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.
Launching into life at Hampton, our First Year pupils have made a fantastic start to their journey. I have enjoyed meeting so many of you and seeing your confidence grow day by day. Over the course of just one week, you’ve already begun to master the maze of corridors and discover key spots like the 3G, Sports Hall, and pasta bar! New friendships are forming, and it’s been brilliant to see you getting stuck into the wide range of co-curricular clubs. Settling in so quickly is no small feat, and you should be proud of how well you’ve adapted.
Take a moment to look at the first letter of the past five sentences – and remember the acronym LIONS as a reminder of how to embody your time at Hampton: with Leadership, Inclusivity, Open to new opportunities, Navigating right and wrong, and Supporting those around you with kindness and respect. Never forget, once a Hamptonian, always a Hamptonian.
Please do come along to Blog Club in F10 at break (10.55am) on Wednesdays with your laptop if you would like to contribute, or send your articles directly to me by Thursday evening (v.jimenez@hamptonschool.org.uk). Everyone will receive a Lion Merit.
Finally, we have a few important events in the coming week that you will need to check your e-mails and SchoolPost for:
Avon Tyrrell: An e-mail has been sent out by Mr John via SchoolPost with everything you need to know. 1B, 1F, 1L and 1P will be going from Monday 15 September to Tuesday 16 September. 1G, 1H, 1J, and 1W will be going from Wednesday 17 September to Thursday 18 September.
Wilson’s School fixtures: Mr Scarratt will send an e-mail with all of the details that you need for your fixtures on Friday 19 September.
Open morning: A reminder that Open Morning will be happening on Saturday 20 September. Details will follow on SchoolPost next week so please keep an eye on it! Those involved in Rugby fixtures on Open Morning will not be expected to help out, so follow any communication you will get from the Rugby Department soon.
INTERFORM PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
The competition for the Interform Cup begins next week with the Interform Photography Competition. Taking part means points for your Form, so get snapping!
The theme for the competition is the colour yellow, to celebrate the Hampton colours! The judges are looking for the following:
- Composition
- Use of colour
- Originality
- Number of entries per form and teamwork
There is no limit to the number of entries per form, but only one photo is allowed to be submitted by each person within the form. Top entries will be posted in the First Year Blog. No photos of other pupils are allowed, and no AI-generated images will be accepted.
The competition opens on Monday 15 September and closes on Tuesday 14 October. Please send all submissions by email to Mrs Whitwam (v.whitwam@hamptonschool.org.uk) ideally below 5MB in file size. Come and see me in the English Office if you’re having issues.
HELLO HAMPTON: FIRST YEARS’ FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Let’s hear from some of our First Year Hamptionians from the first few days at Hampton:
As I walked to Hampton with my blazer and tie, I felt a mixture of nerves and excitement, but I was ready to embark on my long journey through academics, with multiple clubs to explore. Hampton seemed to feel overwhelming at first glance. However, I am now used to moving from class to class and the everyday routine. The first day seemed busy, as I met my many classmates, Sixth Form mentors and Form Tutors. We were first escorted one-by-one into the large hall, where I sat and talked to one of my friends who was at my previous school. After this, Mr. Knibbs gave a long speech about knowing your ways around and lots of opportunities which you will come across in your career as a pupil. Hearing the Headmaster speak inspired me to give Hampton all the effort I can!
After a long conversation about merits, maps, clubs and safeguarding, came one of the main highlights of my first day. The Hampton school lunches. We had Mexican spiced rice with chicken, which I really enjoyed, and I shall remember it dearly as my first ever Hampton meal; I have many more to anticipate over the next few years. Towards the end of the day, we were asked to do rugby and football try-outs. For the past few years, I have played football, but I thought that it would be great if I tried rugby for a change as I thought that having a go at something new, was one of the main things about Hampton.
I look forward to my future years at Hampton, which will be packed with fun, academics, laughter and success.
By Owen S-W (1L)
My first week at Hampton was a bit of a whirlwind. The School is huge, the timetable looked like a secret code, and I spent the first couple of days pretending I knew where I was going (even though I didn’t). But once I stopped panicking every time the bell rang, things started to fall into place. Lessons have been fast-paced and fun – Chemistry had fire (literally!), Latin had confusion to begin with but it’s fun, and I began enjoying all of the subjects more and more, some of which I’m studying for the first time.
The Co-curricular Fair was buzzing, and I signed up for the Hampton Sports Chronicle and MUN, which is the only club where talking too much is encouraged. I’ve started making friends mostly through my form and clubs I’ve been to, and I’m slowly but steadily mastering the art of the lunch queue (it’s basically a full-on tactical operation).
Although it’s only been a week, Hampton already feels like a place I can be myself, mess up a bit, learn from my mistakes, and feel like I belong. I cannot wait for the rest of the term.
By Ranvi P (1P)
The lead up to the start of school for me was an exciting but hectic time, and my expectations were just an exceedingly small part of the reality. During the first week I made sure to find a couple of clubs to sample and try out, find dozens of friends (that have the same interests as me) and have met extremely nice, supportive teachers which forbids me to choose a favourite! Lessons have not disappointed ranging from a cracking Chemistry demonstration to, very unexpectedly, learning about Count Dracula in English. I can very much get used to this excellent routine if given the chance!
By George U (1P)
Hi, I’m Rayan and my First Year experience of Hampton so far has been absolutely amazing. I love the organisation of everything. The Sports department has really impressed me; it was one of the main things I was looking forward to at Hampton. The food is exquisite, and I have loved every meal since joining, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I enjoy the way that clubs are structured and the opportunities that I have to explore the School. If I could change one thing, it would be the fact that I can’t go to a class without out getting lost because of how many amazing facilities there are (and my bad sense of direction). The coach journeys have been great and the driver is also very kind.
I am happy to say that so far, my experience of Hampton has been so much more than what I could have wanted.
By Rayan L (1B)
It has been an extremely fun first week at Hampton and it was really exciting to meet our new classmates! Something that we’re all very much looking forward to on the first week was finding our way around the School. Most of us managed to get lost but luckily our Sixth Form mentors were there to help. On Monday, I tried to go to the RS tower but ended up at reception on the other side of the building! Thankfully, we’re all in the same boat and I’m sure we’ll get the hang of it soon.
Noah P (1W)
CO-CURRICULAR FAIR BONANZA
Ever since the very first day of School, Hampton has been full to the brim with energy and excitement! The co-curricular fair was an exhilarating event that the entire Lower School was buzzing about. To be honest, Hampton’s clubs are something to be thrilled about. There is a vast variety of clubs for you to participate in. There is a 100% chance Hampton will have the right club for you to make your lunchtime a wonderful one. Lego Architecture has always been an extremely popular club for Hampton, as well as Climbing and Golf, but if you are an academic star, there is always the famous Physics Club, where there are so many fun challenges to do! At the fair, there were many stalls set up in the Hammond Theatre on Friday 5 September. They were all very appealing to the eye. It was extremely hard not to pick all of them! Sometimes, it will be very difficult to pick because there are so many appealing ones bombarding you all at once! Personally, I thought Chemistry Club was a blast! We got a head start on how to use Bunsen burners and we changed the colour of the fire with lots of chemicals, and the Sixth Form mentors were very kind and helpful. Overall, all the clubs at Hampton are brilliant, but make sure you find the right one for you. Remember to try out Blog Club as well, and this could very well be your blog piece! Good Luck!
By Mahad H (1B)
Clubs and societies are a great way to meet like-minded Hamptonians, make new friends and discover a new activity. Take a look at the booklet below and decide which club you’ll try next. The timetable for 2025-26 can be found here.
CLUBS AND HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE!
Clubs are the starting point of many Hamptons pupils’ careers as a Hamptonians, and that is why this article will be so useful to all people who are, or soon to be a Hamptonian. For those new to picking clubs, all of them are easy to, and most importantly, impeccably interesting to join – who knows you might be the next Badminton champion! So don’t hold yourself back, join as many clubs as you want. Many previous Hampton First Years had wished they had done more clubs; that not just related to their personal interests at the time but also went out their comfort zone, it is important to try new things! So, get stuck in and live that better Hamptonian life!
By Thomas F (1W)
LEGO ARCHITECTURE LIFT-OFF!
As a First Year, you try many different clubs from over the one hundred clubs and societies here at Hampton. Lego Architecture was one that certainly caught my (and many others!) eyes. There was certainly a reason behind the popularity of this club. Stepping into a Lego heaven, I was in awe of the previous creations of last year’s builds. After settling down, my friends and me had our eyes set on building a spaceship over the next few weeks – which we all agreed was the perfect way to start. As we started building, with the room buzzing with energy, I realised that I had every single Lego piece at my heart’s desire. We just grabbed the bricks and started piecing together a sleek fighter jet with a clear cockpit, angled wings and a satellite dish to add to it. We had only just started on ours when Ms Elliott called time, which most definitely caught us off guard – time had flown by! Our ship was still missing key details, but we were still proud of what we had built so far. Even though we couldn’t finish, we had fun and enjoyed every single bit of our first session. A club that I am certainly looking forward to next week!
By Pesandu W (1W)
Archives and History Club!
This week was the first session of the NEW Archives Club. Pupils met in the Library on Wednesday lunchtime to explore some of the treasures in the School’s Archives. This week we looked at some of the Headmaster’s scrapbooks from the 1930s and learnt all about the opening of the current School site which was at the outbreak of the Second World War. Pupils also got the chance to have a look inside one of the School’s Archives and were intrigued by some of the items on the shelves – for example, the winning trophy of the 1975 Chess Champions and a piece of the Berlin Wall.
The Archives Club meets every other Wednesday and welcomes everyone from the First to Fourth year who is curious to uncover some of the School’s histories!
RUGBY TRAINING BEGINS
On Tuesday we had our first contact rugby session at Hampton School! We started with our usual warm-up of passing in duos to warm up our hands. We then learned how to tackle and ruck properly without coming in at the side, falling off feet, and the right posture so we are not shutting off the ruck. This is where your head is on the player presenting exposing your neck. It is a penalty if you do so! We built up to three-on-two drills, with the scrum half and a person tackled, and choosing either ‘fire’ or ‘ice’; ‘Fire’ means we can win the ruck, so everyone drives. ‘Ice’ means we are not going to win the ruck, so we set up the defence and stop the scrum half picking and going to score the try. I think everyone did their jobs well and we had an enjoyable introduction to contact.
By Thomas D (1W)
FANTASTIC FOOTBALL TRAINING
Last weekend, on Saturday, First Years experienced their first Football training at Hampton School, aiming to achieve their personal best. At 8.30am, First Years entered the Hampton School grounds and enjoyed a one-hour training session which included drills and four matches – what a brilliant way to kick off the weekend! Hampton also kindly provided a snack bar consisting of pain au chocolats and croissants to make sure that all the First Years were energised and ready to perform at their fittest. Fortunately, the coaches make a fantastic effort to make sure everyone has an opportunity to get into a team if they attend both trainings. Teams range from the U12A team all the way to the U12G team. It is also highly recommended that you attend the training during lunch on Wednesday starting from the Wednesday 17 September to improve your football skills. So, if you would like to take part, please bring in your games kit on Wednesday and when the bell for lunch rings, make your way to the changing rooms. Finally, make sure to have fun!
By Edin H (1G)
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 Mason C (1P) on being named the very first Tutee of the Week!
Mason is a kind and friendly member of the form, who has thrown himself into Hampton life, helping his peers, and putting effort into PSHE this week – well done Mason!
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).
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:
Whose office can you find Harris, the Hampton School dog?
Enter your answers here:
