Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
Today we say goodbye to school shoes and hello to lie-ins, snacks, and two glorious weeks of half term freedom! In what feels like the blink of an eye, the first half term is officially over for our Second Years. However, rather than slowing down, we simply decided to pack an additional two weeks’ worth of excitement into one (and threw in a couple of wild animals along the way!)
The week kicked off with a slam dunk on Tuesday, as we launched the first Interform competition of the year – Basketball! The Sports Hall was buzzing with energy as forms battled it out on court. There were dramatic comebacks, buzzer-beaters, and plenty of cheering from the sidelines. Scroll down to see how everyone got on.
All week, we’ve been celebrating Biology Week, with a range of fascinating activities and talks. On Thursday, we were treated to a special PSHE session with a wildlife photographer, who shared incredible close-up images of animals in the wild and stories of how he captured them, including moments of bravery, patience, and a few near misses. Other highlights included, welcoming Safari Pete, who brought along a whole menagerie, from snakes to scorpions and ferrets. There were brave hands, lots of “Whoa!” moments, and even a flying owl!
As well as this, throughout the week many pupils were lucky enough to attend the senior performance of Les Misérables in the Hammond Theatre. Tickets sold out weeks ago, and the show has been the talk of the School; an unforgettable experience for those who managed to get seats!
And finally, we wrapped up the week today with a mufti day and a generous collection for Feltham Foodbank. A huge thank you to everyone who donated. The money raised will go to our Form Charity partners, which are still being decided. Voting is open now, so if you haven’t cast your vote yet, check your email and make your voice heard!
Before you dive into your half term plans, take a moment to enjoy this week’s blog: packed with basketball action, Biology Week adventures, club updates, football fixtures, and your weekly dose of general knowledge questions. Whether you’re jetting off somewhere exciting, catching up on sleep, or just enjoying a break from homework, we hope you have a fantastic time.
Merit Milestones
Another bumper week for merits, big shout out to the following Second Year Hamptonians:
Milo Batra – 10
Ayoub Rahman – 10
Edward Jolliffe – 10
Joshin Fenwick – 10
Felix Hedin – 10
Arhaan Khan – 10
Harry Turle – 10
Poyraz Dirik – 10
Ali Eisenstein – 10
George Meckle Haldane – 10
Yuchen Liu – 10
Moksha Katamaneni – 10
Luke Whyte – 10
Kamran Cathcart – 10
Seb Goode – 10
Noam Cohen – 10
Hugh Horrocks – 10
Philip Vatchev – 10
Tom Guest – 10
Alexander Chen – 10
Arun Brar – 10
Eddie Lee – 10
Mohamed Tageldin – 10
Oliver Jones – 10
Theo Rainey – 10
Faaris Malik-Casey – 10
Ishaan Jain – 10
Eden Jung – 10
Kaarthikan Mayouran – 20
Ediz Yildirim – 20
Rahul Prabhudesai – 20
William Janson – 20
Rohan Ghugari – 20
Arthur Hanna – 20
Ryan Arami – 20
Ryan Arami – 30
Lucas Farnsworth – 40
Ryan Arami – 40
Sebastian Young – 50 (what an achievement!)
LION merits
Ashveer Chohan – 10
Court Clash: Forms Fight for Glory!
On Tuesday we had our first Interform competition: Interform Basketball! Interform is a competition between each form with the aim to have the lowest number of points by the end of the year. Throughout the year there are different interform challenges and depending on which position you come that’s how many points you will receive. Last year, I had no clue what happened, but I do know that we didn’t have a good performance so this year we were looking to redeem ourselves. The format of the tournament (there are eight forms) was that there were two groups of four classes and whoever came first in their group would play first in the other group etc.
We got quite unlucky with our group as we got put with 2G who came second last year and 2W who came first last year. Nevertheless, we were still up for the challenge. Our first game was against 2G, and we stepped up winning 3-1. However, the biggest challenge presented itself as we now had to play 2W. Whoever won this game would be first in the group and would play first place from the other group. It was a very intense, fast-paced game with 2W scoring first. However, we came back stronger replying with two quick baskets bringing the score to 2-1. With a minute or so to go 2W were able to make one last basket to tie the game 2-2. Well, that’s what we thought, but it turned out that 2W had made a three pointer (meaning they scored outside the ringed D) and a two pointer whilst we only made two two pointers. We were very disappointed but kept out heads as we still had one more match to play. Due to this loss, we finished 2nd in the group and played 2nd in the corresponding group 2L for the 3rd place playoff. We knew they were going to be strong but with a fire lit inside us we played a great game winning 3-0 and finished 3rd place overall.
We were decently pleased with a speck of disappointment, but it was a good start to the interform competition, and we look forward to more events coming up!
By Kaarthikan M (2B)
Interform basketball was on Tuesday, and many people were looking forward to our first interform competition of the year. Each team had to put forward a team of fiver people to play the games. From our form, 2H, we entered Filippos M, Mohamed T, Ashveer C, Alex C and Eddie L. At 12.35pm, I went along to the Sports Hall with some members of my form to support our team. Our first game was against a strong 2J side. We had many close attempts but, in the end, the final score was 3-0 to 2J. However, our team knew they could redeem themselves in the next game. The next form we played was 1P. We held possession for most of the game and scored many points to show for it. With good attempts from each our team, Filippos ended up scoring four and Mohamed scored two to seal the victory in a 6-0 win for us. Sadly, we had to win both games to move on, but we were still happy we got a win. Overall, I think everyone enjoyed it and that we should do more interform competitions each year.
By Oliver J (2H)
On Tuesday lunchtime we had interform basketball. It was great fun and probably very entertaining for the crowd. In our first match, we won against 2G and proceeded to the semi-finals where we narrowly lost to 2W. The experience was great, and I saw many great baskets scored by us. In the end, 2B (us) came third after a victory in the third/ fourth playoffs against 2L. I had a great experience playing on the courts and overall was a brilliant experience.
By Yuchen L (2B)
Let’s find out what the scores are after the first interform event of the year:
1 – 2W
2 – 2J
3 – 2B
4 – 2L
5= 2H & 2G
7= 2P & 2F
Microscopes and Marvels: A Week of Wonder!
During Biology Week, I enjoyed many of the activities that were available such as a talk with Safari Pete and a Photography Talk in the Hammond Theatre.
The talk with Safari Pete was very interesting. He brought some animals with him such as a barn owl, a ferret, a scorpion, snakes and many more. We all got to feel the animals that he brought with him. During the talk, he explained to us some information about the animals such as its species and what country and specific region it came from. My favourite animals were the ferret and the barn owl. We were able to see the owl eat its food and fly across the room.
The other activity I enjoyed was the photography talk. A professional photographer held the talk and showed us some of his photographs of animals he captured on his camera. There were incredible photographs of elephants, lions, monkeys and jaguars. He told us for one of the photos of a lion, he got very near to take photographs of it even when it was snarling at him. Another photograph that was taken by him was a female jaguar protecting her cub by fighting with another male jaguar. He told us that even though the female jaguar knew that the male could easily kill her, she kept fighting. Eventually, the male jaguar ran away. I really enjoyed these activities in Biology Week and I learnt a lot from them.
By James C (2H)
This week was Biology Week, and it was really fun especially on Thursday when all of the Second Year got to see pictures of animals by David (a photographer and biologist). He walked up to animals and took close pictures of the animal. David explained how you have to stay extremely calm when you are taking these pictures. But I just want to say this again, the pictures were absolutely amazing. They show photos of animals fighting, fat animals, animals in the night, big animals, small animals, baby animals and old animals.
By Aarush A (2W)
Perfect Poetry
Second Years Hamptonians took to the Hammond Theatre stage in front of their friends and teachers for a lunchtime of superb poetry. But this wasn’t just any poetry… they were reciting the poems in French, Spanish and German! Take a look at the video below to get a flavour of just some of our linguists on stage:
Clue Me In
I’ve been going to Cryptic Crossword Club since the start of this year, and I’ve really been enjoying it. We’ve been learning about different types of crossword clues, and some are difficult to solve but I got there in the end. The good thing about cryptic clues is that you feel satisfied with your answer since it makes more sense afterwards and you’re always sure that it’s the right answer. I’ve also brought along some of my friends who at first didn’t know what to expect but then once they got the hang of it, they really liked it. If you aren’t sure about the club then try it; you’ll likely have a lot of fun.
By Tom C (2F)
Driving Discovery
Last Friday, me and a few of my friends in my form came along to Golf Club. I found this quite fun since we could hit a few shots into the net. Having friends playing with me made this experience a lot more enjoyable! We enjoyed trying out new clubs we have not used before and overall, I enjoyed it quite a lot although some of us have never played golf before. I would recommend coming along to golf club!
By Noah K (2G)
Reporting the Roar
If you’re interested in sports, writing and journalism then this is the club for you! In the Hampton Sports Chronicle, pupils from all year groups write match reports, interviews and you can also write a feature which is a longer piece and can be about pretty much anything sports related! This can include trending topics, popular debates and more! Normally however, you write a match report on a sports fixture you took part in over the weekend. This only has to be about 250 words, and you only have to write about matches you won! The club is run by the English teacher Mr Baker with two Sixth Form editors, and everything is written, edited and designed by pupils! The club takes place every Monday at 12:35pm but you only have to go if you have a question or a feature idea. You can see what it’s all about by clicking on this link here.
By Arthur H (2G)
Football Fever!
On Monday 13 October, I played in an exciting match against Ibstock Place School, in the C team. However we were playing Ibstock’s B team so it was expected to be quite a close match.
The match kicked off, and the first five minutes were neck and neck, with both teams having some attacking opportunities. Raff scored the first goal with a nice strike that went into the side netting putting Hampton in the lead (1-0). Not that long after Panshul scored doubling our lead with about ten minutes to go in the first half. We thought we were going to go into the second half two nil up. But with a lovely team goal, Milo placed the ball in the back of the net making it three for the home side. Then the whistle blew for half time.
As the second half kicked off, we were feeling very confident that we could bring home a fourth win. They were putting up a challenge for us all throughout the second half. Then the entire half went back and forth with both teams once again having lots of attacking opportunities. The final whistle blew, and we were feeling proud of our achievement.
By Lucas O’C (2P)
What a start to the week when my U13G team delivered a footballing masterclass, defeating Ibstock School’s 13E team with a thrilling 4–0 win. From the first whistle, it was clear: Hampton came to dominate. The midfield was a battlefield, and we were warriors—swift, strategic, and relentless. Within the first 10 minutes, our enthusiasm erupted as we launched our first goal with a 1–0 lead . The Game was on!!!
Ibstock tried to rally, pushing forward with determination, but our defence was a fortress. Their every attempt was met with our steel courage and will power to win. Then came the moment of magic—a dazzling solo run (by Arjun), weaving past and ending with a cheeky goal over the keeper. 2–0. My team went wild of happiness. The third goal was a thunderbolt from outside the box that left the net shaking and the goalkeeper stunned. And just when Ibstock thought it couldn’t get worse, Hampton sealed the deal with a fourth one. The final whistle blew, and we celebrated like champions. Ibstock, though defeated, showed great heart and sportsmanship. This wasn’t just a match—it was a footballing spectacle, a rollercoaster of emotions, and a statement of intent from U13G team rising stars.
By Ashutosh S (2B)
Last Monday, we played a football match that turned out to be one of the most enjoyable games we’ve had in a long time, even though the final score wasn’t exactly in our favour. The weather was quite chilly (of course it was), the field looked great, and everyone showed up with big smiles and even bigger hopes. During the first half, both teams played with lots of energy, and after some exciting back and forth moments, we managed to score a goal that made the whole team cheer in joy. The other team also scored one, but that did not bother us too much because the game still felt close and full of possibilities. By halftime, we were all feeling positive, cracking jokes, and talking about how we could score again in the second half. We could already imagine the excitement on winning, even if deep down we knew it was going to be a tough battle to win.
When the second half began, things started to get a little tougher, and the other team seemed to come back with even more determination speed. Before we knew it, they had scored not just one, but three more goals, leaving us a bit surprised and slightly out of breath. Our defence tried hard to keep up, and our goalkeeper made some brilliant and brave saves, but sometimes the ball just did not want to cooperate with us. Still, we didn’t stop smiling (or running), and we kept cheering for each other every time someone made a good pass or a funny mistake. My favourite memory was when Rahul P (2B) made a brilliant pass to me. Then I took the shot, but I hit the crossbar, and it unfortunately did not go in. Even though the score was 4–1 , the atmosphere on the field stayed light and full of laughter. In the end, we realised that the best part of the game wasn’t the score, but the fun we had playing together as a team.
By the time the final whistle blew, we were tired but happy, knowing we’d given it our all and had a great time doing it. We laughed about the moments when we tripped over the ball or missed easy shots, and those memories made the loss feel much easier to accept. Our coach told us to stay positive, and this was a good chance to improve our skills and techniques. After the match, we all went out for snacks, still talking about the game and teasing each other in good fun. In the end, it didn’t matter that we lost 4 – 1 because we left the 3G with smiles, good memories, and the promise to come back stronger next time. We might not have won the match, but we had a good time.
By Moksha K (2B)
Classical Art!
Last Saturday, Isaac L (2G) and Third Year Ethan travelled up to Loughborough for the EMACT Art Competition ceremony, and it was a truly memorable occasion. Surrounded by creativity and inspiration, Isaac had the wonderful opportunity to meet the judges, receive his award and gifts, and share his interpretation of this year’s theme: Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
The artwork, inspired by the ancient tales of transformation, sparked thoughtful conversations and admiration from attendees. The ceremony was not only a celebration of artistic talent but also a chance to connect with fellow young artists and reflect on the power of storytelling through visual expression.
Congratulations Isaac, what a fantastic achievement!
QUIZ OF THE WEEK
Welcome to the Quiz of the Week! Every week, we’ll post five general knowledge questions. Take a look at this week’s questions, have a go yourself or challenge people at home and see if they know the answer.
Points for the Interform Competition will be awarded to the form with the most entries over the term.
Take a look at this week’s fiendish questions which come to us from Armaan R (2L). Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers below:
Here are the answers to last week’s quiz:
- Which country has the longest coastline in the world? Canada
- What was the name of the first artificial Earth satellite, launched in 1957? Sputnik 1
- Who painted The School of Athens? Raphael
- In computing, what does ‘HTTP’ stand for? HyperText Transfer Protocol
- Where is the world’s largest desert (hint: it isn’t the Sahara!)? Antarctica
Well done to the following Second Year Hamptonians who answered everything correctly – Peter R-R, Joshin F, Ediz Y, Reyansh K, Harri C, Isaac L, Noah L, Freeman W, David M, Alexander C, Ojas P, Lucas O’C, Rayan A, Ibrahim J, Tom C, Timothy M, Yuvan M and Raff O’C-Z.
If you’re keen to write some general knowledge questions for the Blog, please email e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk.
