Queen Elizabeth's School
The Elizabethan
NE WSLET TER TO PARENTS
AUTUMN 2019
LEADERS: QE is the top-ranked state school nationwide for the second year running in the Sunday Times Parent Power survey, thanks to another set of extremely strong GCSE and A-level results.
From the Headmaster Dear Parents,
state or fee-paying. Nationwide, just
exceptional results was built under the
four independent schools matched QE’s
leadership of his predecessor, Eamonn
The Autumn Term started with
95.7% figure for the proportion of A-levels
Harris (Headmaster 1984-1999), the sad
Queen Elizabeth’s School in good
passed at A*-B. Remarkable as our boys’
news of whose passing we received last
heart following another set of
performance this summer certainly
month. Through a combination of clear-
exceptional exam results.
was, there is a further aspect that is not
sighted vision and indefatigable resolve,
apparent from the league tables, and that
Eamonn and his team utterly transformed
QE has subsequently been named the
is the extraordinary long-term consistency
this School, as the separate article on p3
country’s leading state school for the
in our A-level results: 2019 was the 14th
sets out. All of us at QE today owe him
second consecutive year by the Sunday
consecutive year in which the A*-B figure
an immense debt of gratitude. The School
Times’s respected Parent Power survey,
has remained above the 95% threshold.
is planning a service of remembrance
a position we have now held for five of
in the spring.
the past seven years. In fact, Parent Power
This extended record of achievement
revealed that not only were we the top
thus goes back to the headmastership
The ongoing programme of improvement
state school, but were among a mere
of my immediate predecessor, Dr John
to our facilities begun during Eamonn's
handful of top-performing schools of
Marincowitz. But John would, I am sure,
tenure continues. Our project to build
any stripe, selective or comprehensive,
agree with me that the platform for our
a new Music School is on track, with the
ROOM FOR ROBOTS: The new robotics suite in the Technology corridor is proving popular, as more boys than ever gear up for this year’s VEX IQ and VEX EDR junior and senior competitions.
TOP TEAM: Ivin Jose, centre, is the 2020 School Captain, pictured with his senior team. They are among are a record 114 new School Officials.
demolition of the Mayes Building to
the Senior Leadership Team at the end
on the same night. The pressure of an
clear the site completed successfully over
of term. The School will then be in a
interview situation is useful, since the
the summer. We are currently working
position to share the outcomes in the
boys have to formulate their ideas and
on plans to fit out the building, including
New Year. These will inform our thinking
then articulate them, just as they do
consideration of interior design. A full
as we move into establishing priorities
at our regular academic symposia with
tender process for the project will be
for 2020–2024. That
launched in the spring so that work
period includes the
can start in July next year, once public
450th anniversary of
examinations are over.
the School, which we celebrate in 2023, and
“ a very positive endorsement”
leading girls’ schools, where participants are exposed to the cut and thrust of informed debate.
This has been a busy term for Music,
is personally significant for me,
and for the arts in general, with a
since within this time I will mark a
QE Connect, our new online community
full programme of concerts and
decade of my headship and two decades
for Old Elizabethans, has been launched
performances. The boys participated very
since I first began working at QE.
as part of our strategy to harness all the
successfully in the Shakespeare Schools
good work done by alumni. There has
Festival, performing The Merchant of
The boys have also been giving their
been a good initial response and we
Venice. Such events are tremendously
views this term, with 962 pupils taking
have many plans to develop it. People
important not only in enhancing School
part in a voluntary pupil survey – a 76%
from across the wider Elizabethan
life in general but also in the development
response rate. Analysis of the results
community also seem to be enjoying
of confident, rounded individuals.
shows they gave, as we would hope, a
interacting with our new QE Instagram
very positive endorsement of what they
and Facebook accounts.
I was recently honoured to be invited
experience in School. We have, though,
to give a speech at the Girls’ Schools
also been able to identify themes for
Our new catering arrangements have
Association’s Annual Conference for
further exploration, with conversations
met with widespread approval from
Heads, where I explained our emphasis
taking place at our pupil conferences
the boys, who appreciate the additional
on creating a culture that nurtures free-
with peer representatives from each
choice and better presentation, the theme
thinking scholarship. Of course, if we are to sustain such a culture, we must not rest on
“ excellent response rate”
form group to tease out
days and food demonstrations. The food
further details useful to
served now has improved environmental
us in developing the QE
credentials in response to feedback: there
experience still further.
is reduced packaging and improved
our laurels. This term’s consultation survey among parents was
sorting of waste, while our new caterers, We are now in the last year of the current
Holroyd Howe, are diligently making
carried out with the future very much
School plan, covering 2016–2020. It is
ethical choices with regards to their own
in mind. I can reveal that 924 families
still proving highly relevant; we continue
suppliers and the food products that
responded – 69% of the total. I am told by
to actively pursue its aims. For example,
they sell here.
RSAcademics, the independent company
it was with Enhancing future prospects
who ran the survey and who are widely
in mind - one of the plan’s four priority
My best wishes for an enjoyable Christmas
experienced in such schools consultations,
areas – that we launched our inaugural
holiday and a peaceful and prosperous
that this is an excellent response rate.
university mock interview evening. This
New Year.
My thanks go to all who took part.
was well received by pupils and incredibly
RSAcademics are working on their analysis
well supported by alumni, who also held
Neil Enright
and will present their findings to me and
their own reunion event at the School
Headmaster
UK’s best-performing school – again! Queen Elizabeth’s topped the national tables in the 2019 Sunday Times Parent Power survey to rank as the UK’s leading state school for the second consecutive year. QE faced tough competition, but
Congratulating both boys and staff,
came in ahead of Wilson’s School
Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This
Redoubtable: Eamonn Harris, Headmaster 1984–1999
in Wallington, and local girls’ school,
is a quite remarkable achievement
The Henrietta Barnett School, in third
and I feel tremendously proud to have
place. The influential survey is based on
the privilege of leading this School.”
A-level and GCSE results. One statistic
Although several new schools in the
which illustrates the extent of the
capital did well, Parent Power’s editor,
School’s progress, even by its own high
Alistair McCall, noted that for QE,
standards, is that this summer, 79.4%
founded in 1573, “age is no barrier to
of GCSEs taken at QE were awarded A*
success”. News of the achievement
QE’s remarkable successes in the 21st century, such as its Sunday Times Parent Power triumphs, simply would not have been possible without the huge contribution of reforming Headmaster Eamonn Harris, says current Head Neil Enright. Mr Harris died last month at the age of 76.
(or the numerical equivalent), a figure
quickly sparked huge interest online,
which is a new School record and is
with tens of thousands of views recorded
exactly 30% higher than the proportion
for the School’s social media accounts.
In fact, without Mr Harris, the School may not have survived at all, for, as he learned soon after being appointed, QE, then a failing comprehensive, was slated for closure by the local authority.
QE’s cast tackled the “shocking and
Led by Year 13’s Rivu Chowdhury, as
relevant” anti-Semitic storyline of The
Shylock, and Sathujan Manmatharajah,
Merchant of Venice head-on in this year’s
as Antonio, the mixed-age cast won
Shakespeare Schools Festival, reports
praise from SSF organisers at Finchley’s
Assistant Head Crispin Bonham-Carter.
Arts Depot.
Undaunted, he set about transforming the School in almost every aspect, from staff training to standards of uniform. Determined that QE win control of its own finances and admissions, he fought tenaciously to take advantage of new freedoms for schools: in 1989, QE gained Grant-Maintained Status, wresting its funding from the council, and in 1994, it won the right to apply a selective admissions policy once again. Awards and an ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted followed. When Mr Harris retired in 1999, he left behind him a thriving grammar school with strong examination results and a rapidly growing national reputation.
recorded ten years ago.
Shakespeare: shocking…and relevant
Richest of repertoires Music at QE, from the hits of indie band Saint Motel to the beauty of Bach… This year’s news that QE’s new £3.5m Music School will go ahead following a successful bid for Government funding was greeted with joy throughout the Elizabethan community – and with some relief in the Music department! Extra-curricular Music is booming at
and A-level, we recognise that many
the School, and it can sometimes be
keen and talented musicians do not
a challenge to find rehearsal space
pursue it as a curriculum subject in
for the ensembles or the 160-strong
the Upper School or at university.
School Choir. The two-storey centre will solve that problem.
“Therefore, we are committed to offering exciting extra-curricular
Composer & sound designer Sergio Ronchetti (OE 2004-2011), who delivered a careers lecture to senior boys, first worked for four years as a professional musician, only then going to Goldsmiths, where he took a First in Music. Fascinated by the gaming scene, he is now a freelance composer and sound designer.
Yet while the strength of extra-
Music opportunities open to all year
curricular Music at QE is quite evident,
groups: through these, boys deepen
what is perhaps less widely known is
their appreciation of Music and learn
its sheer variety. There are more than
‘soft skills’ such as time-management,
20 different ensembles, playing almost
creative thinking and team-working.
every conceivable genre, from jazz
What’s more, they have a lot of fun,
and rock to classical music in both
while acquiring an ability that can
the western and Indian traditions.
serve them throughout their lives.”
Of this term’s four major music events, the first two alone involved
Special events broaden boys’ horizons.
14 ensembles and more than a
During a body percussion workshop
dozen solos and duets.
last summer led by visiting experts, the whole of Year 7 found out what exciting
Headmaster Neil Enright said:
sounds they could produce simply
“Although we offer Music at GCSE
by stamping their feet on the floor,
Ruth Partington Director of Music Miss Partington joined QE this term from Canford School, Dorset. Before that, she was Head of Music at St Stephen’s International School, Thailand. She has a first in Music from Manchester, a professional performance qualification from the Royal Northern College of Music and is a clarinettist and saxophonist, who also plays the piano and loves conducting. She has performed with ensembles including the Hallé Orchestra and Royal Shakespeare Company.
clapping hands and patting their chests. Pupils benefit by learning from industryleading figures, such as composer Sir George Benjamin, who recently led performance and composition workshops for senior musicians. The guest organist at the Carol Service and at the Founder's Day Service is Richard Morrison, The Times’ chief music critic. QE has a strong record of leavers pursuing Music in higher education and professionally, but here again the paths followed differ. Old Elizabethan, Mike Ajayi (OE 1998-2005) runs his own indie music record label, AMF Records, part of the global Universal Music Group. By contrast, sixth-former Drew Sellis has won a highly sought-after place as an Organ Scholar at Jesus College, Cambridge, for next year.
From the archives: 'unswerving loyalty to the School' he served from 1988–1998 as Chairman of Governors, working closely with Headmaster Eamonn Harris. In a hugely transformative period of the School's history, they strove together to achieve Grant-Maintained (GM) Status and re-establish QE as a grammar school.
The Heard Building, opened in 1998, was one of the very first to be funded by FQE. Built as a Sixth Form centre, it was remodelled and extended for the English department in 2016-2017. Important as it is, the man after whom it was named, Luxton Robert ‘George’ Heard, is more important still. An alumnus (1927– 1936) who in the mid-1980s was President of the Old Elizabethans Association,
The 1936 School Captain, Mr Heard was a First XV rugby player, editor of the Elizabethan magazine and leading light in the Dramatic Society. A local newspaper reviewed his appearance in a female role thus: “Heard…acted with an easy naturalness, which was entirely convincing.” He was described by his Headmaster, E H Jenkins, as “an excellent school skipper… [who]…carried nearly all School offices… on his shoulders extremely competently”.
After a successful career in engineering, he was brought on to the Governing Body as one of the businesspeople required for the governance of ‘optedout’ GM schools. Always resolute, he could be combative, telling Barnet’s Conservative councillors to resign if they supported a report critical of QE’s GM plans, pointing out that “opting out is a central plank of [national] Conservative education policy”. Like Mr Jenkins before him, Mr Harris quickly recognised his qualities and wrote at the time of “his huge capacity for work and his unswerving loyalty to the School”. Mr Heard died in 2009. He is immortalised in a bust by then Head of Art Ashley West, displayed in the Heard Building.
Student Problems? No problem! Year 12 Further Mathematics student James Tan has become the first QE pupil for many years – and possibly ever – to win a prize from the prestigious Mathematical Association, after
Dylan’s drawing on display A sketch that Year 10 pupil Dylan Domb started in his Art class and completed at home won him a prize in a competition run by the Henry Moore Foundation. Dylan’s drawing of his own Moore-inspired sculpture was displayed at the Moore visitor centre in Perry Green, Hertfordshire.
submitting solutions to the Student Problems in the association’s journal.
Politics in practice
Fund-raising ride
A-level Politics students braved Brexit
Madhi Dhirani, of Year 13, joined
demonstrators – for and against – and
35 other cyclists from the Stanmore
tried their hand at law-making during
Jafferys community group on a hilly
an education workshop on a visit to
56-mile London-to-Brighton ride,
the Houses of Parliament. They also
raising more than £31,000 for WF-Aid
saw PM Theresa May make her first
– a charity providing clean water
Commons speech since stepping down.
for families in developing countries.
Town & country GCSE geographers enjoyed the chance to get their hands dirty in Epping Forest while Year 13 took in the colourful urban cool of Brick Lane and Spitalfields on their own field trip. Year 11 made measurements in Loughton Brook, while the A-level Geography students, including Kieran Dhrona, pictured here, explored how life is changing in East London.
Future planning
Broughton triumph Battling it out in front of an audience of 800, Broughton House saw off tough competition from fellow finalists Underne to retain their title as QIQE champions. For the University Challenge-style quiz, the teams, drawn from Years 7-10, had to be quick with
Old Elizabethans turned out in force for two major School events to help pupils plan their futures. First came the inaugural University Mock
As well as the 35 different companies
Interview Evening, at which almost 40
and organisations represented on the
alumni and friends of the School put Year
main floor of the Careers Convention,
13 boys on the spot, with most conducting
this year’s event had an increased
four half-hour interviews on their own
number of talks – with standing room
areas of expertise during the event.
only in many of them.
their 'starters for ten'. They could then confer on their bonus questions to rapidly amass a score.
Faith ambassadors win praise Following presentations to Barnet’s Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education, Faith Ambassadors Sena
Time to perform!
Lai-Fujiwara and Vignesh Rajiv, of Year 9, and Saifullah Shah, of Year 13, were
Welcoming some 50 Year 13 pupils for a
events. Afterwards, Nisha Mayer,
congratulated by the Mayor, Councillor
joint academic symposium with North
Head of Academic Enrichment, said:
Caroline Stock, and praised afterwards
London Collegiate School, Assistant
“The students were highly engaged and
in a letter to the Headmaster from
Head Crispin Bonham-Carter stressed
articulate, the discussions constructive
Barnet SACRE Chair Kevin McSharry
the importance of performance at such
and purposeful.”
and consultant Dr Anna Sallnow.
Centenary rugby QE took on St Albans in a special match marking 100 years since the first encounter between the two schools. The game in 1919, which QE won, was St Albans’ very first fixture, while QE had itself only been playing the sport for a few years. At the centenary match, which St Albans won 36-19, the Headmaster presented St Albans with this photo of the Elizabethan team from the following season, the earliest rugby team photo that either school possesses.
Herzlich willkommen!
Courting favour A Sixth Form team won both plaudits and votes from judges in the Empire Mock Trial – a legal competition in New York for pupils from leading schools worldwide. The nine boys had to grapple with the
the persuasive force and clarity of
US legal system – including adapting to
their speeches, and the incisive manner
the use of objections – but rose to the
of their examinations.” Saifullah Shah,
challenge well, reports their coach, Jack
of Year 13, added: “Beyond its academic
Robertson, Head of Philosophy, Religion
rigour, the entire Empire experience
and Society. “Judges and observers were
was unforgettable, largely due to the
impressed with the professional manner
remarkable kindness of our fellow
in which they conducted themselves,
competitors.”
Joshua’s just perfect
Twenty-seven Year 10 boys welcomed their partners from Friedrich von Bodelschwingh Gymnasium (grammar school), in Bielefeld on the return
Although only in Year 8, Joshua John
leg of the German exchange.
won QE’s Years 8-11 Chess Tournament The visitors took part in specially
with a perfect score. Teacher in charge
tailored lessons alongside their hosts and
of chess, Geoff Roberts, said: “This is a
enjoyed activities including a barn dance,
very rare feat, so Joshua is an especially
a boat trip to Greenwich and a quiz
worthy champion, having won all six of
devised for them by QE sixth-formers.
his games against a high-quality field.”
Queen Elizabeth’s School Queen’s Road, Barnet, Hertfordshire EN5 4DQ 020 8441 4646 @qebarnet1573
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