This week the Second Years have been out and about on trips with the RS and History departments.  Let’s start by hearing from Declan Connolly, who enjoyed his visit to the Tower of London on Tuesday:

We found out lots of interesting information about the history of buildings, how they were built and the background behind them. In addition, we then went to see the dungeons and learnt about the torturing methods which were used and even how some people escaped the Tower of London. For example, John Gerard, who used an orange to escape in 1597.

After lunch we went through the White Tower where we saw different weapons and armour which were used during the Tudor period. Overall it was a great trip which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.  Declan Connolly – 2J

The boys also enjoyed their RS excursions.  Thank you to Danilo and Louis for bringing us this detailed report:

Neasden temple

The Neasden temple is located in the North of London, near Wembley Stadium. This was our first visit of the day. When arriving, the prominence of the temple had already given way to our perception of the Hindu religion, colourful, complex and harmonious. The visit was split in two, the religious part, and the philosophical part. The religious section was the witnessing of the way of worship and living as a Hindu. The philosophical part was mostly a discussion, for example, the idea of Murti (devotion towards a statue). After the discussion one boy, no names given, said that the Hindus were praying to a solid object. I intervened, and stated that ‘you do not have to see to believe, you have to believe to see.’ We also went to Hindu exhibition, which was very interesting. I was surprised to find out Indian mathematicians had discovered gravity way before Europeans, and that the sun was the centre of the earth!

Russian Orthodox Church, Grove Park:

The Russian Orthodox Church was our second siting. It was smaller than the Hindu temple, and had a very much different shape altogether, much like the religion. There were no seats in the Church, which I thought unusual for a church. The sub-Deacon, who had shown us around the church, explained the mentality of the Russian Orthodox people. I (Danilo) am Serbian Orthodox, and therefore the religion is very similar, the only major differences being the language spoken and views on life. The interior included icons of saints and of God himself (as Christ).

St. Anne’s church, Kew:

The final religious visit of the day was to that of St. Anne’s church in Kew, London. It was very spacious and was not as decorative as the two places before, sharing a more humble approach. Ms Perkins talked to us about her time at the church, and the features of the religion. The altar (place of religious procession) was large and was home to many relics that symbolised different things. Next to the altar was the chapel of St Anne, who was the mother of Mary and the church we went to was named after her. The church was decorated with lilies, the symbol of St Anne.

Summary:

The trip was well configured and showed us the different areas and cultures of everyday life. I myself would advise anyone to visit the places we visited today, or any other spiritual communities. My highlight was visiting the stunning Hindu temple, made of Italian marble! Danilo Delić – 2B and Louis Strickland Sweeney – 2H

On the sporting front the U13A tennis team made it to the semi-final and final of the Surrey Cup after winning 5-4 on aggregate against Whitgift in the quarterfinals. The team of Joshua Culshaw (2J), Tanmay Thanawalla (2J), Declan Connelly (2J), Theo Radicopoulus (2J), Sam Power (2P) and Joshua Breadmore (2B) produced a convincing semi-final win over St George’s College, winning 8 sets to 1. In the final, however, the boys were unable to overcome a formidable Reeds team who ran out as eventual winners with a 9 sets to 0 victory. Head of Tennis, Mr Phillips, described the team’s second place finish as ‘an exceptional feat in what was a strong field of opponents’, and said that the boys ‘can reflect on a very successful season overall in which they have been largely dominant.’

If your son has any news that should be mentioned in a future bulletin, please do encourage them to see me in school or email me at f.byrne@hamptonschool.org.uk and I shall be delighted to include it.

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