Welcome to the First Year Blog!
Welcome back to the First Year Blog! As the leaves turn and the evenings draw in, there’s a real buzz around Hampton this week. Our First Years share more of their reflections from Avon Tyrrell – and it’s clear the residential made quite an impression, from high ropes and catapults to late-night tea brewing and ghost stories told by torchlight in a unique calendar house.
Back at Hampton, the bunsen burners have been lit, the saws have been out in Design Engineering, and the rugby and football teams have been representing Hampton on the road with no shortage of spirit. There is also an assembly to recap, a new Tutee of the Week to celebrate, and the Interform Photography Competition kicking off in a flash of Hampton yellow, just as the trees begin to match the colour scheme.
Settle in and enjoy this week’s edition!
Adventure is out there
From swinging off ropes to searching for clues: Avon Tyrrell had everything.
As we blindly walked through the forest in the night walk, we brewed tea for everyone to try. Tables turned as we teamed up to craft the safest and most comfortable egg box.
Launching tennis balls out of our crafted catapult, striving for points ,as merits were still up for grabs. Obstacle courses ran for miles as we crawled through tubes to get through safely.
Excited cheers filled the room as the chatter erupted. After everything we were all tired and we fell asleep, ready to start a new day.
If it weren’t for the teachers and Heads of Year, we couldn’t have had a special trip, so thank them for planning everything.
By Anay P (1J)
Sadly, we are back from Avon Tyrrell. I so miss the wonderful adventure of the trip. I guarantee everyone had the time of their lives! The experience was one I will never forget. From the food to the activities to even the little time we spent in our rooms – it was all unforgettable. The place really helped with the main objective, have fun and get to know other people. The trip certainly served its side of the bargain with exceptional quality, and I believe us pupils have done our bit (behaving) reasonably well. Avon Tyrrell was exquisite; it was a trip like no other.
Along the way, there were some fabulous activities, all filled to the brim with entertainment. But the pick of the bunch was the night walk. While being the calmest activity, it was an exciting and ab interesting thing to round of our first day at Avon Tyrrell. On the night walk, our guide took us through a maze (the woods), telling us different and very astonishing stories about the grand house which we had parked ourselves into for the night and the day. The house belonged to a person who bet money with his friends that he could win a grand horse race. So, he came to the calendar house and used its land for training. On the day, the weather was identical to what he practised on and he won the race. He bought this house to live in but he was kicked out multiple times for military reasons, and the reasons are still hidden, waiting for the military to reveal what they really used it for.
This calendar house is the only one left in the whole of the England. It was a real privilege to not only witness, but to stay overnight in the ancient house was a thing that was not written in my future a few years ago. But the only reason we were there was because of our teachers. They made everything possible and I would not have enjoyed my week as much as I did. This was part of the reason I chose this rewarding school, knowing its features.
Goodbye Avon Tyrrell and hello to a new, fresh and exhilarating week at Hampton School. And I am sure there will be some of the same, maybe even better, trips to come during my time here. It has only just started but I am loving every second of it.
Overall, I didn’t really like Avon Tyrrell, I loved it!
By Auryn V (1L)
I started by climbing the miniscule handholds of the rickety wooden tower.
As I neared the top it started shaking like crazy, it wobbled to and fro.
At last, I got to the top, slowly I stood up surveying my surroundings. I made the mistake of looking down, and wow, I was scared. But in the end, I jumped. It was actually a lot more relaxing than I’d imagined. I leapt, and clutching the bar, did a pull up, and slowly sank down.
By Leo M (1L)
Inspiring Assemblies
On Monday, as period two finished, pupils hurriedly made their way to the Main Hall, ecstatic to listen to the weekly inspiration. Hamptonians quickly sat down, eager to listen to the notices. As the assembly commenced, Mr Studt broke the silence by talking about his summer’s hard work and adventures. Whilst the pupils keenly listened, Mr Studt mentioned that with strenuous practice and hard work, anything can be achieved. His stimulating phrase ‘control the controllables’ aroused and energised pupils, making them believe anything is possible. Then he mentioned that after arduous practice he ran for a staggering 65 hours and 31 minutes over 8 days in the Scottish mountains! What a role model!
During the well-deserved thunderous round of applause, pupils were in awe at Mr Studt’s jaw-breaking achievement. His words of inspiration stuck with every pupil the whole day with each pupil thinking “I can do it if I put my mind to it.”
His message was clear: keep working hard and don’t give up! Thank you, Mr Studt, for a motivating assembly and well done on your running!
By Jacob P (1B)
School Days
A big shout out to Juwon K (1W) who has written this fantastic poem about his first few weeks at Hampton:
Today is a school day
A day that’ll be A okay
A day full of brilliant lessons
Maybe one with a lot of questions
Today is a fun day
A day of explosion and plays
One could argue their opinion
But I won’t be a boring reptilian
Today is test day
It could be about an essay
No one should panic or pant
Just stay as chill as a summer plant
Today is a curious day
A day where you are free to ask away
Don’t be too shy to ask one
Just be as free as a bird and done
Today is a sports day
And possibly my favourite day
Passing the ball around
Or get in an accident and fouled
By Juwon K (1W)
A Week in the Life of a First Year Hamptonian
Another extraordinary week at Hampton commenced as I entered the familiar school gate, excitement was looming in the air as this week the lessons shone even more than ever. It all started with Design Engineering where already our class has been cracking with a project – a bee hotel out of wood! We had to saw wood, belt sand it and make it smoother with sandpaper, what made this particularly enjoyable is that whenever someone needed help numerous people would be there help them making the environment so pleasurable. Adding to this in chemistry a real spark shot out when we used bunsen burners to do very interesting experiments such as boil water and make it evaporate slightly and putting a wire on a roaring flame (hottest type of flame), for sure this was something everyone enjoyed thoroughly. Lastly the rugby team had their very first away game where we played a very hard match where unfortunately we lost 20-25. Although we had this defeat, we still learnt how to play even better. I’m definitely looking forward to playing another game that made the time spent there even more enjoyable than before!
By Julian C (1W)
Football Away Day
With a face of determination and grit, I sprinted over the wet dewy emerald-green grass at Alleyn’s last Saturday morning. Representing the Hampton U12C team, for the first time on foreign soil, I felt eager to play with my heart pounding at record speed. Hampton enjoyed early pressure, but Alleyn’s took the lead against the run of play to make it one-nil. Hampton regrouped, dominated the game and scored three goals without answer. In the last few minutes of the game, Hugo was fouled near our box. As the goalie, without hesitation, I decided to take the free kick. I smashed the ball down the pitch with the side of my boot. The ball flew in the air like an eagle, landing straight to Rex’s feet, and with an elegant touch he flicked the ball over the last defender’s head and volleyed it into the bottom corner of the net. The opposition’s keeper was left with no chance! We took the 4-1 win. What a game!
By Ben G (1W)
Interform photo competition
The competition for the Interform Cup begins with the Interform Photography Competition. Taking part means points for your Form, so get snapping!
The theme for the competition is the colour yellow, to celebrate the Hampton colours! The judges in the Art Department and Photography club are looking for the following:
- Composition
- Use of colour
- Originality
- Number of entries per form and teamwork
There is no limit to the number of entries per form, but only one photo is allowed to be submitted by each person within the form. Top entries will be posted in the First Year blog. No photos of other pupils are allowed and no AI-generated images will be accepted.
The competition opens now and closes on Monday 2 November (First day back after half term). Please send all submissions by email to Mr Jimenez (v.jimenez@hamptonschool.org.uk) or to your form tutor who will pass it on to Mr Jiminez.
What are you waiting for, get snapping!
TUTEE OF THE WEEK
Every week, the First Year Tutor team nominate a Hamptonian who they have been particularly impressed with and Mr Hill and Mr Fuldner present him with a certificate and a tasty treat to eat!
Congratulations to Archunan V (1B) on being named this week’s Tutee of the Week!
Archunan has embraced Hampton life, exploring a wide range of clubs, engaging with PSHE, and being kind to their peers – well done Archunan!
SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS!
Julian C (1W) competed in the Teddington Swimming Club Championships last weekend, coming away from the gala with three medals in the 200m Freestyle, 200m Individual Medley and the 200m event, finishing second for Teddington Swimming Club. Great job, Julian!
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 Harrison (ch.harrison@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! 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 LION 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: How many windows does the Avon Tyrrell house have? The answer was 365 as it is a calendar house! A whopping number of entries this week – glad to see you were all listening. Big shout out to Kareem A-H, Ahaan K, Aarav R, Oliver VV, Arjun I, Aryan P, James S, Ben G, Oscar C V, Jacob P, Jaden C, Akhil V, Fynn T-F, James H, Archie P, Rohit S, Zayn A, Raadin J, Freddie F, Oshin D, Christian A, Finley K, Ali K, Zavian M, Juwon K, Ishaan A, Joey L, William d M, Damon N, Arjun P, Alfie d P, Julian C, Zachary S, Jeevan S, Oliver T, Zac H, Jamie H, Siddarth M, Ethan N, Thomas F, Auryn V, Archunan V, Caleb VS, James Z, Willis L, Sendan K, Muhammad K, Alex L, Idris O, Ediz G and Marcel M-B. Don’t forget to collect your merit!
This week’s challenge:
Where might you find a Dr Who Tardis at school?
