Welcome to the First Year Blog!
At the end of their first month at Hampton, the First Years have really found their feet. After their exciting trips away last week they recognise many more faces in the corridors, know their own forms a lot better and have enjoyed a normal week of lessons, clubs, music and sport! Last weekend, lots of First Years represented Hampton for the very first time on the sports pitches, with more fixtures to be played tomorrow. I hope you manage to get plenty of rest this weekend, because there are two more exciting weeks to come before half term – and two interesting trips too! Have a great weekend!
AVON TYRRELL – VOLUME 2
Last week’s Avon Tyrrell adventure already seem a long time ago, but it is still less than a week ago that 1B, 1F and 1H were on their way back home. Max and Zac report on their experiences:
Avon Tyrrell was an adventurous trip fill with lots of fascinating team building activities. We were split into many groups to extend our friendships outside of our form. The activities were competitive but still fun and included everyone in a variety of different ways. Here are some of the main activities that we did: Raft Building, The Night Walk, Archery and Climbing. All of these events made you feel welcome and also made you feel like will prosper at Hampton with all of the friends you have made. The dorms made you feel warm and safe; it didn’t matter if you were in a dorm with your friends because you will make new ones in the time your are there. Overall, Avon Tyrrell was one the most welcoming and exhilarating trip that I have been on with school. By Max C (1H) and Zac C (1H)
FIRST FIXTURES
Last Saturday, the First Years played their first ever fixtures in the Hampton black and yellow across the U12 Football and Rugby teams. Max, George and Eashan report:
Intense, enjoyable and exhilarating are my three adjectives to describe this Rugby match against High Wycombe on Saturday morning. The As managed to pull off an outstanding victory of 35-0. We were so proud to bring home our first victory in our Hampton badge. Our defence managed to hold up and saved multiple close calls. Some hard tackles left the other team in defeat. I loved the match so much and it was so fun to get back on to the rugby pitch. All of the tries scored were creative and we broke through multiple tackles to score them. I am so happy to say this and I am so proud that I can say I won the first ever match in a Hampton shirt. By Max C (1H)
I woke up early on a crisp Saturday morning, ready to play my first match for Hampton School. We trained for around an hour before the other team (Forest School) arrived, had a team-talk and then, before I knew it, the whistle blew to signal the start of the game. After a few passes and well timed runs, they had scored. 1-0. We instantly bounced back and scored from a corner. All tied at 1-1. However, due to their fast winger and some brilliant passes, they had suddenly scored twice more! 3-1 to Forest School. Half-time. After some advice from our coach, we were completely energised and hopeful for the next 30 minutes of football. However, our dreams were crushed as they had scored again. Although our chances to win were slim, we kept on battling. After a foul in their penalty area, our striker slotted the ball in the back of their net. The comeback was on. A deflection from a corner led to another goal for Hampton. 4-3. Just minutes left. We pushed and pushed but unfortunately, we just couldn’t find an equaliser. Final score. 4-3 Forest School. By George S (1H)
My first rugby match was an amazing experience. As I walked into the Hampton gates, I saw all of the pupils there preparing for Open Day. As I starting walking towards the changing room in the Pavilion, I was met by fellow rugby players and we were discussing our prediction for the results against our opposition RGS Wycombe. This lifted our team spirit and we were all excited to play the fixture. After that, we split off into our teams, mine being the B team. We started to conduct warmups and get the team prepared for the match. The coaches arrived shortly after and were giving us more direct warmups and giving us team talks to lift our spirit for the game. KICKOFF!! The ball was kicked into the air followed by a catch. RGS Wycombe were a tough team to beat and our team played their hearts out. I was very proud with my performance scoring two tries for my team. Although our strong performance, the final score totalled to 5-10(25-50) to RGS Wycombe. As we shook hands with the opposition, we were very proud of our first performance in the iconic yellow and black Hampton colours. I will look back at this as I pursue my rugby career and remember our strong team performance. By Eashan B (1J)
OPEN MORNING
Although they had only been at Hampton for three weeks, the First Years did an incredible job at showing visitors around the School during our Open Morning last Saturday. Jai and Ishaaq report on their experiences as tour guides, and Zac tells us about his morning helping out in the Music department.
Our first Open Morning was a blast with lots and lots of people visiting the School! We guided intrigued parents and committed children around our brilliant school. We first went to the chemistry laboratory to do fun experiments! The first experiment was changing the colour of the roaring flame which was seven hundred degrees Celsius from the Bunsen burner. We changed the colour of the fire by adding some particles to the flame of our choice. On the way out a teacher was turning wine into water! Simply using one glass! Next, we went to the modern languages room, a clever junior took a turn at a challenging crossword. He solved it in a minute. You could have a conversation with a teacher in a different language! You could win a LOLLIPOP! Then we went to the Design Engineering department. We saw several 3D printers and laser cutters printing some keyrings. The youngsters were engrossed in the high-tech machinery. Their hearts rose with happiness when they saw the keyrings freshly made. The best part of the morning was the FOOD! The school cafeteria was open to show the children how great our day-to-day meals are. The scrumptious taste melted in my mouth. The hot food’s aroma could be smelt from a mile away. In the end, we said goodbye to the parents and children. By Jai K (1J) and Ishaaq A (1J)
During Open Morning, myself and others were invited to help out in the Music Department. Many pupils received this invite – from First Year to Sixth Form. During your time helping here, you got to experience the department in action. Families that come and have a tour also experience this. I am part of the Concert Orchestra and also played some of my own music in a practice room. If you don’t get to do what you were planning to do it is OK as you could do many other things, such as music tech and the choir. By Zac C (1H)
LEGO ROBOTICS CLUB
So far, out of the many clubs I’ve tried, although the others were good, Lego Robotics just takes the cake. It has been the epitome of fun and the definition of informative. At first, we glared at the wonderful robots that solved Rubik’s Cubes within a couple seconds. It was a bit of a disappointment, when we realised we were not making Rubik’s robots, but nonetheless we had fun as we picked the Lego pieces, we needed to build our robots in teams of three. We all had a fun time using the figure of technic bricks (not very successfully!) to keep the model steady. In the end it was a fun club, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who wants to try. By Shishir V (1J)
CHESS CHAMPION
During the summer Jai K (1J) became British Chess Champion 2022, playing in the U1900 section. The British Chess Championship took place in Torquay in August. Jai also managed to achieve second place in the British Chess Championship 2022, Rapid, in the Open section. Jai has also been selected to play in the English Closed Championship this weekend. Congratulations on these incredible achievements, Jai, and all the best for this weekend’s tournament!
TUTEE OF THE WEEK
Every week, the First Year Tutor team nominate a boy who they have been particularly impressed with, and Mr Hill and Mrs Peattie provide him with a football to use on the fields for the week!
This week’s tutee of the week is George S (1H) for having a positive and diligent approach towards all his endeavours at school over the first few weeks of the year. Well done George!
CLUBS, CLUBS, CLUBS!
The full list of all clubs, societies and other co-curricular activities on offer at Hampton can be found here:
CO-CURRICULAR TIMETABLE 2022-3
Why not try a new club next week, plenty of time to get stuck in before half term.
JUNIOR MUSICAL
Calling all budding actors! It’s time to audition for the much-anticipated Junior Musical. This year’s production is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – which tells the journey of Joseph and his coat of many colours. Auditions will take place on Tuesday 4 October from 4 to 5:30pm in the Hammond Theatre with recalls on Tuesday 11 October. The Junior Musical is open to all First, Second, Third and Fourth Year Hamptonians.
The audition song will be Close Every Door to Me. Please familiarise yourself with the song, prior to the audition. There will also be a short and simple dance audition.
More information can be found in the poster below:
The performances will take place on 7, 8 and 9 February 2023 with the first rehearsal on Tuesday 1 Novemeber.
Pupils must be able to commit to rehearsing every Tuesday and Thursday 4pm to 5.45pm. Sunday rehearsals are on the following dates:
- Sunday 15 January 2023
- Sunday 22 January 2023
- Sunday 29 January 2023
- Sunday 5 February 2023
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Jones in the Drama Department A.Jones@hamptonschool.org.uk
TALK!
It was great to see so many of you at the first Hampton School Talk! of the year, as Lung Consultant Dr Felix Chua and Pharmaceuticals specialist Dr Andrew Makin gave us an insight into their experience from the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Friday 7 October at 1pm in the Hammond Theatre, we are delighted to welcome renowned political journalist and commentator Fraser Nelson to present our next lunchtime Talk! With the conservatives reeling in the face of widespread criticism following the recent fiscal measures introduced by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, Fraser Nelson offers his insight into the political turmoil facing Liz Truss’s government and assesses what the future holds.
Editor of The Spectator magazine and a member of the advisory board of the Center for Social Justice and the Centre for Policy Studies, Fraser is a regular commentator on TV and radio. The Evening Standard named Mr Nelson as one of the most influential journalists working in London and he also won the British Press Award as Political journalist of the Year.
As well as offering his thoughts on the current political situation, the seasoned journalist will be talking about his 25-year career, spanning seven prime ministers, and shining a light on current-day, 24/7 media coverage.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the most exciting voices in political journalism. Hamptonians from across all year groups are welcome to attend and do not need to book a ticket
FIRST YEAR 5 QUESTIONS
A massive 51 First Year Hamptonians had a go at last week’s quiz, well done to everyone who had a go! Big shout once again out to Form 1B with an impressive ten entries. Merits go to:
1P: George V, Sion K, Ollie B, Vihaan K, Oliver Y, Alp O, Thomas N
1J: Louis C, Finn R, David W, Neil T, Sam D, Danyal P, Shishir V, Henry S
1L: Elijah T, Patrick H, Jonty G, Macsen B, Konrad G, Rajvir S, Edison Y
1W: Marcus P, Dean B, Yusuf A, Anthony S, Isaac d Q, Laurie L-T, Alex P, Vayun J
1B: Gabriel K S, Jiashan L, George H, Nathaniel O, Devam K, Joe B, Sebastian W, Alex G, Neal H, Ekam R
1H: James N, Zac C, Max C, James G, Matthew K, George S, Joshua L
1F: Daniel S, Oscar F, Ben J, Oscar S
Take a look at this week’s questions – have a go yourself or challenge people at home and see if they know the answer.
- What is the most sold flavour of Walker’s crisps?
- What does the Latin Tempus mean in English?
- How many Grand Slam singles titles has Serena Williams won?
- Which UK city is situated further west – Bristol or Edinburgh?
- Which country was the first to give women the right to vote, in 1893?
Merits are awarded for everyone who has a go! Just click on the link below and enter your answers; points for the Interform Competition will be awarded to the form with the most entries every week.
Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here.
Take a look at next week’s blog to find out the answers and here are the answers to last week’s 5 questions:
- What is the smallest planet in our solar system? Mercury
- Which country in the world is believed to have the most miles of motorway? China
- What are the five colours of the Olympic rings? Blue, Yellow, Black, Green and Red
- Name the first actor to play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films. Richard Harris
- Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived – who was Henry VIII’s last wife? Catherine Parr
Remember to write your name in the form so you can be credited with merits!
