Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
We’ve reached the end of our second full week of the year and it’s clear that life at Hampton is back in full swing! On Thursday we had a PSHE session led by some of our Sixth Form mentors – they imparted an incredibly important message about bullying, thank you mentors! Last weekend saw some of our Second Years embark on their first trip of the year to Dorset! It sounds like it was a great adventure although a lot of you got quite wet… Read all about it below!
Tomorrow is the Hampton School Open Morning. Thank you all in advance for supporting such an important day for the School and for sharing your enthusiasm and your fantastic stories about your time as a Hamptonian with our visitors tomorrow!
Tutor question of the week
Each week the pupils decide on a question to ask all the Second Year form tutors. For the first question of the year they’ve asked a really tough, hard hitting question:
What is your favourite pizza topping?
- Cheese – Miss Holt, Miss Tiller, Mrs Richardson
- Pepperoni – Mrs Kirby
- Pineapple
- Mushroom
- Other (please specify)
- Mrs Owen – Goats Cheese and caramelised onions
- Mrs Whitwam – Chilli Oil
- Miss Winstock – Ham and Mushroom
- Mr VA – depends what kind of pizza it is, if it’s Neapolitan thin crust then only a few toppings to enjoy the quality, however, if it’s a takeaway pizza then extra cheese and as many meats as you can get on it, and the sweetcorn for health.
Adventure Society Watersports Trip
The adventure society trip to Poole Harbour was a major success. Despite leaving early because of the weather, we had a great time. I woke up on Saturday at around 5:45am, full of excitement, ready for the adventure ahead of me. We boarded the bus at around 6:45am. The bus ride there was full of boys waiting to go out on the water. We arrived at our lodge around two hours later, and we unpacked and went down to the beach.
The first activity I did was windsurfing. Before we windsurfed, we went on our own boards and did some balance games, including trying to wobble your partner of your board. It was fun, but I still itched to go windsurfing, Finally, the time came. We learnt the technique to windsurfing, and then it was time to head out into the water and windsurf. It wasn’t very windy, but we still glided on the water relatively fast. At last, it was time for lunch – a simple but yummy sandwich and chocolate biscuit. Then it was time for what now was my favourite part – sailing. The technique learning didn’t take that long this time around, as we learnt how to get a boat ready to sail in, so we spent around two hours in the sea. We were towed by speed boats about 800m away from shore before being let go and having to sail between two buoys, which were around 500m apart. We were given an inflatable ball to throw around to each other. My partner was Oscar in 2F. He steered the boat while I loosened or tightened the sail. We all jumped out, pushed each other out, fell in and swam to each other’s boats. I made it to my friend’s boat before they pushed me off! We were all drenched by the end, but thrilled. One highlight of the trip happened when we were getting towed back to shore. I had stuck one leg in the water, feeling it drift and splash past me when disaster struck – I fell out of the boat again! Looking back, I don’t know how I managed to fall off again, but luckily, we were the first of several boats in a line, so I quickly clambered into another boat. Soon after sailing, we changed into dry clothes and headed back up to our lodge for dinner then evening games back on the beach, which included volleyball and archery.
We turned off the lights at 10pm, and slept shortly after, excited for the next day. When we woke up, we had a quick breakfast and went back to the beach for kayaking. Once again, we played ball games, and while I didn’t, one pair fell in several times and almost lost their paddles, while another managed to fully capsize their boat! Suddenly, much to our disappointment, lightning struck, and the instructor told us to paddle back to shore. Luckily, the instructors were prepared, and they organised a competition. In teams, we would do a series of challenges in the safety of a marquee, before being scored on each one. Challenges included one player from each team holding the longest plank, telling the best joke (which I participated in and won) and the best hidden talent and a few more. Our end scores would determine how much materials we got to protect an egg, which would ultimately be dropped from one storey. After the scores were read out, we had lunch. Then it was time to build. Surprisingly, all teams’ eggs survived. Sadly, we weren’t able to get back in the water due to the chance of further lightning, but I was okay with this, as we only missed out on paddle boarding and nothing else. After this, the ride home was inevitable, so we said goodbye to the amazing beach and left to the minibus. We had a good time playing games on the way back, and we were still ecstatic about the trip. Overall, it was a great experience, and I would recommend it to anyone, as I would certainly like to go on another trip like this.
By Vayun J (2W)
Take a look at the video and photo gallery below to get a flavour of the trip:
Second Year Watersports Trip Gallery
Meet Miss Tiller
Our weekly interviews are a great opportunity for you to find out a little bit more about your Tutors! So, thank you to Joshua A (2F) who interviewed Miss Tiller, Drama teacher and one half of 2F’s tutor team!
Do you like fruit on pizza?
No – I don’t know who came up with the idea but I’d like to speak to them!
What would you put in a smoothie of your choice?
I love a berry smoothie!
Have you ever been an extra in a famous play – if so, which one?
No! But it’s actually on my bucket list to be in an extra in something really random.
What is your favourite film?
I love a Disney film – probably Moana!
What is the hardest part of teaching?
I think it’s got to be the marking of essays!
Salad cream or mayonnaise (very random)?
I love salad cream on crisps (weird, I know!) but mayo in general.
What is your favourite school lunch and dessert?
This is such a tough question! Curry day is my favourite and I love the cookies.
What is the #1 thing on your bucket list?
I’ve done quite a few things on my list but next I’d love to experience is a hot air balloon!
What club would you like to go to if you were a Hamptonian?
Junior Theatre Company, obviously! But if it wasn’t to do with Drama, probably The Writers’ Room!
This is a mean question, who would you keep – Zelda or Pikachu?
Joshua – this is such a mean question! But it’s got to be Pikachu!
Do any of you have pets?
Two dogs called Eddie and Reggie!
Clubs of the week!
After the Co-curricular Fair a few weeks ago, it seems our Second Years have been exploring and enjoying a huge range of the clubs and co-curricular activities on offer at Hampton. Read on to find out more:
Last Monday, I went to Table Tennis Club during lunchtime, and it was really enjoyable. You can either practise your skills to get better or just play with your friends for some fun and chat along together. I go there every week, as I really enjoy playing table tennis and it is one of my favourite hobbies. It also improves your strength, stamina and speed, all important aspects for any athlete. I would strongly recommend this club to anyone interested in playing table tennis. Please feel free to come along during Monday lunchtime at 1:10pm in the Sports Hall!
By Oliver Y (2P)
Geography Club is a great opportunity for people who want to have fun whilst learning new and interesting facts. In Geography Club this week we had a brief introduction before starting a quiz! Quizzes are a great way to test your memory and stay interested (especially if you have someone to compete with). We started off the year with a simple ten questions (luckily for us) before moving on to the harder questions which not many people knew. In the end, however, we all got the new Lion Merits for our efforts and we left feeling happy. As we said before, Geography Club is a great way to test your knowledge whilst also having fun!
By Siddhant S and Danyal P (2J)
On Monday I went to the Hammond Theatre excited for Theatre Tech Club with Mr Thompson. It was extremely fun to see the backstage technology that is used in the School’s numerous plays. We were looking at lighting design that day, seeing all the different lights and how they are used. I found out there are two main types of lights, automated lights and manual lights. Automated lights are able to focus on one object while it’s moving without needing a human to move it. We also looked at shutters which block a small section of the light and Gobos which cast a specific shape by blocking out the rest of the circle.
By Shishir V (2J)
Take a look at the full list of all clubs, societies and other co-curricular activities on offer in the booklet below:
September Sunshine
Coming back to school in early September surprised me and my classmates because of the heat that had taken over England. It was so sweaty in the first couple days at school but luckily, we weren’t required to wear blazers and ties which did help. I saw that fans were placed all over the school on that first day but in classrooms that didn’t have a fan you could hear the groaning of Hamptonians sitting in almost pools of sweat hoping for the glorious breeze to flow through the window. When I touched my forehead every couple minutes I could feel droplets of sweat, sweat, sweat. It was too hot, we were all feeling the wrath of the heatwave.
Over the coming weekend we were lucky to find out that the temperature had gone down but that we would be returning to the normal school uniform. The following Monday came around and by then I had known a couple of my new teachers from the new school year, I had also got settled in my form room with my new form tutors. As well as this, I also met my new mentors who are also great fun.
By Tuesday the ambient temperature had returned to its original autumn state which we had experienced the year before. It was a relief that the heatwave was over, and it meant that I could again concentrate on the lesson properly rather than praying for the wind to hopefully enter the window. I was glad to know that I wouldn’t be late to every lesson filling up my water bottle!
By Maximilian G (2W)
Special Shout-outs
Over the summer, Henry S (2J) passed his Rock and Pop Grade 2 Singing Exam. Henry even recorded and filmed his exam in a proper recording studio! Well done, Henry!
We absolutely love being able to celebrate your achievements, so please make sure you send anything you’re proud of to: b.tiller@hamptonscool.org.uk
QUIZ OF THE WEEK
Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s quiz. Big shout out to Form 2J with the most entries. Merits go to:
2J: Neil T, Henry S, Louis C, Siddhant S, Danyal P, David W, Zihan C, Josh B, Shishir V
2L: Macsen B, Armaan V, Konrad G
2W: Marcus P
2B: Joe B, Fred O, Alex G, Sebastian W, Pierce B, Neal H, Devam K
2H: Matthew K, James G
2F: Jack P, Oscar F, Aiden F, Yule O, Ben J, Oscar S, Daniel S
2P: Arjun S, Lucas B, Lucas T, Josh W, Jonathan
Take a look at this week’s questions – have a go yourself or challenge people at home and see if they know the answer. Points for the Interform Competition will be awarded to the form with the most entries over the term.
This week’s quiz questions come to you from Joe B (2B). Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here.
Here are the answers from last week’s quiz:
- What is the capital city of Angola? Luanda
- When was the Second Russian Revolution? October 1917
- What is the name of the tallest grass on Earth? Bamboo
- Who is the Roman equivalent of the god Hades? Pluto
- When did Van Gogh die? 29 July 1890
