Welcome to the First Year Blog!
The final shortened week of the year has finished, but as usual it was jam-packed! Today’s Coronation Lunch was a great way to celebrate last weekend’s events, with lots of goals scored to raise money for the Fitzwygram Foundation and some very tasty ice cream enjoyed by all!
Another successful fundraising event happened on Tuesday, with all Forms participating in the yearly Form Charity Fun Run on the fields during lunch. With some rolling, heading and running backwards involved it was certainly a “fun run”, and well done for showing great team spirit and support within your Forms!
MEET YOUR TEACHERS
For this week’s instalment of teacher interviews Gabriel K-S (1B), Zac C (1H) and Shishir V (1J) recently interviewed Mr Knibbs!
What subject(s) did you teach before and why?
Mainly history, but also some politics. History was my favourite subject at school, and I studied it at university. I also coached the Second XI and then U15A football teams while I was Deputy Head.
What has been your best experience here at Hampton and why?
Two stand out as especially memorable, the first being our first day back together on-site after the national Covid lockdown. I’ll never forget the joy of walking round our School site on that morning and hearing the buzz of the boys and colleagues reunited in classrooms. My other favourite experience – in more normal times – was the 2019 ESFA final, in particular the way that it really highlighted the wonderful camaraderie and togetherness of our School community.
What is your favourite hobby?
Skiing, although sadly I haven’t made it back to the slopes since Covid. I’m also lucky enough to have an Arsenal FC season ticket and enjoy going to watch home matches whenever I can.
Do you have a favourite film/book?
My favourite film is either The Shawshank Redemption or The Great Escape. My favourite book is Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby, which is the one that I most wish I’d written myself.
What was the best place that you’ve ever visited?
The Rocky Mountains, when skiing in Colorado and Utah.
If you were to envision Hampton in 20 years, what would it look like?
Well, I’d hope that our School would have the same ethos, inclusive values and sense of fun. I’d also like to think that our buildings and playing fields will be similar, although I suppose that all schools will be affected by AI, digital technology etc. and how classrooms look will evolve accordingly.
What is the best part about being Headmaster?
It’s a joyful role for lots of reasons, but I’d say that the best thing is experiencing daily the sheer energy and sense of possibility among Hamptonians, whether in classrooms, around our corridors, on the 3G or in the Hammond. The authentic warmth of relationships between pupils and colleagues is, in my view, the most distinctive feature of our School and we should all cherish this.
If you were to give one piece of advice to the whole of First Year, what would it be?
“They’ll probably never be another time in your life when you’ll have as many opportunities in one place or be able to try as many new things, so make the most of it!”
How long have you been at Hampton and how long have you been Headmaster?
I joined Hampton in 2007 and this is my tenth year as Headmaster. I was Deputy Head during my first few years here and became Headmaster In 2013.
If you were to describe the three best things about Hampton, what would they be?
I’ve already mentioned number one: the warm and mutually supportive relationships between staff and pupils. The second thing is the lifelong friendships that Hamptonians forge with one another, which are truly special and among many reasons why I wish that I’d been lucky enough to go to school here. Thirdly, if I had been a Hamptonian myself then the 3G would have been one of my favourite things.
If you won a Nobel prize, which one would you want it to be?
The Nobel prize for peace.
What is your favourite sport if you have one? Including snooker darts etc…
Football is my favourite, although I also enjoyed playing rugby and cricket at school, and I enjoy watching all of the sports played at Hampton.
Do you have any one you aspire to be like/are role models?
I’m a huge admirer of Arsène Wenger – a remarkable person, leader and innovator; my mum and dad have also been great role models. My historical hero is probably Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the architects of Italian unification in the 19th Century.
What do you think is going to be the biggest innovation in the next 50 years?
Developments in AI will bring about great change in a whole range of fields. Hopefully, there will also be some major innovations in medical science that lead to the successful treatment of illnesses that currently cause a lot of suffering.
What do you think the biggest innovation of the last 50 years has been?
The Internet – overall a force for good, but not without its challenges and disadvantages.
What did you study for A Level?
I took four A Levels – history, English literature, French and politics – along with S Level history (a qualification that no longer exists).
HAMPTON MATHS CHALLENGE
On Wednesday, I entered the Lecture Theatre, nervous, but determined to do my best to complete the Hampton Maths Challenge. Mr. Griller handed out the papers and he started the hour-long timer. The clock was ticking, and my palms were sweating as I quickly calculated the answers to all the questions. There were 15 questions in total working up to 45 possible marks. The first 11, I completed with ease, but then the last 4 were extremely difficult. I painstakingly tried to calculate possibilities, but I just couldn’t. And then with two minutes remaining I got 2 of the hardest questions’ answers. I gave a sigh of relief as I handed the paper in glad of my efforts, and achieving 36, meaning I will be going into the next and final round!
By Shishir V (1J)
RELIGIOUS STUDIES LESSON
During the recent few weeks of Religious Studies, we have been working on our Religions Project. We were split into 6 groups in our class, with each group focussing on a different aspect of one of the two religions (Hinduism and Sikhism). My group were completing a project about Hinduism Beliefs. The task was to prepare to present a PowerPoint with an entertaining worksheet for the entire class for 30 minutes. This was definitely the hardest team project I’ve ever done, however so far, it’s going absolutely great.
By Oliver Y (1P)
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 Lev S (1P) as Mrs Scorer, Mr Hood, Mr Hill and Mrs Peattie have been impressed with the his excellent attitudes towards all aspects of school life – well done, Lev!
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
An impressive 29 First Year Hamptonians had a go at last week’s quiz, well done to everyone who had a go! Form 1J are crowned weekly champions once again with eight entries each. Merits go to:
1P: Oliver Y, Sion K, Alp O
1J: Henry S, Josh B, David W, Danyal P, Shishir V, Kevin K, Joshua A, Manilo C
1L: Macsen B, Rajvir S, Armaan V
1W: Dean B, Huw C
1B: Sebastian W, Joe B, Devam K, Alex G, Jiashan L
1H: Joshua L, James G, Joshua D-L
1F: Oscar F, Ben J, Daniel S, Aiden F, Nico W
Take a look at this week’s questions – have a go yourself or challenge people at home and see if they know the answer.
Here are this week’s questions, which have been set by Oliver Y (1P):
- Aureolin is a shade of which colour?
- Which planet has the most moons?
- What is a group of pandas known as?
- Which European country experienced the highest rate of population decline from 2015 to 2020?
- What is the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world?
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 questions:
- What game was released with the Nintendo 64 upon its launch? Super Mario 64 or Pilotwings 64
- What U.S. state is home to no documented poisonous snakes? Alaska
- Which video game system was the first to use DVD technology? PS2
- Before the laws were changed in 2000, how long was a French president’s term? 7 Years
- How many moons orbiting Pluto have been discovered? Five
