Author Shoutout, Pet of the Week & Super Sevens!

Welcome to the Second Year Blog!

It’s been another action-packed week for the Second Year, with No Limits Lessons Day and the STEM Fair offering exciting opportunities to explore new areas of interest and develop our skills in creative ways. Looking back to last week’s Character Day, we’re still buzzing about Matthew T (2L), who not only won but also received a personal shoutout from the author of his character! This week we have reports on some intense rugby action, an exciting preview of the cricket season, and a shout-out to Otter, the mischievous cocker spaniel, who’s earned her spot as Pet of the Week. Don’t forget to take on the Cryptic Clue and Quiz of the Week while you’re at it. Enjoy!

Merit Milestones

Another bumper week for Merits:

TUTOR QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Each week the pupils decide on a question to ask all the Second Year Form Tutors.

Would you rather:

• Be the best in the world at one thing – 2B, 2J, Mr Boyes
• Be good at everything? 2H, Miss Holt, Miss Tiller

Have you ever had a burning question you’ve always wanted to ask your Form Tutors?! If so, then please send your suggestions for a future Tutor Question Time to e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk.

Rugby

On Saturday, the Hampton sevens A team had a tournament. With the sevens season building around the tournament, most people forgot that, whilst the majority of the A team would be battling it out to win, the B’s would also be facing a tough day, against Reed’s who we had drawn against last year with a late comeback. We went there as clear underdogs, most expecting a good match but near defeat. That was not happening on my watch. In the pre-match huddle with the team, I gave one clear objective: Dominate from the start, ramp the intensity up constantly and give them no space to breathe.

From the moment we kicked off, we knew this was going to be fun. For the next few plays they were going backwards, and when you feel pressure, you make mistakes. A sloppy pass from the other side was picked up by Atharv who began to run. He looped round to draw in the defence before passing to Jaibir, who was lying in wait on the wing and brushed of their fullback to score our first try and make it 5-0 Hampton. Our second try soon followed. A knock-on directly after the kick off and a dominant scrum ensued. We had an obvious determination to win. Alex drew in a defender and passed to Benny who passed to Atharv who saw a hole and scored. A quick try by Naivedya after meant we were 15-0 up and all in utter disbelief. Then we let standards slip a bit and Reed’s scored once and then another try a few minutes later, although there is a lot of credit owed to the team (and Xander especially) for the incredible defence and numerous try-saving tackles conjured, because otherwise we would have certainly conceded more and lost the match.

There was then a lot of back and forth, with sloppy penalties being given away on both sides. Once we hit the final few minutes though, we scored what was probably the try of the season. Having just regained possession near our try line (courtesy of Xander) I passed to Alex who took it in and popped to Benny who, seeing a gap, straightened up and offloaded to Atharv who ran through the gap Benny created, saw Tanish running on the wing and crossed over him, taking the opposite winger out of the equation, before popping the ball to Tanish (who was right behind him) with one hand, giving Tanish acres of space to run through, finishing it off after stepping the fullback.

In the final seconds Atharv again made a break but was tackled at the line, so I stepped back and yelled “Rhino”, which is the codeword for the forwards to pick and go. After a few attempts, Asher was successful and scored the final try to make it 25-10 to us. We celebrated shortly before going out again for a 20-minute match against their C’s, which we won 40-15 albeit being forcibly restricted with Akshaj, Jaibir, Xander and Atharv not allowed to play because they played so well against the B’s.

By the end we had won again and celebrations started. We had begun to play with a style which embraced our collective relatively short size compared to other teams, which had hindered us many times in the past. We became so used to losing in the first half of the season, but we are now a much better team thanks to the coaching we have received from Mr Studt and all the other coaches who have worked with our year group; the way we have grown as a team both individually and collectively is impressive.  We now go into our final match vs Harrodian A’s well prepared and fully ready for the challenge we may face.

By Eliott P (2J)

Cricket

The cricket season is about to begin! After an amazing season in First Year with the U12As winning the Middlesex County cup I am sure we are all anticipating another amazing season of cricket. As I am already in the mood for another, I have decided to write a blog on my favourite cricket player and cricket idol, Lasith Malinga, a Sri-Lankan pace bowler. Well, he has many names such as Slinga Malinga or Malinga the Slinga but his most appealing is The Yorker King. His nickname Slinga Malinga comes from his bowling action which is like a sling or slingshot where is right arm comes around his body from the side when releasing the ball. The Yorker King is a nickname many give him; in cricket a yorker is a ball that bounces close the batsman’s feet and bounces up to the wickets, this is a deadly type of ball for any batsman as it does not bounce and when mixed up with straight pace balls it can catch the batsman of guard.

There is much controversy with Malinga’s action, some think he chucks the ball rather than actually bowling it, others think that his unnatural “sidearm” action is simply weird and is therefore illegal. However, it comes to surprise cricket fans that his action is not actually illegal but is actually pure genius. But why is it genius? Well many different types of swing bowling rely on the seam of the ball and your grip, when you release the ball with the seam facing forward the ball would generally go in a straight line from the release point, if you hold it to the right it would go to the right and vice versa. But despite spin bowling being one of the most powerful type of balls in the game of cricket, there was one inherent Achilles’ heel, the swing relied on the condition of the ball. Every swinger’s dream is a new ball with a crisp and new seam providing more swing but when the ball is used more the seam gets flattened and the swing effect does not work as well. However, Lasith Malinga’s side arm movement meant that the ball spun in the air, sideways, on a vertical axis. When the ball rotates clockwise, the airflow on the right aligns with the seam and on the left, there is less pressure, and it barely aligns with the seam. This phenomenon is called the Magnus Effect and makes the ball swing to the Leg Stump or towards the left, and it works with any ball, new or old. In One Day, Internationals (ODIs), Lasith Malinga accumulated 338 wickets, placing him among the top wicket-takers in ODI cricket. In T20 Internationals (T20Is), he secured 107 wickets, ranking him among the leading wicket-takers in that format as well. And despite only playing 30 test matches he took 101 wickets which is an average of 3.3667 wickets per test match!

By Ethan S-W (2L)

Pet of the Week

Every week we are meeting one of Second Year’s furry (or scaly!) friends. This week’s pet of the week is Otter, Noah P (2J)’s adorable cocker spaniel.

Here’s why Noah thinks she deserves to be pet of the week:

This is my dog, Otter; she’s a working Cocker Spaniel and she’s just turned four. Otter loves eating everything she’s not supposed to! Her favourite hobbies are playing on the beach, fetching balls she doesn’t like giving back and chasing shadows. I think Otter deserves to be featured as pet of the week because she’s the craziest dog I know.

Would you like to see your pet featured? Email e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk with a picture of your pet, along with their name, age, and why you think they deserve to be featured. I can’t wait to meet them!

NASA SpaceX Launch

Today at exactly 7.03pm, is the NASA SPACEX LAUNCH. If you are unaware, SPACEX is a corporation that envisions a future where life extends beyond Earth and thrives on Mars. In essence, SPACEX doesn’t just aim to explore Mars, but create a self sufficient and self-sustaining city. This aerospace company, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, safely and reliably is launching astronauts, satellites, and many more. Building on the achievements of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy (spacecrafts), SPACEX is working on a next generation of fully reusable launch vehicles, capable of carrying humans to Mars and other planets in the solar system. Similarly, today’s launch is for bringing back a pair of NASA astronauts who have been on the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024. If your interests lie in the topic of space, I recommend you research more in further detail and see whether you can find other incredible things.

By Riyaan G (2B)

Cryptic Clue

As a renowned devotee of the club, Michael C (2J)’s passion for cryptic crosswords has extended into creating his own for us to try and solve!

The answer to last week’s clue Reply in 3G’s nearby shop (6) was…

‘Greggs’!

Reason: Reply means the letters ‘re’ and 3G’s are literally 3 of the letter G and an S (GGGS) at the end. Put ‘re’ in ‘gggs’ and you get Greggs, a nearby shop!

Can you guess this week’s?

Clue: The Atrium contains warmth (4)

Hint: This clue is a hidden clue

Come back next week to find out if you guessed correctly!

Book Review

Sophie’s World is a book set in Norway which explores the history of Western philosophy through a philosophy course by a mysterious figure called Alberto Knox. The philosophy course took place in a series of letters sent to Sophie which explores the ideas of philosophy over 3000 years and how they have changed over the course of time. Sophie’s world is suited for people with a keen interest in philosophy and stories.

Sophie’s World is set in the mind of an old Major serving as an observer in the UN battalion in Lebanon, writing about Sophie and her world for his daughter Hilde back in Norway in order to teach her philosophy through storytelling. Near the end of the book, the philosopher and Sophie found out that they were living in a book, so they made a plan to escape from the book. At the end of the story, they escaped from the book and into the real world. Because they were from a book, they were only spirits so they cannot make contact with real people. At the end of the story, they untied the rowboat (miraculously!) like in the story for Hilde and her father to swim to it.

By Ian L (2F)

Second Year Performances

Next week on either Tuesday 18 or Wednesday 19 March Second Years will be performing their renditions of Roald Dhal’s Revolting Rhymes. They will be staying in School from 4-7 pm with curtains going up at 7pm.

Some things to remember:

• Pupils need to bring a nut free packed dinner with you and will not be permitted to leave the School site.
• For costume, pupils should bring a brightly coloured, plain t shirt (a small logo is fine!) and wear their school trousers/shoes – other costume bits like wigs and wings will be provided!
• If pupils are fasting, please be sure to inform your Drama teacher who will make sure there’s an opportunity to break fast.

Whiteboard Cartoon of the Week

Let’s see what Ethan C (2L) has been doodling this week:

Talk!

Hot on the heels of a fascinating talk with Gold medal Olympian and Hampton History teacher Mr Cross, we welcome Lauren Crawley-Moore. Lauren leads the London Stock Exchange’s Primary Markets activity in London and the South of the UK, covering both the Exchange’s growth market, AIM (the Alternative Investment Market) and the Main Market. Lauren will offer a unique introduction to the London Stock Exchange, a critical institution in global finance.

There’s no need for Hamptonians to book, just come along to the Hammond Theatre on Thursday 18 March at 1pm. Find out more here.

QUIZ OF THE WEEK

Welcome to the Quiz of the Week! Every week, we’ll post five general knowledge questions. 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 questions are written by Charlie F (2B). Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here. 

Here are the answers to last week’s quiz:

1. Who is the all-time Premier League goal scorer? Alan Shearer
2. What is the biggest Greek Island? Crete
3. How many FA cups have Arsenal won? 14
4. Who is the current test cricket captain of the West Indies? Kraigg Brathwaite
5. What is the capital of Uganda? Kampala

Well done to Charlie F, Wilf W, Theo P, Toby B, Magnus F, Ilakian D, Ethan W, Josh DC, Shaurya D, George W and Liangxu Z. Don’t forget to collect a Merit.

If you’re keen to write some general knowledge questions for the Blog, please email e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk

Have a great weekend!

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