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The quality of entries to this year’s Geography through the window poster competition was outstanding, according to Geography teacher Geraldine Booth.

All the Year 7 students took part, producing an annotated poster of a place that they knew well. Each student had to find a photograph or image of a location and then describe it using the Geography Compass Rose tool (Natural, Economic, Social and Who Decides). The competition was won by Prahlad Patel, whose annotations contained detailed place-specific information.

More than 120 prizes were awarded during QE’s Senior Awards ceremony, which is a celebration both of individual success and of the meritocratic values of the School.

In his welcome, Headmaster John Marincowitz praised the efforts and achievements of students in Years 10 and 11 and the Sixth Form.

“Those who comprise an élite in education that is based upon fair, transparent and meritocratic processes deserve careful nurturing. Those among them that prove to be outstanding warrant recognition and celebration: that is the purpose of this occasion,” said Dr Marincowitz.

He reminded the audience that all countries aspiring to be developed strive to identify and nurture their most gifted students, in order that these nations can excel in science, engineering, law, national administration, medicine and the arts. “Few could object to the rationale behind this, save those for whom universal mediocrity is a price worth paying for social equality. Of course, making everyone alike is very different from treating everyone fairly,” he added.

The Guest of Honour at the ceremony in the School Hall was Professor Richard Trainor, Principal of King’s College, London.

There were subject prizes for each age group, as well as a variety of other awards, ranging, for example, from the Harold E. Fern Prize for Social Service to the John Bond Lee Prize for Classics. The awards included a number of prizes endowed by the Endowment Fund of the Schools of Queen Elizabeth the First, Barnet.

During the evening, the musical divertissements led by Director of Music Kieron Howe included Rachmaninoff’s Polichinelle (Op.3 No.4) played by Simon McKenzie (piano) and Monti’s Czardas, with Eigo Takeda playing the violin.

Cantankerous, kaleidoscope and perseverance were just a few of the words that challenged the Year 7 boys in the annual spelling competition.

Three pupils were selected from each Year 7 class to compete against each other in front of their year group. The winner of the final ‘spelloff’ was Saravanan Rajakumaran.

This term QE entered the national Greenpower Challenge for the first time.

The competition requires competing schools to use a standard 24-volt electric motor and two batteries to create a competitive, well engineered electric vehicle capable of racing around a variety of circuits. Sixteen pupils from Years 9 and 10 have been selected as the race team and over the next few months they will be learning about the engineering necessary to build their own car. They are currently modelling possible frame structures. The venture also involves the students seeking sponsorship from local businesses.

Year 7 pupil Norbert Sobolak has won the Underne House logo competition. Norbert’s design beat off strong competition from Kishan Makulana, of Year 8, and Ben El-Gamal,Year 7, winning him art equipment worth £25.

The competition involved hand-designing an Underne logo of A4 or A5 size. It was set up to develop house pride and to get younger years more involved with the contents of the notice boards. Norbert’s logo is now displayed on the Underne notice board.

“Norbert put in a lot of effort and produced a fantastic design. He deserved to win,” said Shahil Mehta, the Underne House Captain. His design was detailed and unique and it was clear that a considerable amount of effort had gone into it.

There were three major successes for QE on the rugby field this term – all in the space of one week.

The U12 team won the Broxbourne Festival after a gap of 13 years. Eben Sarpong scored eight tries in the tournament. “This was a wonderful result for boys in the first year of their rugby careers and they were outstandingly led by captain Thomas Archbold,” said Games teacher Tom Vercoe.

In the year above, the U13 Sevens squad took the Hertfordshire County Trophy after six gruelling games at St Albans Playing fields against opposition such as Bishop’s Stortford High School and finalists Haileybury School. Their counterparts at under-16 [pictured] also won their County Trophy, amassing 261 points in six games and only conceding 38. They beat Bishop’s Stortford College 37 – 7 in the final.

The U18 Sevens squad played some good rugby in the county tournament, but were beaten in the semi-finals by the eventual winners, Oaklands College.

• This year, 37 schools entered the QE Rugby Sevens tournament, now in its 34th year. Bedford School won the U14 competition and RGS High Wycombe triumphed at U16 level.