are helping us to retain some of the benefits of face-to-face teaching. This can be particularly helpful with more difficult curriculum content, bringing further variety to remote learning and especially engaging those boys for whom auditory learning is most effective. Such approaches will be used selectively to ensure that their impact is not diminished. Teachers who are more experienced in such areas have been sharing ‘how to’ guides with their colleagues to ensure the recordings are professional and purposeful. The eQE forums provide us with a useful way of facilitating collaboration, and a forum area has now been created for all departments. These enable teachers firstly to create threads and then to draw boys in, encouraging them to get involved in lively online discussions.

We are also progressing cautiously with the use of platforms allowing video discussions, such as Zoom and MS Teams, our top priority being to ensure the use of such technology is not only professional, but also safe. To date, this has been used by the Senior Leadership Team with our senior prefects – in order to discuss their experience of remote learning – and it is now being introduced for bespoke tutorials in other year groups too.

Just as we are using eQE’s extensive capabilities to maintain collaborative learning, we are similarly making use of the platform to enable teachers to assess pupil learning and to provide opportunities for pupils to receive feedback to help them progress. Tools on eQE allow teachers both to mark work and provide comments to aid improvement, and to construct knowledge-checking tests for the boys to complete, which self-mark to provide automatic feedback.

My colleagues have been working hard to produce remote learning activities and resources for our boys since the lockdown began. In the coming weeks, through some of the steps I have outlined above, we will be redoubling our efforts to enhance remote learning, using eQE to ensure the QE experience is as good it can possibly be in our current situation.

QE Virtual Concert Programme Summer 2020