Sixth-formers from QE and Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School lent their support to efforts to clean up the River Brent in their battle against the scourge of litter.
The litter pick in Dollis Valley Park was the latest activity for QE Together – a Sixth Form partnership between the two Barnet schools formed early in 2022 that has a focus on projects to support the local community. As well as litter picks, QE Together has undertaken a primary school assembly and a concert for nursing home residents.
For this activity, they first worked in small teams comprising pupils from both schools in various areas of the park, before converging on Dollis Brook, a tributary of the Brent, where they laboured with Ben Morris, founder of CURB (Clean Up the River Brent), to clean up the waterway.
Crispin Bonham-Carter, Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement), said: “I congratulate all the students for working hard and persevering to complete what was, at times, an unpleasant task.
“We were both exhilarated and a little depressed at how much rubbish the QE Together team pulled out of a tiny section of the Dollis Brook. Thanks also to Ben from CURB for the inspiration!”
The afternoon began with the groups of three or four students amassing litter such as plastic bags snagged in brambles and bottles buried in the earth. They used bags, gloves and litter-pickers provided by the venture’s sponsors, Signature Care Homes.
Omar Siddick, of Year 12, said: “We were struck by the sheer amount of commercial packaging we found littering the grass, hedges and riverbank. Cans of beer and drink were among the most frequent findings, but we uncovered even more obscure items, such as derelict tents and car batteries.”
With stage 1 of the day complete, and nine or ten bin bags duly tied up and piled together, the whole Sixth Form team came together to tackle the brook.
Seyi Esan, also of Year 12, said: “With the help of Mr Morris, we were able to recover a host of surprising items from the riverbed, such as: a heater; two big trolleys; one small trolley, a plastic tricycle and a bike.
“Retrieving these (and more) items seemed easy, but pulling them up the steep riverbank proved more difficult than anticipated,” Seyi said, adding that teamwork was the key to completing the job successfully.
At the end of the day, everything collected was placed next to the public bin in the park, ready for the municipal waste collectors.
It had been, Omar concluded, “a productive and enriching exercise”, both because of the public service performed in collecting the litter and because it provided the QE boys with a welcome opportunity to collaborate with the girls.
Featuring elements ancient and modern, today’s service reflected the past, present and future of a school that has in recent years risen to a place of high national repute.
The service included religious and literary readings, with Year 11 pupil Rohan Kumar’s winning entry in the School’s 450th Anniversary Poetry Competition, and music from every century of the School’s existence, culminating in a premiere performance of an anthem commissioned from internationally renowned composer Howard Goodall.
Drawing an analogy with Jesus’s parable of the foolish man who built a house on the sand and the wise man who built his house on the rock, Mr Enright said: “There have been many times over the past 450 years when the rain descended and the floods came and the wind blew and the School’s foundations were tested.”
“Over the past 450 years, our remarkable school has often flourished, and always survived,” said Mr Enright.
Before the service, the congregation listened to the orchestra’s performance of William Walton’s Crown Imperial and the Indian Ensemble’s performance of Tani Avartaram.
The Headmaster said the traditional Founder’s Day prayer, while others leading in prayer included Mrs Emi Aghdiran, Governor and Director of FQE, and Matthew Rose (OE 2002–09), Head of External Relations.
That like an oak, it draws its strength
The three-day weekend ‘HabsMUN’ event, hosted by Haberdashers’ Boys’ School, saw a ten-strong QE team take on more than 500 delegates from other leading schools.
They fended off challenges from several powerful country delegations, including Habs (representing the USA), Royal Masonic School for Girls (UK) and North London Collegiate School (China).
The group flew to the resort of Panorama in British Columbia on a eight-day trip during which they were able to enjoy five days of “fantastic” skiing.
Their destination, Panorama Mountain Resort, which was founded as recently as 1962, is accessed by road from the town of Invermere, which is 11 miles away. It boasts one of the highest vertical drops in North America – some 1,300m.
Having ‘slope side’, or ‘ski in, ski out’, accommodation meant it was quick, safe and convenient for the boys. It also had the advantage of being next to the resort’s hot springs, offering skiers great scope for relaxation and recovery after a hard day’s physical activity.
The QE boys, who made up the only teams from outside North America to attend, enjoyed both the competition and the chance to take in Las Vegas’s spectacular attractions.
They then made their way along Vegas’s celebrated Strip. “One highlight in particular was The Venetian – a resort and hotel, which boasts an indoor network of Venice-style canals, complete with singing gondola drivers!” said Mr Noonan. Further down the street, they took in the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign and marvelled both at the water & light show at the fountain of the Bellagio and at the incredible complexity of the part-roller coaster, part-hotel New York New York attraction. “Racking up close to 30,000 steps over the course of the day was not enough, though, as the pupils made their way to the Area 15 entertainment complex, wondering at many of the audio-visual wonders on offer, and at the surreal Omega Mart [an exhibition billed as ‘an interactive, mind-bending immersive art experience’].”
After this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the boys returned to their robotics, making final preparations for the following day of qualification, as well as taking part in some impromptu practice sessions. “As the only overseas team at the event, the other 100 or so US, Canada and Mexico-based teams were very eager to get to know the QE teams, with lots of potential alliance links formed,” said Mr Noonan. They topped off the day with a visit to the “incredible” High Roller observation wheel at The LINQ Hotel – a 550ft wheel offering breath-taking views over the Strip.
After their disappointments on day 1, team HYBRID began day 2 still determined to finish in the automatic alliance spots in their division. “They succeeded in doing so, finishing the qualification section ranked 21st, and allying with team 3303S Dublin Robotics from Dublin, California,” said Mr Noonan. “They built up a great relationship with them through collaboration and discussion over the two days and were always likely to pick this team. Sadly, there was further disappointment for them, as they were cruelly denied by disqualification on a technicality in their round-of-16 game.”
During his trip to the US, Soumil rubbed shoulders with Ivy League students as he developed blockchain software for cryptocurrency TRON in a coding marathon. His app earned him an ‘honourable mention’ from the judges, who placed him in joint-ninth place out of 55 teams.
TRON, a leading cryptocurrency with a current market value of $5 billion, set a brief to develop a dAPP, or “decentralized app” – that is, software that runs on the blockchain, as opposed to on a server hosted by technology giants such as Amazon or Microsoft.
“I found out about this hackathon with relatively short notice, so I competed solo,” he said. “I was relatively confident in my abilities and knew I’d still be having lots of fun, so that was all right. The average team size was around four members – with a maximum of five – so I was at a disadvantage.”
The boys put on Julius Caesar at North Finchley’s artsdepot in the Shakespeare Schools Festival and then twice in School to Years 9 and 11 as part of QE’s inaugural Shakespeare and Latin Festival.
“Many congratulations should go to the whole cast and crew, as the actors allowed some of Shakespeare’s most famous lines to shine – from Mark Antony and Brutus’ soaring funeral orations to Caesar’s resigned acceptance of his fate,” said Mr Hyland.
“The students have embraced the themes and the concept, and they have provided more pieces of inspired drama and theatricality than I could have hoped for. For that, and for their general work ethic and insatiable enthusiasm, I thank them,” Mr Lister added.
Year 11 actor Uday Dash said: “I had to adapt and build Cassius into a manipulative, calculating character, which was both a challenge and a unique experience.”
Assistant Head (Pupil Involvement) Crispin Bonham-Carter said: “Dr Pillinger drew out the links between Baz Luhrmann’s film of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s novel and the ancient Latin text, The Feast of Trimalchio.”
Moving around on public transport, the boys took in the sights and used local specialist guides who spoke to them in French. 
Amongst the highlights for the boys were the evening boat trip and the tour of the Stade de France. Shuaib Adam, of Year 12, said: “Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person on the first night had me in awe, let alone a cruise along the River Seine watching the Eiffel Tower light show.”
Through the two events, today’s Elizabethans remembered the 113 old boys who lost their lives in the 20th century’s two world wars and those who have been injured or died in wars since.
QE’s traditional 11.00am act of remembrance took place at the School’s World War I memorial in the Crush Hall. It was led by representatives of the School’s Combined Cadet Force, who were joined by Colour Sergeant Rhys Peto, the CCF’s School Staff Instructor, who is a member of QE’s Facilities Team.
Two days later, 36 of the School’s cadets and CCF staff representatives participated in High Barnet’s Remembrance Sunday events. After assembling at Barnet Army Reserve centre in St Albans Road, they paraded down Barnet High Street and joined the church service at St John the Baptist Church, where there was the playing of the Last Post and a wreath-laying ceremony. Events concluded with a march-past, where Martin Russell, the Representative Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Barnet (and the parent of an Old Elizabethan) took the salute.
Helen Edmunds, Head of History & Politics, said: “Hampton Court provides excellent contemporary sources, including a display of diaries and letters written by the soldiers who were there just over a century ago. This links in well in with the work our pupils will do next year when they enter Year 9 on the role and importance of Empire troops during World War I and World War II.