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Headmaster John Marincowitz gave the audience an insight into the secret of QE prizewinners’ success at the School’s Junior Awards Day. “We recognise that achievement at this level is not simply a matter of natural gift or talent; it is also the product of disciplined, sustained effort,” said Dr Marincowitz.

A total of 113 prizes were awarded during the event in the School Hall, including Junior Awards for Years 7-9 as well as Endowed Prizes and Special Awards.

In his speech, the Headmaster referred to the collective success of the School earlier this year when OFSTED inspectors judged it to be ‘outstanding’ against all 26 of their criteria. It thus became unique as the only school to have achieved four consecutive ‘outstanding’ OFSTED reports covering the 14 years since 1994. Similarly, he mentioned The Sunday Times’ recent naming of Queen Elizabeth’s School as State School of the Year.

“By contrast, our focus this afternoon is on those individual junior boys whose academic and extra-curricular achievements have been identified as truly outstanding in the context where standards are exceptionally high,” he said. “We celebrate their excellence in the humanities and sciences, in the performing and visual arts, sports and in leadership and commitment in the service of others.”

Guest of honour at the Awards Day was Stephen McCaffrey, an Old Elizabethan (1994-2001) who has achieved success as a lawyer, working in criminal defence and extradition law for the Magistrates and Crown Court. He has been appointed as a Researcher to a defence team at the Sierra Leone War Crimes Tribunal in the Special Court of Sierra Leone – an appointment that, coming so early in his year, represents a tribute to his ability.

Mr McCaffrey took a full part in School life during his seven years at QE, playing rugby at both House and School level. A talented musician, he played in the String Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra with such distinction that he became lead viola when in the Sixth Form.

“For many years now, Stephen and his family have been loyal and staunch supporters of the School and it is indeed a pleasure and a privilege for us to welcome him here today,” Dr Marincowitz added.

The Awards Day featured a full programme of music, beginning with a Processional composed and directed by Director of Music Kieron Howe, with Nathanael Jackson playing the trombone and Ryan Murphy on the baritone saxophone.

Kazuki Kino performed The Buccaneer, from Sir Malcolm Arnold’s set of Piano Pieces. Dr Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna’s Kathanakuthukalam, a composition of South Indian music for the carnatic (bamboo) flute, was played by Praveen Prathapan. Another piano composition, Loeillet’s Giga, was then performed by Vincent Cheung, before Mr Howe’s Recessional No. 5, with Nathanael Jackson on trombone again and Jonathan Bradshaw on trumpet, brought the proceedings to a conclusion.

To view these photographs, click on one of the thumbnails to start a slideshow.

QE boys mixed work and pleasure on two German exchanges, where they had the opportunity to develop friendships and improve their language skills.

Twenty students from Years 9 and 10 took part in the annual exchange with a German grammar school in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. During their stay they went on a guided tour of the town, experienced an exciting tour of the VW factory and museum in Wolfsburg and took part in a football tournament.

They also joined in some lessons at school and worked on projects organised by the PE, German, Music and Drama departments, which involved dance, sketches, art and rap songs.

QE Head of German Burgunde Lukasser said: “Our students also had the privilege of experiencing German hospitality at first hand: upon their arrival in Bielefeld they were welcomed with an extensive cold buffet organised by very busy mums. This was followed by another barbecue and buffet during the football tournament and by an extensive breakfast at school just before their departure.

“All agreed that they had a tremendous time in Bielefeld. Many friendships were made and quite a few tears shed when the moment of parting loomed!”

The pupils are now looking forward to the return visit of their exchange partners in October and are preparing to reciprocate the Germans’ efforts by offering the best of British hospitality.

The Summer Term also saw the completion of this year’s QE work experience exchange, with seven Year 12 students spending ten days in Aachen. Their German partners had already been to England before Easter and had worked in a variety of placements, ranging from estate agents to television broadcasting.

The QE boys could chose their placements and worked in a primary school (Ben Pugh and Nick Marsh), in a dental surgery (Jiyan Darabi), in a paediatric surgery (Jack Scanell), in a surgery for sports medicine (Diarmuid Chevalier), alongside a judge at the municipal court (Nathan Lightman) and at Aachen University radio station (Daniel Rowe).

Although they had to work during the day, there was still plenty of time for socialising with their partners and their friends during the evenings and weekends. The last Sunday was spent canoeing and swimming at a picturesque lake in the Eifel mountains south of Aachen.

German teacher Borghild Wood said: “This trip gave the students a tremendous insight into the German way of life – at work, in the family and in a social context – and all agreed that they had had the time of their lives! The linguistic aspect also proved invaluable and they all returned from this memorable trip even more fluent in German!”

Lower Sixth-Former Jimmy Lam was one of two runners-up in a biology competition run by the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR).

His essay, entitled ‘Is there an alternative to using embryonic stem cells for cell therapy to cure degenerative diseases?’ was judged to be among the top three out of 58 entries from 13 schools, securing him a prize of £50 and the opportunity to visit scientists in their laboratories.

The NIMR Human Biology Essay Competition is held each year, with the aim of fostering an interest in communicating scientific information to a general audience, and to help equip students for university life. It is open to Year 12 students from schools and colleges in North London and South Hertfordshire, as well as those on the NIMR mailing list.

There are two rounds of judging, the first by six members of staff at the Institute, and the second by a panel comprising four members of NIMR staff, two teachers from local schools and a former member of NIMR. Judges read the essays with no knowledge of the author.

Recent work by the Careers Department at QE has focused on Year 12 and their progression to university via the UCAS process; on meeting and interviewing students and on giving them access to information in their chosen field.

A number of events have also taken place across the year groups in the Summer Term. Year 8 students have been putting together a CV and personal statement for future use. Year 9 took part in a pathways event based around the BBC programme ‘The Apprentice’. Arranged into 15 teams, the boys had to carry out a number of business-orientated tasks, working with representatives from the world of business and industry.

Year 10 had an off-timetable day which looked to build on their evaluation of the career paths open to them. The day, entitled 2012 Vision, focused on where they want to be in four years at the time of the London Olympics and what they will need to do to ensure they achieve their aim. The day also included presentations from the universities of Cambridge and Warwick.

Both the Year 7 and Year 8 cricket teams became Champions of Middlesex in an exciting end to the School year.

The Year 8 team secured a five-wicket victory against Hampton School to become Champions of Middlesex. The outstanding performances in the county cup final game played at The John Lyon School in Harrow were from captain Chandi Uduwawala, who made 56, and Sarim Jafri, who took three wickets in a single over.

The following night, it was the turn of the Year 7 team to shine as they triumphed, once again over Hampton School, at the U12 Middlesex Final at Southgate Cricket Club’s Walker Ground. The QE team allowed the opposition to amount a large score of 160 runs for 7 wickets in their 30 overs. However, an excellent opening partnership of 81 runs from batsman Aniruddh Raghu (41) and Nikhil Patel (40) laid the foundations for an excellent win, reports Head of PE Peter Coke. “A special mention must go to the Year 7 cricket Captain Sebastian Feszczur-Hatchett as he continued the good work done by Patel and Raghu and scored an excellent 47. The final score meant that QE had chased down 160 runs and won by 6 wickets.

“These two wins represent a fantastic effort by all the boys and staff involved and an excellent way to round off our sporting year,” concluded Mr Coke.

To view these photographs, click on one of the thumbnails to start a slideshow.

Although there had been some apprehension about weather conditions, Sports Day 2008 proved highly successful, incorporating the true spirit of house competition and pride.

It included more events than ever before, with the introduction of the hammer, Year 8 hurdles and the 4x400m relay incorporating one pupil from each year group. All pupils were involved, either as competitors or because they were organising or officiating.

The winning house was Underne.

This year’s Sports Day saw the introduction of a new computer system (created by Head of IT Amanda Golding and PE & Games teacher Richard Scally) to monitor and record the results, so that QE can now officially create School records for each event and use the data in future Sports Days.

PE & Games teacher Nicholas Bird said: “A special ‘thank you’ must go to all pupils, prefects and staff for their contribution in making the day as big a success as ever! Thanks are also due to my colleagues in the PE department for their hard work and commitment throughout the week leading up to Sports Day, in which events have also taken place.”

Although there had been some apprehension about weather conditions, Sports Day 2008 proved highly successful, incorporating the true spirit of house competition and pride. The winning house was Underne.

It included more events than ever before, with the introduction of the hammer, Year 8 hurdles and the 4x400m relay incorporating one pupil from each year group. All pupils were involved, either as competitors or because they were organising or officiating.

This year’s Sports Day saw the introduction of a new computer system (created by Head of IT Amanda Golding and PE & Games teacher Richard Scally) to monitor and record the results, so that QE can now officially create School records for each event and use the data in future Sports Days.

PE & Games teacher Nicholas Bird said: “A special ‘thank you’ must go to all pupils, prefects and staff for their contribution in making the day as big a success as ever! Thanks are also due to my colleagues in the PE department for their hard work and commitment throughout the week leading up to Sports Day, in which events have also taken place.”

83.2% of all A-Levels taken at Queen Elizabeth’s have been graded A, confirming the School’s position as one of the top boys’ schools in the country. Thirty-seven QE boys will now take up places at Oxford and Cambridge in the Autumn, representing a new record for the School.

This year also saw the number of A-levels taken at the School rise by 22%. The Headmaster, John Marincowitz, said, "Our A-Level candidates have achieved magnificently with 96% of all their examinations graded at A or B. I am delighted for the boys, all of whom will now take up top university places, and for their teachers who have achieved such splendid academic outcomes with a significantly enlarged cohort of boys." 

• A-levels: Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar tops table for third year in a row – Telegraph.co.uk, Thursday 14th August 2008
• State-school boys take top A-level table slot – Times Online, Thursday 14th August 2008
• A-Level results – Times Online, Thursday 14th August 2008
• A-Level results – Mail Online, Thursday 14th August 2008
• A-Level results – The Evening Standard, Thursday 14th August 2008
• A-level results released today – Barnet Times, Thursday 14th August 2008

To view these photographs, click on one of the thumbnails to start a slideshow.

Boys, parents and staff are celebrating following the publication of this year’s GCSE results. 96% of all GCSE examinations taken by boys at Queen Elizabeth’s were graded A*, A or B, with 83.1% achieving the top two grades. An impressive 138 boys in the cohort secured an A* in mathematics.

The Headmaster, John Marincowitz, said: “I am delighted by the boys’ performance at GCSE. All boys met the national measure of 5 + A to C grades (including maths, English and science), indeed the average points score per pupil equates with an average score of 10 A* grades per pupil. Teachers have maintained very high academic standards and provided their pupils with solid foundations for success at A Level and beyond."

Head of Mathematics, Gee Scarisbrick, reports that Andre Dalcher was amongst the top ten (out of 285777 entries) who achieved the highest overall marks in the June 2008 GCSE Mathematics exam.

In addition, out of 33784 entries in the June 2008 AS exams, Jenk Killich, Yathooshan Ramesh, Kalil Rouse, Daniel Rowe, Jian Siang Poh and Akhil Shah were amongst the top ten who achieved the highest overall mark.

Mrs Scarisbrick said, "Heartiest congratulations to them all for their excellent perfomances."