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Nine boys in Year 13 represented the UK at an International Youth Forum in Istanbul, organised by the European Youth Parliament.

They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to debate with teams from 15 countries and to formulate solutions to some of the most pertinent problems that the world faces today. New friendships were also formed with equally intelligent and lively delegates from other countries, including Italy, the Netherlands and Russia.

QE boys were highly praised for their professional approach and mature attitude throughout the five-day event, according to QE’s Head of French, Susan Chatterton. The team spent 12 months preparing for the event, holding weekly debating practices and going on visits to the European Commission and the House of Lords. Mrs Chatterton, who oversaw the preparations, took the team from the Regional Forum in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office through to the National session in Durham.

The School’s Success in Istanbul has led to several invitations to attend future forums and the team has been accepted on to the International Olympic Forum to be held in Greece in August 2008.

Boys in the lower years of the School have been performing strongly on the cricket field this term.

At time of writing the U12 and U13 teams have reached the final stage of the Middlesex Cup, with the U12s remaining unbeaten this season after ten Saturday fixtures against ten different schools. “Two boys, Daniel Green, Year 12, and Neil Gujar, Year 8, have scored a century each in a school fixture, which is a significant achievement,” said Head of Games Mark Peplow.

In athletics, Barnet Athletics League and Barnet Championships provide the main focus for QE boys.

“We have continued to perform well across the year groups, although Year 7 have struggled to maintain our usual dominance,” said Mr Peplow.

Twenty-five boys were selected to represent Barnet in the Middlesex Championships. A number were then placed in their finals and are currently waiting to hear if they have been selected to represent Middlesex at the All England Championships.

Out of ten Year 13 QE entrants to the Institute of Biology’s annual Biology Olympiad, two achieved Silver awards, five Bronze, one was Highly Commended and one Commended. Two Year 13 boys were also awarded Silver in the National Chemistry Olympiad.

This term the School arranged for 10 Year 12 boys to attend a Spectroscopy day at Imperial College, giving them hands-on experience of equipment that is too large and expensive to have in schools.

To mark Global Immunology Day, members of the British Society for Immunology from University College London staged a special debate at QE. It looked at the positive role of the immune system in combating infection and cancer, and contrasted it with immune dysfunction, such as allergies, asthma and immunodeficiency. The format allowed boys to weigh up the pros and cons of immunity, and the challenges facing researchers.

Pupil Prasana Uthayakumar is high on the reserve list for an Arkwright Scholarship – a scheme under which successful scholars are sponsored for their Sixth Form studies by a leading engineering company. Prasana reached the interview stage of the assessment process after achieving success in the initial written examination. He was then highly commended for his interview.

A number of interesting and innovative designs featured in QE boys’ 2008 A level Design and Technology work, including a plan for a wheelchair laptop table and architectural projects looking at new school buildings, theatre sets and recording studios.

QE, which has Specialist Music College status, is to extend its programme allowing students from partner schools to learn an instrument at no cost. All the spaces for September were easily filled, so the decision was made to offer an additional 25 places – five to each partner school.

The extension to the programme follows a successful Partner Schools’ Concert in May. More than 200 pupils from St Andrew’s in Totteridge, Frith Manor in Woodside Park, Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’, Foulds and Christchurch took part, along with QE’s own Big Band, Wind Ensemble and String Quartet.

Queen Elizabeth’s School has further demonstrated its strength in chess, with boys participating in regional, national and international competitions this term. Two QE boys were this month taking part in the Dubai Junior International U14 Chess Championship.

Tharshan Kanagaraj who is in 9B, and Kushal Shah, of 9S, have been invited there to face some of the world’s best young chess players. “This is a prestigious, week-long tournament involving some of the best chess players in the world held every July: the invitation to Tharshan and Kushal is a sign of the School’s growing reputation in chess,” said Mathematics teacher Geoffrey Roberts.

Also this term, the School chess team of Akshaya Ahuja, Jonathan Hoong, Thanurshan Mahentran, Amit Desai, Anup Desai, Luka Sugita and Gabriel Gendler progressed to the quarter-final of the English Chess Federation Schools’ Championship.

And nine boys reached the Southern Final of the UK Chess Challenge after excellent performances in the regional finals. In the Middlesex regional final, Reyvanth Varathan won the U13 age group category, Jerome Singh finished runner-up in the U15 section and Ethan Singh finished third in the U13 section. In the Hertfordshire regional final, Akshaya Ahuja won the U16 section, with Jonathan Hoong in second position. Finally, in the U15 section Anup Desai, Amit Desai and Luka Sugita all finished in joint-second place. Madhi Elango finished second in the U12 competition.

Founder’s Day is always one of the highlights of Queen Elizabeth’s School’s year – and the 2008 event was no exception, in spite of the inclement weather.

The Founder’s Day Fete is an important part of the day and is also the most significant event in the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s calendar. Staplyton Field is transformed into a vibrant and colourful fete ground with numerous attractions, which this year ranged from a laser game to an international food marquee.

The 2008 fete raised a total of nearly £19,500 – a £1,500 improvement on last year.

“Thank you so much to everyone who supported the FQE Fete, especially to those brave ones who went in the stocks! The parents really appreciated seeing the staff there,” said FQE Secretary Diane Mason.

The Headmaster also paid tribute to those who organised the “logistically challenging event” so successfully.

Year 12 student Promit Anwar has been shortlisted for the Royal Economics Society’s Young Economist of the Year essay competition with an essay on the subject of ‘A global banknote’.

The other pupils on the shortlist came from some of the country’s best known schools in both the independent and state sectors.

All 180 boys in Year 9 spent a day off time-table near the end of term to take part in an exciting careers advice event based on the BBC’s The Apprentice.

The pupils each submitted a CV beforehand and, when these were considered, a managing director and deputy managing director were chosen for each of the 15 groups located around the School. Each group had a facilitator from the world of industry to lead them on their tasks. Four assessors looked at the work of each group and four groups were chosen to present their ideas at the end of the day. The winners were to be deemed The Apprentices 2008.

“They had to justify their decisions and underwent a grilling from the panel of judges, who were just as harsh as Sir Alan, Margaret and Nick from the TV programme,” said David Ryan, Head of Careers Education and Guidance.

The aim was to introduce students to the world of work, ethics, sales approaches and team responsibilities. The boys had to complete a major task of deciding how to manufacture, promote and sell a chocolate bar over a notional eight-week period. They also had two minor tasks: one focused on deciding the questions to ask or not to ask in interviews; the other presented a range of ethical business scenarios.

“The day is an excellent opportunity for the School to work in partnership with business and industry in order to present a clear view of what the world of work is to our students,” said Mr Ryan. “Students at QE will go on to work in highly competitive environments like the one created on this day, and the skills that they learn in this respect will be highly beneficial to them as they progress on their careers pathway.”

QE boys have excelled this year in the various UK Mathematics Trust Maths Challenges.

In the Junior Challenge, 211 boys from Years 7 and 8 took part, with 71 receiving Gold certificates. Akshay Shah of 8B was awarded the best-in-School certificate. Eight boys qualified for the Olympiad.

Ten QE boys were awarded Certificates of Merit at the UK Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad. Yew Hone Cheung performed particularly strongly and has been selected to attend a summer school. Four boys also gained Merits in the follow-on European Kangaroo Mathematics competition.