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With their examinations behind them, Year 12 came into School for a series of workshops aimed at helping them prepare for a new academic year and at giving them a little time to reflect at the end of an extraordinary term.

The socially-distanced pastoral workshops focused on the personal development of the sixth-formers, but also gave them a chance to catch up with their friends and teachers. In line with Government guidance about emerging from lockdown, QE has been providing opportunities for Years 10 and 12 especially to spend time at the School in recent weeks, beginning with end-of-year examinations for both year groups.

The Year 12 sessions, which were spread across two days, included: group assemblies led by Head of Year 12 Helen Davies; individual meetings with form tutors; guidance on the UCAS personal statement to ensure the boys are ready for their university applications next term, and workshops led by two Old Elizabethans, Bilal Harry Khan (2003-2010) and Kam Taj (2004-2011), both experts in their respective fields. Bilal’s workshop was entitled Reflecting on Privilege & Anti-oppression, while Kam’s theme was Intrinsic motivation.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We felt it important to give our Year 12s an opportunity to consider  their own progress this year and to reflect on what has been happening in the wider world, while also looking forward to the new School year.

“We have worked with both Bilal and Kam before as a School and I was delighted that they were able to help us on this occasion by leading workshops which are both, in their different ways, of great importance for our pupils.”

After leaving QE, Bilal read Theology at Cambridge. He then worked locally in Barnet in a post that involved helping keep young people safe in the borough. After that, he worked in the charities sector, at first running workshops for young people and then also beginning to design the workshops. He is now a diversity and inclusion practitioner, flying all over the world to talk to CEOs and other senior leaders about issues “that might be uncomfortable”. Bilal has also become an important national media voice on such issues.

He told the Year 12 boys that in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, this was an important time to reflect on issues that, in fact, “have always been there”.

Among the activities during the workshop, he asked the boys to close their eyes while he read out a series of statements and to put their hands up if they could relate to that statement:

• “Did you have breakfast this morning” (all put their hands up)
• “Do you feel safe walking down the street at night” (most did)
• “When growing up, did you easily find books to read with characters from your background? (only one boy did)
• “When shopping, do you easily find plasters that match your skin colour” (again, only one)
• “Do you find it easy to gain access to a toilet when in town” (all).

The boys then discussed in pairs which statements stood out to them, and what it felt like when they kept their hands down for a question. In a group discussion, they examined whether they had previously thought about these issues, and if not, why not – which provoked comments such as “They don’t affect us,” and “We just accept it’s normal.”

On the question of “Do you feel comfortable calling the police if there is trouble?”, one boy answered in the negative, saying he “did not feel safe around the police”.  Bilal pointed out that the police were meant to be there to keep everyone safe. This led on to a further discussion around BLM, looking at people’s bad experiences with the police, including the possibility of even losing one’s life, as George Floyd did in the US.

There was also a discussion about the concept of privilege, with Bilal challenging the participants to think about where privilege comes from. The boys again talked in pairs and fed back into a group discussion about how privilege is maintained. Citing the widely quoted axiom, “Privilege is invisible to those who have it”, Bilal stated: “By reflecting on this, we can make changes.”

Bilal encouraged the boys to consider the diverse aspects of “all human identity”, taking them through the components of the acronym, GRACES: Gender & Geography, Race & Religion, Age & Ability, Class & Culture, Ethnicity & Education, Sexuality & Spirituality.

In his workshop, Kam, a performance coach and motivational speaker, began by asking the boys how motivated they felt on a scale of 1–10 by a show of hands.  One placed himself at 1 and most said 5 or 6, with none saying 8, 9 or 10.

The aim of the workshop, he explained, was for them to think about what motivates them and about what they could do to boost their motivation.

Kam described motivation as a “fire from within”; boys should not rely on other people or external circumstances to motivate them – “The only chance of our fire burning brightly and sustainably comes from within.”

At Cambridge, Kam saw other students seemingly having it all – getting everything done academically, whilst playing varsity-level sport and having great social lives. It was only in his third year that he “got it together” himself, he told the groups.

After university, he became a management consultant, which gave him opportunities to start looking at what separates top performers from others.

He then developed his ‘motivational fire formula’, which involves a combination of heat, fuel and oxygen. The heat is the intention (“What’s my goal and why I want it”), the fuel is realisation (“Being aware of what we want and making it happen”) and the oxygen is action (“Just do it!”). He added that actions need to continue in order to keep motivation going (“Action begets action”). Worrying, however, could serve as a “fire blanket of expectation” in this model, stopping people from taking actions.

He invited the boys to reflect on this formula – and on what they are missing in their lives. The formula could be stated as an equation: Motivation = intention + realisation + action – expectation

Looking further at intentions, Kam asked the boys what their goals were. The answers included “getting into medical school”, “being a great climber”, “being happy and getting by”, “being more successful than my parents in ten years”.

“The more clarity we have about what we want, the better the actions we choose,” said Kam.

He then went through the eight criteria of “empowering goals”, namely: values-driven; enriching; controllable; attainable; specific; measurable; flexible and harmless (to oneself and others).

He emphasised the importance of being positive, urging the sixth-formers to “think about the person you want to become”. They should focus not on what they want to avoid, but on what they want to attain, he advised. “If you say: ‘I don’t want to fail’, you are still focusing on failure.”

Kam also introduced the power of visualisation, giving as an example the fact that he used to visualise himself sitting in the examination room at university completing a three-hour paper calmly and confidently.

Perspective, QE’s new pupil-led forum looking at issues such as race, has been launched and is already going from strength to strength, with involvement from current boys, alumni and senior staff.

Set up in collaboration with the School in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, Perspective aims both to provide opportunities for discussion and to give boys useful resources so that they can easily learn more themselves.

The first Perspective panel discussion has now taken place, chaired by School Vice-Captains Thomas Mgbor and Ayodimeji Ojelade, who have been key figures in establishing the forum. Old Elizabethan brothers Kelvin and Elliot Hughes were invited as special guests to join the Zoom conversation with boys from Year 11 and 12. Headmaster Neil Enright and Assistant Head (Pupil Development) Michael Feven also took part.

In addition, information on various topics has now been added to eQE, the School’s online platform, on a dedicated Perspective page that was created by Thomas and Ayodimeji, with input from QE’s team of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Ambassadors.

Mr Enright thanked Kelvin and Elliot for contributing to the one-and-a-quarter hour online discussion – “so informative for me personally”.

The Headmaster added: “I take the responsibility really seriously – this is the tip of the iceberg of the conversations that we need to continue to have and I am fully committed, as are my colleagues, to continuing and sustaining these discussions and to enabling them to take place in all parts of the School – it’s a huge undertaking.”

The Perspective eQE page now provides a basic introduction and links to further resources on the:

• Black Lives Matter movement
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• GSM (Gender & Sexual Minorities) community and Pride
• Yemen humanitarian crisis.

Mr Feven said: “Perspective is an exciting development in promoting the ‘student voice’ at the School and in educating the boys on social issues. With forthcoming updates due to focus on gender equality, climate change, the Hong Kong protests, and the Xinjiang re-education camps (and there is an ambition for further issues to be covered in time), I am hopeful that Perspective will continue to provide a platform for further activity and continuing discussion in the next academic year.”

The Zoom discussion featured a number of topics, including the racism faced by participants during their lives.

Kelvin and Elliot, who have both been very supportive of the School as alumni over a number of years, offered to take part, bringing their own understanding to current pupils as those from the generation above.

Kelvin (OE 1999–2006) recalled one incident when, as an 11-year-old, he went to a football camp in Totteridge Lane. Another participant made a racist comment to him, but he did not understand it, so asked his mother about it when he got back.

His mum, normally very mild-mannered, was extremely angry and upset at what had been said. A tense discussion later took place among the adults at the camp, which culminated in the other child – who had himself not understood what he was saying, since it was something he had picked up at home – leaving.

“It was really interesting to start to realise that the point of difference and point of tension was the colour of your skin, and I think it was a real moment where something changed for me,” said Kelvin. “My mum had moved across to the UK in the 1980s. My mum was mixed-race and my grandma, my white grandma, had lived in Ghana during independence and also faced racism, the other way around.”

After a career working in various roles, including consultancy to social mission-driven organisations, Kelvin is now the Chief Executive Officer of Clean Team Ghana, an organisation working to provide affordable sanitation options for residents in the city of Kumasi.

During the Zoom discussion, he also related another incident from when he was in the Sixth Form at QE. He had gone out during the lunchbreak to meet his girlfriend. Dressed in his suit, he was sat waiting in his car and had been doing some A-level History revision when a policeman approached. “He immediately accused me of being a drug-dealer…All he saw was a young, black guy out to cause trouble: who I was didn’t matter; what I had achieved didn’t – all he saw was the colour of my skin and immediately put me in a box.”

Kelvin’s brother, Elliot (2002–2009), a property specialist in London, thanked Thomas and Ayodimeji for chairing the discussion and praised QE for supporting Perspective: “Not every single school and teacher would be willing to use their time to facilitate this sort of thing.”

QE was, he added, well-placed to “start to accelerate the change and, hopefully, become a catalyst for other schools to do the same”.

As the first major step towards the progressive wider reopening of Queen Elizabeth’s School, boys from Year 10 have today returned to the site. Headmaster Neil Enright and all the senior staff came out to welcome them.

In line with national Government policy asking schools to prioritise on-site provision for those with public examinations next summer, QE’s Year 10 return first, to be followed by Year 12 from 29th June.

Huge efforts have gone into readying the campus to allow social distancing and to ensure a safe environment for pupils and staff to return to. And although all boys from these year groups will be coming in, they will not all be on-site at the same time, since this is not allowed by the guidance. Instead, large groups – typically half the year – will be attending at once.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are very happy indeed to have boys back on the site in numbers. Bringing them back is a step we have taken only after conducting a substantial process for assessing and mitigating risks. My thanks go to our Head of Facilities Management, Mrs Silvia Shann, and her team for all they have done to get the site ready.”

Deputy Head (Pastoral) David Ryan said: “We will now be able to provide these boys with important in-School support, supplementing the remote learning that has been taking place through our eQE online platform. I know that Year 10’s Head of Year, Dr Tim Waite, their tutors and other staff have all been looking forward to spending time with them face-to-face again.

“We recognise the challenges that boys have faced through having to work largely in isolation over recent weeks and months, so it is tremendously satisfying to be able to offer these two year groups the opportunity to socialise safely with each other again.

“We will be able to hold some enriching, extra-curricular activities on site again and also, crucially, to provide them with face-to-face social and pastoral support: we are determined that our very developed support and guidance programme remains central to the boys’ experience of life at QE.”

The returning year groups will initially sit end-of-year assessments covering boys’ learning over the whole academic year. The results will, on the one hand, help teachers consolidate the learning boys have done during lockdown by providing useful data to inform ongoing priorities for the classroom. On the other, they will inform the boys’ own choices of A-level subjects and, for Year 12, their decisions about applying to university.

Deputy Head (Academic) Anne Macdonald said: “The Year 10 boys and their teachers have done brilliantly to adhere to the timetable and to keep up the pace as they have progressed through the GCSE curriculum during the lockdown period. The end-of-year assessments will be important in charting the course forward from this point.”

While it is not possible for other year groups to return to the site yet, the full programme of timetabled remote learning for Years 7-9 continues, together with the extensive pastoral support that is also offered through eQE. Tutors are busy with bespoke tutorials being delivered through Zoom and the latest round of senior staff pastoral checks for Years 7 and 8 starts this week, also on Zoom.

The preparations for the return of Year 10 and Year 12 have included, among many other measures, the:

• Introduction of new cleaning regimes
• Reduction of venue capacities to allow for social distancing
• Plentiful health and safety signage
• Re-allocation of outside space
• Installation of ‘mag-lock’ doors in the Main Building to reduce the need to touch doors.

A new forum for discussing vital issues such as race, with respect to the School community and wider society, is being established in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in the United States and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Created in close partnership with Vice-Captains Thomas Mgbor and Ayodimeji Ojelade, the platform seeks to enable thoughtful and open conversations about critical societal issues, not least race and discrimination. This would not only be within the context of anti-black racism, but, in time, other forms of racism such as anti-Asian, Islamophobic or Antisemitic racism, as well as covering a diverse range of global issues on which it is important to think critically.

Introducing the forum to their peers, Thomas and Ayodimeji wrote:

“As students at Queen Elizabeth’s we believe the school, like all organisations, has an important responsibility to highlight and to speak out against inequality in all of its forms. This responsibility is particularly important in promoting the rights of those students in already disadvantaged and marginalised groups.

“To act in the best interests of the student body, steps must be taken in developing the education that is provided by the School regarding issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement and organisations which educate and act against all sorts of prejudice. Our School is in a significantly life-shaping position for ourselves and our peers, who must educate themselves holistically, in order to better understand different movements and gain a better understanding of the world and the global matters affecting it. This learning starts in an open and supportive school community in which we would ask all fellow students to be open-minded, tolerant and willing to tackle prejudice, racial or otherwise, when it occurs.

“We want to work with the School to provide resources to encourage this change. We are not aiming to educate our peers just to be ‘non-racist’, but to stimulate you to act on your own initiative and gain a more well-rounded view in order to become ‘anti-racist’. As students, we need to be informed about the global challenges that we face and do what we can, not only to raise awareness but so that we can tackle them ourselves.

“We are saying this in the belief that whatever problems society may face, there is always a way forward.

“We hope that the following resources may start to do so and would encourage fellow students to contribute to help us in making the necessary change.”

With the vast majority of pupils still working at home, due to the coronavirus restrictions, the forum begins as a new section within eQE (our virtual school). As more pupils return to School, over the coming weeks and months, further opportunities for discussion will become available.

Supporting the development, Headmaster, Neil Enright, said: “I hope that the new forum will provide a valuable and safe space in which all students can access resources and engage in open conversations about race and other matters important to them: to share their experiences, aid mutual understanding, and help us build a more equal and progressive community.

“This builds upon the work of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Ambassadors, as well as the lecture programme and Personal Development Time curriculum. But we know as a School, as in wider society, there is much more to be done.”

“We are placing much greater and more explicit emphasis on developing and encouraging free-thinking scholarship in our pupils. That is supporting them to challenge conventional or ingrained ideas; to take conversations forward with fresh perspectives. As educators this is one of the most important things we can do: to get young people to question the world around them and then to be able to communicate their viewpoints as part of reasoned and informed debate.

“To support this, we must continually reflect on our own cultural awareness to ensure that our curricula, resources and priorities properly meet the needs of all our pupils.

“A priority within our forthcoming development plan is to conduct a thorough curriculum review, to ensure that the voices of minority or marginalised groups are fully reflected, and another is to understand what more we can be doing to attract under-represented groups to our community at all levels. Whilst we have pupils and staff to help shape this work, there is also a great potential resource among our alumni and we hope that Old Elizabethans will be keen to support us in these endeavours.

“I am proud that many pupils and OEs have been in contact to contribute to our reflections, and of the empathy shown for their peers. The energy and passion of young people can be a significant driver of positive change.

“It is deeply upsetting that in 2020 we should still need to state that black lives matter, but sadly this is where we find ourselves in the world today. Black lives do matter.

“We are a meritocratic and generally very harmonious School community, but should rightly guard against complacency. Maintaining dialogue with pupils is an important part of this, so I would encourage boys to engage positively within this new forum and with staff as we work together collaboratively.”

Aly Sayani has won a sought-after scholarship to the University of Toronto, one of only 37 applicants from around the world to taste this success.

The coveted Lester B Pearson International Scholarship will cover Aly’s tuition, accommodation, materials and living expenses for the four years in which he reads Social Sciences at the Mississauga campus.

The letter he received offering him the scholarship also specified that in addition to the wide range of academic and co-curricular opportunities the university has to offer, “Pearson Scholars become part of a unique cohort, with access to specially enriched programming and select opportunities.”

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We are naturally delighted for Aly on his successful application for this prestigious scholarship. I am always pleased to see our boys exploring overseas opportunities at top universities, and we believe he is the first Elizabethan to take up an undergraduate place in Canada.

“This has been a remarkable year in more ways than one: quite apart from the challenges posed by Covid-19, we have 40 boys with Oxbridge offers – a School record – and many others who will take up places on prestigious courses at Russell Group universities.”

The Lester B Pearson scholarship programme is intended to recognise students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and creativity and who are acknowledged as leaders within their schools.

Aly, of Year 13, says: “I am immensely grateful and honoured to be a recipient of this scholarship. I was born in Karachi and raised in cosmopolitan London; I look forward to continuing to experience a wide range of beautiful and vibrant cultures, traditions and communities in the multicultural city of Toronto. I hope to learn how I can tackle problems such as poverty, inequality and climate change through my time at U of T.”

On its website, the University of Toronto says: “A special emphasis is placed on the impact the student has had on the life of their school and community, and their future potential to contribute positively to the global community.”

Only overseas students can apply for the scholarship, which is named after a former Prime Minister of Canada who in 1957 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to resolve the Suez Crisis.

Students’ applications must be supported with a strong recommendation from their school and the university will only allow one applicant from any school.

In writing a letter to support Aly’s application, QE Assistant Headteacher and Head of Year 13, Michael Feven highlighted the many ways in which Aly met and even surpassed the criteria. He passed nine out of his ten GCSEs with the highest possible grade and also received the top grade for Mathematics, History, Economics and French at AS Level.

Mr Feven continued: “I cannot recommend Aly highly enough. He is a hard-working, ambitious and scholarly pupil, one who I have complete confidence would be appropriate for a programme such as yours. Academically, he ranks among the brightest that the UK has to offer.”

He went on to describe Aly’s activities within School and in his home community, where he supports the Ismaili community, acting as a youth club team member and chairman. “Additional evidence of his excellent community contribution can be demonstrated in his role as a volunteer at Hillingdon Refugee Support Group. Here, Aly has helped to lead and organise life skills sessions for refugees fleeing conflict to help them settle into new lives in the UK.”

Aly was one of the School’s prefects in 2019 and played his part in monitoring younger boys at breaks and events. “His willingness to give up much of his free time over the year to support the smooth running of the School’s celebrations, open evenings and charity events is symptomatic of his engaged community spirit,” concluded Mr Feven.

Sixty-five senior QE boys have enrolled on a coaching programme run by alumnus Kam Taj.

Kam (Kamran Tajbaksh, OE 2004–2011), a performance coach, inspirational speaker and author, will help the pupils through an online course supported by more than 100 videos and activities.

After taking a first in the Manufacturing Engineering tripos at Churchill College, Cambridge, Kam secured a job as a management consultant with a global firm. However, he had begun doing performance coaching work while still at university, and in 2016 left the consultancy world to concentrate fully on coaching and motivational speaking.

Thanking Headmaster Neil Enright and Assistant Head Michael Feven (Pupil Development) for their support, Kam said: “QE is consistently named as one of the best schools in the UK, and I’m confident that this course will be an asset to the students’ academic and personal development, especially during these uncertain times.”

Kam is, in fact, a regular visitor to QE. In recent years, he has led a motivational skills workshop for Year 12 boys and helps pupils with their Oxbridge preparations.

Mr Enright said: “I am pleased that so many of our boys are taking advantage of Kam’s expertise by signing up for his Exam Success Academy online programme. Kam is both an Elizabethan and a very gifted performance coach, and although there are, of course, no public examinations this year, I am sure that the principles the boys will learn on the course will stand them in good stead for the future.”

The programme focuses on eight principles: time management; mindset management; study tools & techniques; on-the-day performance; academic & personal support groups; sleep optimisation; physical activity & movement, and nutrition & hydration.

Kam had been due to visit the School last month to talk to Year 12 on Student Life at Oxbridge (discussing topics ranging from choosing a college, the academic intensity of Oxbridge, student life beyond academic matters, and common traps that students fall into in their first year), but the visit had to be shelved because of the Covid-19 restrictions.

It would have followed three workshops held earlier in the Spring Term and run by Mr Feven, as well as Head of Year 12 Helen Davies and Head of English Robert Hyland (both Oxford graduates), that were focused on providing Year 12 boys with advice on applying to Oxbridge. The workshops take place each year, although Kam’s talk was to have been a new addition to this programme.

The guest speaker at the Year 12 Luncheon was Sonita Alleyne OBE, who in October 2019 became the first black Master of an Oxbridge College.

On taking up the role at Jesus College, Cambridge, she also became the first woman to lead the college in its 524-year history. QE is the first school she has visited since becoming Master.

After the luncheon she met with Year 13’s Bhiramah Rammanohar, Reza Sair and Drew Sellis, who all hold offers for Jesus College. The trio are among 40 QE Oxbridge offers this year – a School record.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This luncheon is the first event for Year 12 at which they can gain experience of the type of formal social occasions that they will encounter at university and in their professional lives. Sonita gave a terrific and inspiring address that was perfectly adapted to the occasion. Boys will certainly have gone away with a greater awareness of what life at Cambridge is like and of the exciting intellectual and personal development opportunities available.

“During her speech, she spoke of how the very experience of applying for, and then studying at, a university such as Cambridge, brings together people of different backgrounds, giving them that experience in common.

“This will have resonated with many of the sixth-formers present, since QE provides a state school pathway for boys from very different backgrounds (many of them the first in their family to enter higher education at all) with the opportunity to go to some of the world’s leading universities.”

The luncheon featured the customary toasts, led by School Captain Ivin Jose, who fulfilled an MC role. Grace was said by Guy Flint, Senior Vice-Captain, and the vote of thanks given by his fellow Senior Vice-Captain, George Raynor.

Sonita Alleyne was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, and brought up in Leytonstone, East London. She attended a comprehensive school before going to Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge, where she read Philosophy. A career in radio followed, and she founded production company Somethin’ Else, which she led as Chief Executive from 1991 until 2009. She is a Fellow both of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts and of the Radio Academy (FRA).

She began her speech to the sixth-formers with a word on examinations: “Exams can’t tell the world how funny you are, or how kind, or how much you love manga or wine…” But what they are, she said, is a metric that the world uses to judge success, and so for that reason they do have some importance.

One of her key pieces of advice was about keeping options open: “In life, you need to keep doors open for yourself,” she advised. The difficulty was in knowing which doors they should be. Other people would not always open doors for them, so the boys needed to be active in this regard.

For her, one such door had been Cambridge itself. In her letter to Jesus College in relation to becoming Master, she wrote: “I left Cambridge over 30 years ago, but it never left me.”

As an undergraduate, she had a real interest in artificial intelligence, so, she told the boys, she had planned to read Computer Science after an initial year of Philosophy (joint courses being more common at that time), but ended up studying Philosophy alone throughout.

She recalled that to help sixth-formers prepare for the university application process, her secondary school had just made them talk – about ideas, news, science, indeed about anything. She found she relished this and thus greatly enjoyed the Cambridge interview process and the intellectual stimulation it brought. Not only did she find the discussions “challenging in a way that GCSEs weren’t”, but they helped provide her with a sense of belonging.

Once at Cambridge, she threw herself into many enriching activities which she had not had the time or opportunity to follow at school, including Music, singing, theatre and student politics. She was even secretary of the college Mystical Science Club. (“There were only two of us!”)

She noted, however, that it was the informal shared conversations around college – and outside of these activities – that most helped her develop deep friendships and formulate her views: “[That was] where I discovered my sense of agency.” She graduated as a “free-thinking” person – a recurring phrase during her address.

After university, she had a series of jobs (“a zig-zag career”). “Don’t stress about finding a career for life, or knowing what you want to do when you graduate…take things one step at a time,” she counselled, adding that she is still taking her career one step a time.

Setting up Somethin’ Else at the age of 24 was, though, a watershed moment for her, she said. Today, she enjoys running her business, her media work, and her regeneration work as part of the London Olympic Development Corporation.

She also now takes great satisfaction from supporting other people in getting through challenges or making progress in their lives: “I am always proud to say that I help people.”

Her final advice to the boys was to be free-thinking, to challenge themselves, to “push open a few doors and to follow your ideas, because they matter”.

In a question-and-answer session following her talk, she was asked about her views on lowering grade offers for students from the state sector or disadvantaged backgrounds. “Cambridge should be a bastion of excellence, not of élitism,” she replied, but said she feels that the systematic dropping of grades does not work.

Her preference was to encourage more people to apply (“It’s one of five options and costs no more than any other university – what have you got to lose?”) and to improve access that way. Bright students such as those from QE neither want nor need entrance requirements to be lowered. “If you get the grades, you belong,” she said, adding that it is important to debunk a sense that people from certain backgrounds might not fit in. “My job as Master is about community – and it’s the best job in the world.”

Award-winning speaker Robyn Steward told Year 10 and 11 boys of how she emerged from years of bullying to become a successful speaker, author, academic researcher and musician.

Delivering the Spring Middle School Lecture, Robyn, an Ambassador for the National Autistic Society, gave the boys insights into the particular problems faced by autistic people, but also suggested some ways in which everyone could benefit from what she has learned.

Pointing out that life does not always unfold in a straight line, she said it was important to make the most of the present: “Life is messy. All I’ve got is today – and when I realise that, it makes me a happier person,” she said.

“Find your tribe” – those people one belongs with – she urged the boys, adding: “Don’t worry if you haven’t found your thing yet; keep looking.” She, for example, had had no idea when she started out on her career that she would end up as a professional musician, yet she now plays the trumpet and has put on “inclusive-conscious” gigs entitled Robyn’s Rocket in London.

Head of Academic Enrichment Nisha Mayer said: “I would like to thank Robyn for giving a lecture that contrived to be both inspiring and humorous, while at the same helping to deepen the boys’ understanding of autism.”

In her talk entitled Autism from a person, not a textbook, Robyn told her audience in the Shearly Hall that she wished she had had the opportunity to hear an autistic speaker when she was at school, as she was just made to feel different and “weird”.

She had been widely bullied and called names such as “retard” or “spastic”. This was the result of ignorance and of her classmates being “jokey”. In her view, there were two types of bullying, she explained – the “jokers” trying to raise a laugh from their friends at the expense of someone else, and those who are “mean at heart’. The majority are the former, who, she believed, would be shocked to realise she was talking all these years later about the harmful effects of what they had said.

She was in a special needs class at primary school, but the bullying really started in high school, she said. Recalling the great insecurity she felt about visiting the toilets, she explained that she had been told the other pupils would “flush her head down the loo” and, as an autistic person, she had taken this very literally. Robyn has cerebral palsy, so she was also worried about not being able to operate the locks properly. She was, in fact, locked in the toilet, manhandled and called names. Fortunately, her mother supported her in this ordeal, she said.

Speaking about the effects of bullying generally, she said: “I don’t think anyone should have to feel like that. It is crushing for your self-confidence.”

In 2015, Robyn was joint awardee of the National Autistic Society’s Professional award for outstanding achievement by an individual on the Autism Spectrum for her work in raising awareness of the abuse experienced by autistic people. In 2018, she was listed on the Power 100 list of the most influential disabled people in the UK.

We can all do something to combat bullying, she told the QE boys. If they saw a friend saying unkind things, they could say: “Hey, stop it! That person has feelings,” and could also tell the target of the bullying not to worry about it. And since the boys comprise a community at QE, they should work together and support each other, recognising that everyone experiences low self-esteem at times.

At college, she had more freedom to protect herself – she could leave a room when she chose, for example. She studied IT – and “really enjoyed it”, despite further bullying – and then art & design. She learned at college about the concept of Theory of Mind, which was a huge insight: she realised that being autistic, she had struggled to understand someone else’s perception of a situation in the way that others do through empathy or reading facial expression or observing body language. All of this she had to learn from scratch.

Showing the boys her school photo, she asked them what was different about her (and stated that their age group is normally better at spotting the answer than adults!). Unlike her peers, she was not looking at the camera and was not smiling, she pointed out, adding that this is because many autistic people do not pick up on social cues.

In spite of all the bullying, she now has a full and varied life, Robyn said. “I have no GCSEs and yet here I am, aged 33, saying I’ve turned out all right.” She has a BBC podcast with fellow autistic presenter Jamie Knight – 1800 seconds on autism – and is also host of the Autism Matters podcast from Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. She works with UCL and the Wellcome Trust, conducting research to understand how we are all different. For more than 15 years, she has been travelling the world giving talks. She is the author of books providing guidance for autistic people.

Afterwards, Year 13 pupil Saifullah Shah complimented Robyn on her talk and then opened the floor up for questions.

Society and the mass media are the source of stereotypes that lead to prejudice and discrimination, an LGBT activist told QE’s senior pupils.

Jessica Amery, from Haringey-based charity Wise Thoughts presented an assembly on LGBT issues to Years 11-13 in the Shearly Hall.

She told the boys that although she had a transgender parent, she nevertheless faced homophobia when coming out as a lesbian.

And she pointed out the ways in which LGBT people’s mental health is at risk. According to research, she stated, schoolchildren hear ‘that’s so gay’ every 14 minutes: “Every time it’s said, it’s like a little stab to the LGBT community.”

Wise Thoughts’ website says that it “creates dynamic local, national and international arts initiatives and delivers services that help address social justice issues for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex (LGBTQI+) and black, Asian & minority-ethnic (BAME) communities”. The charity runs the GFEST (Gaywise FESTival), which starts next month on the theme of #QueerQueeries.

Jessica began her talk by asking the boys to take 10 seconds to think about how comfortable it is to talk about LGBT. Then she asked them to take another 10 seconds to discuss stereotypes, explaining that stereotypes are defined by ‘putting someone in a box’ – for example, ‘you are gay if…’

Such phrases create fear, making people feel it is unacceptable to hold hands or touch those who are gay, she stated, adding that stereotypes result in segregation. Stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination are thus all part of the same picture, she said.

Some 50% of LGBT people experience bullying, which Jessica defined as including texts, social media messages, people ignoring you or making comments. LGBT students have the highest rate of truancy and homelessness, and their education also suffers disproportionately, she said.

Headmaster, Neil Enright said: “This was an important assembly on tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language. There will be some pupils for whom this is deeply personal, whilst for others it is about understanding the lives of those with different experiences to them and being tolerant, supportive members of the School community and wider society.”

A campaigner addressed sixth-formers about his own mental health journey and told how it inspired him to start a socially conscious fashion business.

George Hodgson, founder of the successful Maison de Choup* brand, visited the School just a few days before World Mental Health Day.

“I’m using fashion as a vehicle to raise awareness of mental health,” he told the Year 12 and 13 boys, adding that his was “a positive message, but a sensitive one”.

In the talk, he recounted the many ups and downs he experienced over a three-year period. “I kept asking myself when I would be better. The biggest word is time.”

He started his talk with a breathing exercise, talking to the boys about mindfulness, paying attention to one’s breath and letting one’s thoughts pass. He asked them to join in by trying the exercise themselves for a few minutes.

George, who comes from near Winchester in Hampshire, explained that he had been hyperactive from a young age. His mental health problems began when, at a festival in 2012, he experimented with drugs – ecstasy and MDMA – aged 16. He did not enjoy the experience and started to feel paranoid afterwards, so quickly decided it wasn’t for him.

A week later whilst clearing out the horses at his parents’ house, he had his first attack: he felt hot, could not breathe and started to panic. These attacks continued every day for a week. He was diagnosed with panic disorder and anxiety, and was referred to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) for counselling.

George then developed OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and began washing his hands 50 – 100 times daily. He experienced suicidal thoughts that increased over a two-week period.

He saw a reassuring therapist who listened to his story. He was told there was a 40-week waiting list to start treatment and was lucky enough to be treated privately as his parents were able to support him. This treatment included hypnotherapy to put him through the sensations of panic in a safe environment. George was prescribed beta blockers and SSRIs (a class of drugs typically used as anti-depressants).

When he was feeling better, George and his friends travelled to Thorpe Park, where they all decided to go on the Stealth roller-coaster. He realised that the medication he was on had made him numb – he felt nothing, no adrenaline or excitement from any of the rides.

George’s story continued with a referral for cognitive behavioural therapy to learn coping mechanisms. He learnt to challenge his anxiety by breaking down thoughts and trying to rationalise them.

Not long after this, George was at his grandmother’s house where he kept imagining there was cocaine on the table. One-and-a-half years into treatment, he opened up to family and found that talking helped.

In all, it took him three years to get better. During his recovery, he used diaries and drawings to express himself. While unable to go to college or work, George went to his father’s office and started experimenting with designs.

Eventually, he decided to start his own t-shirt business, with the help of a friend. In 2017 he launched his Warrior collection, which includes clothing with words such as ‘don’t feed the fears’, ‘sometimes I’m okay, sometimes I’m not’ and ‘warrior, not worrier’.

His aim, he explained, was not to label people with ‘I have anxiety’, but to encourage them to open up about their stories if asked about the t-shirts, thereby starting a conversation about mental health.

His collection made it to London Fashion Week, with celebrities and TV reality-show stars wearing it.

He started selling his story to newspapers and magazines to raise awareness, and the brand’s success grew very rapidly as it featured in publications including Vanity Fair, The Observer and the Evening Standard’s Style magazine, and was a winner in the British Fashion Startup Awards.

Twenty-five per cent of the proceeds of certain of his designs go to YoungMinds, the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.

After his success with Maison de Choup, George went back to a festival – “the biggest place for drugs” – and found that he had no problem in being there. Indeed, he is now able to speak to a roomful of people, he pointed out to the boys.

Among his messages to the audience were: “It’s ok not to be ok” and “If you’re suffering or a friend is suffering, you are not alone.”

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “George spoke very frankly about his personal experience and in doing so exemplified the way in which talking about mental health can prove an important step in helping deal with the issues that you may be encountering. Through such assemblies we want to raise awareness among our boys of the sorts of challenges that people can go through with their mental health and to underline that there is an understanding and supportive community around them should they find themselves in a similar situation, now or in the future.”

* ‘Choup’ was George’s childhood nickname for his sister, Charlotte, who supported him throughout his mental health problems.