Welcome to the First Year Blog!
This is the final First Year blog of the academic year! You’ve got to the finish line – well done everyone. And what a last week we had. As part of Giving Day, we had a staff vs pupils darts matches in the Main Hall and an epic version of ‘The Chase’ in the Hammond (yes, the pupils won!). There has also been a brain-taxing Maths competition going on in lunch breaks this week. Somehow you all survived the heatwave too; indeed, never has the library been so popular at breaktimes as we all retreated into air conditioning and enjoyed the occasional woof from Harris, who was curled up behind Mr Hemsley’s desk, cooling off.
Another highlight was when Dr Yates dressed up as a lion and ran into the Main hall during final assembly on Thursday to reveal that the Giving Day had raised a mighty £245,000 for the Fitzwygram Foundation.
The Summer Concert (report below) was an absolute triumph. As your AHOY, I was so proud to see a select few First Years playing in the School Orchestra alongside Sixth Formers and staff. It was an epic event and the audience was suitably dazzled.
Wishing you all a good holiday and I look forward to seeing you along the corridors in September as Second Years. Remember to say hello to your First Year tutors and, most importantly, to be friendly and helpful to the new boys.
Summer Concert
On Wednesday this week, after countless fun rehearsals, it was finally the evening of the Summer Concert. I was playing in the Symphony Orchestra and after an exhilarating rehearsal and food it was the evening of the Summer Concert. Although I was playing in the Symphony Orchestra after the interval, I still heard some wonderful and professional performances from The James Bond theme by Swing Band to Defying Gravity sung by ROAR!
After a professional first half of many invigorating performances, it was now up for the Symphony Orchestra to finish off the concert with three pieces. The first piece we played was The Butterly Lovers Concerto with a beautiful solo on the violin. The piece went really well, and the composing was fascinating, thrilling and heart-warming from the quiet beginning of the piece to resemble the delicate fluttering wings of the butterfly to the loud dramatic parts to resemble the rapid flying in tough conditions. Secondly, we played A Bridge over Troubled Water with again a beautiful singing solo which was another beautiful and calm piece with exciting parts towards the end.
Finally, we needed to finish of the Summer Concert in style. It was time for our third piece, and we played The Valse from the Sleeping Beauty Ballet composed by Tchaikovsky. This piece is very dance-like and had many beautiful melodies as well as being playful and fun to lead off the audience into the Summer. This personally was my favourite piece just because of the compelling opening with fun and beautiful melodies in the middle and really set the tone for the end of the summer term!
By Rahul P (1B)
Giving Day
On Wednesday there was a special event at breakfast to commemorate Giving Day, which is a 36-hour period where the School tries to raise money for the Fitzwygram Foundation which offers Free Places at Hampton School for pupils who could not attend the school otherwise.
At breakfast there were special pancakes branded with Hampton written across them. Although there was a massive queue it was worth it as they were delicious, and we were able to choose from a variety of toppings like maple syrup and chocolate sauce.
Also, during lunch there was a special event for just First and Second years also for Giving Day hosted on the 3G. This was an event to try and score 1557 penalties altogether. We all took it in turns to take penalties against some Sixth Form goalkeepers and teachers. There was a special lion pinata at the top corner of each goal and if you hit it you earned five goals instead of just one.
Overall, Giving Day was fantastic and it felt great to do some fun activities knowing that it could make such a big difference on some people’s lives.
By Rahim K (1B)
The Chase
On Wednesday, the Hampton teachers vs pupils ‘The Chase’ took place with exciting questions about interesting and exciting topics such as “who was the main character in a Minecraft movie?” which Mr Wilson got wrong even though everyone in the crowd was shouting “I am Steve”.
The pupils won all three round which meant that the pupils were served a tasty breakfast by the losing teachers. With an interesting twist of saying “Pierce” instead of “Pass” to move the question on to an old Hamptonian and former National Schools’ Challenge Quiz runner-up: Piers. The first round featured Miss Bellingan (English and History) vs the team of First and Second years. Then was Mr Wilson (Physics) vs the team of Third and Fourth years, and finally it was the turn of Mr Leafe, who wore his football team’s scarf vs the team of Lower Sixth. It was run by Mr Hemsley (playing the role of Richard Osman) and Mr Haynes as the eloquent quiz master.
By Mohammed T (1H)
German drama
1G and 1P have been exploring Goethe’s famous and very dramatic 19th Century poem Erlkönig in their German lessons. In one of the final lessons of the year, the classes joined together in the Main Hall for dramatic performances of the poem. Frau Willett-Pečnik and Frau May were so impressed by the ingenuity and excellent pronunciation on show – super Arbeit!
Physics
Thank you for taking part in the Year 7/8 Physics Challenge run by the BPhO. 6586 pupils took part across 81 schools. The questions were meant to be fun and help you grow your problem-solving skills. No matter what you scored you should be proud of your result as competitions like this tend to be only sat by the best pupils in each school, so the competition is very tough.
Please find your award classification below:
| Alex Z | Gold | |
| Armaan K | Gold | |
| Armaan R | Gold | |
| Artem K | Gold | |
| Henry S | Gold | |
| Ian L | Gold | Best in School |
| Jamie R | Gold | |
| Kahana M | Gold | |
| Max D | Gold | Best in Year |
| Xander L | Gold | |
| Nidaal A | Silver | |
| Reyansh K | Silver | |
| Ryan A | Silver |
Maths Competition
After two demanding previous rounds, nine First Year pupils took part in the Hampton Maths Olympiad, the final stage in the Hampton Maths Competition. They tackled problems involving a forgetful school pupil, running between home and school, arranging blue and yellow tiles in a line, and finding a curved length in a crab claw. Numerical answers alone weren’t enough – they had to explain their working on paper as well. The problems were very difficult, and all nine qualifiers deserve huge credit just for reaching this point. First, Second and Third places will be announced in the new School year.
Wildlife Photography Competition
If you’ve got some free time over the summer holidays, why not enter the Biology department’s Wildlife Photography Competition? Take a look at the poster below to find out more:
The closing date is Friday 26 September 2025, so you have plenty of time to go out and take some fantastic photos! Prizes will be awarded for all categories.
Geography Photography Competition
The Geography summer holiday photo competition is back for another year!
We’d love you to send us a snap of anything geographical you’ve captured over the summer, whether you’re staying in the UK or heading abroad. It could be a bustling urban scene, a peaceful coastal landscape, a mountain vista, or a local walk that caught your eye. The choice is yours!
This year, the two winning photos will be displayed – one taken in the UK and one taken abroad. From these entries, we’ll be awarding:
- 1st Place (UK)
- 1st Place (Abroad)
- Runner-Up (UK)
- Runner-Up (Abroad)
There is a limit of one entry per pupil, so choose carefully. Please email your photo to Mr Harrison at ch.harrison@hamptonschool.org.uk by the end of the first full week back: Friday 12 September.
We can’t wait to see your creative and geographical snaps!
Special Shoutout
Fantastic to hear about the recent success of Elan L (1F) on his recent success in the Young Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Ethan’s story ‘Hope’ was praised by the judges for “capturing the spirit of the ‘Young Walter Scott’ Prize: a youthful voice navigating a vast historical canvas with grace and insight. Its structure is compelling, its language evocative, and its ideas about loss, survival, and the transformative power of education, resonate deeply. Highly commended indeed.”
Tutee of the Week
Every week, the First Year Tutor team nominate a boy 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 Oliver J (1H) on being named this week’s Tutee of the Week.
Oliver has been a kind, respectful and supportive member of the form, embodying the Hampton values of aiming for personal best while supporting each other with kindness and respect.
Hampton Hunt
Drum roll please, time to reveal the answer to the final Hampton Hunt of the year:
Last week’s question, Where would you find this important door? It is of course, on the Second Floor near Biology and Classics, but more importantly it belongs to Mrs Owen, our very own Head of Second Year, and someone who you’ll get to meet properly next year!
Well done to the following First Years: Ojas P, Alexander B, Sebastian Y, Eli M, Kamran C, Lucas O’C, Reyansh K, Arhan K, Rohan G, Ralph L, Isaac L, Peter R-R, Freeman W, Ediz Y, Ethan C, Arjun J, Harri C, Edward G, Emre K, Jia W X, Ashutosh S, Jonathan G, Toby S, David M, Leyan L, Noam C, Theo R, James C, Seb G, Max K and Dulan P H.
And all that’s left to say is…
