Dear Parents and Carers, 

Well, Term 3 really has flown by and as always a huge amount has been achieved, both in the classroom and beyond. 

I begin my update with the news that Roger Spicer will be stepping down as Chair of Governors at Easter. Mr Spicer has served an incredible 21 years as a governor at a range of schools and has been Chair of Governors at Queen Elizabeth’s for seven years. We would like to thank him for his loyal and dedicated service over the years. As an experienced professional we will miss his wealth of knowledge, which has been a hugely valuable asset to the Governing Body. Under his expert guidance and support, the Governing Body has worked extremely effectively with the Senior Leadership Team to successfully deliver many positive changes at the school. We will shortly begin the recruitment process and appoint a new Chair of Governors to continue to support the delivery of outstanding education at the school. In the meantime, please join us in wishing Mr Spicer all the very best in his retirement.  

This term has been full of a huge range of events, activities and opportunities and our newsletter captures some of the many highlights, so do have a look at all that has been going on. As you will see, over the course of the term we have enjoyed several interesting presentations, some from former students, including a truly inspirational talk delivered by Lieutenant General Sir Rob Magowan who is a former Headboy of our school. Year 8 took part in an exciting Careers Carousel and the Chamber Concert and the Dance Show showcased the incredible talent of students from across the school - thank you to those of you who supported them. We loved welcoming our Korean visitors to Queen Elizabeth’s and our students were fantastic buddies. From stargazing to Formula One Success, via swimming, water-polo and football semi-finals - this has been a term of variety and challenge! As always, none of this would be possible without our team of truly-committed staff members and I would like to thank them all for their ceaseless efforts this term.

We hope both staff and students have a well-deserved break and we look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 24th February. 

Mrs A J McIlroy

Headteacher 

Library Event - Holocaust memorial day

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January, students had the opportunity to listen to author Tom Palmer reflect on the story of Holocaust survivor, Mayer Hersh.

Book Club

We would like to say thank you to our Year 13 volunteers who are moving on from Book Club in preparation for their upcoming exams and we welcome our new Year 12s who are joining us. Fancy joining in? Come along, we meet every Monday lunchtime in C5.

senior librarians

Our Sixth Form volunteer librarians have been busy in the library creating celebratory displays for LGBT History Month and Children’s Mental Health Week. Keep a look out for our new displays coming next term!

Year 7 Write Odyssey Poems and Shakespeare Sonnets

Some of our Year 7 students finished their study of The Odyssey before Christmas, by creating poetry about Odysseus and his adventures. When they returned in January, they began their study of Shakespeare by writing their own sonnets! Some surprising words of Love!

F1 in Schools - MORE Roses

On Tuesday 7th January, Mrs Butterworth took four Year 8 students to Canterbury Christ Church University to compete in the entry class F1 in Schools regional competition.

Miley C, Olivia M, Emily T and Ruby W, who were team ‘MORE Roses’, had a fantastic day where they competed in many areas. The students had to create a car to race down the track, perform a verbal presentation based on their experience and create a pit display and portfolio.

The team won three awards ‘Verbal Presentation - All Classes’, ‘Judges Choice - All Classes’ and ‘Future Stars - Entry Class’ and they had a total of six nominations for other awards too. Well done team ‘MORE Roses’!

Mrs Butterworth would like to thank Medi M and Leo H from Year 12 for their support of the club!

National Youth Theatre 

On 8th January, the National Youth Theatre visited the school to run a workshop audition with drama students in Years 12 and 10. The company used multiple devising and monologue skills to develop the students' creative approach to staging theatre. Fingers crossed for all those involved - they will find out if they were successful in joining, once all the national auditions finish in April.

school production of 'Oliver! Jr' - tickets now available!

Tickets for the school production 'Oliver! Jr' are now available to purchase through the School Gateway. 

Performances will be held in the Elizabeth Quinn Theatre at 7pm on Wednesday 19th March and Friday 21st March, with both a 2pm and 7pm performance on Saturday 22nd March.

The lunchtime gig on Wednesday 5th February was a fantastic showcase of talent, featuring standout performances and an engaged crowd. Ben S and Finn R delivered impressive solos, demonstrating skill and confidence that captivated the audience. The event also saw brilliant sets from Clockwork Kingfisher and Half Dozen, both bringing energy and originality to the stage. Half Dozen set the tone with a powerful, high-energy performance, while Clockwork Kingfisher’s intricate rhythms and dynamic melodies closed the show. Overall, it was a memorable gig, highlighting both individual talent and strong group performances.

The annual Chamber Concert, held on Wednesday 12th February in the St. Mary of Charity Church, was a resounding success, showcasing the remarkable talent and dedication of our student musicians. The evening featured a captivating selection of classical and contemporary pieces performed by various ensembles, highlighting the depth and versatility of our school's music programme.

The concert opened with a stirring rendition of Tallis' If Ye Love Me, performed by the Chamber Choir. Their precision and harmony set the tone for an unforgettable evening. The Chamber Strings delivered a mesmerizing performance of Libby Croad's Moto Perpetuo from her Suite for Strings, captivating the audience with their precision and energy. We were treated to wonderful solos from Henry W (Year 8), Maddy S, Noah W and Jemima E (all Year 13). The standout performance was certainly the Chamber Choir’s performance of Simon & Garfunkel’s epic Sound of Silence. They brought this profound and incredibly challenging arrangement to life and showed a level of musical maturity rarely heard in a school choir. The concert concluded with a full ensemble performance of Whitacre’s Sleep, uniting all musicians in a grand finale that earned a well-deserved standing ovation. A recording of the concert will be uploaded to YouTube soon and shared with all.

Thank you to all our incredible musicians for such a wonderful concert; you all work so hard and dedicate a lot of time and effort to creating these brilliant performances. I hope you have a wonderful rest over half term!

christmas baking! 

At the end of last term, Year 13 A level German students enjoyed a morning of baking German Christmas biscuits, following traditional German recipes. 

Korean Buddy Group 

This term, Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School hosted a group of students from South Korea. We welcomed nine pupils, joining classes from Years 7-12. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to experience England and British culture and equally, our pupils have had the opportunity to meet people from a different continent. We have learned some Korean and made new friends.

Here are some messages from one of our Korean visitors...

"Students in this school are kind."

"I was not good at English, but I practice hard in this school. My English skill is better than before."

"Lunch is very good. It is delicious."

"It was a very good experience for me. I cannot forget this moment, thank you!!"

British Sign Language Club

This term, the MFL Faculty's new British Sign Language Club started for students in Years 7-9. We have had a strong turnout from students and staff alike! So far we have learnt to sign the alphabet and how to have an introductory conversation with a deaf person. This is a fabulous life skill to have and we look forward to seeing how proficient our young signers will get as the year goes on!

MFL Culture Club - La Chandeleur

The 2nd of February, 40 days after Christmas, is La Chandeleur in France.  MFL Culture Club celebrated this year’s 'Chandeleur' by inviting Year 7 and 8 students to come and find out about the customs of this popular festival, such as how crêpes are said to represent the sun. 

Our students had a lot of fun watching the sun rise in the sky as teachers and MFL senior students demonstrated 'flipping' their crêpes into the air with their right hand whilst holding a coin in their left hand - a tradition which is meant to bring good luck for the rest of the year!

Students then decorated crêpes whilst singing the Chandeleur song……but their favourite part was, of course, eating them! 

Stargazing at Queen Elizabeth's 

Thursday 6th February marked the first stargazing event at Queen Elizabeth's. The event was aimed at the Year 9 students who are currently studying the space topic at GCSE.

Although the weather didn't seem to be on our side, we persisted and luckily a decent break in the clouds allowed us to see the Moon, Jupiter, Mars and Venus. We also picked out the constellations Gemini and Orion, as well as picking out the red supergiant Betelgeuse. It also allowed us to take some images using the new school telescope. A great time was had by all and we look forward to hosting more stargazing events in the future.

The Moon from QE!

British Physics Olympiad Results

A huge congratulations to James D who achieved a gold in the British Physics Olympiad and is now amongst the top physicists in the country!! Also congratulations to Patrick H for achieving a silver and Charlie P, Helena H, Edward B, Sam C, Zak B, Jesse-Krishna J and Zak K on achieving a bronze. Congratulations to all our other students who sat the exam, a very big well done!'

Year 10 Trip to KS4 Science Live

On Friday 7th February, 30 Year 10 students attended KS4 Science Live at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London. We spent the day watching talks from scientists including Professor Robert Winston about IVF, Professor Sophie Scott on why we laugh, Professor Andrea Sella on chemical reactions and equilibrium, Dr Helen Czerski on ocean science and Professor Jim Al-Khalili on whether time travel is possible. An enjoyable day was had by all and the students got to see interesting areas of science, outside of the classroom.

What's been happening in QuEST? 

At the start of this term we held a QuEST dinner for past and present members of the alumni, including former student Daniel Hampton who delivered a speech to the attendees. The event was a great success, with lots of discussions and networking.

The previous QuEST committee has done a fantastic job running QuEST, with many successful experiments and conferences. A special thank you to Sophia F, the former QuEST President, for doing so much work over the past year and bringing in fantastic speakers as well as organising some great events. The former committee have all been incredibly helpful with the handover and we are looking forward to stepping up into their roles.

As the new QuESident, I am really excited for the year ahead. I’m very glad to have been given this opportunity to make an impact in QuEST and I think this will be a very exciting year. I believe we have a strong committee made up of very capable people, so I have no doubt QuEST will run smoothly!

The new committee is as follows:

QuEST President - Alexis. E

Vice President - Millie. H

Head of EcoQuEST - Jack. R

Head of BioQuEST - Grace. R

Head of AeroQuEST - James. E

Head of SpaceQuEST - Cleo. R

Head of Junior STEM - Kim. R

Head of MotorQuEST - Scarlett. C

Head of PollutionQuEST - Ellie. K-J and Josie. Y

A huge thank you to everyone who has agreed to give up their time for QuEST!

Lastly, in January QuEST enjoyed a talk from former student, Nathan Williams, who is currently completing a Phd in Plant Science at Cambridge University. Nathan gave an incredibly fascinating talk on crops and genetic engineering - a very important and relevant subject. Everyone found the talk incredibly fascinating and informative and Nathan discussed lots of interesting topics, including the introduction of GM plants to the UK. We are very grateful to Nathan for visiting QuEST and we hope he will return in the future.  

 Alexis E. QuEST President

Last term we researched terrariums and analysed the conditions in and around the local stream. The insightful data gathered during the study has enabled us to decide our next project. For our next terrariums, we have acquired 6 large glass jars which are air tight and perfect for creating these small ecosystems. We are planning to fill them with equal volume of sediment and water from the local stream and then put different species of aquatic plants in them. 

We will use one of the jars as a control where we don’t add any external aquatic plants. We will be testing how the different plants affect the abiotic factors inside the terrariums. These factors include pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates and turbidity. This will be tested every week using a pH probe, oxygen, nitrate and phosphate test strips as well as taking photos to document growth. This will show us what plants are more effective at keeping a healthy and fertile environment for all organisms living inside the terrariums and our findings could potentially improve the habitability and/or conditions of the stream.

Jack R. Head of EcoQuEST

This term, the car arrived! The main focus over the last few weeks has been to check that we have all of the car parts and that the parts are in a good condition. Once assigned for, we began putting together the main body of the car and fitting the driver's harness. Alongside this, we’ve been researching environmentally friendly and cost effective materials for the car’s outer shell.

Additionally, we started to look at the aerodynamics of the car and we discussed different options to make it as efficient as possible - we plan to build a model of the car and make different attachments to test in the wind tunnel.

Scarlett C. Head of MotorQuEST

This term, BioQuEST performed a successful experiment looking at the effects of vape and cigarette smoke on bacterial reproduction and growth. We tested multiple different methods and finally achieved conclusive results when we exposed the smoke to E. coli bacteria. We found the vape smoke made larger colonies than the cigarette smoke. The following images are of the cultures produced when the smoke was exposed to bacteria. 

Next term we are planning on conducting a series of experiments branching from the recent discovery where several toxic metals including arsenic and lead were detected in a range of tampons (including organic tampons). Research on this topic is limited, so we would like to replicate their experiment using an ICP-MS. We are currently appealing to universities in London with the hope that we can continue this research at their facilities. As well as this, we aim to conduct other experiments on branded tampons in order to identify whether the samples include bleach/chlorine/peroxide and to determine the pH levels. We also intend to produce bacterial cultures from the bacteria found on our sample of branded tampons, comparing our findings amongst the brands we examine. Our aim from these experiments is to investigate whether feminine hygiene products being sold today, specifically tampons, are negatively impacting female health and contributing to increased risks of cancer and toxic shock syndrome [TSS]

Grace R. Head of BioQuEST

PollutionQuEST is a new addition to QuEST! We have the goal of monitoring pollutants around the local area using portable devices. We have been given funding from The Royal Society to research, design and create some portable air pollution monitors that can be used to look at pollutant concentration in our local area, especially looking at travel routes to school. Alongside our mentor, Dr Ashley Mills from the University of Kent, we are looking to monitor CO2 and PM2.5 (small particles) concentrations both around the school and around Faversham.

This term we have continued to develop our monitor synchronising the screen and CO2 monitor to record readings. It uses a traffic light system to display whether the levels are good or too high. We have made a simplified version of our monitors to use when we present our findings to local primary schools. We want to explain to younger people the dangers of air pollution and how we can limit the production of it. We hope to get lots of primary aged children interested in STEM and the environment.

We presented our project and findings at The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, as part of the young researcher’s zone.The event was a great experience as we were able to explain our project to the public. We also spoke to experts in the field which helped us to develop our understanding of the topic, and to look at ways to improve and expand our project.

Additionally, we are collaborating with SpaceQuEST for the ASGARD project, so that we can compare ground level pollution with CO2 and PM2.5 concentration in the atmosphere.

Finally, we have designed a card game where students can plan their daily routines and discover how much CO2 they are actually producing. We hope this will raise awareness about how many of our daily activities are a lot more damaging to the planet than you realise.

Josie Y. and Ellie K-J. Co-Heads of PollutionQuEST

SpaceQuEST has been accepted into the ASGARD project and we are now busy preparing for the launch in May. Our project is to collect samples of the atmosphere at an altitude of about 20 km to look for the composition of the air, as well as any trace gases like SF6 to see how man made gases permeate through the atmosphere.

Back in January, we visited UCL in London to learn more about mass spectrometry and how we can best analyse the samples collected during the balloon flight. We took sealed samples of Argon and CO2 to the mass spec lab, and analysed them as well as a blank sample of air. Our results were as expected, meaning our method of sealing the syringe and transferring to the GC-MS machine was successful. It was a very educational day and as well as preparing for the launch, we were also able to learn more about how a university lab operates - we were kindly shown around by the Head of Department. We are looking forward to revisiting the UCL lab in May, after we’ve obtained our final sample of gas.

We now have all the components of our gas capture mechanism and are working on assembling it all. We currently have a working sensor that is ready to seal our container when it starts coming back to earth!

Cleo R - Head of SpaceQuEST

We have been working towards building an effective prototype of an ionic thruster, which we aim to finish before the end of this term. Firstly, we started by researching the specifics of how to effectively induce ionic wind via the corona effect. A time consuming task due to the limited and narrow research available online - we found most of the relevant information was buried within overcomplicated NASA documents. We used the information acquired from examining the research to redesign a 3D prototype for our electrohydrodynamic thruster. Using some additional design suggestions discovered in similar tests to ours and some innovations of our own, we were able to design notably new configurations for the emitter electrodes. 

This is all in hope that the prototype will be more efficient and produce a more stable air column and as such. a higher force output. All this research will coalesce into our first test run which will take place on the final Wednesday of term. We plan to test 4 different factors affecting ionic thrust which will hopefully help us to optimise our thruster, these include electrode spacing, wire configuration and voltage/power. 

A lot of this term has been spent completing admin, which although it sounds boring, it is quite exciting for us as it involved creating a poster for a science competition we will attend in March. This will be our first opportunity to present our research to an outside audience!

James. E. Head of AeroQuEST

Introduction 

We have had a reasonably quiet term (for us!). We do, however, have a few highlights that we would like to share with you all, notably Kent Cup Football news, the annual Dance Show, County Cross Country and our successes with Basketball Club!

Girls' u14 football

On a very cold Saturday morning in January, we rallied the U14 girls and parents to travel to South East London for the semi-final clash in the Kent Cup. We faced a BIG school so we knew it was going to be a challenge. We made good time on the journey and the warm-up was underway. Isla S played in goal, despite not feeling 100%, she was supported by her dad, (also her coach) to warm-up for the match. With a squad of 14 players, we knew we would have the legs to run around them, but hadn’t quite anticipated the length of their legs and the slope of the pitch. The game got going and it was evident very early on that Bullers Wood were a force. Our girls found themselves camped in our defensive half with most players behind the ball for most of the first half. There were some breakaways but running uphill was particularly difficult!

Despite some amazing saves from Isla and defensive tackles from the back 4, we were 2-0 down by half time. All to play for in the second half (going downhill), or so we thought. Bullers Wood came out all guns firing and were relentless in their attack. They scored a further three goals to be victorious and to win themselves a place in the Kent Cup Final. So it wasn’t to be for our team - we did nothing wrong, in fact, everything right but they were just too good for us on this occasion. The girls’ spirits were bruised and we were all disappointed, but to get to this stage in this competition is an accolade in itself. Some excellent football has been played throughout all of the rounds and countless goals scored. Hopefully we come back again next year in the U16 competition, ready to fight again! I would like to say a huge well done to all of those involved in this competition this year and also a BIG Thank You to both Mr Higbee and Miss Waldron for their support on countless occasions, and on that very cold early Saturday morning.

basketball

We have tried something new this year with the school basketball and I am happy to report that it has all proven to be a huge success. In a bid to get more students involved in this sport, Mr French & Mr Charlton have run weekly sessions for all students in KS3 & KS4. The Tuesday afternoon club (KS3) has seen in excess of 30 students regularly turning up to play in a 3v3 format. The KS4 lunchtime session has been equally popular, with students playing a similar format and increasing their time on court significantly. There have been a few student helpers from Year 10 attending the KS3 club and they have proved to be a great support to both staff and students. It really has been wonderful to see the level of participation and enthusiasm from lots of different students. Look out for similar format clubs coming soon in different activity areas.

Annual Dance Show 

Last Wednesday 5th February, we were once again treated to a wonderful display of dancing talent at our annual Dance Show. This has been the culmination of weeks / months of work from all dancers and choreographers. There were displays from all genres of dance, ranging from ballet to tap, Bollywood to the hand jive, with street dance and contemporary in between. Group sizes ranged from solos to ~15 and all dancers put in huge amounts of effort and energy. Thanks to Mr Caborn and our musicians, the audience were treated to some musical interludes from the school bands before the show and during the interval, whilst Dr Dedman and his film crew of students were in attendance too. Mrs Oben and her team expertly guided the dancers through a lighting display and Mr McDermott and a ‘behind the scenes’ art team provided a beautiful backdrop. Dancers were ushered and organised backstage by Mr Higbee and Mr Charlton, so it really was a great team effort from across various areas of the curriculum and was wonderful to see a community event come to fruition. The whole show was expertly managed and organised by Miss Washington, ably assisted by Miss Waldron, and the two of them really did put together an excellent show. Tickets sold out very quickly indeed, so maybe next year, we might have to put on another show!!! A huge well done to all those involved and thank you to all who supported this event.

County Cross Country - featured athlete!

On the very same cold Saturday morning as the football, some of our excellent runners attended the Kent Schools Cross Country Championships in Dartford. Abbey in Year 9 was one of those runners and flew the ‘QE flag’ excellently. She said it was a tough race with a steep uphill section. Runners from all over Kent will have qualified for this event and therefore it is always of an extremely high standard. She did however complete the race and felt really chuffed with herself afterwards. I know there were a number of other QE students invited / who attended, so a huge well done to all those who represented Canterbury District Schools and Queen Elizabeth's on this occasion. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to cheer you on - hopefully next year.

UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge Success

Once again our KS4 students have smashed the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge, a national competition which is completed by schools all around the country. 57 students from Key Stage 4 achieved a certificate including 27 Bronze awards and 22 Silver awards. Eight students achieved a Gold award, which puts them in the top 9% of all students in the country who participated. An additional congratulations to the four students in Year 11 who qualified for a follow on round which takes place in March, and to Elliot in Year 11 for being Best in School. A big well done to all students who took part.

Next term will be the turn of KS3, first to compete in a Maths interhouse challenge, with the top scoring students going forward to compete in the Junior Maths Challenge in May.

The Great History Debate

Since Christmas we have been treated to a wonderful variety of debates on Dunkirk, the Norman Conquest, Douglas Haig, King John and Stonehenge. Students from across Years 7, 8 and 9 have shown off their clever research skills, eloquent speech writing and ability to think quickly in the face of unexpected questions. It is a knock out competition and going into the second round, alongside the victors from Term 2, will be Reuben, Gabe, Emmeline, Mary, Edward, James, Sebastian and Rae.

Two further debates will be squeezed in this term after this update has been submitted and a further three debates will take place in Term 4 in order to complete our Round Two lineup. As always, particular thanks goes to all of the staff who have come along to assist in the judging but especially to the pupils who have sat in the audience to offer support and questions to those brave enough to sit in the hot seats!

Mr Buckland

This term’s SEND focus is Therapeutic Interventions.

We are very fortunate at Queen Elizabeth’s to have a trained Wellbeing & Intervention teacher in Mrs Wicks.

Over the past year, Mrs Wicks has undertaken training in Trauma Informed Schools, Sandplay Therapy & Lego Therapy and she has been integrating these approaches into her work in school.

What is Sandplay Therapy?

Sandplay Therapy is a form of counselling that can be used with children, teenagers and adults alike. It is initially a non-verbal approach that combines both play and art therapy to support the client to be able to find solutions or talk about painful life experiences. The premise behind this type of therapeutic technique is to provide the client with a non-verbal medium of communication with the therapist, bringing what is in their subconscious to conscious awareness. Sandtray pictures can be reflective and self-expressive, representing many aspects of life such as people, ideas, situations and feelings. They can also symbolise a person’s 'inner world'. People can become more aware of their unconscious thoughts and of any current difficulties in their life.

How does it work?

A sandtray (often with a blue background) is used alongside a variety of miniature objects which could include human and fantasy figures, animals, vegetation, buildings, vehicles, fences, structures, household items, signs, spiritual objects and natural media. The child is asked to use the sandtray and miniatures to make a picture in any way that they would like, using as many of the objects as they wish. The therapist places emphasis on the fact there is no right or wrong way of doing this. When finished, the child is asked to give the sandplay a title. The child and the therapist will then explore together the sandplay. This may be related to relationships in the client’s life, a painful life experience, the child's inner world or different aspects of their life. This provides the child and therapist an opportunity to reflect together.

The Benefits of Sandplay Therapy

Sandplay therapy can be extremely powerful in helping children, young people and adults to express emotional issues they find difficult to put into words. It is often much easier for a child or young person to communicate their feelings through sandplay as we don’t just think in words, we also think in images. Parts of our unconscious is often projected onto the miniatures in the sandtray, bringing the unconscious into conscious awareness. 

Mrs Wicks has been trialling this therapeutic intervention with some KS3 students who have found it very beneficial in being able to communicate about various life experiences in this way.

wellbeing room 

We are delighted to have received a kind donation recently from a former parent to assist with the students' wellbeing at Queen Elizabeth's. I am pleased to announce that we used the money to transform our wellbeing support room into a multi-functioning area for our wellbeing practitioners and students.

Mrs Gossling

Mental Health Lead  

wellbeing ambassadors 

During Children's Mental Health Week, our Wellbeing Ambassadors looked back on the accomplishments they have made so far. They discussed how to promote themselves and continue their work throughout the school by way of our digital and poster based notice boards.

Year 12 MIT Workshop

Year 12 attended an in-school workshop with MIT with an emphasis on the importance of decision-making in choosing post A Level pathways, if students decide upon a university course or a degree apprenticeship.

The students learnt about the timeline of the UCAS process including the relevant deadlines, for example when and how to confirm final firm and insurance choices of university.

For those who agreed to participate in the research, there will be the offer of a one-to-one mentor who is matched specifically depending on their interest area. The mentors will be helping them with their applications and a fund of £75 towards university visits will be allocated to them to support university research ideas.

30 Minute Career Insights

Actuarial Science and What it's like to work in Westminster

The Actuarial Science Talk from the University of Kent explored what actuaries do and discussed areas where they work such as insurance, pensions, consultancies and government to predict the future, and assess risk. Students were told how they use complex statistical, analytical and modelling skills to help businesses to solve complicated financial problems.

Some of the problems discussed included what premium should be charged for providing insurance to a customer, how much money should a company hold now to meet future pension payments to its staff, what financial risks does a company face, and how can it protect itself against those risks? 

Talk by a former student representing The Adam Smith Institute

Jasper, a former QE student who works for the Adam Smith Institute, gave a talk on working for a Think Tank. He explained that a Think Tank is a research organisation that advocates for policy positions and government actions, usually in accordance with a specific area on the political spectrum. He expanded on different types of roles within politics and how to get involved and apply for job roles. In addition, Jasper talked about the Adam Smith Gap Year Scheme and a range of apprenticeship opportunities in Westminster.

Talk from Lieutenant General Sir Rob Magowan and Ben Mann

Lieutenant General Sir Robert Andrew Magowan, KCB, CBE is a senior Royal Marines Officer who serves as the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff since May 2022. He is also a former Queen Elizabeth's student and was invited to return to the school and give an inspiring talk regarding his career trajectory and life lessons on leadership, which he has gained from his military experience.

The Lieutenant General gave two harrowing stories in which he explained how he overcame these challenges and what it has taught him for later life. Ben Mann also shared stories in which he did the same, and both visitors outlined their personal interpretations on what makes a good leader.

To conclude, both speakers engaged in conversation with students and emphasised the importance of humility, being level-headed and uplifting others.

Darcy B and Tina B-M, Year 12

Upcoming Workshops

There will be a revision workshop for our Year 12 students on 26th February. The workshop offers practical strategies for students to excel in their studies, covering note-taking, effective revision and powerful learning techniques for higher academic achievement.

A solicitor will be visiting school to give a family law careers talk - all are welcome to attend! 

Professional Pantomime Performances 

During December and January, two of our QE drama students performed in Canterbury's professional pantomime 'Peter Pan'. Emily T and Erina H performed as part of the ensemble sharing the stage with West End performers for a festive and engaging show. Well done to both students on this incredible achievement!

Kent Schools' Swimming Gala

Representatives from across the school had the opportunity to attend the Kent Schools' Swimming Gala held at Hartsdown Leisure Centre in Thanet. It was a great event and our students enjoyed the experience, with some of our swimmers achieving a personal best. Congratulations to Ollie B-B who was placed within the top 6 of his age category, winning medals within his races. We look forward to the relay races in September.

New Topper Hull for Ralph Hadley 

After the unfortunate incident involving the previous hull, we are pleased to report that Ralph now has a factory fresh, modern, grey hull ready to go with the bigger sail. This new piece of equipment has enabled Ralph to perform well during his recent coaching sessions with the RTG squad at Weymouth Olympic Academy.

Ralph - we all wish you a successful racing season!    

Please follow the link below for the full story:

Barton Marine - New Topper Hull for Barton Rising Star Ralph Hadley