Welcome to the First Year Blog!
What a week it has been for our First Years. A huge congratulations to all the boys for working hard, pushing through, and successfully completing their very first assessment week at Hampton. That is no small feat, and you should all be extremely proud of the effort, focus and resilience you have shown.
An even bigger shoutout must go to our U12B Football team, who brought home ESFA national glory in spectacular fashion. To be crowned champions of England is an incredible achievement and a testament to your teamwork, determination and skill. The future of Hampton football is looking very bright indeed.
Now, as the final whistle blows on a busy half term, it is time to enjoy a well-earned break. Hopefully the sun keeps shining so you can recharge properly, soak up some vitamin D, and maybe even give the revision notes a well-deserved rest too. A little sunshine and a chance to reset is exactly what’s needed after such a full-on week.
Come back rested and ready to tackle your final ever half term as a First Year Hamptonian!
ESFA CHAMPIONS!
On Monday 18 May, the U12B Football team played the ESFA Final in Stoke City. Before the match, we stayed at St George’s Park (where all the England National Teams train) and stayed for the night. Late the next morning, we took the minibus to the Academy Dome of Stoke City which is where they train. Not long after, we left for the Bet365 Stadium – Stoke City’s stadium – where we left our stuff in the locker rooms and headed out to the pitch to train.
We were immediately met with the enthusiasm of our parents who were sitting in the stands. The pitch was sized down to make the size of it more appropriate for 9-a-side football. We started doing a possession drill before the match, waved to our parents and headed into the dugouts. We were met by the refs and the other team, Blessed Thomas Holford College, in the dugouts where we were then filmed coming onto the pitch. We all took our spots and the match commenced.
At first, it was a tight match with the opponents hitting the post twice in the first half and Hampton trying keep the ball out of the net. Those two posts were their best chances in the half, with Al M (1W), our keeper and captain, pulling off brilliant saves to keep us in the game. We rarely got a run in behind and when we did it was met by their defenders either intercepting the ball or tackling us once they got the chance. We had no shots on target going into the second half.
At half-time our coaches told us how to play better and all of a sudden, we were attacking them left and right. They managed to get few chances in front of goal however those were met with rock solid defence by Inigo M (1L), Jack M (1B) and Johnny M (1P), and Al’s rapid reflexes in goal. Lenny M (1W) managed to score a tap in early in the second half and Alex D (1F) lobbed the keeper from just outside the area. 2-0! The minutes passed yet the whistle didn’t blow.
When it did everyone came running out onto the pitch. We were champions of England! After shaking hands and celebrating, both teams stood behind a mark. Henry L (1J) of Hampton, a brilliant midfielder, was called up to collect his Man of the Match prize – he played brilliantly. The opponents got called up, one by one, to collect their silver medals. We then got called up to collect our medals.
Once we all had our prizes, Al – being the captain – was called up to collect the trophy. He brought it to the group and we lifted the cup! We were all so happy! We went to celebrate with our supporters and then headed to the locker rooms to collect our stuff and celebrate some more. We then all had dinner in a massive box at the top of the stadium and talked about the match. That was definitely one of the best experiences of my life and there is no doubt that we will do our best to defend the title next year!
By Miguel B (1B)
Hampton School v Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College in a English Schools Football Association Boys Under 12 B Team Cup Final match at Stoke City FC on Monday 18th May 2026 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography
Hampton School v Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College in a English Schools Football Association Boys Under 12 B Team Cup Final match at Stoke City FC on Monday 18th May 2026 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography
Hampton School v Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College in a English Schools Football Association Boys Under 12 B Team Cup Final match at Stoke City FC on Monday 18th May 2026 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography
ASSESSMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
With all of us First Years going through our end of year assessment week for the first time, there is still a lot to look forward to. However, we can all congratulate ourselves for doing it for the very first time at Hampton School. After assessment week, as I mentioned before, there is still a lot of upcoming things going on for us to look forward to once we are done with our assessments. The first one is the half term – it is great to have a short break after we are done with a tough week, and I appreciate that we can almost refresh from our multiple assessments that we have just done The second one for a few of us is, after the exam week, there is an upcoming residential trip that starts on Friday to Dorset for a mud run! I think this is a great way to finish off a tough period of time where we have many progress assessments for different subjects.
Overall, I’m excited for all of the upcoming events that Hampton are doing such as trips in the second half term of summer, and I wish all good luck for exams going forward.
By Owen S-W (1L)
TABLE TENNIS TRIUMPHS
On Saturday, I went to the nerve-wracking Women’s ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals. It was Team China against Team Japan, both very good nations at table tennis. In the past, they have battled it out for the Championship title many times.
The game started at 11am. The format of the game was that there would be five rounds and first to three rounds would win the Championship title. Each player could play two sets before retiring back to the bench. The stadium was quite big for an indoor arena with a capacity of 12,500 seats (smaller than most football stadiums though) and the music was at full blast. It was deafening upon entrance.
The first round was Japan’s Miwa Hashimoto against China’s Wang Man Yu who is placed at world number 2 women’s singles. Miwa Hashimoto was dominant in this game especially in the first game of the set, but Wang Man Yu rapidly stepped up her game, wining her 2 glorious sets but Miwa just by a cat’s whisker edged her out in the fifth game of the set. This was a devastating moment for the Chinese crowd (including me) as this was the first time that we lost in this event on the first set.
However, this disappointment was quickly wiped out when China’s table tennis icon, Sun Yin Sha, appeared on the stage. She is currently ranked as the world no1 of the women’s singles, also part of a mixed doubles with Wang Chu Quin. She was opposed by Hina Hayata, another formidable player in Japan. Despite playing extraordinarily well against Sun Yin Sha, she was overpowered very quickly and lost the sets. Amazingly, out of everyone Sun Yin Sha played against, she got the most points out of the Japanese team against Sun.
With the game tied so far, it was time for the second round which was China’s Kuai Man up against Japan’s Honoka Hashimoto. Kuai Man is a left-handed offensive player, a stark contrast to Honoka Hashimoto who is a right-handed spin ball defensive player. The game got off to a slow start as the spin balls took a long time to play and land but the return was speedy and powerful. Unfortunately, Kuai could not bear the slowness of the game and ended up hitting the ball off the table many times. The two different playing styles were like fire and water. Kuai miraculously managed to get a set but was still out done buy Honoka. 2-1 to Japan!
With the scores in the dumps for the Chinese, all seemed lost, but we kept our spirits up with a lot of shouting and cheering throughout the breaks and replays. Despite each team having five players each, only three from each team played. It was Miwa against Sun, the best of both teams up against each other. Things rolled quickly and Sun had the upper hand. According to the person beside me, many players do not like playing against Sun due to her aggression and power as well as accuracy. The game ended in a decisive victory for Sun. Miwa also played remarkably well but it may have been the pressure or the nerves which got to her, and she lost to Sun. Sun won the game in straight sets. The score was now tied at 2-2.
With the fifth and final match coming, both teams were eager to win the round and take home the Corbillion Cup. China’s Wang Man Yu was up again, against Hina Hayata. The game was full of tension and suspense. Points earned were quickly followed up by lost points in the first set, but the rhythm was broken in the second set where Wang won it 11-3! The last set was the tensest. Hina Hayata got off to a good start with 3 nil, but this was soon caught up to 5-3 to Wang. Both then had a long rally of about 13 shots each but a very misfortunate stumble from Hina broke the rally and resulted in 6-3 to China. The score was then closed to 6-6 but three consecutive points from Wang turned it to 9-6. Hina fought on, managing to get the hold of the score but getting it to 10-7. Suddenly, the words ‘Championship point’ jumped out on every screen in dazzling golden lettering. Wang Manyu eventually managed to secure the point in an intense, heart pounding rally. The Chinese crowd went wild and ecstatic, creating a euphoric moment.
That Sunday was truly the best Sunday of my life, and I would strongly recommend going and watch it. It is a truly unforgettable, joyful event which has to be seen.
By Kevin W (1H)
HEADMASTER’S HIGHLIGHTS
Every once in a long time, you would have had the accomplishment of 50 merits meaning you would get a Headmaster’s Certificate. When I first got mine and had completed the goal, I was buzzing with excitement ready to meet the Headmaster, in a meeting which ended in us having a handshake at the end. I think it was a great accomplishment, and I know that there is more to come (I currently have lots more LION and Academic merits!). Finally, came the day when all of us, who had reached the goal of 50+ merits, came together to get the Gold certificate. Personally, I was very proud since it took a lot of hard work to get.
By Yifan C (1L)
Wellbeing Garden
The Hampton Environment Society received funding from the HSPA last year to create a Wellbeing Garden in the Geography Quad. This space is designed as a quiet area where pupils can read, work or relax if they need time to pause and reflect. Mr Knibbs and members of the HSPA officially opened the garden this week. If you’re nearby, do take a moment to visit this fantastic new space.
A huge thank you to the HSPA for making it possible.
Special Shout outs!
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 Jimenez (v.jimenez@hamptonschool.org.uk).
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 Seung-Hoo K (1H) on being named this week’s Tutee of the Week.
Seung-Hoo is always an unfailingly polite and kind tutee who cheers us all up with his good humour and creativity. Well done Seung-Hoo!
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
Last week’s challenge:
Who is this History Hero? The answer was Virginia Woolf! Big shout out to John L, Elias R, Rhys C, Hiu Yeung K, Leo H, Dominic B, Julian H, Sam W, Morgan K, Jacob B, Miguel B, Evaan P, Alex B, Lenny M, Owen S W, Yifan C and Alex W.
No Hampton Hunt this week with the upcoming break! So just forget about School for a week and get some rest. See you all soon!
