Welcome to the First Year Blog!
A warm welcome to the First Year Blog! Every Friday you will be able to read what the Year Group has been up to that week – all written by First Year pupils.
I have enjoyed meeting the new First Year Hamptonians and I am impressed by how quickly you have navigated your way round this huge school and found the important spots such as the 3G and the pasta bar! After one full week, there is already a massive difference between the excited, nervous pupils I encountered on Wednesday morning and the groups of boys confidently weaving their way around the corridors. It’s been particularly good to see you delving into the co-curricular clubs and our blog will have a Club of the Week where you can read reviews and gather ideas about what to try next.
Please do come along to Blog Club in F67 at 12.40pm on Tuesdays with your laptop if you would like to contribute, or send your articles directly to me by Thursday evening (v.whitwam@hamptonschool.org.uk). Everyone will receive a Lion Merit.
Well done and enjoy a very well-deserved weekend off. We have our Avon Tyrrell trip in the New Forest to look forward to!
FIRST WEEK EXPERIENCES
Let’s hear from a few of our new First Years who tell us about their very first week as a Hamptonian. Logan K (1L) starts us off:
So far, my first week at Hampton has been a roller coaster ride, from getting lost in the giant maze of the School’s endless corridors to playing football-tennis with my pals. Hampton has been an incredible experience and I really hope it continues that way! One highlight for me has been the incredible variety of subjects that the Hampton has to offer and the teachers have been absolutely fantastic. They’re always extremely kind, caring and are incredible people to share our journey with as Hamptonians. Hang on a second, I’m forgetting something here! The mentors! They’re funny and compassionate, always putting a smile on our faces during morning registration. There is just one final thing to add in to this fantastic array of people – my classmates. They’re always there for you, whether you’re in class together on not. There’s one thing all my fellow Hamptonians have in common, they’re all very friendly and I think this is one of the many great things about the “best club in the world”. No matter what year they’re in, they’ll always have your back.
Let’s also hear how Theo G (1J) got on:
My first few days at Hampton have been some of my best, with finding my way around School to all the intriguing and informative lessons. The first day was a good chance to get to know my classmates and together we embarked on a challenge to find all our classrooms. An afternoon of football and rugby rounded off the day. After that, we got down to business and each day has flown by as we are introduced to new subjects and teachers. Lunch carves out an hour and a half of the day, with endless clubs you can join. I have joined Table Tennis and Badminton on Fridays and Coding Club on Mondays. As you can see from this blog, I have also joined Blog Club! The food has been amazing, with a highlight being the penne pasta with tomato sauce.
The coach ride is an experience itself, with countless buses to waiting when you leave School. You really don’t want to get on the wrong one! All in all, my first week at Hampton School has been a thrill of excitement and I am looking forward to my future journey as a Hamptonian.
And from Rayan A (1H):
When I woke up on 4 September, I knew the months of preparations were over. It was time to see whether Hampton School was as good a school as I had imagined it to be. On New Boys Day, I was amazed by how I was welcomed into Hampton by the teachers, the pupils, my form tutors and my Sixth Form mentors. I was astounded by how kind everyone was.
The lunch was amazing. I had pasta from the pasta bar, and it was fantastic! I couldn’t wait to start my lessons the next day. When our sport at Hampton session started, we began with touch rugby, and moved onto football. The sports coaches helped us to work as a team and have us enjoy that afternoon. Hampton really welcomed me into their community, and I must admit, my first day was one of the best days of my life. I really look forward to the rest of my days as an Hamptonian!
First Day GALLERY
Co-curricular Clubs
Great to see so many of you come along to last Friday’s Co-curricular Fair. Clubs are now up and running, and First Year Hamptonians are spoilt for choice! Take a look at the full list of all clubs, societies and other co-curricular activities on offer in the link below:
With over 110 clubs and societies on offer, the biggest challenge will be deciding which ones to join! Keep an eye out for notices from your Form Tutor for any changes to this year’s clubs.
Lesson of the Week
Mohamed T (1H) tells us all about his ph-abulous Physics lesson:
We have had many lessons this week and I can guarantee that we have all learnt a lot. But there was one lesson in particular which has been the best lesson of the week; and that lesson is Physics as we did lots of interesting and practical work during the lesson. What did we do in Physics? This was the best lesson because we did three experiments!
The first experiment: this was to find the volume of one drop of water using a pipette, but the problem was that the one drop didn’t reach the test tube’s measurement lines! So, we put twenty-three drops and then divided the volume by twenty-three and that gave us the 0.0435cm³. The second experiment was to find the circumference of a test tube. So, we got a big ball of string and wrapped some of the string round the test tube ten times and then cut it off where the tenth ‘circle’ ended. We then measured the total length which was 54cm. Finally, we divided it by ten and got 5.4cm.
The third and final experiment was to find the mass of one marble, but the marble kept rolling off the scale, so we put a beaker and the beaker weighed 101g! After that we put ten marbles in the beaker, and they weighed 159g. So, we subtracted 101g from 159g and got 58g, so this was the weight of 10 marbles. Finally, we divided 58g by ten and got 5.8g.
Sports Club of the Week
Jack W (1B) tells us all about his sport training session:
The Hampton sports facilities are amazing and very well kept. On the trials on New Boys Day, the teachers and helpers made it an engaging experience even if it wasn’t your favourite. When we came to our first training lesson the teachers made sure everyone was involved and had a good time. The teachers pursue wanted everyone to have a good time. They focused on keeping everyone happy rather than focusing on playing well.
Everyone got to play their favourite position and have a chance with the ball. As I did football, I am not well suited to commenting on the rugby but it seems like everyone who came from the rugby fields had a good time too. In P.E they showed us the exercise which we will have to do at the start of each lesson which exercises all our muscles.
A Golden Summer of Cricket
Congratulations to the First Year boys in Teddington Cricket Club who won the Teddington Junior Shield. It all came down to the last ball of the final but the boys held their nerve and were triumphant. Edward J (1G), Ashveer C (1H), Max K (1W), Kyle O (1W) all played in the final. Kaarthikan M (1B), Jesse G (1W) and Bertie E (1G) joined some of the boys in the squad that won the Middlesex County Cup and were unbeaten in the League.
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 v.whitwam@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 Ollie R (1J) on being named our very first Tutee of the Week!
Ollie has been kind and helpful to his new classmates as everyone settles into their first few weeks as a fully fledged Hamptonian.
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.
This week’s challenge:
How many Old Boys on the Second World War memorial plaque are called Wood?
Enter your answer here:
