Welcome to the First Year Blog!
Welcome back, First Years! The half term holiday is over, the Halloween sweets have all been eaten, and the Hampton gates have swung open once again. We hope you all had a wonderful break and came back with batteries fully charged.
This week’s blog is packed with tales from across the First Year. You’ll find the joy of being reunited with friends in the form room, and a lunch menu so tempting that the only real question is whether it all fits on your plate. We also have some brilliant 3D biology cells (a few of them look good enough to display in a museum), and a heart-racing zipline adventure in Cornwall that will make your stomach flip just reading about it.
So settle in, get comfortable, and enjoy this week’s blog. Happy reading!
Back to School!
After one long, relaxing half term I returned to school with a smile on my face reminding myself of all the great lessons and spectacular activities we will do. Just thinking of seeing my friends again made me sprint down to school and enter the familiar Hampton gates once more with as much of a thrill as the first day!
Just as I entered my form room, I was greeted by the unique comforting Hampton atmosphere with all the talking and welcoming back, time flew by and before all the discussing and laughter on how our half term went, we were reminded that it was time for our first lesson which was even more enjoyable than the half term itself! We completed our first, second and third periods with such success since as we all know – new term, new lessons, new topic! Our lessons continued until lunchtime where I was surrounded with the vast, spectacular options for the delicious Hampton lunches: from soup to apple crumble, it’s just a matter of whether it can fit on your plate!
Leaping into our next lesson after the glorious food, the learning was just as interesting as the morning and before we could even open our books the final bell rang signalling it was time to go home. The day went so fast and so great! For sure it was good to be back.
By Julian C (1W)
South Downs Highlights
From chalk hills and dry valleys to hands-on fieldwork, just before half term First Year Hamptonians spent the day exploring the South Downs National Park. Take a look at some of the highlights from the trip.
Brilliant Biology
With a face full of ecstasy, I hurriedly made my way to the form room, eager to reunite with my classmates after a much-needed half term break. Everyone exchanged spooky Halloween stories, and it was refreshing to catch up with friends and settle back into our usual routines. One of the highlights were being able to showcase our biology projects. We were challenged to make a 3D cell. The cells varied in shape, colour and size. They were all colourful and reflected the hard work and effort put into them. It has been an enjoyable start to the half term, and I look forward to seeing the opportunities and challenges the rest of term will bring!
By Jacob P (1B)
Here is an example of the biology cell project from Ethan N (1J)
South African Adventures
I landed at the Rainbow Nation, South Africa. The sun radiated my skin; I love the feeling of summer in this wonderful country. The plane touched down smoothly in Cape Town, in my opinion, the best place in South Africa. I took my first step onto my beloved South African soil, but it wasn’t a casual one. We raced past security; it felt like a blur to my eyes. Before I could enjoy the presence of the country I was in, a taxi arrived and I had to embark into the vehicle that we had rented. This vehicle took us to a nice, cosy house in a place called Stellenbosch. We spent our day mostly sleeping after the flight, all of us enjoying our well-deserved rest. Late into the evening, we had dinner at a place called The Fat Butcher and its steak was out of this world. The juices sprayed into my mouth as I took a bite. After that day, we went on a one hour and 30-minute drive to Hermanus where the adults did some wine tastings. On the final one tasting place, I was jubilant as we helped ourselves to a pool table while our parents enjoyed the wine of South Africa. We spent the next few days at the beach, I was glad to feel the golden sand under my feet. After, we went to CAPE TOWN! Hooray! This was the place where I could chill and enjoy this country. And it wasn’t like I was limited on fun because I was staying with my friend so we could do all sorts of stuff. We spent three restful days in Cape Town, then left the sunshine to come to icy England where the weather was horrible compared to the brilliant country that South Africa is.
S plendid
O utstanding
U nbelievable
T remendous
H eavenly
A mazing
F rantic
R emarkable
I ncredible
C ommendable
A stonishing
By Auryn V (1L)
Sky High
Going on the long zipline in Cornwall was such an exciting experience! I felt a rush of adrenaline as I flew through the air, taking in the amazing views of the surrounding countryside. It was really fast and thrilling and I loved every second of it. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Cornwall and an experience I will never forget
By Aadi R (1W)
SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS!
Over the holidays, Harry H (1H) completed two races in Cyprus. The first was named after a Greek man called Stelios Kyriakides who won the Boston marathon in 1946 at that time Greece was struggling after World War II and he used his win to campaign for food and supplies thus saving Greece. He was from the town where the race was held. The second race was the national cross country relays in Mansfield where Harry came 35th in England out of nearly 300 runners overall, with the 18th place in his leg and his team came 26th in England.
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.
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 Jamie H (1P) on being named this week’s Tutee of the Week!
Jamie is always a consistently polite, considerate and amiable member of the form. Great job, Jamie!
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 who knows – you might get to know the School better in the process!
This week’s challenge:
How many different languages can you find written in red in the language cloud in the Languages corridor?
