WELCOME TO THE FIRST YEAR BLOG!
At our Remembrance Assembly, First Year Hamptonians learned a staggering statistic from Mr Roberts, Head of History: “In World War One the total military death toll from Britain was 887,000, 6% of the adult male population and 12.5% of those serving. In World War Two 384,000. If all the British victims of war lined up, three abreast, from the cenotaph in central London, the line of people would not finish until Edinburgh.” They also heard about Felix Remington, an Old Hamptonian whose name is on our World War One plaque and saw a picture of him playing for the football First XI from the 1913-14 season, where he was a centre-half and a ‘hard working and bustling player’. He also had a fantastic 1913-14 cricket season, taking 25 wickets for just 107 runs, at a quite incredible average of 4.3. He won an engineering scholarship to King’s College London but was killed in May 1917 before he could graduate.
First Years walked in silence to and from the assembly, many wearing poppies. It was a memorable day in many respects.
We have several match reports this week as well as a report from a Classics lecture and an insight into the life of a First Year pupil. Please do take part in the first of our Interform events (details below) and win points for your Form. All are welcome to Blog Club next Tuesday at 12.40 pm in F67 – anyone who writes will gain a Lion Merit.
Have a great weekend!
Interform Photo Competition
The theme for the competition is the colour yellow, to celebrate the Hampton colours! The judges 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 pupil within the form. Top entries will be posted in the First Year Blog. No photos of other pupils are allowed!
Could all submissions be e-mailed to Mr Jimenez (v.jimenez@hamptonschool.org.uk), ideally below 5MB in file size. The deadline for submissions is Monday 25 November. Come and see me if you’re having issues!
Remembrance Day
Monday was Remembrance Day. In assembly, we had a talk by Mr Knibbs and Mr Roberts. We were also told that some boys from our school a long time ago, fought in wars and lost their lives in wars that are happening now. We must feel remorse for all those families who lost husbands, dads or children. We must think about what they are going through.
The Last Post was played at the War Memorials and we observed two minutes of silence. After the silence, Voices of Lions sung, led by Mr Roland and we all sung a hymn, Abide with Me. We left the hall and our classrooms in silence as a sign of respect for those who died in the war.
By Moksha K (1B)
What is dog club?
Dog Club is a co-curricular club about, well dogs. The head of the club is Dr Hendry, and the focus of the club is our School dog Harris! It takes place every Wednesday at 1.35 pm and you must sign up in advance.
Football Update
U12B Report
On Friday the U12B team played the second half of the A’s match against Sutton Grammar School. This was quite a challenge as it was their A’s up against our B’s, and that’s how it seemed at the beginning when they took the lead with a nice counterattack, but it was safe to say that they were not dominating and our B’s put up a great fight,
All we needed was a chance and we got it. A brilliant move down the wings and back in centrally meant the ball landed at the feet of Filippos M (1H) and he kept his composure in the box and slipped it right into the path of me so I could easily side-foot the ball into the bottom corner. 1-1. With a goal comes momentum and we used that momentum greatly I got substituted, and Alex B (1J) moved up to striker, we were bound to get another opportunity. We did. Some brilliant pressing up the field meant that there a great opportunity for a cross as it went into the box it was long and landed at the opposite side of the field but luckily with our composure there was no problem and as we slipped the ball into the path of Alex B’s weak foot, his side-foot placed past the keeper into the net. As the referee blew for full-time, proud faces emerged and a happy Mr Worrall congratulated us. A very successful afternoon for the U12B team.
By Edward W (1J)
U12C Report
The U12C team match on the 9 November against Berkhamsted was a great success. Our hardest opponents yet were putting up a big challenge, scoring the first goal. But we quickly came back with a goal to level the game. Another two goals gave us a good lead.
After half time we reorganised but conceded only a few minutes later. More goals were scored, it went down to the wire, pressure was on us to win the game. And then two quick goals in the last few minutes of the game led to our win. Our 5-3 victory was our narrowest victory yet. Congratulations to all boys that took part in the game.
By Luca D (1J)
U12F Report
The game started intensely, both teams had many opportunities. Both teams were strong in defence and attack. Halfway through the first half we scored a goal but sadly it was called offside. The goalkeeper took the goal kick and accidentally passed it to one of our strongest players, he then dribbled into the box and scored a brilliant goal!
At half time, little did we know the Sutton team was going to sub on their best player who immediately scored. With the game nearly over, suddenly Sutton’s star player started running up field for the counterattack. He dribbled around the goalkeeper and had an open goal in front of him. We all knew that he was going to score but he hit too hard and sent the ball flying over the crossbar. The whole team was relieved. The referee called two minutes left, the defenders passed to me, I ran up the right wing made a cross and our teammate chipped it over the keeper. We had won the game!
By Diego C-G (1B)
Hannibal and the Punic wars
The talk by Ben Kane was a fascinating one. We learnt lots of new things including Hannibal’s tactics on the battlefield and how he took a whole army and elephants over the Alps into Italy. Did you know that these tactics are still used today?
We also learnt about how the Romans created their navy by studying other naval ships. On their ships they had a fall bridge that could slam onto the opponent’s ship, which could then allow men to run onto the other ship. They also had a sharp copper stone which they used to make holes in an enemy’s hull. This would allow water to stream into the rival’s boat, making it sink rapidly. It was also very cool to see the different types of armour and weapons they used back then.
By Felix H and Sammy H (1J)
A Day in the Life of a First Year
We start off our day by arriving in school, then sometimes we go to breakfast. I have to say on a Wednesday the bao buns are especially good, but most days you can find First Year pupils with a pastry and a smoothie. After this luxury, we have morning registration and our first three periods. When we have completed these lessons, we have break in our form room or head out to the 3G. Then we come back, and people gather books for the rest of the day from our lockers and we eat our snacks.
When we have finished break the next two periods are completed – this is now the first half of the school day completed! Now we are free to spend our lunch how we want: clubs and trainings and we must not forget to eat our lunch – delicious! After this the bell goes off calling for afternoon register, the end of lunch. We have our last three lessons, and the last bell, calling our names home whether we take the bus, the coaches, car or walk home. We are all tired and ready to be at home.
By Eli M (1W)
No Limits Week
Next week is No Limits Week, which is all about moving out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself with something new! Lower School Hamptonians are encouraged to go to at least three new clubs or societies over the course of the week. From History Society to Basketball, from Board Games to Biology Club, this is your chance to discover a new passion and have a go at doing something a little bit different! Miss Holt tells us all about it:
ROAD SAFETY
Now it’s getting dark earlier, Miss Holmes sent us all an important reminder about safety:
We encourage all pupils who cycle to School to wear a bicycle helmet. We also strongly advise that they wear a high-visibility jacket or reflective belt, as well as front and rear bicycle lights, and they should take particular care not to weave in and out of traffic whilst cycling. It would also be helpful if you could re-emphasise the importance of locking their bike securely once at School.
All pupils arriving and departing the School site should be very careful about how they cross busy roads (they must use pedestrian crossings) and in particular they must not step into the road or try to run through traffic in order to catch a bus or train, no matter how late they may be. The surrounding roads get very busy between approx. 8.15am and 9am, and between approx. 3.50pm and 4.15pm, and all pupils should be mindful of moving vehicles and other road hazards in order to keep themselves safe. Pupils who travel by car should ideally be dropped off and collected away from the Hanworth Road to avoid congestion at busy times of the day.
SPECIAL SHOUTOUTS!
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 Mrs Whitwam (v.whitwam@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 merit by your Form Tutor the following Monday. And you will get to know the School better in the process.
The challenge last week: 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 Edward G, Alexander C, Sami D, Faris M-C, William J, Hayk F, Oliver J, Ashveer C, James C and Felix R for getting the correct answer! Make sure you collect a merit from your Form Tutor next week!
This week’s challenge:
WHAT KIND OF TREE WAS FIRST PLANTED ON THE OLD SCHOOL SITE AND CAN NOW BE FOUND IN THE CLOISTERS?
Enter your answer here:
