Forty-seven pupils have been offered places at Oxford and Cambridge this year, easily exceeding the previous QE record of 40.

Thirty-two offers have come from Cambridge and 15 from Oxford, spanning a huge range of subjects, from Engineering to Medicine and from Languages to Law.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This figure of 47 represents a magnificent achievement both for the boys themselves and for our dedicated team of staff, including those who teach them and those who have used their considerable experience to guide them through the application process. My heartfelt congratulations go to them all.

“To secure their offers, these pupils have demonstrated not just their mastery of their curriculum subjects, but the breadth of knowledge and the free-thinking scholarship that we seek to nurture in all our pupils.

“In March this year, we celebrate the 450th anniversary of the School’s foundation by royal charter: what better way to mark our anniversary year than with this outstanding performance!”

The Oxford total of 15 offers is itself a QE record, as is the total of 32 at Cambridge. QE’s Oxbridge offers come from some of the oldest colleges – such as Oxford’s Balliol, founded in 1263 – and by some of the newest, including Lucy Cavendish at Cambridge, which was established in 1965 and achieved recognition as a constituent college in 1977.

Subjects to be studied include some of the ancient universities’ most famous courses: two students will take Oxford’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) degree, while four will read Natural Sciences at Cambridge.

There are offers across the arts, humanities and sciences, with the subjects gaining the highest number of offers as follows:

• Medicine (eight places)
• Mathematics (seven, plus one in combination with Computer Science)
• Engineering (seven, plus two more for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology)
• Natural Sciences (four)
• Economics (two, plus two in combination with Management).

The 2022 School Captain, Theo Mama-Kahn, currently in Year 13, is among the 47, securing an offer to read French and German at Wadham College, Oxford.

Mr Enright added: “I am tremendously proud that, as a state school welcoming very able boys of all backgrounds, we have been able to secure such a high number of offers.

“As ever, there are some strong and highly capable candidates who nevertheless missed out on places at Oxford and Cambridge, but they, like so many of their Year 13 peers are being offered places at other leading universities in the UK and elsewhere.

“I look forward to all these Elizabethans going on to great success in their careers and lives, making a worthwhile and significant contribution to society.”

Ten sixth-formers completed a personal development course designed to help young people take charge of their own lives.

The WhyOhYou programme is run by the DVS Foundation – a philanthropic organisation established by the family of Old Elizabethan Priyan Shah (1991–1998).

Priyan’s wife, Asmi Shah, who is the Programme Lead, said: “When we don’t take time to know ourselves and what we want, it becomes very difficult to make decisions that are truly right for us. We can become victim to passively following life, which over the years can lead us into the wrong professions, friendships and relationships.

“Our ambition with WhyOhYou is to help address this by empowering youth to ask themselves critical questions early on.”

Mrs Shah runs the WhyOhYou (a play on the letters of YOU) programme with a colleague, Rupal Shah, who is the DVS Foundation’s Head of Philanthropy.

The programme runs over five weeks and provides young people with the space and tools to explore who they are, what they want and how to achieve it. It covers topics such as personal values, goal-setting, coaching, having a ‘growth mindset’ and resilience, with an underlying message on the importance of self-responsibility.

It is not the foundation’s only involvement with the School. Last summer, Priyan visited QE, together with his parents, Dhiru and Rami, to present DVS Foundation Awards to ten sixth-formers for excellence across various subjects and in extra-curricular involvement. The family business is a company specialising in UK institutional real estate investment. The foundation was set up in 2012 to formalise the family’s giving.

One of the ten Year 12 pupils selected to take part in the WhyOhYou Programme is Eashan Raja, who said he had derived considerable benefit from participating.

He highlighted various aspects of the course:

• Asking the question, ‘who are you?’
• Practicing meditation in the classroom
• Many creative tasks, such as learning to coach friends, as well as making vision boards
• A ten-minute dance activity at the start of every session to loosen participants up a little: (“Although a little strange to be dancing in the classroom, I feel it was a good activity and definitely made us be more open in the sessions.”)
• Discussions covering topics such as how participants could achieve their goals and how to deal with their emotions.

“Some things were new to me, such as meditation and really deeply thinking about ‘who I am’. There were also some things I already knew, but it was definitely a good reminder to me – such as how to deal with our emotions in positive ways.

“I also feel I have become more confident talking about personal things and feelings in front of my peers, which I believe is very important, especially in our society today, where it is uncommon for men to talk about their feelings and personal things about themselves.”

Eashan thanked the course facilitators: “They were both amazing. They were really kind and considerate, making a safe place for all of us to talk about what was on our minds about the topic at hand.

“They were clearly very keen and passionate about the topics they were talking about, and this definitely showed – and made us more interactive and open. I truly do not think they could have done a better job with us.”

He was also full of praise for the resources they provided, “from the snacks, to the PowerPoint slides, the pens, paper and juggling balls!”

Today the 2023 School Captain, Darren Lee, and his large team of prefects officially take up their posts.

The team, all from Year 12, will enjoy the distinction and honour of being pupil leaders during the School’s 450^th anniversary year.

Darren, his Senior Vice-Captains, Ugan Pretheshan and Mustafa Sayfi, and the wider Vice-Captain team, were all called to the Headmaster’s Study in late November to be offered their roles, following a selection and voting process. They are pictured above with the Headmaster, Neil Enright.

Mr Enright said today: “My congratulations go to all our prefects on their success. By virtue of their appointment in this momentous year for QE, they will, in a sense, themselves become part of the School’s history.

“Darren, Ugan and Mustafa make an excellent trio, contributing fully to the life of the School and displaying exactly the sort of positive character attributes that we prize in our senior Elizabethans. I am sure they will be a great example to their peers and to younger pupils, and that they will help us drive further improvements at the School.

“I with them every success in their respective roles as they follow the sterling example set by the outgoing School Captain, Theo Mama-Kahn, and his team, to whom I offer my thanks.”

Darren is both a keen linguist and an enthusiastic engineer. He has won prizes and commendations in a number of language competitions, while he and his fellow Year 12 student, Yash Patel, were also named as recipients of highly prized Arkwright Scholarships after successfully navigating a long and exacting application process. As Arkwright Scholars, the pair will enjoy financial and mentoring support throughout their A-level studies.

Ugan’s extra-curricular involvements have included Young Enterprise and jointly leading the School’s personal finance society, together with his contemporary, Roshan Patel – a reflection of his keen interest in banking and finance. Ugan has also enjoyed playing cricket and rugby at a senior level. A peer mentor, he plays in the School’s Saxophone Ensemble, while practising his debating skills in the Elizabethan Union.

Mustafa is an aspiring lawyer who is studying Mathematics, Chemistry, Philosophy and French. In his role as the leader of Harrow Youth Parliament, he has recently had a leading role in helping tackle the cost-of-living crisis locally, as he and his fellow parliamentarians hand out hot food and drinks to Harrow residents.

Until recently, Ali Woods was, as one reviewer put it, PR man by day, comedian by night.

Better known to his QE contemporaries as Alister Heywood (OE 2005–2012), he first made a name on TikTok and then gained a big boost when his debut solo show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe sold out amid five-star reviews.

Now, underpinned by his huge online following, he has given up the day job and become a professional comedian.

The very first time he was involved in performing comedy was at York, where he was reading English & Related Literature. He was part of a university ‘improv’ group called The Shambles. He then first did stand-up in London in 2015 at open mic nights. In 2017, he was runner-up in the Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year competition and was short-listed for a BBC New Comedy Award in both 2017 and 2018.

Alister won Hackney Empire New Act of the Year 2020 – Evening Standard writer Bruce Dessau’s quotation in the headline is from that time. He has appeared on BBC Radio 4, TalkRadio and TalkSport, alongside hosting his own podcast, All I Do Is Fail.

All of this was achieved while he was simultaneously working in PR: he is working his notice as a New Business and Marketing Executive for the Propeller Group (a global PR, content and events agency) and finishes on 21st December.

Alister was planning to do his debut full stand-up show in 2020, but was thwarted by the pandemic. Instead, during lockdown he started making videos, which soon went viral. Today, he has 153,000 followers on Instagram and 113,000 on TikTok. His online comedy sketches under the tag @aliwoodsgigs have gained millions of views and likes, and featured on LadBible and Buzzfeed UK. It is by using this audience that he has now managed to turn professional.

In his comedy, he presents a mix of the ‘everyman’ and the ‘modern man’, displaying sensitivity and a genuine interest in men’s mental health, which gives him a great perspective on the modern ‘lad’ culture. He speaks on topics such as football, the environment, and many social causes close to his heart.

Typically outspoken, he is keen to encourage those interested in creative work to pursue it and get the career they really want: “You can do it, believe that you can. I’ve done it and I’m not even funny!” It was not, he said, an aspiration that was really valued in the QE of his time. “I was never encouraged to take creative work seriously, it was seen as a facilitator for cover letters and CVs.”

Alister, who was among the guests at this term’s OE Association Dinner, therefore feels a special impetus to encourage today’s pupils if they hold similar interests.

“You can work really hard to end up in a job you hate because you thought it was the safe option,” he says. “I would like to communicate to current QE boys that creative arts are a legitimate pursuit which requires the same work as any difficult degree or discipline or career, and will truly be worth it. If you are passionate about it, and you’re willing to be consistent, put yourself out there, learn from your setbacks and not to give up: it will be the most fulfilling journey you’ll ever make.

“Don’t be afraid to take the risk. Believe that you are able to succeed in a competitive, creative field.”

• You can view Alister’s videos at his website.

Just a few weeks after starting at QE, Year 7 pupils headed off to an adventure centre to learn some new skills, test their nerve and have some fun together.

The visit to Stubbers Adventure Centre involved climbing, canoeing, archery and laser tag, with competition aplenty as the boys took on their friends and classmates.

The trip was open to the entire year group, with the Broughton, Harrisons’ and Leicester forms heading east to Essex on one day, and Pearce, Stapylton and Underne making the trip on another.

Crispin Bonham-Carter, Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement), said: “The timing and nature of this trip were quite deliberately chosen: through activities that required teamwork and collaboration, we wanted to give our youngest pupils the chance to cement some of the social bonds they have already formed over their first six weeks here, while also providing them with the opportunity to continue to make new friends.”

The trip was part of the new QE Flourish enrichment programme, which Mr Bonham-Carter oversees.

“We are keen that our boys get out beyond our campus to make the most of our location on the edge of the capital and of the opportunities nearby. Being out of doors and active was another key feature of the day.

“I was pleased that the boys had such a good time – and some of their tutors certainly got stuck in, too!”

The activities were run by the instructors at the centre near Upminster.

Alongside the healthy competition, some of the activities involved an element of trust. In the wall-climbing, for example, participants had to rely on their team-mates who were on the ground holding their ropes.

Siddharth Josyula, a member of Year 7’s Leicester form, said: “First, we went canoeing on the lake. After putting on our life-jackets, we learnt how to balance on the boat and paddle across the lake. My team, which consisted of me, Tahiyan [Khan] and Mr Batchelor [Chemistry teacher Thomas Batchelor], dominated 7L. We even turned around to help others who were struggling. Though my legs got a bit wet, overall, I enjoyed the experience of rowing for the first time.”

After lunch, he headed to the rock-climbing walls and then archery.

“The last activity of the day was laser tag and I was absolutely thrilled as the battlefield looked so cool, like in a movie. Our team lost 3-1, but it was a lot of fun running around and taking cover from shots.

“On the coach journey home, I had my left-over snacks from lunchtime, thinking what fun I had and what memories I made.”

His fellow Leicester form member, Somansh Patro, said afterwards: “That day was unbelievable! Overall, my favourite was rock-climbing – it blew my mind how far I had climbed. I probably stayed up for 10 minutes. Laser tag was fun too and a lot of us scored bull’s eyes in archery  in my team.”

Canoeing was the hardest of all, Somansh felt, because of the “fearsome” demands of paddling successfully. “But I enjoyed it, especially with the good co-ordination between me and Sarang [Venkatasubramaniam], my partner and friend. The amount of fun I had was utterly to the max!”

Last year’s leavers turned out in force to pass on the benefit of their recent experience to current sixth-formers at QE’s annual University Convention.

With the 2021 event moved online because of the pandemic, this year’s convention provided an eagerly awaited opportunity for the School’s newest alumni to meet face-to-face with Year 12s thinking about following in their footsteps.

The day also brought a QE first – a series of afternoon water polo friendly matches involving the Old Elizabethans playing with, and against, the School’s current senior players.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “It was great to catch up with these, our youngest old boys, as they passed on some ultra-current advice to Year 12 students, whether on university and course choices, gap years or industry placements. My thanks go to all of them for giving their time to support their School.”

Most of the OEs attending the convention are currently in their first years on sought-after degree courses at leading universities, including Oxbridge and the Russell Group institutions.

Those giving presentations included 2021 leaver Deshraam Ganeshamoorthy, who has been spending this year with Springboard Pro, a Cambridge engineering consultancy, after successfully securing a coveted Year in Industry placement. The scheme places around 750 young people annually in engineering, science, IT, and business, where most work full-time before going on to join degree courses.

After the convention, the OEs had the opportunity to catch up with each other and with some of their former teachers over lunch.

Then, in the afternoon 16 visiting old boys headed for the Martin Swimming Pool for the water polo friendlies.

The day finished with two OE sides playing each other, which finished in a well-fought draw.

Head of Aquatics Richard Scally said: “It was a very enjoyable afternoon, with some competitive polo played. There was considerable interest – including from old boys who couldn’t make it on the day – so we would like to expand it in the future.

“I was pleased that a good number of OEs are still playing, whether for their university sides or clubs. Hopefully, by chatting to them, our current team will be inspired to follow suit.”