SPRING TERM, 2026
EDITION 13
FEATURED IN THIS EDITION:
FIFTY YEARS OF QE SEVENS
TABLE TENNIS RESURGENT
RUGBY DINNER HIGHLIGHTS
RUGBY TEAM OF THE YEAR 2026
OE SPOTLIGHT – MAX HASSELL
VARSITY OE WATER POLO
& RUGBY STARS
SKI TRIP TO CANADA
YEAR 7 RUGBY PLAYERS AT STONEX
RUGBY SEVENS
This month’s QE Barnet Rugby Sevens will mark half a century of high-quality sport played at the School in one of the country’s best-known tournaments.
Thirty-two teams, many from the country’s best-known rugby-playing schools, will make their annual pilgrimage to Queen’s Road this Sunday.
After the excitement of the group stages – with four teams apiece battling it out –the eight group winners and runners-up move on to the knockout stages of the Cup and Plate competitions, before the day culminates with the keenly fought respective finals.
QE’s Director of Sport Jon Hart says: “It’s always a great occasion, and the 50th anniversary makes this year particularly special. Before the day is out, the School’s four pitches will have seen a full programme of rugby played out with grit, passion, and, in many cases, a great deal of skill.”
In its full format, the eagerly awaited tournament has long been one of the country’s largest sevens events. The 2026 event is for U14 sides.
In the first 50 years, terrible weather, pitch problems, and the Covid-19 pandemic have all taken their toll. But thanks to the commitment of the PE department, and the support of visiting schools, the QE Sevens tournament has survived and thrived.
"I am really excited to be captain of the team for the 50th year of this huge event. We have been training hard, so hopefully if we win, it would be a nice tribute to the School and our coaches." Husain Jassim, Year 9: U14 Sevens captain.
Sunday 8th March 2026, from 11am with all matches at the School.
The 11am games include Brighton College vs Wellington College on pitch 1 – both schools with a proud history of success in the QE Sevens. That’s followed immediately by the QE team’s first game, also on pitch 1, at 11.20am. Pitch 1 is at the top of Stapylton Field, away from Main Building.
ENTRY IS FREE
No tickets required. All welcome!
Turn to page 2 for more on the QE Rugby Sevens
It’s 50 years and counting for David Maughan – a highly respected former Head of PE and the founder of the QE Barnet Rugby Sevens Tournament.
To this day, not only is David always at the tournament, but is also in school most weeks, rarely missing a First XV match, and attending lower-year rugby and cricket, too. After arriving in 1974, he quickly made an enormous contribution. Sevens was already established but was soon hitting new heights. In 1976, QE won four out of five local Sevens competitions, and – in its first year in national competitions – took the Oxfordshire tournament’s B title.
He therefore founded the tournament here when Sevens at QE was very much on the up. It rapidly gained traction. In 1983, The Elizabethan recorded, 36 teams entered, among them “several of the schools with the strongest reputation for rugby…including Bedford Modern, Tiffin, Campion, Haberdashers’ and Emanuel”.
He managed England U16s for a decade beyond his retirement here in 2003, when The Elizabethan hailed him as “an outstanding coach”.
QE’s U14 team is in Group 2. Watch them play at:
11:20am, pitch 1, vs Robert Clack School
12:20pm, pitch 3, vs Oakham School
13:40pm, pitch 4, vs Norwich School
With table tennis growing in popularity at QE, this week saw the first major fixture for some years.
Sixteen boys from Years 7–10 beat Ashmole Academy away from home, 17-15.
Senior PE teacher Richard Scally said: “The players are already eager for a rematch, and with the commitment shown, future fixtures promise to be even more exciting.
“Pupils from Years 9, 10 and 11 are regularly developing their skills during PE lessons and, beyond that curriculum time, there’s a thriving lunchtime culture
This was a brilliant first fixture against a strong Ashmole side. The boys are keen to give it another go!
Habeeb Tharoo, Year 10
and an enthusiastic after-school club held every Monday and Wednesday.”
The driving force behind it all is Year 10’s Habeeb Tharoo, says Mr Scally. “Showing impressive initiative, Habeeb has been instrumental in assembling a 16-player training squad, featuring four selected pupils from each of Years 7 through 10. Their commitment has created a genuine buzz around the department, as players sharpen their skills in preparation for the fixture.
“With this momentum building, the future of School table tennis looks very promising indeed.”
Invented as an English upper-class game in the 19th century First widely known as ‘ping pong’, but after manufacturer J Jaques & Son trademarked that term, ‘table tennis’ became common 1901 a key year: – Enthusiast James W Gibb introduced lightweight celluloid balls – E.C. Goode first attached pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the racket’s wooden blade Adding a sponge layer in the 1950s increased balls’ spin and speed Introduced as an Olympic sport at the 1988 Seoul Games.
Hundreds of boys from across the whole School gathered in the Shearly Hall for the third annual QE Rugby Dinner.
The evening featured striking statistics, honours for boys from all age groups, and a stirring speech from Old Elizabethan Max Hassell (2002–2009), who is the subject of this edition’s OE Spotlight (see p7). But most of all, the event was about celebrating the game and enjoying the chance to mingle with others who shared a love of rugby.
It was, said the Headmaster, a “brilliant” evening. “Rugby’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship are what makes the game special for those who enjoy the environment and culture they create. “They resonate deeply with the QE mission to produce young men who are confident, able and responsible.”
The evening culminated with the eagerly-awaited announcement of the 2025–2026 QE Rugby Team of the Year
Serving QE rugby with distinction were Year 12 Sports Leaders: Kamren Hare, Thomas Young, Kyaan Syed and Ishan Nakadi. Senior Colours went to Year 13’s: Krutarth Behera, Jake Owens, Edward Muscat, Aadam Aslam, Timi Banjo, Simardeep Sahota, Abubakr Shofolahan, Ubaidah Rahman, Sharvesh Sudhagar, Martin Machytka, Atiksh Anagani, Tristan Fink and Leo Sellis.
Diners learned statistics about competitive rugby at QE.
New stars emerge in this year’s awards, while Thinuka retains his Player of the Season title. Players’ Player is voted for by the boys.
STARTING FORWARDS 2025 – 2026 SEASON
GEEGANAGE KAPUGAMA U16
1 2 3 STARTING BACKS 15 11 14 10 9 12 13 8 6 7 4 5
AARUSH MEHTA U13
VARBANOV First XV
ENDERBY U14
REDDY U13
HASANAJ U14
OGIDI U15
KIANI U13
JU U14
OWENS First XV
ASLAM U16
REDDY SUNKARA First XV
NKOUKA-BACKA U13
2025 – 2026 SEASON
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Rewarding teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship
Max Hassell (OE 2002–2009) works as a football agent and was the guest speaker at this year’s QE Rugby Dinner.
Max has been a keen sportsman from a young age: “I could hear the first and second teams playing on a Saturday afternoon from my garden…and dreamt one day it would be me on those pitches.”
His dream was realised a few years later when he won a place at QE and was made Year 7 rugby captain. “I still can’t quite fathom how I was able to play, as small and skinny as I was. I remember we had an almost unbeaten season, winning every game except a narrow 3-0 loss to St Albans. I’m proud to remember I have never lost to Habs!”
While in Year 7, he idolised sixth-former Aaron Liffchak (OE 1996–2003), the “England U18 star of the School”. Some years later, Aaron coached Max “to a silver medal in one of my proudest-ever life achievements – representing Great Britain Rugby at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, an international sports tournament held every for four years for Jewish athletes from all around the world”
At QE, Max went on to play with the First XV, while also enjoying water polo and athletics, and to play county rugby for Hertfordshire at U16 and U18 levels.
After reading History at Bristol, he secured a three-month unpaid internship as a football consultant with The Sports Entertainment & Media Group, with responsibilities that included finding and signing top young talent around Greater London. That led on to a paid role, and in November 2014, he moved on to become an FA-Registered Intermediary
1. Embrace every training session, every match with your mates, every minibus journey to games, and every huddle before kickoff. And whatever you do, please don’t lose to Habs!
2. Although it can be difficult to make the time, if you can play for a club outside of School, please do it. It will add so much to your life and will benefit your rugby career at QE.
3. When you leave this place, keep up your rugby as much as you can, whether that’s at university, a club, or beyond.
with Sidekick Management. He took up his present full-time post, in a similarly titled role with London-based Sync Global Sports, in June 2020.
Today, as well as his work representing players in multiple divisions of the English Football League, he also captains Saracens Amateur RFC, where his vice-captain is QE PE teacher Nicholas Langley-Pope. It was Mr Langley-Pope who invited Max to the dinner.
I’ve proudly played for this School, the county, the University of Bristol, and had the honour of both representing my country and captaining Saracens Amateurs – and it all began here at QE.
OEs represented Oxford and Cambridge in two different sports last weekend.
Cambridge water polo captain Ben Rock (OE 2016–2023) had fellow OE Avi Juneja (2018–2025) playing alongside him in the 135th Varsity water polo fixture. In an exciting game, their team took home side Oxford to an 11-11 draw, before losing on penalties. Avi’s QE contemporary, Andreas Angelopolous, is also a Cambridge first-team player, while another OE, Cambridge PhD student Alex Norcliffe (2009–2016), returned to coach the team this year. He previously competed in eight Varsity matches. Andreas, Avi, Alex and Ben are pictured together (above).
Oxford also triumphed in The Varsity Match – the famous rugby fixture dating back to 1872 – beating Cambridge 37-25. Representing Oxford was final-year medical student Joel Anjorin (OE 2013–2020). Joel came on late in the game, securing his Blue. “Competing was a big goal and highlight for me, having watched these very matches while growing up,” said Joel. “Looking back, however, I think the journey was much more important than the result. I joined Oxford University RFC in my fourth year and have since played against teams such as Saracens, Harlequins and Leicester Tigers, as well as going on tours to Dublin, Australia, California and Georgia. It’s also allowed me to make friendships and connections that I’m sure will last a lifetime.” Other OURFC members include OEs Victor Angelov and Taro Niimura (both 2016–2023).
I have been part of Cambridge Water Polo for three years and was particularly pleased to see Avi and Andreas join the men’s club. They have shown real commitment and quality, both representing the first team in BUCS (British Universities & College Sport) fixtures, with Avi selected for the Blues Varsity side.
Our progression to this level owes a great deal to QE. The School provided an environment in which sporting ambition was properly supported. The PE department invested substantial time in coaching – from coming in early multiple times a week to run before-school sessions, to taking us to tournaments all over London. One stand-out example came last year, when Mr Scally brought the QE first team to watch the Varsity Match in Cambridge.
It is particularly rewarding to now represent Cambridge alongside teammates with whom that journey began. The presence of multiple OEs in the current squad – and the continued involvement of Alex Norcliffe – reflects the strength and continuity of the QE water polo programme and the support it provides.
As Team GB’s Olympians took multiple golds in Italy, QE’s winter athletes were excelling themselves on the ski slopes some 5,000 miles away in British Columbia.
The week-long half-term ski trip took the boys to Panorama Ski Resort in the Canadian Purcell Mountains.
Senior PE teacher Guy Ashby said: “Students of all abilities challenged themselves – from experienced skiers confidently tackling advanced terrain, to beginners taking their very first runs on a mountain. Each day was filled with progress, excitement, and brilliant teamwork – and the resort was stunning.”
In the evenings, the boys relaxed in the resort’s hot pools and toasted S’mores (marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between biscuits) over campfires beneath the stars. They also found time to visit Banff in Alberta’s Rockies – “One of the most picturesque places we’ve ever seen,” said Mr Ashby.
I had an amazing time – I wish I could have stayed a bit longer. Our instructor was very nice and I gained loads of confidence on the slopes.”
Oscar Wang, Year 10
QE’s Year 7 rugby players were treated to an unforgettable experience as they took part in a tournament at the StoneX Stadium and then stayed on to watch the PREM Rugby Cup London derby between Saracens and Harlequins.
For many of the boys, it was their first time playing on a professional-standard 4G surface, adding an extra level of excitement to the tournament hosted by the Saracens Next Gen team.
The day was made even special when the pupils were invited on to the pitch before kick-off to form the guard of honour, waving flags as the professional teams ran out.
Their coach, senior PE teacher Guy Ashby, said: “It was an experience that they will surely remember for years to come.
“I was proud of our pupils throughout the whole day: they worked really hard for each other and made a lot of progress, displaying tremendous effort, teamwork, and perseverance. The tournament provided valuable learning opportunities, and they rose to the challenge with enthusiasm and determination.”
In the cup game, the two sides put on a thrilling display, with Harlequins narrowly winning 43-40.
ABOUT 4G
4G (fourth generation) pitches feature a newer style of artificial surface than 3G, with shorter fibres and a denser structure. There is often less rubber infill and they are lower-maintenance surfaces, while offering realistic playing characteristics.
This was a special day to play at the StoneX; it was amazing to see how skilful the professional players were.
U12A captain Kai Hau