Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
I hope you’ve all had a good week and are settling back into the rhythm of the half term. It’s been another lively and varied few days for the year group, with plenty going on both inside and outside the classroom.
This week, our Sixth Form mentors led a thoughtful PSHE session on reputations and the impact our choices can have on how we are perceived by others. We also had a number of exciting co‑curricular moments to celebrate, from football fixtures to hearing about your involvement in activities such as Scalextric and Cryptic Crossword clubs. A group of pupils even had the chance to experience an interactive German play, hosted by LEH, what a brilliant opportunity to bring language learning to life.
Lots to share, lots to celebrate, and plenty more to look forward to as the term continues.
Please email b.tiller@hamptonschool.org.uk with any updates you would like included in the blog!
Merit Milestones
Big shout out to all the Second Year Hamptonians who collected merit certificates this week:
Tom Coyle – 20
Aarav Saxena – 20
Diego Cubria Garcia – 30
Jack Whyte – 30
Thomas Dunbar-Lee – 30
Seb Goode – 30
Poyraz Dirik – 40
Daniel Sharipov – 40
Jonathan Greenfield – 40
Felix Hedin – 40
Kamran Cathcart – 50 (He’s off to see Mr Knibbs!)
Alexander Murphy – 50 (Well done!)
Emre Kozan – 50 (Super!)
Rayan Amiri – 50 (Fabulous!)
Yuvan Meda – 60 (Excellent!)
Edward Robinson – 70 (Amazing!)
Timothy Mountain – 70 (Wonderful!)
Ansh Rao – 110 (Impressive!)
Sebastian Young – 120 (Tremendous!)
LION merits
Alexander Murphy – 10
TUTOR QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Each week the pupils decide on a question to ask all the Second Year Form Tutors.
This week’s Tutor Question was sent by Ralph L (2B).
Which of these ‘every day’ superpowers would you most like to have:
- Perfect Wi-Fi wherever you stand – 2P, Mrs Owen, 2L, 2F
- Ability to talk to your pets – 2B, Miss Tiller, Ms Wallace, Miss Mattinson
- Never needing to charge any devices
- Being a human lie detector – 2H, 2W
- Other (please specify)
Have you ever had a burning question you’ve always wanted to ask your form tutors?! If so, then please send your suggestions for next week’s Tutor Question to b.tiller@hamptonschool.org.uk.
German Play
Recently, on Thursday 5 March German pupils including myself from 2P and 2G, along with the two neighbouring schools LEH and Hampton High had the fantastic opportunity to watch a play called ‘Das Gruselhaus’ which translated into English means ‘The haunted house’. The play was, in my opinion fantastic, with it being performed fully in German which although meant at some parts in the story it became slightly confusing, the actors responsible for playing the two characters Saskia and Sophie made sure to speak slowly and clearly along with the emphasis which they put on the words and they expressions and actions made the performance extremely lively.
Combined with their brilliant acting and with them being professional actors from Germany along with the interaction with different people in the audience such as asking questions and even asking them in the act, all added to the experience and made it feel overall more immersive.
The play, as you can probably imagine by the title, was staged in a haunted house, which would be entirely correct, but the thing is when the two actors Sophie and Saskia first get caught up in a thunderstorm while on their hike in the countryside, which ultimately resulted in them having to find shelter where they find this conveniently built house in the middle of the woods. The second they enter the house something doesn’t feel right, and in my opinion this was brilliantly displayed by the actors, more specifically Sophie where after she enters she begins to become really scared and wants to leave, while her friend tried to calm her down which further added to the tension and allowed the audience to get a better understanding of the emotions of the characters. As the play progresses, everything seems to become more strange, with the friends splitting up to try find out if the house is haunted with Sophie continuously seeing floating furniture and people. As they start to regret their decision, they were then told the news that a prisoner has escaped and they must stay there, with them ultimately spending the rest of their time in the house trying to work out if it is haunted until they finally reveal a ghost, culminating in the end of the story.
Overall, I found it to be an amazing experience and although I didn’t really end up doing any interacting personally with the actors or performing, I still found it to be an enjoyable time and fun experience and way to learn German.
By Sebastian Y (2G)
PSHE
We had period 3 PSHE today and it was a great time to be taught by the Upper Sixth form mentors instead of our usual teachers, which makes the lesson much more fun than if we were just learning normally (and they give us an entirely different perspective on learning). What we learned today was about reputation, how a person’s reputation is perceived by others and what they thought was their reputation. They explained to us about why building a good reputation and the main things we need to do in order for us all to have an excellent reputation. As this is such an important concept for pupils to learn as many reputations are formed during school years and how helpful it has been to learn from the older Hamptonians who have learned from their experiences and who could convey their experiences to us.
By Ayoub R (2G)
Football Frenzy
My football match that I played on Monday was one of the most thrilling and exciting games I have ever played in my life. From the very first whistle, both teams showed great energy and strong determination to win. We moved the ball quickly across the 3G and tried to keep it in control as much as possible. Our passes were accurate, which helped us have many chances to score. We scored our first goal after a great team move that started from the defence. When the ball hit the back of the net, we celebrated with huge smiles on our faces. After that goal, we did not relax and continued to attack with full effort. We managed to score several more goals before the end of the first half. Each goal made us feel stronger and more excited about the game. Our defenders were great and blocked many dangerous attacks from the other team. Our goalkeeper also made some good saves that kept us in the lead. The other team tried hard to come back, but we stayed focused and worked together. By halftime, we had already scored many goals and were feeling proud of our performance and then we swapped sides.
In the second half, the match became even more intense as both teams fought for every ball. We continued to press forward and looked for more chances to increase our lead. One of our goals came from a corner kick which was deflected, and the ball soared up into the air. Then I went and kicked it top corner. Another goal was scored when one of our players hit it crossbar and hit it in. The teamwork we showed during the match was truly amazing to see. Everyone communicated well and supported each other in the hardest situations. Overall, it was a great game and I was lucky to be a part of it.
By Moksha K (2B)
On Monday this week the Fs played against Dulwich Prep. When we were first warming up with the Sixth Formers the fire alarm rang and we were forced to head out to the MUGA and wait. We had to wait a bit, and we unfortunately lost a little bit of time to warm up and play against Dulwich Prep. The game finished against Dulwich Prep with a score of 6-0. We scored more but they were disallowed because we were offside. Dulwich Prep didn’t have enough players so there was an E team player on their team to start and then they started to add more throughout the game. In the end there were three E team players on their team and we still won.
By Felix R (2H)
On Monday, the U13B team played a football match against Dulwich Prep. The start of the game was delayed due to a fire alarm, but once the drill ended, we got underway. At first it remained 0-0, but after around 10 minutes, Vivaan scored a goal at the far post to make it 1-0, and quite soon after, Joshan scored the second goal of the match. Half time was very quick, but in the second half, Hampton were dominating. Filippos manged to win a penalty, but due to the penalty spot being very muddy, he missed the penalty. The game then continued, with neither side scoring any goals, so the final score remained 2-0 to us.
By Aryan T (2W)
Spring Term Progress
During this exciting week at school many sports teams experienced many wins and losses with the First XI team making it to the finals of the ESFA Cup and the U13 sevens team having an incredible run at the Surrey sevens tournament with two wins, two draws and they lost 1. As we are all waiting for the term to end in three weeks there are many preparing for many things such as the Fifth Years preparation for the GCSE’s and people getting prepared for the highly anticipated show of Treasure Island. Which we are all hoping that all goes well for all of them. While they were getting prepared me and my friends discovered the fun you can have by talking and playing with the upper years with many of us making new friends, having a laugh and enjoying ourselves. Overall, I hope everyone does well in what they are doing and that they should explore to other years and you might even have fun.
By Jonah M (2L)
Clubs of the Week
Scalextric Club
This year I have been going to Scalextric Club. This is when we design Scalextric cars to race each other on the track in the Design Engineering department. Normally this club is limited to Third Years only, but I got invited because I enjoy CAD software and have shown the teachers that I can design cars at the level needed.
The Scalextric cars have two main parts that you have to design. First you must design the chassis which holds all of the electrical components for the car. The second part is the shell which is the bit that is seen and is mainly for looks. You have to design a shell however because it must comply with the regulations which state that you need to have a shell. Overall, this is a great experience for me and hopefully will prepare me for next year when I can still do the competition.
By Noah L (2G)
Climbing Club
This week I went to Climbing Club located by the outdoors cricket nets. The club offers a variety of different types of climbing from bouldering to long horizontal paths that test your endurance, the club is run by Mr Larken in the Adventure Society and is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I enjoy the club because of it being open to all skill groups, I have been going since First year and you can see a wide variety of skills to learn from and to teach others. The club also provides chalk and climbing shoes to enhance your climbing experience, I would highly recommend climbing club to anyone wanting a thrilling and enjoyable lunchtime.
By Sami D (2H)
Cryptic Crossword Club
On Wednesday, many interesting and popular clubs take place, like knitting, and in my opinion, Cryptic Crossword Club is one of the best (or the best). I go there most weeks and I always enjoy it. Everyone there is very nice and it is a very casual club, where you can go with you friends and try to solve a cryptic crossword.
Cryptic crosswords work very similarly to normal crosswords, only the clues are different. At first glance they look like absolute madness, for example,
Senator arranged crime (7).
However, when you start to decode it, it becomes much clearer. All cryptic crosswords have an indicator and a definition (the definition goes at the end or beginning of the clue) and these help us solve the clue. In this case, the indicator is arranged, which means it will be an anagram clue, where you have to rearrange a word to form another one. We know the answer is 7 letters long and senator has 7 letters, so that must be the word we have to rearrange. Therefore, we are left with the word crime, which must be the definition. So, we are looking for an anagram of ‘senator’ which is a type of crime. Can you find it?
By Harri C (2L)
Rugby Roundup
Harlequins vs Newcastle
With many core Quins’ players returning from international leave, the team were ready to bounce back and after many unfortunate losses they were ready for contact. After one of the most physical starts from Quins during this season, Newcastle opened with a surprising try from their Reuben Parsons, which was shortly returned with a penalty at 5m scored by Chandler Cunningham-South with a huge carry of a quick tap and go evening the score to 7-7. Two more tries were scored in the rest of the first half in similar fashion Newcastle then Quins finishing the half at 14-14
10 mins after the next half started Quins made many changes to their line up, then Caden Murley came in with a stunning try from some great hands off a line out. Shortly followed by another try for Chandler Cunningham-South with a devastating dummy pass, to pull away and make the board 28-14. Soon after he was brought on, impact player, Jamie Benson OH (2021), broke free of a tackle to score to finish the match as 35-14 to Quins. #COYQ
By Jack D (2P)
England vs Ireland
I was lucky enough to be in the stands for England vs Ireland in the Six Nations, and the atmosphere was electric from the first whistle. The sea of green around me was in full voice, and every carry, tackle and turnover felt huge. From the outset, Ireland played with real intensity, dominating the breakdown and moving the ball with confidence. When they broke the line for their first try, the stadium erupted and the noise was deafening.
England had their moments too, especially when they kicked for territory and put Ireland under pressure. Every time they threatened the line, you could feel the tension ripple through the crowd. But Ireland’s defence held strong and each turnover felt as good as a score.
As the clock ticked down, the roar only grew louder. Singing echoed around the ground, and when the final whistle blew, it felt like a release of pure joy. Walking out afterwards, my voice was gone and my ears were ringing – but it was worth it. It was one of those Six Nations days you never forget.
By Kyle O (2W)
Pet of the Week
This week’s Pet/s of the Week are Sylvia and Maple, they were nominated by Jonah M (2L). I have to admit… they are very cute!
If you think your pet could give Sylvia and Maple a run for their money, please send in your own photos – we’d love to feature your adorable animals in future editions of Pet of the Week!
Guess the Film – Emoji Challenge!
Each week I will ask a different member of the Second Year Tutor team to tell me their favourite film – in emoji form! Your job is to guess the film and the teacher…!
Last week:
🧙♂️⚡🔥🏆🐉🌊🌳😱
The answer was: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and the film is Miss Tiller’s favourite!
This week we have another film from a different form tutor – see if you can guess!
❓🚄🐲
Come back next week for the answer!
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.
This week’s questions come to us from Aayushmaan C (2L). Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here:
Here are the answers to last week’s quiz:
- Who is on the US $100 note? Benjamin Franklin
- Who is on the recently retired American penny? Abraham Lincoln
- Who is on the UK’s £20 note? JMW Turner
- Who is on the UK’s £50 note? Alan Turing
- Who is on the dollar bill? George Washington
Well done to the following Second Year Hamptonians who answered everything correctly – Ryan A, Seb G, Harri C, Arhaan K, Ediz Y, Arthur H and Ansh R.
If you’re keen to write some general knowledge questions for the Blog, please email b.tiller@hamptonschool.org.uk.
