QEH Elizabethan Society

Our 1590 Spring newsletter is out now and should have landed in your inbox. Catch up on all our School and OE news, from exciting updates to community highlights, it's all inside 💛

Calling all OEs📣

Dust off your football boots and join us for our annual OE football tournament, for a fantastic morning of sport and a trip down memory lane 🤩

📍QEH Sports ground, Failand, BS8 3TN
📅 Saturday 18 April 2026
⏰️ 11am -3pm

To sign up, please click the link in our bio🔗

We can't wait to see you there ⚽️

Sign up for our Six Nations challenge, only three more days to get involved! 🏉

Christmas Lunch at QEH wouldn’t be the same without our beloved annual photo of OE and Maths teacher Mr Harris (2001 - 2008)! 🎄

An Honourable Visit 👨‍⚖️

Last week, QEH had the honour of hosting Hons Mr Justice Pepperall, High Court Judge and Old Elizabethan, for a careers talk on entering the Law 💼

An Old Boy of QEH (1978–1985), Mr Justice Pepperall has remained an active and valued member of our community, recently returning for his class’s 40-year reunion at the Bristol Dinner 🍽️

It was a pleasure to welcome him back once again, this time to share insights from his distinguished judicial career 🤝

Last month, the Judge generously provided 20 of our Sixth Form students with an exceptional marshalling opportunity too, inviting them to spend a day with him at Bristol Crown Court while he presided over a major murder trial.

Students sat two at a time beside him in court and were able to discuss the case and courtroom procedures directly with him 🗣️

Through QEH, this experience was also extended to Bristol state schools via the Bristol Education Partnership, widening access to this rare and invaluable insight into legal careers.

Our sincere thanks to Hons Mr Justice Pepperall for his continued support and for offering these remarkable opportunities to our students 🌟

Dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum 🫶

At the recent Bristol Dinner, we had one of those moments that perfectly captures the spirit of our OE community.

James Brown (OE 1995) arrived carrying something truly special: the original Latin version of the QEH motto - Dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum.

Translated, it reads: “Whilst we have time, let us do good.”

This was a reminder that the values we talk so often are part of a legacy that stretches back generations.

That motto has guided so many before us, and continues to shape the way we show up for each other and for the wider world.

What made the moment even more meaningful was the setting. Surrounded by old friends, new connections, shared stories, and the easy warmth that defines the OE community, the motto felt alive, less like a historical phrase and more like a lived principle 💪

It’s exactly what makes this community so brilliant: the sense that we are part of something enduring, supportive, and fundamentally good.

We left the dinner laughing, reconnecting, planning the next thing, it was hard not to feel inspired.

Whilst we have time, let us do good.

A motto. A challenge. And, for us, a shared promise.

Bristol OE Dinner 💫

We were delighted to welcome over 70 Old Elizabethans and former staff back to Bristol for this year’s OE Dinner 🙌

Guests travelled from far and wide; from Scotland, Germany, Canada, and even Australia! 🇦🇺

All to reconnect, reminisce, and celebrate their shared QEH story 🏰

The evening brought together OEs spanning nearly seven decades 📆

Our youngest alumnus was Eliot Buckland (OE 2019), proudly carrying the title of “most recently escaped,” while our oldest guest was the remarkable John Dunster (OE 1953), who joined QEH the year after WWII ended in 1946 🌟

We were also thrilled to host a number of milestone year groups marking anniversaries, including the Classes of 2000, 1995, 1985, 1980, and 1975 🏅

Thank you to every OE and former staff member who made the evening so enjoyable 🙏

Details of the next OE Dinner will be announced soon, and if your year group has a milestone anniversary approaching, we’ll be in touch 📝

We look forward to welcoming many more of you back next time 😊

Thanks to OE Mike Smith 🎓✨

It was a real pleasure to welcome back Old Elizabethan Mike Smith (1982–1984) as our guest speaker at this year’s Prize Giving Ceremony 🏆

Mike shared reflections from an extraordinary career in the music industry that began in 1988 when he joined MCA Music Publishing as an A&R scout, signing Blur early in their career 📝

He went on to play a key role in shaping British music over the following decades; from signing bands such as Elastica, Supergrass, The Libertines, Arcade Fire and Arctic Monkeys during his time at EMI Music Publishing, to later leading Columbia Records UK and Warner/Chappell UK, and most recently serving as Global President of Downtown Music Publishing.

His words reminded us how far talent, integrity and kindness can take you and how our school motto, “Whilst we have time, let us do good,” remains as relevant beyond QEH as it was within its walls.

We are proud to count Mike among our Old Elizabethan community and grateful for the inspiration he continues to offer to today’s pupils. 💙

Welcoming Back Old Elizabethans ✨

Last week we were delighted to welcome back a group of our Old Elizabethans (Class of 1972):

Roy Schwartz, Mark Tarsey, Martyn Dadds, Martin Harris, Martin de Lancey, Dave Dibb, and Steve Mansbridge.

It was a real pleasure to have them return to QEH and share their memories of school life, while also seeing the exciting changes and developments on campus today 🏰

A special thank you must go to our four superb Sixth Formers, who acted as outstanding tour guides and ambassadors for the school 👏

Your warmth and enthusiasm helped make the visit truly memorable 💫

Once an Elizabethan, always an Elizabethan 💙