Welcome to the First Year Blog!
What a busy week it has been! Tests, concerts, No Limits Week, you name it. As we know, the New Pupils’ Concert took place on Tuesday evening. Parents, pupils and teachers experienced a variety of music being performed by some phenomenal musicians across First Year mostly, but even a few Second, Third and Fourth Year Hamptonians. The audience was blown away by the wide range of talent from all the pupils on stage. Being at the concert myself, it took a lot of confidence to get up onto the stage and perform to a fairly big crowd, so well done to everyone who participated in this event! Another exciting part to this week, was No Limits Week. This was a chance for boys to go out of their comfort zone and try different clubs, which many First Years took advantage of, and got their No Limits Club list signed off in their yellow books, by the relevant teachers. Penultimately, on Monday, it was great seeing many boys and teachers wear their odd socks all around School and appreciate that everyone is unique, but also understand that bullying and discrimination is unacceptable. Lastly, it was amazing to see some First Years support and cheer on their peers at the West African Drumming performances on Friday: a fantastic way to end another brilliant week! By Riyaan G (1B)
Looking ahead, 36 First Years have an exciting opportunity coming up this weekend on the first Adventure Society trip to the Surrey Hills! This afternoon also has important fixtures with a league basketball game and a County Cup game for the U12A footballers and ESFA Cup game for the U12B football team – good luck to everyone involved and we look forward to hearing how the games have gone next week!
NEW PUPILS’ CONCERT
On Tuesday, we had the New Pupils’ Concert at Hampton. I played the piano and now I will tell you how it went. School took place as usual and after school we went to the dining hall where we did our homework and had dinner. After dinner, we sat in the Hammond Theatre and soon the audience emerged from the doors. As me and the 37 other musicians waited anxiously for our big moments, Mr Zuckert got up on stage and before I knew it, the concert had started. Slowly in groups of five we were called up to play our pieces.
Everyone’s performance was amazing. There was a variety of musical instruments being played including drums, double bass, piano, violin, cello, acoustic and electric guitar. Some pupils were singing. There was also a band who played and of course apart from my performance (obviously!) the band was my favourite. In truth, I think everyone did an amazing job!
At last, it was my turn to play my piece ‘Minnelied’. I sat down on the stool. I delicately put my fingers on the beautiful white keys of the grand piano. I took a deep breath and then I started to play. As I played my piece, my legs shook nervously. It was my first ever concert at Hampton so of course I would be nervous. As ‘planned’, I played my piece very well without hiccups. That was my first and last experience of the New Pupils’ Concert – and it was amazing! By Leonardo P X (1L)
Tuesday evening was a music filled evening as it was the New Pupils’ Concert. There was a huge array of talent present at the Hammond Theatre. Many First Year pupils and a few from other years participated. Parents and siblings all came to cheer the participants and motivate them. Loud cheers and claps resounded in the theatre all evening. Playing on the stage for the first time in senior school can be quite nerve racking but everyone performed like a professional. Piano and violin were the most popular instruments. Drums, guitars, clarinet, violin, cello and even the double bass made an appearance. We also heard great singing. I couldn’t stop tapping my feet all evening and was in complete awe of the music that I heard. I played Summer of ’69 on my electric guitar. Me and a few boys formed a band, Thunderstrike, and we played Highway to Hell. It was a memorable evening and I look forward to many more concerts in the school. By Ruhaan V (1B)
The New Pupils’ Concert will be a memory I will carry through my journey at Hampton. I took pride in being called an ‘elite performer’ by Mr Zuckert. Let me take you through my experience. On Tuesday night, after having dinner, the concert commenced. An urge of excitement and nervousness travelled through my veins as I walked to the Hammond, ready to perform what would be an unforgettable experience. As I sat, waiting to get on the stage, I was scared, so scared and nervous I could have run away. Time seemed to run past, and it was then time for me to perform. With knobbly knees, I walked on to the stage. It seemed like the crowd were staring right through my soul. I looked forward into what could go right and what could go wrong, I took a deep breath, and I sang. The lyrics seemed to come out my mouth, uncontrollably. It was amazing. It felt like I was flying. It didn’t care about going wrong, I was in the mode. Everything seemed to freeze around me. It was me, myself and I. The feeling in my blood was indescribable. After singing (Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran) I took a bow and a round of applause followed. I was proud. I was proud to be a Hamptonian. I was proud to be given these opportunities as a Hamptonian. I walked off the stage, feeling like a real singer. I would like to thank Mr Zuckert and everyone who helped put this concert together. It was a pleasure to be part of the ‘elite performers’ and this is the first step to achieving my dream. I would like to say that ‘confidence is the passageway to success’ as I believe that this concert has given me confidence that will last for a very long time. By Ethan S-W (1L)
The New Pupils’ Concert was extremely enjoyable to participate in especially since three of my friends were also participating. Before the concert we waited in the Dining Hall with people occasionally going elsewhere to rehearse for the performance. Most of my time was spent playing with my friends or playing my piano piece silently on the table with my fingers, making sure I knew my piece. The performance went quite well and I was really happy with it. It was a memorable and proud experience for me. By Long T (1P)
As soon as the bell rang for the end of the day, butterflies burst into my stomach. It was really happening, the first concert I would be playing in, the first of my life here at Hampton. I hastily packed my bag and after a swift ‘good luck’ by Mr Rudajev (my maths teacher), I sped through the corridors, weaving my way through until I reach my destination at the other end of the school, the dining hall. Mr Zuckert let me in, there was a short register to ensure that everyone was here. After that was complete, I started to work through my maths homework which I easily completed and started to play some blooket with my friends Collin and Shaurya. Collin had an account already, so we had to join the game after a couple of rounds, dinner was served. It was delicious! I got a sausage roll with fries, baked beans, and ketchup. That hearty meal really eased the nervousness I was feeling earlier. When it was time to head into the Hammond, my nerves had started to get hold of me, but I fought through and got a result that I am proud of. I played second meaning I could relax for the rest of the show and what a show it was! Everybody who preformed was amazing and I am so proud to be part of Hampton with so many talented musicians. Thank you to Mr Zuckert, Miss Mattinson and everybody who helped arrange this event! By Naivedya A (1L)
Take a listen to just some of our marvellous musicians:
FABULOUS FOOTBALL
It was a dark and dull day until the sun rose last Friday, when teams B to H played against Sutton Grammar. The A team were on a cup fixture elsewhere (which unfortunately, they lost). When we reached our destination, the boys rushed into the changing rooms eager to play their first fixture (F to H). I personally was a bit nervous, being the goalkeeper for the E team, for I didn’t want to let in any silly goals or let my team down. I was chosen to play the first half. It started as normal football games do, just teams passing the ball swiftly full of energy just trying to get that early goal. Luckily that’s what happened to us. Yusuf (our captain) scored a pleasant goal to get us of the mark. Just then, I felt as if my heart had just jumped up my throat into the entrance of my mouth. I was ecstatic. I was jumping for so long I nearly forgot to stay in position and to not let any goals in. I did have my moments though, where I did save some important chances. At the end of the first half, it was 4-0 Hampton School. For the second half I was rested as I had a game on Saturday, and Harry went on. The match was much more eventful with Sutton trying to comeback from their halftime loss. but that day, our team was on fire! Yusuf ended up Scoring four goals, Thomas scoring two, Dush scoring one and the debutant Ian scoring one. That left us with a hefty victory of 8-0 and a very happy drive home to school. I can’t wait for my next fixture! By Naivedya A (1L)
Odd Socks
It was fantastic to see lots of our First Years come to School on Monday in a plethora of colourful odd socks to mark the start of Anti-Bullying Week, the perfect way to promote kindness and tolerance and celebrate what makes us all unique.
10+ EXAM HELPERS
Myself and the candidates were probably as nervous as each other. On Saturday, I volunteered to help with the 10+ examination. At the start of the day, I came to school at 7:45am and dropped off my bag at G46 before walking to the atrium entrance where we awaited the candidates arrival. I took most pupils to the ground floor, with rooms G11, G12, G13, G14 and G15, which was quite easy, and comforting, as they were all next to the atrium entrance. I took roughly 25 candidates to their designated classrooms, and during the time we were walking we had some chatter, me asking if they needed the toilet, or whether they had everything they needed to take into the exam. I often ended the short but friendly conversation with, good luck, or saying I am sure you will do well in the exam. We took the candidates to the toilet, and shortly afterwards, while the candidates were enjoying their snacks in the classroom, us sitting outside in the corridor, accepted the generous offer to eat some snack as well. After we released the candidates in the classroom, one classroom by one, I released my classroom I was monitoring, G13 back to their parents. I am sure they were glad that they took the test, and I am satisfied by the fact that I have experienced being both the candidate in the 10+ exam being led by a First Year pupil, and I have became the First Year pupil to lead the candidates. By Alex B (1L)
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Deep Thinking by Garry Kasparov
Deep Thinking is by the famous grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who in 1997 lost to IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. In this story, he tells his side of the story for the first time and exploring the past plus present of Artificial Intelligence explaining why he thinks it’s humanity’s best hope for the future. This book also explains the origins of chess in a summary, explaining how he got into his chess career and his path to victory. This book is quite a sensational one with his whole career explained in only a few hundred pages. This book is super eye catching and I would rate this 4.9/5. By Naivedya A (1L)
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 Teddy A (1B) for his kindness, thoughtfulness, his excellent approach to school life and positive attitude. Well done Teddy!
SPECIAL SHOUT-OUTS!
Ruhaan V (1B) took part in his first session of the U12 Middlesex Country Winter Programme last week – well done on getting selected Ruhaan, and we look forward to hearing about how you are getting on!
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).
THE HAMPTON HUNT
Each week I will set you a challenge where you need to find out a random fact, number or indeed anything else around the School – you won’t be able to do this from home! Points for the interform competition will be awarded to the Form with the most correct entries over the course of the term! You have until the end of Wednesday to complete the challenge; you will find out in next week’s blog if you’re correct, and you will be given a merit by your Form Tutor the following Monday. And who knows – you might get to know the School better in the process!
Last week’s challenge: When did the Geography Courtyard Garden first start?
You were able to find the answer in the Geography department – the garden project first started in 2002!
A big shout out to the First Years who correctly found the answer to last week’s Hampton Hunt. Well done to Atharv J (1F), Sebastian M (1W), Reuben N (1W), Henry S (1W), Ruhaan V (1B), Yousuf H (1B), Toby W (1B), Jack T (1B), Asher C (1H), Luoke W (1H), James A (1H), Julian M (1H), Mehrad M (1H), Dushyant P (1H), Ilakian D (1H), Ollie S (1H), Alex Z (1P), Toby B (1P), and William M (1P) for getting the correct answer! Make sure you collect a merit from your Form Tutor next week!
If you did know the answer but didn’t enter it into the blog last week, make sure you do so this week as it won’t count otherwise!
This week’s challenge:
What kind of tree was first planted on the old school site and can now be found in the Cloisters?
