Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
Frosty mornings continue to greet us at the gates, but now they’re more magical than ever: twinkling lights line the drive, and the ginormous two-storey Christmas tree greets us as we step into Reception, setting the perfect festive tone. Inspired by all this Christmas magic, Second Year has sleighed the week with creativity, competition and curiosity – from word games to world-class drama, rugby pitches to cutting-edge tech talks.
We started with the much-anticipated Interform Wordle, a brilliant idea dreamed up by one of our very own pupils at the Second Year School Council. First and Second Years joined forces in this battle of brains, racing against the clock to crack those five-letter mysteries. The tension was high, the guesses were bold, and the cheers when the right word appeared? Absolutely electric!
Meanwhile, the Lower School Drama Club swept us away to Prospero’s enchanted island with their spectacular performance of The Tempest. First and Second Years worked side by side to bring Shakespeare’s storm to life – but with a modern twist! Think dramatic speeches, magical spells and even a few surprise dance moves. It was a whirlwind of creativity that proved classics can still steal the show.
And just when we thought the week could not get any more exciting, Thursday’s Talk! took us into the future. Kyle Odefey from Synthesia wowed us with insights into AI avatars and how technology is reshaping the way we communicate. From single-photo avatars to generative AI that feels almost human, it was a fascinating glimpse into what tomorrow might look like.
So, whether you love cracking codes, commanding the stage, scoring tries or exploring the tech of tomorrow, this week had something for everyone. Dive in below for a glimpse of the magic – Hampton spirit, creativity and curiosity in full force!
Merit Milestones
Another bumper week for merits, big shout out to the following Second Year Hamptonians:
Yusuf Popal – 10
Sammy Henson – 10
Dara Skelly – 10
Rafferty O’Connor-Zumla 10
Edward Jolliffe – 10
Edward Jolliffe – 20
Arhaan Khan – 20
Yusuf Popal – 20
Agastya Jain – 20
Ralph Leverett – 20
Moksha Katamaneni – 20
Luke Whyte – 20
Max Offer – 20
Edward Jolliffe – 30
Ediz Yildirim – 30
Kiyan Joshi – 30
Edward Jolliffe – 40
Ansh Rao – 30
Ansh Rao – 40
Ojas Prabhu – 40
Yuvan Meda – 40
Lucas Farnsworth – 50
Ansh Rao – 50
Ansh Rao – 60
LION merits
Rayan Amiri – 20
Ashveer Chohan – 20
Five-Letter Frenzy: Interform Edition
It was an fantastic turn out at our first ever First and Second Year joint interform competition, Interform Wordle, this week! The Drama Hall was absolutely bursting with spectators and players, and we hope the contestants enjoyed interacting with peers in other year groups. A huge thank you and well done to everyone involved, the staff team, and especially Miss Tiller and Mrs Whitwam for organising and running the event!
The results are as follows:
1: P
2: L
3: G
4: H, J, W
5: F
6: Tutor team
7: B
The idea for Interform Wordle came directly from our Second Year School Council meeting a few weeks ago – if you have ideas for any other Interform events that we could do with the First Year, please let Miss Tiller know at b.tiller@hamptonschool.org.uk and we’ll try our best to make it happen!
Tempest Reloaded: When Shakespeare Met the Beat!
“All the world’s a stage… and we owned it!” during our Drama Club performance this week. From day one, the rehearsal room was a whirlwind of excitement. Playing Prospero, the wise and powerful magician, was a dream come true – but not without its challenges. Shakespeare’s language can feel like a puzzle, and many of us stumbled over “thou” and “dost.” That is when Mrs Jones, our ever-patient director, worked her magic. With her guidance, every pupil found their rhythm and confidence.
Of course, rehearsals were not all serious. There were plenty of hilarious moments – including when someone’s phone blared a ringtone mid-scene! These little mishaps made the journey even more fun. What made our performance truly unique? Today’s hit songs woven into the play! Imagine Prospero’s solemn speeches flowing into a chart-topping beat. The audience loved it – clapping, cheering, and even singing along. It was Shakespeare with a remix, and our backstage slogan said it all: “Old words, new vibes – Tempest Reloaded!”
When the curtain rose, we felt unstoppable. Every spell, every laugh, every beat landed perfectly. The audience erupted in applause, proving that Shakespeare can still rock the stage, especially with a modern twist.
The Tempest was not just a play – it was an adventure, a celebration of creativity, and proof that classics can be cool. So here is to Mrs Jones, our amazing cast, and everyone who made this storm unforgettable. Until next time… “Let’s make magic happen!”
By Ashutosh S (2B)
The Hammond Theatre’s stage buzzed with magic last night as the School’s Drama Club presented a condensed, 30-minute performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The cast did a fantastic job of filling the room with a supernatural atmosphere.
Mrs Jones, Mrs Richardson and Mr Haynes, who directed the play, made the shortened version a sensation by focusing their constructive criticism mostly on energy and projection. They shaped the play into a fast-paced spectacle that managed to capture its essence without losing its poetic soul. All actors were brilliant, but the main actors playing Prospero were Rayan A (2H), Elijah (2W) and Ashutosh S (2B). They all delivered powerful performances, commanding the stage and the elements with grandeur as they recounted their dukedom’s usurpation and exacted their final revenge against all their foes.
We cannot forget the backstage crew who made the whole show a wonder. Innovative lighting and a soundscape of rolling thunder and gentle waves transformed our the Hammond Theatre into Prospero’s enchanted island. This rapid-fire take proved that sometimes, less is more.
The cast and crew deserve a round of applause for their dedication and creativity. They proved that Shakespeare is as accessible and exhilarating today as he was 400 years ago, leaving the audience utterly spellbound (hopefully!) and ready for the next dramatic adventure. Bravo to all involved!
By Noah N-A (2H)
This week, all the members of the Lower School Drama Club attended a play called The Tempest, which was shown in the Hammond Theatre. We had all been rehearsing since late September, giving us only a few weeks until showtime. We got to perform on two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, after school. On the first day, I was slightly nervous, but as the play went on my nerves were calmed, and I enjoyed the atmosphere and overcame my jitters. Thanks to all the Drama and Drama Tech team, we had an amazing time. I got to perform in front of my parents and family while being able to bond with my year group and the year below. I would really recommend Drama Club because it is an interactive club. Unlike larger plays, you only rehearse at lunchtimes, once a week, and the staff are very supportive and kind.
By Peter R-R (2W)
Recently, I and a group of First and Second Years all participated in The Tempest! It was a really fun production, and I hope everyone enjoyed it. As this was a Drama Club play, there is always a silly aspect woven into the production – it all keeps us on our toes. At one point, we all had to dance to K-Pop! It was really nice to work with the First Year, as they somehow found a way to make things slightly more chaotic (in a good way). The great thing about these types of plays is that everyone gets a speaking role, whereas in other performances you might not. This meant that there were some very interesting cast changes. Drama Club is always fun, even if we are not putting on a play at the moment. If you do, thanks for reading my post.
By Logan K (2L)
Picture This: AI Takes the Stage
On Thursday, I went to the Talk! by Kyle Odefey. Kyle Odefey works for Synthesia, the leading UK-based company in AI technology. Over the past few years, Synthesia has been developing AI avatars that can almost mimic what we say or do.
In around 2023, you would need to upload a two- to five-minute video of yourself talking about anything. Based on that video, the avatar would create the same image of you but change the movement of the mouth, face and possibly the hands based on what you had asked it to say. After searching through the data stored in the AI so it could find similar things to what it had been asked, the avatar appeared to come to life by saying what you had requested.
Now, however, that AI only needs a single photograph to create an avatar, and instead of only moving the mouth, face and hands, it generates a completely new image of the person, where it looks similar, but every pixel is generated by the AI. Synthesia is also making progress by creating avatars that respond like real people when you speak to them. For example, you could start a conversation about computers and the AI will search its database to find relevant information about your conversation and reply to your comments with those phrases or words, almost as if you were talking to a real human.
This type of AI is called Generative AI (it creates completely new audio, images and videos). AIs like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Gemini and Copilot are called Text AI (they generate text from existing data).
This talk was extremely interesting, and I am certain that I will want to know more about the topic. What will the future be like with AI avatars that look so much like humans
By Rayan A (2H)
Global Goals and Great Ideas
Last Friday provided the utmost fun – a Model United Nations (MUN) conference held by the School’s partner, Lady Eleanor Holles School (LEH). This event started after morning break, when we had an early lunch to maximise debating time. After lunch, we were assigned our pairs and topics. In this case, there were two separate topics on which each group would debate: Capital Punishment and Health. I was chosen to debate the latter. Health in my country – Denmark – was a big topic, and as a country we believed that free basic healthcare for under-16s should be a priority.
The debating commenced after the introduction of a few ground rules: no personal pronouns, and the delegate’s thinking must reflect their country’s opinion. This had its own challenges, as when naturally replying to a statement you would normally say the word “you”, which is a personal pronoun. For example, instead of “You do understand…”, one must formally say “The delegate does understand…”.
The order of action throughout the LEH MUN consisted of reasoning and ideas on the argument, amendments to a proposed plan, voting on amendments, and finally voting on the clause as a whole.
Firstly, we began with a speech, as Denmark, about our idea on the matter – why the Danish Government believes that free healthcare for under-16s should be a necessity for all children around the world. Not all people shared our view due to different circumstances, as the United States’ healthcare system is more a business than anything else, and other countries opposed this due to lack of funding. This was a fruitful session of understanding other countries’ political and economic status.
Secondly, we proposed amendments to Clause 4, which consisted of the five strongest economies spending 2.5% of GDP (the country’s annual income before spending). Our idea was to change two parts of this clause: reduce the 2.5% of GDP to 0.5%, and increase the number of economies paying from five to seven to balance the large loss in income. This idea was not very popular, as the two economies that would be included in sixth and seventh place were both present for debating the cause. So unfortunately, this clause did not pass. However, a similar one did pass where this percentage of GDP was brought down to 0.3% and only the top five economies would pay.
Though this entire resolution had a fault almost no one had read, where a further 2.5% would be added to the bill in research mechanics for better medications. This led to the whole amendment being disregarded during final voting procedures.
The closing ceremony consisted of awards given to delegates for outstanding performance and good debating. I personally got the Outstanding Delegate award, which was the best award a delegate could get – practically first place in a race! Five other pupils came from Hampton to this debate and together three of us came home with such awards – in my opinion, a great victory for First and Second Year Hamptonians!
By Benjamin McC (2G)
Scrums, Spirit and Second Year Strength
Earlier this week, on Monday, I and the rest of the Hampton Rugby U13A team played in the annual Middlesex tournament, which we actually won last year! We all went over to St James’ School to try and defend the crown, and when we got there we went straight into our first game against Fulham Boys, which we won by two tries to none – a pretty good start.
Then we had a second match against a school who wore red and black, which we beat comfortably by three tries. Then we played Enfield School, which was a close match that resulted in us winning by one try. Then we had our final match of the group stage against Cardinal Vaughan, and it was a really close match that ended at 1-1. Although we were unbeaten, Cardinal Vaughan had a better try difference than us, so we came second in the group.
Overall, we were really pleased with the result and had a great time!
By James M (2F)
No Limits, No Excuses!
Last week, as all of us know, was No Limits Week and Homework Holiday, and we were tasked with attending three new clubs or activities that we usually do not take part in. In my opinion, Homework Holiday is an excellent idea, as it gives opportunities for pupils to catch up with homework and classwork.
For context, I usually attend two or three clubs per week. One of these is Running Club, which takes place during the first half of lunch on Monday. Another is Book Club, which is during the first half of lunch on Tuesday in the Library. The final is Badminton training on Thursday in the Sports Hall. It depends if you would like to play for fun or if you would like to be part of the squad. If you want to play for the squad, come to Badminton in the first half of lunch. If you want to play for enjoyment only, you can come in the second half.
On Monday, it was quite unfortunate as I was looking forward to going to Art Club, but it was not on. If you would like to go to Art Club, it is in F60 during the first half of lunch. Make sure to arrive as soon as possible, as many people attend Art Club and it can get crowded. You must be one of the first 20 people to take part.
On Tuesday, it was one of my favourite days since we were making boxes that were Christmas decorated, with Santa riding his sleigh. Although this was a hard task, I eventually got the hang of it and even helped some people from my form complete the task. Tuesday, in summary, was a day to decorate our form as Christmas is coming around the corner. These boxes will be filled with sweets, and everyone will be able to open a box by the holidays – that is guaranteed. Although this was not a club, it was a new activity that I had not tried before, so it did count.
On Wednesday, I attended Knitting Club, which was very difficult compared to the other clubs that I have enjoyed before. The reason for this is because I have never knitted, alongside many others. But when I saw other experienced pupils who had already taken part in Knitting Club, I was completely speechless, considering that they were my age.
Honestly, knitting is a complex activity as it requires a lot of concentration. When we started, we needed to tie a double knot, which was already enough for me! After that, we needed to make many moves with the thread and the needle that involve your thumb and making the needle go through the hole between your thumb and the thread (the thread is around your thumb).
If you would like to attend Knitting Club, it takes place during the first half of lunch and is next to the Art Office.
My next club was on Friday, and it was none other than History Society. History Society takes place at 1.10pm in the Lecture Theatre. We learnt about Japan, which was complicated to understand as I came a bit late, but it was great fun, and I could learn a lot from it if I attend again this week. This was presented by a Fifth Year pupil, I believe, and he was extremely good at making presentations as not all the information was on the slides, and he could recap key points clearly.
Overall, I think that No Limits Week was fabulous, along with the touch of no homework, and I look forward to the next time it takes place!
By Arjun J (2B)
Bowled Over by the Ashes
Calling all cricketers! The Ashes are on, and the 140-year-old competition is sure to be a thrilling series of Tests! Read below to find out more about the Ashes and where you can watch them.
The Ashes are held in either England or Australia roughly every two years, and as you can guess, they are a competition between the English and Australian cricket teams. The Ashes began after a shocking defeat for England at the Oval in 1882. The newspapers described it as England’s cricket had ‘died’ and Australia had won its Ashes. Two years later, during the Australian summer, the English team went to play another match and ‘take back’ the Ashes.
Ever since then, the Ashes have been played every two years, switching locations each time. Out of seventy-three series played since then, Australia have won thirty-four, England thirty-two and seven have been drawn. Some notable Ashes players from the past include Stuart Broad (ENG) and Shane Warne (AUS).
The Ashes consist of five, five-day Tests, over roughly the period of a month. These days are split into three sessions, each lasting about two hours, including water and injury breaks. The first session begins at 11am, with a 40-minute lunch break at 1pm. There is then a second session until 3.40pm, with a 20-minute break afterwards until 4pm. The final session lasts until around 6.30pm, depending on the conditions. The five Tests are hosted in five different cities/stadiums across the series.
For this year’s series, the overall prediction by the BBC for all five Tests is England 3–2 Australia.
Australia confirmed starting XI: Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (C), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (WK), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon and Brendan Doggett. Josh Hazlewood, one of Australia’s star players, has an injured hamstring and will not be able to play tomorrow.
England predicted starting XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
The Ashes are available to watch on many platforms, including Sky Sports and TNT TV. The highlights can also be seen for free on BBC iPlayer later in the day. I hope you enjoy what is sure to be an amazing spectacle. By Tim M (2P)
Festive Fever Hits 2B
As winter approaches and days get colder, our form, 2B, has spent a lot of time decorating our form room for Christmas. A couple of others in my form have even brought in a tree, and our form tutor joined in by also getting a ton of tinsel in a multitude of colours. Now the tree is overloaded with it, just like the rest of our form room.
We have also arranged to do Secret Santa again this year. In fact, we have already drawn names, and I know exactly what I am going to buy – though I need to keep that a secret for now!
As the last part of our preparations, all of us together made a Christmas train advent calendar at the end of last week. Our form tutor will spin a wheel daily to decide who opens a box next. Safe to say, 2B is full to the brim with Christmas spirit!
By Axel M-B (2B)
Pet of the Week
Pet of the Week is back! Every week we are meeting one of Second Year’s furry (or scaly!) friends. This week’s pets of the week are Blueberry and Crumpet. Here is why Mohamed T (2H) thinks they deserve to be Pet of the Week:
Blueberry and Crumpet are my two mini-lop rabbit twins; even though they look the same, their personalities are very different. Blueberry is calm and slow, while Crumpet is fast and cheeky. They also have different preferences too: Blueberry prefers hard food (although she eats her veggies too – she loves spinach), but Crumpet likes vegetables and grass. Her favourite foods are kale and coriander.
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 cannot wait to meet them!
Talk!
Hot on the heels of this week’s Talk! all about the world of AI avatars, on Tuesday 2 December we welcome award-winning author and broadcaster, Helen Castor, who will give us an illuminating insight into the life of Elizabeth I. Find out more here and join is in the Hammond at 1pm next Tuesday.
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 fiendish questions come to us from Jack W (2B). Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers below:
Here are the answers to last week’s quiz:
- What is the only food that can never go bad? Answer: Honey
- What are the three ice cream flavours that make up Neapolitan ice cream? Answer: Vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry
- Aureolin is a shade of what colour? Answer: Yellow
- What was the name of the first computer virus? Answer: Creeper
- How many feathers are there in a shuttlecock? Answer: 16
Well done to the following Second Year Hamptonians who answered everything correctly – Tom C, Leyan L, Harri C, Jack W, Reyansh K, Lucas O’C, Yuvan M, Noah L, Rayan A, Juan AVDS, Isaac L, Ansh R, Arthur H and Zachariah A.
If you’re keen to write some general knowledge questions for the Blog, please email e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk.
