Welcome to the First Year Blog!
This week’s start of the World Cup brought lots of excitement to Hampton – we were able to watch (some of) the England game on Monday and it has been great to hear many discussions about players, teams and shock defeats around School this week. Many First Years are playing in our internal Hampton World Cup competition, with the second round of fixtures taking place during their Sport afternoon today.
I do also hope the boys were able to enjoy their Homework Holiday – hopefully the extra time in the evenings gave you some more time to relax and enjoy your hobbies, and some extra energy going into the final few weeks of the autumn term: can you believe it’s December already next week?? With that in mind, make sure to arrive through the main entrance on Thursday morning to be treated to a festive sight and smell when you walk into School!
ADVENTURE SOCIETY TRIP
Last Saturday 29 First Years and five staff set off to Bentley Copse for the first Adventure Society trip for the First Years. This is one of my favourite trips of the year, and clearly you all had a fantastic time as well! It was great to see many boys develop their cycling skills, overcoming fears and meeting new friends, which you can read all about below:
I was about to go on my first Adventure Society trip and my nerves were frayed. After we got off the bus and left our stuff in our dorms, we had some pizza for dinner and headed off for some orienteering in the darkness.
It was a bit like the orienteering at Avon Tyrrell except for a few significant changes. First it was in the dark and we needed a torch to see where we were going. Secondly it was much easier to walk past something you were looking for, oblivious to whether it was there. Thirdly, it was a lot more likely that we’d get lost if we weren’t following a path, fence or recognisable feature. However, I had a great time and I think we did pretty well. At least we found our way back! We then watched a movie, had some cake and went to bed.
The next morning, we finally hit the mountain biking trails: the biggest reason I wanted to go on this trip. The morning was very tiring, all uphill. Some of it was fun but after we had our packed lunch (made that morning), that was when the excitement kicked in. Going downhill was fast, exhilarating and a little bit scary – but it was definitely my favourite part of the whole trip. What a great trip to Bentley Copse, I’m looking forward to the next Adventure Society experience. By Alex P (1W)
It all began on a Saturday afternoon and we were at Bentley Copse (this was a trip organised by the Adventure Society and staff came along too).We first put our luggage in our dorms and then played board games that we brought along with us in the communal area. At 6:00 we had dinner (pizzas) and it was starting to get dark. Once we had all eaten, we had sufficient energy to go night orienteering. We were given a map to study, a compass and a pencil. The objective was to go to certain places and find certain letters, we also had 40 minutes to find them. Once we had found all of them, we arranged the letters into a word. Lastly before we went to bed we watched the film UP and had cake and hot chocolate. In the morning we woke up changed our clothes, ate breakfast, brushed our teeth and we were ready for mountain biking. We made our own packed lunches before we set off. On our journey we encountered rocky muddy areas and we went up steep hills and downwards slopes. Halfway through our journey we reached the top of the hill and we sat and ate lunch there. We then continued our journey and went down a single one-way track. After when everyone had made it past we took the same route that we took to get to the top of the hill to get back to Bentley Copse. Returning back to Bentley Copse signalled the end of our trip and we travelled back to Hampton and our parents picked us up. By Danyal P (1J)
On Saturday, me and 28 other First Years arrived at school ready to go on an action-packed trip full of fun and games. We were ready for two days of the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime experience at Bentley Copse, Guildford. After the 45-minute bus ride we arrived, to unpack in our 16-bed dorms. We got our games and headed off to the hall, where for the next approximately four hours, we were chatting and playing board games. We played Uno, Dobble and Chess, and Monopoly Ultimate Banking – Monopoly with a technological money system. Then it was time for dinner – pizza and hot dogs! We had fun chattering away, but all of us were extremely excited for what was to come next – night orienteering. Night orienteering was not what we expected. Of course, safety first, so we had a short briefing, explaining about everything in Bentley Copse, and then we set off into the unknown. We used our maps to navigate and find the letters. In the end, we got 90 points in second place. Then, we watched the movie of the fantastical story that is Up! A Disney classic about an old man floating in his house, with balloons to Paradise Falls in South America. Halfway through, we found out it was Julius’ birthday! We had three small cakes, which tasted wonderful, and we drank hot chocolate, which was just as, if not more, delicious. And of course, we sang Happy Birthday to Julius. After watching the movie, we went to bed, and although it could not be called calm, it was manageable.
We woke up to a decent breakfast of croissants and cereal, and then we made our own sandwiches and took snacks for lunch, as we would be mountain biking for the rest of the day. And then, the main point of the trip, the mountain biking began! At first, it was a relatively flat – at least compared to the rest – but lots of us, myself included, found it difficult, as we had never done mountain biking before, but then, we were hitting extreme uphill for a long time. It felt like we were pushing our bikes for an eternity, after 5 minutes, and the majority of us were getting more exhausted by the second. Then, after the final stretch, we ate our lunch and snacks, ready for the downhill. We were disappointed when we realised it was nowhere near as steep as the uphill, but it was fun nonetheless and we raced. We packed our bags, with satisfaction at the wonderful trip put on by Mr Clarke, and we left with no regrets. By Shishir V (1J)
The Bentley Copse trip was a fun way to make new friends and have an amazing time. We arrived and unpacked our bags and later on did some late night orienteering. We watched a movie and ate dinner then went to bed. We woke up early to head out on the mountain biking trip. We got our bikes ready and headed off. After some crashes and an amazing time, we arrived back to the site where we would pack up to leave. We got on the coaches and made our way home. By Max C (1H) and George S (1H)
MEET THE TEACHER
This week, Gabriek K-S (1B) interviewed his English teacher, Ms Morse!
What made you go into English?
I remember the first time I wanted to become a teacher was when I was 7. In one of my classes I sat next to a girl called Leah and leaned over and corrected one of her answers! I look back now and see that maybe I was always destined to be a teacher.
What is your favorite book and movie?
The Lacuna. It’s a historical fiction and I love it because it is so complex and intricate. You can reread it many times and it still feels like the first time you read it. As for movies, I really like “Some Like it Hot” with Marilyn Monroe.
How long have you been working at Hampton?
Since September 2021.
Cats, dogs or another animal?
Cats. I don’t have one but when I was younger, I had many pets. Fishes, hamsters etc.
What is your favorite thing to teach in English?
Shakespeare.
Did you always want to be a teacher?
Even though there were always other things I thought about, I think deep down I always wanted to become a teacher. I thought about being other jobs working with people. Like human resources or being lawyer. Deep down, I think teaching was what I always wanted to go into.
Do you have someone you aspire to be like? If so, who?
I think it is very important to be yourself. As Oscar Wild once quipped, “Be yourself, everybody else is already taken.”
If you had infinite money, what would you buy first?
I’d spend that money making sure every child in the world had access to excellent teaching and mental health support!
NOT-AT-ALL-HORRIBLE HISTORY
This half term, we will not only be sharing experiences from outside the classroom, but also highlights from interesting lessons:
There are many fascinating subjects to gather knowledge about, and History is one of them. Hampton’s First Year history classes really interest the pupils and teach them about the world’s past. Along with many other subjects, you are taught to express your opinions on different topics and learn how to recreate these in an essay or descriptive test. Throughout the year, pupils are taught about key aspects in British and World history, through a variety of projects and tasks. Overall, this is one of the most enjoyable subjects at Hampton. By Zac C (1H) and George S (1H)
CHESS COMPETITION
Jai K (1J) tells us about a recent Chess competition he went to:
I arrived at school. We went on the school bus and went off to King’s College School. When I realised I had forgotten my packed lunch at home, I started to panic but all was well in the end. BYE BYE LUNCH! We first played against King’s College C and won 4-0! We had a brilliant start. Next, we played Dulwich, they also had won 4-0. We won the match, but we scored two and a half points. We then got beaten by King’s College 1-3 to them! We were sad but we did not give up. Then we played Wilson’s B and won 3-1. Although we had lost a match, we started to make a comeback. We then played Trinity and also beat them 3-1. In the last round it was a huge competition for second place whilst first was already secured by King’s College A. It was between us, Wilson’s B and Wilson’s A. We were playing Wilson’s A. We were losing the match but then we made a comeback and won the match two and a half to one and a half. After our last round we got doughnuts and cakes to finish off the tournament.
Now for the results:
1st Kings college A
2nd HAMPTON SCHOOL
WE QUALIFIED FOR THE NEXT ROUND!
TABLE TENNIS
Last week four First Year pupils took part in the Richmond Borough Table Tennis competition, and managed to come third! Well done to Bretton C (1F), Alp O (1P), Armaan V (1L) and Archie S (1F)!
THREE LIONS
England’s first game in the World Cup was during lunch on Monday, so the First Years were able to watch some of the game in the Lecture Theatre and their Form Rooms:
Filling the Lecture Theatre, England chants began chorusing all throughout the room. With every good tackle or attack, anticipation grew and grew and we knew a goal was imminent. Many chances later, England finally scored. Everyone jumped and went crazy. This liveliness continued throughout the match, the atmosphere filled with shrieks of excitement. As an event on the whole, the match was an enlightening experience for everyone who watched it. By Zac C (1H) and George S (1H)
Good luck to England this evening, and I hope you all enjoy the opportunity to watch this game in its entirety tonight!
MUSIC TECH
Many clubs in the Music department are well known, but Music Tech is a hidden gem that few boys know about – Zac lets us know what to expect from this club:
The music department is a lively place with a lot going on at one time; music tech being a more discreet one. When people think of music they generally think about singing or playing an instrument but music tech requires no ability or experience in any of these. This is a club where you can compose a piece of your own through computers, and is a really enjoyable one. By Zac C (1H)
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 Digby J (1P) as Mrs Scorer, Ms van Odijk, Mr Hill and Mrs Peattie have been impressed with Digby’s unfailingly upbeat positive attitude to everything he does, and his desire to always be the best he can be whilst being super helpful to everyone around him.
THE 39 STEPS
Some of our dramatists will be treading the Hammond Theatre boards in our first production of the year The 39 Steps.
Richard Hannay, a perfect gentleman and dashing hero, meets a mysterious woman at a London theatre, who implores him to take her home with him. She soon confesses to being a spy, hot on the trail of a dangerous organisation. That same night she gets stabbed in his flat and Hannay is thrown into a mad chase to escape both the police and the mysterious spy organisation, ‘The 39 Steps’, whilst trying to solve the riddle behind her murder. This wonderfully inventive and gripping comedy thriller takes you on a breath-taking and hilarious journey from London to the Scottish Highlands and back. Can Hannay evade capture and clear his name of murder before it’s too late? Will he fall in love along the way? And what exactly are ‘The 39 Steps’?
Tickets are now on sale here for what promises to be a fantastic production. Don’t miss out!
SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS!
We love to hear about what you have been getting up to outside of school and to celebrate your successes in the First Year Blog! Please do send any information about any of your achievements through to Mr Fuldner (d.fuldner@hamptonschool.org.uk).
FIRST YEAR FIVE QUESTIONS
A whopping 60 First Year Hamptonians had a go at last week’s quiz, well done to everyone who had a go! 1J are crowned weekly champions once again with an impressive 14 entries, 1L aren’t far behind with 13. Merits go to:
1P: Ollie B, Lucas T, Sion K, Oliver Y, Ian C, Lucas B
1J: Louis C, Kevin K, Shishir V, Ollie S, Finn R, Jai K, Siddhant S, Henry S, Zihan C, David W, Josh B, Devan D, Rohan K, Danyal P
1L: Patrick H, Alexandre A, Eric R, Macsen B, Willoughby E, Armaan V, Edison Y, Rajvir S, Joe L, Neev G, Tom S, Jonty G, Konrad G
1W: Brooklyn N, Huw C, Vayan J, Dean B, Yusuf A, Siyul P, Ben J, Isaac d Q
1B: Alexander K, Alex G, Fred O, Devam K, Sebastian W, Joe B, Ekam R, Neal H
1H: Matthew K, James N, George S, Monti S
1F: Oscar S, Eeston Z, Oscar F, Ben J, Daniel S, Aiden F, Jack P
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 Collins Dictionary ‘s Word of the Year 2022?
- In what part of the body would you find the fibula?
- Rafael Nadal has won all four majors at least once in his career – true or false?
- Who authored The Hunger Games book series?
- Who discovered penicillin?
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 Abibliophobia? The fear of running out of books
- Who scored the fastest goal in Premier League history after just 7.69 seconds? Shane Long (for Southampton against Watford in 2018/19)
- How many keys are there on a piano? 88
- How many hearts does an octopus have? Three
- What is the capital of Canada? Ottawa
Remember to write your name in the form so you can be credited with merits!
