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Four Year 12 boys taking part in the national Engineering Education scheme are working at the forefront of environmental technology.

The boys, Jack Evans, Andrew Kettenis, Ibiyemi Ogunyemi and Rikesh Poonja, who were selected from 20 QE candidates, are working in partnership with local company Lovell Partnerships to design an energy system based on a hydrogen fuel cell. The system will be suitable for incorporation into new developments to power heating and lighting in a more sustainable way, meeting Government eco-targets.

The team, along with QE Head of Design Simon Vincent, attended a three-day residential workshop in the University of Hertfordshire, where they worked alongside Lovell engineers to clarify their concepts and start testing. 

• QE pupils Priyesh Patel, Sam Catchpole-Smith, Sergio Ronchetti and Nikul Vadgama have taken the Arkwright Scholarship examination and are waiting for the results. Under the national scheme to support young engineers, successful candidates receive a scholarship in their Sixth Form years. Other recent developments in QE’s Design and Technology Department include the installation of new sanding tables to reduce dust contamination in the workshops.

The Government has given Queen Elizabeth’s School its Sportsmark Award in recognition of the amount of sport played by its pupils.

The award from the Department for Children, Schools and Families celebrates the fact that “at least 90% of pupils do at least two hours’ high quality PE and sport a week”.

Headmaster Dr John Marincowitz welcomed the award and added: “Many of our boys, of course, exceed this significantly with their participation in the School’s extensive programme of extra-curricular sport.”

The School has received a certificate to mark the achievement and is also entitled to use the Sportsmark logo on its stationery.

As a result of the award for QE, Barnet Central School Sport Partnership (of which QE is a member) qualified for the related Partnershipmark Award, since 96% of children in its schools are now participating in two or more hours’ sport a week.

The Sportsmark Award is awarded to secondary schools, with primary schools given the equivalent Activemark Award.

The outstanding achievement of boys whose successes mark them out even in the high-achieving culture of Queen Elizabeth’s School were publicly recognised and celebrated at the Senior Awards evening.

Some 120 prizes for both academic and extra-curricular achievement were awarded at the event, which is one of the academic highlights of QE’s year.

They were presented to the boys from Years 10 and 11 and from the Sixth Form by the Guest of Honour, Professor Christopher Higgins, Vice Chancellor and Warden of the University of Durham.

Welcoming him and the other guests to the ceremony in the School Hall, the Headmaster, John Marincowitz, said: “Truly outstanding achievements warrant a measure and those who have distinguished themselves in a context where standards are generally very high are truly exceptional and worthy of our celebration. Such is the talent and commitment of the young men whom we celebrate tonight.”

Dr Marincowitz highlighted the public examination successes of QE boys, who typically achieve 10A*s at GCSE and three A grades at A Level – sufficient to place them consistently in the top 5% of their age group nationally. A total of 37 boys recently took up Oxbridge places.

However, Dr Marincowitz added that QE boys enjoy a “wide and rich educational diet,” which is by no means solely focused on examination performance. “Indeed, some of the best things in education are derived from enriching experiences that lie beyond the confines of examination board syllabuses and in all manner of activities that take place outside the classroom.”

Musical divertissements during the evening were provided by the School’s musicians, led by the Director of Music, Kieron Howe. The programme covered a wide range of styles, from JS Bach’s Prelude from the Sonata in C Major (featuring cellist Benjamin Yadin) to Gershwin’s The Man I Love, with Jin-Min Yuan at the piano. The processional and recessional were both compositions by Mr Howe. For both of these, Kalil Rouse played the trumpet and Nathanael Jackson played the trombone, with Mr Howe directing and also playing the trombone himself.

Two ensembles from Queen Elizabeth’s School took part in the first-ever Eisteddfod run by the Musicale, a community music teaching project in Harpenden which has been running for 25 years.

QE’s Saxophone Quartet, comprising Jonathan Wright (alto), Bhaven Murji (tenor), Adeel Haque (alto) and Punit Rawal (baritone) performed Round Midnight by Williams & Monk and Subway by Karen Street. The School’s Wind Ensemble, made up of Joseph Vinson (clarinet), Matthew Chin (oboe), Jonathan Wright (alto saxophone), Jason Yong (flute) and Akin Ogunseitan (flute) played Matyas Seiber’s Dance Suite.

Both QE groups played in the Ensemble Age Open section of the Eisteddfod, which was sponsored by the Harpenden Music Foundation. All the boys received medals and certificates for taking part.

The Eisteddfod was held over a weekend in an informal atmosphere, with helpful advice for the musicians being given by the adjudicator, Dominic Seldis. According to the organisers, Gillian and David Johnston, he was chosen “not only because he is a hugely experienced musician, but also for his untiring enthusiasm, his ability to make everyone feel at ease and for his infectious smile!” Mr Seldis, who is known for his appearances as a presenter on various BBC television music programmes, has recently moved to the Netherlands to take up his new post as Principal Bass of the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Other musical highlights of QE’s Spring Term included the Junior Mid Winter Concert, with performances from boys in Year 10 and below. The funding for the Junior String Orchestra and the Indian Music ensembles is made possible through our Specialist Music College status.

At the concert there were solo performances from some of the Year 7 boys awarded Music Scholarships – Tatsuma Otani, Ermos Chrysochos, Bolun Sun, Yosef Phillip-McKenzie, Joseph Huber and Daniel Chen.

The QE Concert Band enjoyed a memorable opportunity to play next to a Lancaster bomber at the RAF Museum in Hendon. The Concert Band is made up of boys who have reached at least grade V and is drawn from all year groups. It has performed many concerts at venues as far afield as Holland and Paris. Directed by QE’s Director of Music, Kieron Howe, the band also performed at St Mary’s Church in Hendon for last year’s Vaughan Williams celebrations.

In addition, 19 boys took part in a Bollywood workshop with Sam Suriakumar. The boys worked for three hours, putting together over six minutes’ worth of music. They played a version of A R Rahman’s Raga’s Dance including elements of improvisation. The boys played a mixture of both Western and Indian instruments and combined them seamlessly.

Queen Elizabeth’s School has been awarded Training School status by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

According to the DCSF, Training Schools must “demonstrate training experiences that go beyond that expected of a well-managed institution”. QE became eligible to apply for this second specialism – in addition to its first specialism of Music – because it is now recognised as a High Performing Specialist School by the DCSF.

The School had to demonstrate a long-standing commitment to Initial Teacher Training (ITT). A key factor in its success was thus its successful track record of working with PGCE course leaders at the Institute of Education and the universities of Middlesex and Hertfordshire across a number of subject areas.

Headmaster John Marincowitz is delighted to be able to announce the School’s latest accolade. “Training School status will provide a useful income stream and facilitate further valuable initiatives related to the recruitment, training and deployment of staff,” he said.

QE’s Training School activities will complement and extend the outreach work already achieved through QE’s first specialism of Music. In particular, the Borough is keen for the School to share its expertise of providing outstanding teaching to very able students at Key Stage 4 and in the Sixth Form.

In his letter of support for QE’s application to the DCSF for Training School status, Martin Baker, Barnet’s Acting Director of Children’s Service, wrote: “The School’s results in this area are second to none, and allowing other students and teachers to benefit from their expertise, will continue to improve the life chances and access to university for Barnet students. We believe the School is very well placed to develop this specialism because of its outstanding track record of outcomes for pupils and other related activities.”

The School has provisional plans in place to work with the MidWheb Partnership, Middlesex University’s post-graduate professional development programme for teachers. This partnership will offer teachers and support staff at QE and other local Barnet schools the opportunity to study for a school-based MA course. The School and the local authority will, through this work, be well placed for the planned development of a Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) for early-career teachers. The School is keen to be at the forefront of this initiative.

QE also intends to extend the scope of its participation in the Graduate Teacher Programme. Approximately six graduate teachers will be recruited each year, with the following departments being a priority: English, Mathematics, Science, History, Economics and PE. The Graduate Teachers (GTs) will be placed in other local schools for their second teaching experience and, in return, QE will accept GTs from local secondary trainees needing a second school experience placement.

An agreement has been established with the local authority that Dr Marincowitz will act as a mentor to new secondary heads in the authority. There will also be an increase in the number of other trained mentors at the School.

Since it is anticipated that as the School will be training more new teachers than it has vacancies to fill, introductions to partner schools will be made. QE will therefore act as a base for recruitment and will host returner / sample courses for prospective teachers in Barnet, thus helping combat the ongoing challenge of teacher recruitment in North London.

Queen Elizabeth’s School is the highest-ranked state school in the country in the Financial Times 2009 Top 1000 schools.

QE came in fifth place behind four independent schools in the influential league table, which is based on 2008 A Level results. It is also among the highest risers in the upper reaches of the listing, climbing from 19th place last year.

The School’s ranking reflects the excellent academic performance of the Upper Sixth last year, when 84% of all A Levels taken at QE were graded A and 96% were graded either A or B. 2008 also saw the number of A Levels taken at the School rise by 22%. A total of 37 boys – a QE record – were offered places at Oxford or Cambridge.

There was also strong achievement lower down the School, with 96% of all GCSE examinations taken by boys at Queen Elizabeth’s School in 2008 graded A*, A or B.

The School has achieved widespread national recognition for its achievements in recent years. It was named the Sunday Times State School of the Year 2007. And in January 2008, QE was awarded Ofsted’s highest grading of ‘outstanding’, thereby achieving the extremely rare distinction of four consecutive inspection gradings at the highest level.

The Financial Times school league tables differ from others in that they focus solely on academic achievement as defined by ‘core’ subject A Level results. Subjects such as drama and media studies are not included in the FT’s analysis. Its ranking combines two measurements: the points per candidate (to measure the quantity of work), and the points per entry (to measure the quality).

Download the Financial Times school league table here.

England and Wasps rugby star Tom Palmer arrived at Queen Elizabeth’s at the end of this term to give an elite session for the Under 15s rugby team. Tom, who has 13 England caps and is currently recovering from injury, led the boys through a number of demanding drills.

The event provided the boys with an insight into the demands of professional rugby and the importance of attention to detail. After the session Head of Games Mark Peplow said, “It was great to see a player of such stature at Queen Elizabeth’s. Hopefully Tom’s visit will have inspired a few of the boys to follow in his foot steps.”

Tom spent his younger days in Kenya, where his father was a field officer for Voluntary Service Overseas. When Palmer Snr became chief executive of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau in Scotland, the family moved to Edinburgh. After his A levels at Boroughmuir High School Tom deferred his place at the University of Leeds for a year while he went to New Zealand to attend Otago Boys’ High School and play for New Zealand Schools. Next season he will be at Stade Francais in Paris.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Ofsted Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert presented Queen Elizabeth’s School Headmaster John Marincowitz with the Evening Standard’s Secondary Academic Excellence Award.

QE was one of only four winning schools in the newspaper’s School Awards, which celebrate the best of state education in London.

In its citation for the awards, the Standard praised QE as “an academic powerhouse founded in 1573, with a brilliant record of sending boys to Oxford and Cambridge”. It also signalled the School’s achievement in being “regularly among the very best A Level and GCSE grades in the country”.

The winners were chosen from a shortlist supplied by Ofsted, based on the schools rated as outstanding during inspections the previous year. QE received its latest ‘outstanding’ rating in January 2008 –its fourth consecutive inspection grading at this highest level. Last year, 37 QE boys achieved places at Oxford and Cambridge.

Mr Balls told pupils and teachers at the awards ceremony: “You are the outstanding schools of our capital and we are proud to salute your achievements. It is a great honour to be invited to see the Evening Standard celebrating the success and hard work of pupils, teachers and parents. Great education instills self-belief in children. That comes back to great teaching and leadership.”

Now in their 10th year, the awards honour primary and secondary schools for their achievements in providing an outstanding education, often in challenging circumstances. In addition to QE’s Secondary Academic Excellence Award, there were awards for Outstanding Achievement in Challenging Circumstances, Secondary Outstanding Achievement and Primary Academic Excellence. Each winning school receives a £2,000 prize.

Dr Marincowitz, who attended the ceremony at the Standard’s Kensington headquarters with a number of QE pupils, said during the event that boys at the School receive an “academic diet that’s appropriate for very able pupils”.

He added: “They need to be in an environment where they can mix with other clever boys and spark each other off.”

Evening Standard Editor Geordie Greig said: “It is a proud moment for the paper to be able to honour these schools for their achievements.”

In her commentary on the awards, Christine Gilbert gave her insights into the secret of educational success: “We know that excellence does not happen by chance. The best schools concentrate on doing the important things well. They raise the hopes, the aspirations and indeed the achievements of all who attend the school. Students know what is expected of them, understand the consequences of not taking learning seriously and engage keenly. Staff tend to find considerable professional satisfaction and turnover is low. However large the school, it never loses a focus on the individual.

“Many tell remarkably similar stories. Success is the result of a long, determined journey. Many heads have been in the school for a long time, bringing stability and building high expectations. The schools have close links with parents and the wider communities they serve. They place a high premium on teaching, and on supporting and training their staff. And they focus on the needs and progress of individual learners, making sure they achieve good skills and the best qualifications possible.”
Educational standards had improved in London in recent years, the Chief Inspector said, but there was more to be done to help the poorest children achieve academic success.

A team of four QE pupils beat off 35 other teams to win the regional Team Maths Challenge and secure a place in the competition’s national finals.

Team captain Nigethan Sathiyalingam, together with Shane Mahen, Gabriel Gendler and Mahdi Elango, combined mathematical, communication and teamwork skills to win the regional event hosted by Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls in Elstree. The Team Maths Challenge was conceived by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust to offer pupils a way of expressing and developing their enjoyment of Mathematics.

The team, which is drawn from Years 8 and 9, will compete at the national finals in the Camden Centre, London, on 22nd June – the first time that Queen Elizabeth’s School has reached the ultimate stage of this competition.

QE’s Bollywood Orchestra has won a place in the Music for Youth National Festival.

Eighteen boys from Years 9-12 prepared a version of A R Rahman’s Raga’s Dance, including elements of improvisation, at the Bollywood workshop at the start of March, working with Bollywood expert Sam Suriakumar. They first entered a recording of this in one of the regional festivals run by Music for Youth, a long-established educational charity.

The boys will play at the National Festival on 8th July at the Adrian Boult Hall, part of the Birmingham Conservatoire. The performance will also include pupils from Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School dancing to the QE boys’ music.