Welcome to the Fourth Year Blog!
Welcome to the first edition of the 2025-26 Fourth Year Blog! What an action-packed term it’s been for Fourth Year Hamptonians. From scoring on the pitch to lighting up the stage and achieving excellence in the classroom, it’s certainly been a term to remember!
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the Fourth Year Newsletter – we love hearing about all your adventures and achievements! Please don’t be shy and get in touch if there is anything you would like to write about for the next edition. Miss Eamens
A Word from Mr Neville
What an autumn term it’s been! Packed full of music, art, sport and drama, as well as getting properly stuck into some GCSE level material in academic lessons! Brilliant!
Fun Fact! Did you know that it’s only 22 school weeks until you’ll be finished with Fourth Year? Time will fly, I have no doubt, so make sure you keep up the momentum!
Well done for representing Team Fourth Year with aplomb and throwing yourself wholeheartedly into Hampton life. As ever, the best advice is to make the most of everything that’s on offer at School and if you’re ever tempted to give something new a try then don’t hesitate – just go for it!
Make sure you have a well-deserved rest over the next few weeks and come back full of energy ready for the spring term.
And all that’s left to say is Happy Christmas from everyone in the Fourth Year team!
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Hampton School’s fantastic male voice choir Voices of Lions accompanied by lots of pupils and staff members from across the Hampton Trust, ensured everyone is feeling festive as we come to the final day of term. Enjoy the 2025 Christmas video and see if you can you spot anyone you know! 🎄 🎁
Interform update
The Fourth Year have gone head-to-head in a range of exciting interform competitions this term, including Badminton, Table Tennis, Volleyball, a spelling bee and a quiz! Danyal P (4J) and Peter L (4A) tell us about their experiences in Interform Badminton and Table Tennis!
Interform Badminton
It was an intense matchup between all the Forms for the Interform Badminton competition. My peers and I stepped up to the challenge and persevered and strived for our best efforts to win. Edo C and I decided to take to Badminton. Our first match was a close one with the opposition acquiring four points before us, however we fought our way back gaining those four points, it was tied at 4-4 and we then unfortunately lost. Our next match was a successful win, and our third match was a loss. It was an enjoyable experience due to my fascination and interest for the sport. It was also a great experience as a Form with some of the Form coming along to support us.
By Danyal P (4J)
Interform Table Tennis
When I first heard about the Interform Table Tennis competition, I began to feel excited. I had already been doing Table Tennis for five months, playing three times a week usually, so I was hopeful that I could help in the interform competition, and show my Form how good I was.
I came with my own Table Tennis bat. However, I could see that many of my competitors were brandishing the School ones; already, I felt that I would not have a hard time at the competition. Our names were written on the board, with two separate tournaments (one for me, and one for the other person in my team). I found my first opponent and went over to start the match. It would be a game of first to eleven points. Their shots lacked much speed or good placement, making it trivial for me to place myself in front of the ball and execute a backhand smash, which was one of my best shots. As well as this, my serves were usually deadly for my novice opponents; I would flick my wrist under the ball with a quick motion, putting strong back-spin and speed on the ball. If they didn’t know how to properly return the serve, the ball would slide down their racket and swiftly impact their side of the table. Overall, my technique was not very refined, and I certainly felt I made some avoidable mistakes, but it was a decisive victory for myself in the first match. Many of my subsequent matches went in the same way.
However, I encountered someone with their own bat as well. And what’s more, I knew them! This match was not such an easy one, unlike the others. They had a tough serve to crack: the ball would be sent very wide to my backhand with some speed, making it difficult to manoeuvre myself around the ball and hit it back over the table. As well as this, their serve applied backspin on the ball, making it even harder to return. Often, I would hit it frustratingly wide over the edge of the table. Although, if I was able to get it back, my opponent was met with a speedy shot which they couldn’t return. It was a hard-fought match, but I was just barely able to scrape by with a 12-10 win, letting me continue the competition.
Then came my last opponent. By this time, matches were limited to seven points as time was running short. There was a large crowd around us, but he still only had the school bat. I was confident in my ability. It came time to serve, and…
The ball simply rolled down his racket and onto the table. The overall match was rather an anticlimax, and I could sense the disappointment of the crowd. By some time in the late stages of the match, he had started to learn how to return the serve, but it was already too late. I doubt if the game was extended to eleven points that it would make much difference, as he was losing by a large deficit by the time I won.
Thus, I was able to walk away from the competition having won all my games, bringing an advantage to my Form in the inter-Form competition. Fortunately, many of my counterparts had success as well, making this a great victory for our Form. As I walked out, the teacher organising the event commented on the injustice of placing me in the B Team. Really, I should have gone into the A Team, but, at the same time, perhaps then I wouldn’t have been so successful…
By Peter L (4A)
Form Charity Quiz
The Fourth Years have been busy quizzing, compiling shoeboxes, collecting for the local food bank and wearing mufti to fundraise as much as possible for Form Charity. Let’s hear from Luca (4J) about the joint Form Charity quiz!
On Thursday 20 November, four people from each of our Forms travelled over to LEH to take part in the joint Form Charity Quiz – and it ended up being a really enjoyable experience. We were paired up with four LEH pupils who were also representing their charities, and the atmosphere was great right from the start. Everyone paid £2 each, helping us raise around £70 for our chosen charities.
The quiz had loads of fun categories including flags, songs, charities and 2025. We didn’t quite make it to the general knowledge round because we ran out of time, but everything we did get to play was lively and funny. Overall, the whole event was a lot of fun, and it was amazing to raise money for charity at the same time.
Perfect performances
Well done to the Fourth Year cast and crew members who delivered exceptional performances all round in the joint Hampton and Lady Eleanor Holles School (LEH) Senior Production, Les Misérables, as well as in a huge variety of other concerts and events. Your talents never cease to amaze us! Gabriel K S (4E), David B (4D), Yule O (4J), James N (4E) and Devam K (4E) tell us more:
Les Misérables
At the end of the autumn half term, members of the Fourth Year and above performed in the joint Senior Musical, this year being Les Misérables. After a gruelling few months of rehearsals – with most Sundays being completely taken up by rehearsals – it was great to finally perform this show. On all the nights, there was amazing acting and singing displayed by all the cast and the sense of community and camaraderie was astonishing, keeping strong even through technical hiccups. The last night especially was very bitter sweet, as despite all the fatigue, it was saying goodbye to something we all did together, and for the Upper Sixth their last musical at Hampton. As the final note was sung, we felt relief and excitement for the next show, yet there was also a sadness for it ending. By Gabriel K S (4E)
This year’s production of Les Misérables pushed the Hammond Technical Team to the limit, with nonstop music, complex lighting cues, and one of the most demanding microphone setups we’ve ever run — complete with constant mic swaps and plenty of troubleshooting throughout the week. Everything held together brilliantly until the final show night, when there was a small problem with the mics. Within minutes the problem was fixed, the cast picked up exactly where they left off, and the rest of the night ran flawlessly. In the end, the moment highlighted not just the scale of the challenge, but the incredible teamwork — not only within the technical crew, but also among the cast who supported us with set moves and backstage coordination — that quietly powers every School production behind the scenes. By David B (4D)
Scholars’ Concert
The Scholars’ Concert took place on Tuesday 23 September, displaying a wide range of performances, from harp to sitar. I decided to play Canon Rock, a rock arrangement of Pachelbel’s original Canon in D for electric guitar. Although I played classical guitar, I had only started learning the electric guitar as a hobby over the summer. Canon Rock was a difficult piece to learn, but I think it was a good way to start introducing electric guitar into my repertoire as a Music scholar. Some unique performances throughout the concert were a harp duet played by Rishi and Amiya S, and a film medley of Harry Potter and Game of Thrones’ themes performed and arranged by Avirat P on sitar. Overall, the concert was a very enjoyable experience, and I am looking forward to next year’s. By Yule O (4J)
Take a look at some of the photos from the concert here.
Kingston Performing Arts Festival
On Sunday 30 November, my String Quartet and I travelled to the Kingston University campus to participate in a Performing Arts Festival. Firstly, we convened at my house to have a little rehearsal (and some snacks) prior to the concert. My String Quartet is made up of Leo M (Upper Sixth) as first violin, Colin Y (Third Year) as second violin, Me – James as viola and finally Jian G (Upper Sixth) as cello. After that, we rode to the university in a car. When, we finally got there, it was packed, so we couldn’t warm up! However, we did stare down our competition (especially other groups from Hampton)! After entering the hall, we watched other groups play, including a Wind Quintet from Hampton and the Victoria School String Orchestra. My favourite piece was one from the Clarinet Ensemble. They played The Grandfather Clock by anon, arranged by Michael Brand – which was performed amazingly. Then, we played our piece – Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in A minor – it was very fun! It starts with a very slow calm section, proceeded by a very fast, upbeat section which was very challenging at first, but very exciting. Finally, it was then time for the results! We placed second – bested by the Clarinet Ensemble but we were very happy overall and we all found the experience very beneficial for improving our playing as a group! By James N (4E)
Christmas Concerts
On Friday 5 December, we had the final Christmas Concert of the year following two previous concerts, with this concert featuring various orchestras, bands and choirs.
Beginning the evening, the Voices of Lions directed by Mr Roland sang two Christmas songs in the spirit of the season, with Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Rockin’ Around the Christmas tree greeting the audience. The Voices of Lions featured a very enthusiastic group of singers to lighten the mood of the concert. This was followed by the Brass Band conducted by Mr Ward, playing Florentiner March and Blame it on the Boogie with perfect accuracy and musicianship.
Next, the Chamber Choir (which I was a part of), directed by Miss Mattinson, sang Locus Iste – adding a more sacred tone to the evening. This, much like the previous performances, was also found to be thoroughly enjoyable. The Chamber Orchestra then proceeded to play a set of expressive pieces that resonated in the acoustic of the Hammond Theatre, with a Serenade for Strings and White Christmas both directed by Miss Van Ments. Subsequently, the Consort of Voices sang their rendition of Teddy Bears’ Picnic, again directed by Miss Mattinson. This too was sung brilliantly and uplifted the audience.
After an interval featuring festive food and drink due to the hard work of the Music Society and Catering Team at Hampton, the Symphony Orchestra prepared to perform three songs. First, the performance began with a Violin Concerto in D Major. Leo M (Upper Sixth) showcased his virtuosic talents on the violin alongside the Orchestra conducted by Mr Roland, creating a lively atmosphere in the theatre. Their talents, of course, were much to the delight of the audience watching. This was then followed by A Cello Concerto in Eb major, with Jian G (Upper Sixth) playing the cello and Mr Ferrier conducting. This too projected the talent and countless hours of practice everyone performing had put in during the evening. Finally, to finish off the performances from the Symphony Orchestra, The Nutcracker Suite was played featuring various movements with different moods. The skill of the orchestra was evident after the flawless ending to the piece.
Finally, to end the evening, the whole theatre alongside the orchestra sang O Come All Ye Faithful, creating a joyful tone in all. This even had Hamptonians singing in from the wings, to add to the song. It was astonishing to see everyone united in one song, whether they had come to watch the performances or were performing themselves. At that point, everyone had joined together to end the evening in what could only be described as the Christmas spirit. By Devam K (4E)
Interform Update
Congratulations to 4D, who won this terms interform competition by a staggering 14 points! Who will be crowned champion next term?
| Form | Points | Position |
| D | 152 | 1 |
| A | 138 | 2 |
| B | 134 | 3 |
| G | 127 | 4 |
| J | 93 | 5 |
| E | 85 | 6 |
| H | 79 | 7 |
| F | 64 | 8 |
| C | 35 | 9 |
Sports Galore
There’s been plenty of sports action this term – well done to everyone for all your hard work in training, fixtures and races. Cillian C (4F), Stan H (4D), Archie S (4C) and Hari L (4A) give us the rundown on all things Football, Rugby and Rowing!
U15A Football
This season so far has been a rollercoaster of emotions, there have been many great moments, such as our 5-3 win over a strong Charterhouse side, who we lost 5-1 to last year. However, there were also bad moments, such as our 3-1 loss to Whitgift, in which we were 1-0 up at halftime.
Our trip to Villareal during the October half term was an amazing experience for the team, and we learned a lot from our matches against two very strong sides, in which we lost one and won the other 3-1. Overall, the trip was a great learning experience and my highlight of the season. I’m looking forward to what we can achieve after Christmas and I’m very proud of what the team has accomplished so far. By Cillian C (4F)
U15B Football
On Tuesday the U15B’s played Emerson Park Academy in the round of 32 of the ESFA Cup. We comfortably won 4-0, pushing us through to the round of 16.
In the first ten minutes the opposition pressed high and put us on the back foot, even forcing a goal-line clearance from George S from the first corner of the game. They won corner after corner for a while but every time the ball reached the box, it was met by a Hampton head. We calmly played around them with quick passes and wore off the early pressure. We had a good spell of football playing quick passes between the lines, until about ten minutes before halftime our breakthrough moment came from Jenson G after good play down the left and an assist to Leo L. 1-0.
Just five minutes later our second goal came. It started with a cheeky nutmeg from Charlie and a through ball to Leo L who again gave an assist to Jenson G, who swept the ball into the bottom left corner. 2-0. We held off our lead until halftime. After the break, it seemed they had changed tactics completely. The opponent came out in a 4-4-2 formation, in a more attacking mindset, with their hopes of the next round still alive. They came out with an intense press and for a while seemed to dominate possession for the first time in the match. The opponent played long balls seeking their attackers. However, due to the solidity of the back line, who were first to the ball most of the time, the opposition couldn’t manage a single shot on target in that phase of the game.
Our third goal came when a long ball was played straight through to Ollie S, from the back. He brought it down and shot in the bottom right corner. The keeper couldn’t get near it. A fourth goal came under ten minutes later, when the attack won it high up the pitch, and with the keeper caught out of position, Jenson G found the net to complete his hattrick.
After the fourth goal, the game became very scrappy, as long balls were played all over the pitch, but the team managed to stay strong and compact until the final minute and managed to secure the win with a clean sheet. On we go to the round of 16. By Stan H (4D)
Rugby
The Rugby U15A Team has certainly experienced an emotional rollercoaster this season. Although we haven’t come out on top in all our games, it is evident that we have developed both as a team on the pitch and as mates off the pitch.
A key moment for us was how we recovered after a 50-0 loss to St Pauls, as the week after we beat them 13-12. After this extraordinary come back, we were confident and truly had faith in each other for the next fixture.
Overall, the outcomes haven’t truly depicted the effort and improvement of the team, and I’m excited for next season with the lads. By Archie S (4C)
Rowing
The J15 rowers, coached primarily by Mr Double and Mr Perry, have had an exciting start to the season helped by the stable river conditions. The encroaching dark, wet and cold conditions have failed to dampen the spirits of our J15 squad. Upon starting sweep-rowing (rowing with one blade per person) the squad has had plenty of training and races this term. There have been many successes in the various Head races in the second half term.
To start the year of racing, Kingston Small Boats’ Head featured around 20 crews, with our three mixed quads finishing in a solid second, third and fourth place. Teddington Head was our first sweep race of the year, with Hampton ending with strong wins in each category in the competition. Finally, the crews competed at the prestigious Hampton Small Boats’ Head at the end of November. In each category, there were more than 45 other boats racing and despite a few mid river crashes (and a few bruised egos!) we managed to dominate the doubles and coxed quads category, winning comfortably in both! We plan to continue the good work into next term. By Hari L (4A)
UK Linguistics Olympiad
A huge well done to Shishir V (4B) and Gordon L (4A) who won Gold and Silver Awards respectively in the challenging UK Linguistics Olympiad! Shishir gives us the rundown:
On 5 November, many pupils in Fourth Year and above, myself included, participated in the UK Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO), a 2.5-hour competition with five problems designed to test (rather unsurprisingly) linguistics, the study of language as a whole. Participants must use problem solving and logical thinking to decode other languages. Problems provide some data on a language, typically one that is known by few people worldwide, that must be analysed to find patterns and discover the system that lies behind it. This is then used to solve problems with translation, transliteration, matching up pairs and explanations among others. All aspects of language may be tested, including but not limited to syntax (how words are structured to make sentences), semantics (meanings of words), phonology (how words are pronounced), morphology (how word-parts or morphemes are added to affect the meaning of a word), and writing systems.
This year, the five problems were, as usual, on a variety of languages from around the world. The first was on Seri, a language isolate (meaning it is unrelated to any other known languages!) spoken in northwest Mexico by only about 800 people! It looked at the language’s interesting variety of definite articles used for different positions and movements of the object. Next was the problem that, although fun, I personally found most difficult, on how morphemes are used to form new words in Iñupiaq, used by ~2,000 Inuit in Alaska. Problem three focused on how nouns changed between two forms in both singular and plural in Lezgian, spoken in southern Dagestan in Russia and northern Azerbaijan. The penultimate problem gave some sentences in Khana, a Nigerian language, accompanied by their translation, and then gave some sentences to translate from and into the language. It looked at morphology and syntax as well as the meanings of words and the use of different counters and possessive markers in the language. Finally, the last problem, and the one I believe was the most interesting, was on Cantonese Braille. It was very cool to see how braille works, especially in another language, as it differs greatly from typical writing systems, and it must account for features of Cantonese such as the use of tones (pitch) to signify meaning, as braille is phonetic unlike the Chinese characters used by most speakers.
I look forward to sitting round two in February and would wholeheartedly recommend the competition to anyone considering entering next year and hope to see more people then!
Business Language Competition
Arik K (4F) reports back on the Business Language Competition that he attended recently!
Six enthusiastic linguists in the Fourth Year (Arik K, Alex A, Luis M Y, James N, Shishir V and Oliver Y) attended a Business Language Competition (BLC) hosted at the King Edward’s School, Witley alongside many other schools. The groups were made up of a mix of participants from various schools. The event included six main challenges:
- Coming up with a new product and making a name and five slogans
- Creating a video advert
- Creating a promotional leaflet
- Creating a stand for your product to sell to the other groups
- Presenting your product to a major distributer; Lidl (not the real Lidl)
- Selling the products to the other groups participating.
Everything done during the event was in a foreign language which included French, Spanish, German and Mandarin. My group was assigned French and Spanish. During the day, we faced challenges and high-pressure moments, as all the teams worked against the clock to complete their assignments. This required teamwork, creativity and efficiency, similar to the demands of the real business world. It was an excellent opportunity to tone up the language skills and learn some new words and phrases in an unfamiliar environment. None of the competitors were allowed any form of Google Translate or ChatGPT however we could use physical language dictionaries, which made the experience more authentic and rewarding. The whole event was challenging but incredibly fun! I think, and I’m sure my peers would agree, that the experience was extremely valuable as we could use languages practically in an almost real environment, we met new people and we enjoyed the day out of the classrooms! Prizes, including medals and an Amazon voucher, were awarded to the winning group and a few outstanding individuals. Overall, the day was an unforgettable experience which combined languages, innovation and business in the best way possible!
Biology Wildlife Photography Competition
The Biology Department challenged pupils across all year groups to enter the School’s Wildlife Photography Competition. There were four categories: British wildlife, plants, exotic species and the wild side of pets! A huge congratulations to Huw C (4B), who won the competition! You can take a look at his fabulous photo of a female wasp spider below:
Did you know, female wasp spiders can be identified by their distinctive yellow, black and white stripes, which help to keep them safe from predators who associate these colours with a painful sting or toxicity. Rest assured – despite their intimidating appearance, wasp spiders are generally not harmful! Males are much smaller and less colourful than females and typically live very short lives – often becoming the females’ meal after mating! Huw’s photo was taken at Kempton Nature Reserve, beating all the exotic species and showing you don’t need to travel far to find amazing wildlife!
Two worlds, One classroom
Luis M Y (4B) tells us all about his new podcast:
For this past term, me and a former Hamptonian Ian N, have been recording podcast episodes with members of the Fourth Year and others. Our podcast is on how education differs around the world, for example: China, Dubai, Australia, France, home schooling and state/private schools in the UK. We chat about timetables, subjects, teaching styles, lunchtimes and anything else you can think of. We also ask for any funny or interesting stories and what their dream school would be like. We have also recently released two study tips episodes for anyone needing any tips academically. The podcast is called Two worlds, One classroom and is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Audible and YouTube, releasing every two weeks.
Special Shout outs!
Finally, a huge congratulations go to:
- Jai K (4G) who participated in the Fourth Kingston Invitational Chess Tournament (Open Section) in August and was awarded the Best Junior Player!
- Brian K (4J) who won several Golf tournaments over the summer break, including the U14 Surrey County Championship and the Junior Club Championship, and has brought his handicap down to an incredible 0.2!
- Monti S (4C) who is one of four choristers who have been specially selected to participate in The Worshipful Company of Cutlers’ annual Boar’s Head Feast!
