Viewing archives for School performance

This year’s leavers may have missed out on a few things because of the pandemic, but they enjoyed one opportunity not open to their predecessors: their own Valediction ceremony.

With their A-level examinations now behind them, all of Year 13 gathered in the Shearly Hall together with parents, teachers and guests for the inaugural event, which brought a mix of fun and the formal to their QE farewell.

As well as a small gift for all the leavers presented by Guest of Honour Robert (‘Judge’) Rinder (OE 1989–1994), the ceremony included prize-giving, with awards bestowed for: all the curriculum subjects; ‘contribution & responsibility’; ‘leadership & involvement’, and for extra-curricular activities ranging from chess to drama.

In his speech, Headmaster Neil Enright told the sixth-formers: “Today, we thank you for your fantastic contribution to the life of the School; congratulate you on the completion of your A-levels; wish you the very best for your bright futures; but also repeat our hope that this is not the end of your relationship with QE – merely the beginning of a different phase.

“Circumstances have been such that your year group has missed out on a number of opportunities and experiences due to the pandemic, not least your GCSEs and the full-throated celebration of those deserved results. I hope that today goes a little way to compensate for the loss of some of the School-based social events you may ordinarily have enjoyed.

“I hope in the years to come that you will come back and see us; tell us about your adventures and careers; and, more importantly, tell those following in your footsteps through the School. That you will show them and their families the great variety of things that an OE can do and an Elizabethan can be.”

Mr Enright also thanked parents for their “huge support, both moral and financial, over the years”.

In his vote of thanks, the 2021 School Captain, Siddhant Kansal, reflected on how he and his peers had changed since they arrived at the School in September 2015. Over the intervening years, most had grown “about 2ft taller” and would now be completely unrecognisable as the same boys.

“One thing that never changed, however, is the fact that all of us stood together the whole time and always looked out for each other,” said Siddhant.

He also paid tribute to Simon Walker, the group’s Head of Year from Year 10 onwards, who is leaving QE at the end of term. “I think I speak for most people when I say that the day he became head of our year was the most terrifying day of our lives…Four years later, we are still terrified, but also grateful for all that he did for us.”

Mr Walker was the afternoon’s Master of Ceremonies. After the speeches and presentations were finished, he invited the leavers and parents on to the Stapylton Field at the front of the School for afternoon tea in the sunshine.

The ceremony was accompanied by music performed by some of the School’s leading musicians. After vocalist and guitarist Aadarsh Khimasia entertained the audience before the ceremony started, the Trumpet Ensemble then performed the processional, Henry Purcell’s Trumpet Tune. Music award-winner saxophonist Conor Parker-Delves enjoyed his swansong as a QE musician, leading a quintet as they played a piece of his own composition, Cherry Fizz, during a musical interlude. The recessional music, played by the Saxophone Ensemble, was Karen Street’s All in Good Time, followed by Coldplay’s Paradise. The Jazz Band played while tea was served.

The ceremony also featured a thoughtful and entertaining address by the Guest of Honour, Robert Rinder, who reflected on how his own experiences at QE had contributed to his varied and successful career, calling upon the Class of 2022 to hold onto those QE values of love of learning, hard work, and service.

QE has been judged to be ‘outstanding’ by inspectors, with the School gaining this highest-possible rating in all five of Ofsted’s categories.

There is praise for every aspect of the School’s work, from the quality of teaching to the behaviour of pupils, and from the huge variety of extra-curricular opportunities through to the work done to prepare pupils for university.

Headmaster Neil Enright said today: “I am naturally delighted with this report. It is a clear endorsement of the School, the quality of the education provided here and the direction in which we are heading.

“While we were quietly confident that the School was in a strong position, it has been 14 years since our last full inspection, and we did not take anything for granted. It is, therefore, deeply satisfying to read the inspectors’ positive verdicts on all facets of School life.

“My congratulations and thanks go to all in the QE community who have made such a marvellous result possible, including the Senior Leadership Team, other teaching and support staff, the Governors, parents, our old boys and our current pupils.”

The seven-page Ofsted report – QE’s first since it became an academy in 2010 and since Mr Enright became Headmaster the following year – gives QE its sixth consecutive ‘outstanding’ grading.

The inspection team gave outstanding ratings for: the quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; leadership and management, and Sixth Form provision.

The team of five inspectors visited a sample of subject lessons across the curriculum, while conducting a more in-depth inspection of five subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Technology and History. This ‘deep dive’ included holding meetings with teachers and pupils, visiting lessons and reviewing boys’ work. The inspectors also looked at the responses to Ofsted’s own surveys of the views of pupils, staff and parents.

Lead Inspector Annabel Davies and her team began their report with this summary: “Pupils flourish at Queen Elizabeth’s School. They love to learn. Pupils are happy and safe. They take great pride in their work. Pupils are determined to succeed in all aspects of their school life and are ambitious for their futures. Leaders ensure that pupils study a broad range of academic subjects. They make sure the highly academic environment of the school is also a nurturing one.” Borrowing from the language of the School’s mission (“to produce young men who are confident, able and responsible”), the report’s opening paragraph concludes: “Leaders strive to develop pupils into confident, able and responsible young people.”

The section headed What does the school do well and what does it need to do better? does not, in fact, mention any areas in which QE ought to improve. Instead, it notes approvingly that: “School improvement priorities are ambitious. Leaders and governors are determined to improve the school’s work. They engage staff, pupils and parents in evaluating the school’s current provision and in making plans for the future.”

Mr Enright said: “We were so encouraged to read an independent assessment that is not only highly positive, but which also recognises the breadth of education provided here and our determination to keep moving forward in line with the objectives set out in our current School plan, Building on Distinction.”

The inspectors also rated QE’s arrangements for safeguarding as ‘effective’ – a category for which the only possible outcomes are ‘effective’ or ‘ineffective’. The report states: “Staff are acutely aware of the pressures that pupils in the school may face. They prioritise teaching about mental health, managing stress and online safety…The school teaches them the importance of respecting others.”

Among many other highlights, the report includes the following:

• “The behaviour of pupils is exemplary.”
• “The school has a strong sense of community.”
• “The school’s curriculum is academic, broad and balanced…[It] is highly ambitious in all subject areas. Pupils regularly complete work that goes far beyond what would normally be expected for their age.”
• “Teachers are experts in their subjects. They check pupils’ understanding throughout lessons…They swiftly support pupils to catch up if they fall behind. They also offer a range of clubs and competitions for pupils who excel. These are popular with pupils. Élite clubs in mathematics, robotics and cricket are particularly noteworthy.”
• “Leaders have high ambitions for all pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve exceptionally well here.”
• “Leaders place great importance on pupils’ personal development. They ensure that pupils gain a deep understanding of the issues that affect wider society.”
• “The school’s curriculum enrichment is extensive.” This section goes on to list diverse examples of lunchtime clubs – medical society, forensics, chess and drama clubs – while also noting pupils’ involvement in extra-curricular and competitive team sports.
• “Teachers help pupils to develop sophisticated skills in analysis, evaluation and research. This supports pupils to be ready for their next stage of education.”

The report may be read in full here.

The President and Principal of King’s College London had some inspiring and very ‘relatable’ advice for the prize-winners at Senior Awards – one of the highlights of the Queen Elizabeth’s School calendar.

The formal ceremony in the Main School Hall was this year held in its full format, following the pandemic-restricted event of 2021, with Professor Shitij Kapur the Guest of Honour.

Pupils from Years 10-12 were awarded a total of around 80 prizes covering all the academic subjects, as well as a range of other areas, including academic excellence, debating & public speaking, contribution & responsibility and chess. In addition to a number of speeches and the prizegiving, the evening was punctuated by a series of musical interludes performed by the boys.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was very good to be able to invite everyone to Senior Awards this year – and what a return to form! Professor Kapur was a wonderful guest speaker, and I was so pleased that parents, governors and other friends of the School were all able to join us to see some of our brightest and best receive their awards.”

Professor Kapur, who was accompanied by his wife Sharmistha, spoke about his career path, which has seen him work in academic environments in five countries across four different continents.

Interlacing the account with words particularly relevant for the boys, he urged them to be brave, ready to take risks and prepared for sudden changes of direction. He recounted being invited by King’s College London to join them for the first time when he was living in America. His wife’s response was “Well, why not?” – and that, he said, is the attitude we need if we are to embrace new opportunities.

He urged the reading of books, rather than blog posts or articles, and also spoke about how we make decisions in context, pointing out that unpredictable events and developments often govern that context.

“Show a passionate dedication to the pursuit of short-term goals,” he said, an attitude he characterised as being “micro-ambitious”.

Alluding to the famous maxim of Apple’s Steve Jobs – “you cannot connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward” – Professor Kapur concluded: “Start plotting the dots, and your life will be a grand story that will only make sense in hindsight.”

The idea is that you’ve got to be able to accept that and roll with it, being ambitious in terms of shorter-term goals and doing whatever you are doing now with pride, he explained.

In his speech, the Headmaster highlighted a number of qualities of effective leadership, including bravery, hard work, high standards, low tolerance of bad behaviour, and kindness.

Examples of poor leadership are legion, Mr Enright said. “This is why images of President Zelensky on the streets of Kyiv, or Her Majesty The Queen sat alone, socially distanced, at her husband’s funeral, have resonated, moved and inspired so strongly.”

Turning to the prize-winners, he added: “Boys, you’ve set your own high standards, so endeavour to stick to them or raise them still further.

“Your awards recognise past performance, so try to earn them again each day. Ensure that you remain worthy role models and leaders for your peers.”

Guests included the Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Barnet, Councillor Saira Don, who also spoke during the ceremony.

The current School Captain, Theo Mama-Kahn, gave the vote of thanks.

Music performed by the School’s senior musicians included works by Handel and the Renaissance Italian composer, Gastoldi.

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.

Queen Elizabeth’s School was today named as the Sunday Times Parent Power State Secondary School of the Year 2022.

The coveted national award encompasses academic accomplishment, but is distinct from the annual Parent Power academic rankings also published today and recognises overall achievements across all aspects of the School’s life.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The State Secondary School of the Year award is a significant accolade, so this is excellent news.

“The award reflects the breadth of the educational experience here at QE, with pupils taking full advantage of the opportunities available to enrich themselves, pursuing their intellectual interests well beyond the confines of course syllabuses and throwing themselves into our huge range of clubs and societies – more than 90 at the last count – many of them set up by the boys themselves.

“Our consistency of achievement at the highest level, spanning so many years, is truly remarkable and testament to the talent, ambition and dedication of our pupils, their families, our staff and all those involved in guiding and supporting the School. In short, it is a team effort, and I therefore hope everyone in the Elizabethan community will take both personal and collective pride in this award.”

As it has done in seven of the last nine years, QE again topped the latest Parent Power rankings, which this year are based on A-level and GCSE results aggregated from the last three pre-pandemic years, namely 2017–2019. The Parent Power table shows 96.3% of A-levels taken at QE were awarded grades A*-B and that 91.5% of GCSEs received grades 9-7 (or A* and A under the old grading system). A-level results were double-weighted by Parent Power.

Alastair McCall, editor of Parent Power, said: “Queen Elizabeth’s is making the top spot in our annual rankings its own and our award this year recognises that sustained excellence. However, this is no academic hothouse.

“Success in examinations comes as a by-product of a wider school ethos centred on fully developing the boys’ considerable talents. Boys leave the school confident young men capable of taking their place in the world, nurtured by a school with outstanding facilities and exceptional teaching.”

QE has won the State Secondary School of the Year award twice before, in 2001 and 2007. “With The Sunday Times Schools Guide and the Parent Power rankings remaining highly respected and influential within the education sector, we believe this triple success to be a rare achievement indeed,” the Headmaster said.

“This 2022 award will take us up to the start of our 450th anniversary year in 2023 and demonstrates that our shared vision, set out in our current School Plan, of ‘building on distinction’ is highly appropriate.

“With the challenges that all schools have faced over the past 20 months, the award comes as a welcome boost, and one that I think is well-deserved for the tireless and tenacious work put in by boys and staff.”

“I would add that, with public examinations cancelled over the past two summers, I understand Parent Power’s decision to base its rankings on 2017–2019 results. Yet while it is true that 2020 and 2021 results were achieved under very different conditions, we have strong internal evidence that the boys have been maintaining our very high standards and have progressed very well, despite the pandemic.”

Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2022 has been published online for subscribers this morning and will appear in a special supplement in this weekend’s Sunday Times.

QE today announced its biggest-ever prefect body – 120 sixth-formers led by the 2022 School Captain, Theo Mama-Kahn.

Theo, pictured centre, and his two Senior Vice-Captains, Ansh Jassra (right) and Antony Yassa will take over at the start of the New Year at the helm of a Year 12 team that includes Vice-Captains, House Captains, Deputy House Captains and Prefects.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “My congratulations go to all who have been appointed to this, our largest-ever group, reflecting the current size of our Sixth Form. There were very many strong candidates.

“To be named in such positions at this School represents a significant honour and is reflective of the standing in which they are held by their peers and staff. They serve as role models and ambassadors for QE and our shared values. The prefect roles are aligned with the development priorities in our 2021–2025 School plan; these senior students thus make a lasting contribution, assisting us in our progress as an organisation.

“It was no surprise to see Theo, Ansh and Antony emerge out of the prefect selection process ­- all are hugely talented, hard-working, and epitomise what it means to be ‘confident, able and responsible’,” Mr Enright added. “They are each role models in their own way for other QE boys, whilst they complement each other well with their differing personalities.

“Their ability to take on the leadership responsibility that these roles bring with them cannot be questioned. Already, they have each demonstrated that they can juggle significant extra-curricular involvements with academic study at an impressive level.”

Mr Enright also thanked the outgoing 2021 School Captain, Siddhant Kansal, and his team. “During another disrupted year, they coped admirably with the vicissitudes of leading in the midst of a pandemic, and successfully made an impact in a number of areas of School life.”

Assistant Head (Pupil Development) Michael Feven detailed the attributes and accomplishments of the new Captain and his Senior Vice-Captains.

“Theo is notable for his altruism: he is kind and enjoys selflessly helping others. He is a star of the Music department, with wide involvement in a number of ensembles, including one which he leads. At this year’s Senior Awards Ceremony, he not only won an impressive trio of prizes – for Music and Geography and a year-group award for overall commitment – but also entertained the audience with a trumpet voluntary. In addition, he is a one of our eco representatives and helps out in the French & German clinics.

“Ansh is a hard-working, determined and focussed individual. He gives up his own time to tutor Mathematics to youngsters in deprived areas, while also running clinics in Maths and German here, and he has enjoyed success with LAMDA public speaking awards.

“Antony is outgoing and confident: he will undoubtedly bring new ideas to the group. Like Theo, he is heavily involved in Music, having sung in the School Choir and Chamber Choir for a number of years. He also exemplifies the School’s ethos of service: he is intending to work at an old people’s home as part of our Sixth Form Voluntary Service Programme.”

The roles of the ten Vice-Captains have been expanded and enhanced this year to support the new School development priorities. New leadership positions for the environment have been added, while the existing community engagement role has been strengthened. As a result, there are now two Vice-Captains with responsibility for each of the following areas:

• Charity & Community Engagement
• Enrichment & Involvement
• Environment
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
• Student Voice.

The second picture shows the Headmaster and the Head of Year 12, Helen Davies, with the School Captain, Senior Vice-Captains and Vice-Captains. The Vice-Captains are: Victor Angelov; Suraj Cheema; Sushant Deshpande; Dylan Domb; Aryan Jindal; Heemy Kalam; Mithil Parmar; Olly Salter; Ryo Sato; and Jao-Yong Tsai.