Welcome to the Fifth Year Blog!
Well, there we go, another term done and certainly the longest term of your year. Barring the last two weeks, where a few of you really have thrown yourself whole heartedly into “silly season”, you have been great, well behaved and a pleasure to have in the School.
As the days (and teachers fuses!) get shorter, and we are surrounded by dark afternoons, relentless traffic on Hanworth Road and the wind and the rain, it is amazing and pleasing to see all the wonderful things you have been up to and embraced during the 12 weeks of the autumn term.
It would be very easy to purely focus on your exams and studies but hopefully (and do read on) the Fifth Year Blog shows you that there is still plenty to do at Hampton. Do take advantage of clubs, activities and all the opportunities on offer before you find yourself spending the Sixth Form slouched on a sofa in the Sixth Form Common Room!
Whilst the mocks in January are looming, we hope you all enjoy some rest, a bit of a break and have a lovely time over Christmas. We will see you in 2026 when the Ashes fightback is complete and those faux Australians that have come out of the woodwork in recent weeks have turned English again…
And all that’s left to say is Happy Christmas from everyone in the Fifth Year team!
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Hampton School’s fantastic male voice choir Voices of Lions accompanied by lots of pupils and staff members from across the Hampton Trust, ensured everyone is feeling festive as we come to the final day of term. Enjoy the 2025 Christmas video and see if you can you spot anyone you know! 🎄 🎁
Praising the Bar!
It turns out, when you are reassured that it will be anonymous, you can be quite nice about each other! Some anonymous and well-deserved praise from friends, classmates and teachers to add a bit of festive cheer.
- I would like to praise Jack for being a shining light in school and on the pitch by captaining the C team
- I would like to praise Theo for helping me with the Hampton School B team report
- I want to praise Jake for being kind
- I want to praise Ethan for remaining positive throughout
- I would like to praise Ethan for his perseverance
- I would love to praise Ashton for his perseverance and dedication to all aspects of Hampton life
- I want to praise Olly for helping me in maths
- I would like to praise Ollie for his attitude towards his French orals
- I would like to praise Arthur for helping me prepare for my French oral.
- I would like to praise Ashton for scoring a last minute winner in yesterday’s match.
- I’d like to praise Max for being a rock in the heart of the C team midfield
- I would like to praise Ollie for being a top mate and persevering through a difficult time
- I would like to praise Jack for always coming to School with a smile on his face no matter what
- I want to praise Sanjit for all his hard work
- I want to praise Ollie for keeping his head up after injury and not complaining despite the annoyance and disappointment he must have felt
- Sam – always at rugby training showing lots of grit
- I would like to praise Theo for always keeping an optimistic mindset
- I want to praise Olly for always smiling even when times get tough
- I would like to praise Manraj for always having a smile on his face even when he is having a difficult day
- I would like to thank Mr Bracken for always waiting so patiently for my registrations to end. He brings a smile into the classroom when he enters unannounced and is incredibly useful for ensuring timekeeping is on point!
Interform Update
There’s still all to play for in this year’s Interform competition. Take a look at the scores on the doors at the end of the autumn term:
| A | 1st | 99.5 |
| B | 9th | 35 |
| C | 2nd | 81.5 |
| D | 7th | 55.5 |
| E | 5th | 62 |
| F | 3rd | 71.5 |
| G | 4th | 66 |
| H | 6th | 58.5 |
| J | 8th | 40 |
Les Misérables
Max D (5F) and Charlie D (5G) report back on the superb Senior School Musical – what a performance!
Last half term, Hampton and LEH performed a joint senior musical of Les Misérables. A lot of hard work and effort was put into this with rehearsals starting in the summer term of last year, every Tuesday and Thursday after School and full day Sunday rehearsals. However, in the end it was worth it because once all the lines and songs had been learnt, rehearsals started to become really fun. The show week was really enjoyable with all the cast and crew. And even though the final performance had some technical issues, everyone persisted through it and I think it was the favourite musical I have ever done at Hampton.
Over the course of the last few months, the upper four years of both LEH and Hampton have been preparing the Senior School Musical Les Misérables. The rehearsal process started just before the summer holidays so that we could meet and get to know the other members of the cast and get an overview of the busy rehearsals to come after the holidays. At the beginning of September, we had three packed rehearsals a week where we learnt the songs and dialogue in an effort to put on a great performance of a very musically demanding show. A few weeks into rehearsals, we were fortunate enough to have a cast trip to watch professionals perform the show which gave us a lot of inspiration and motivation to work hard and put on an amazing show. As September left us and October commenced, we only had two weeks before the show and as a cast we were filled with nerves and excitement. The next two weeks went in a flash and none of us could believe it when we had just one more rehearsal before the opening night. Luckily, every show was sold out and we put on four demanding, tiring and excellent shows and we were rewarded with standing ovations every night. Overall, the whole experience was incredible and it will be quite hard to top the musical next year.
Fifth Years On the Water
Nileeth, Edmond, Zach, Zen and Yichen (5B) give us an update from the Boat Club:
Coming back to training in Fifth Year was a bit of a shock to the system! After a summer off, we were inducted into the J16 season with an epic amount of mileage on the river in pairs (nowhere to hide!) and loads of hard pieces on the ergs. Mr Lee and Mr Greenaway kindly threw some heavy weights into the mix, leaving us waddling round School with stiffness for the first weeks of term until we had adjusted to the new regime. But the fruits of our labours in that first half term were evident with a win J16 4+ at Bedford, wins at Hampton Small Boats Head in the J16 4+ and second place finishes respectively in those events. Perhaps the most exciting news was the brand-new event of the Junior Fours Head on the Tideway – the best course to race on in the UK. Despite the constant rain, the atmosphere was amazing, and we can’t wait to do it again next year.
Christmas Concert
Devan B (5D) and Aarav D (5A) have had a very busy musical term culminating in last week’s fantastic Christmas Concerts. Let’s find out more:
Last Friday’s Christmas Concert was a joyful celebration that brought the Hampton community together to welcome the festive season. The evening opened with the Voices of Lions, whose neat harmonies immediately set a magical atmosphere. Their rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas was beautifully controlled and full of warmth, showcasing the choir’s ability to blend carefully with emotional depth. They followed it with a lively and infectious performance of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, which had the audience smiling, tapping along, and fully embracing the Christmas spirit.
A charming highlight of the night came from the Consort of Voices, whose playful version of The Teddy Bears’ Picnic added a whimsical touch to the programme. Their clear diction and animated delivery made the piece delightful to watch and listen to. The concert concluded in grand style with the Symphony Orchestra, whose powerful and expressive performance provided a fitting finale. Their expansive number of talented musicians filled the hall and left the audience applauding enthusiastically.
Overall, the evening was a fantastic display of talent, teamwork, and festive cheer. It was an event that truly captured the spirit of our School community.
UK Linguistics Olympiad
Darshan S (5J) took part in the fiendishly difficult UKLO, let’s find out more:
Does a two-and-a-half-hour paper full of near-impossible questions sound like your kind of thing? Well, if the answer is yes, the UK Linguistics Olympiad might be your calling! This October, a strong cohort of 30 linguists sat the notoriously difficult paper, comprising of five tricky puzzles. The questions ranged from translating sentences in Iñupiaq, a language spoken by the Inuit people indigenous to Alaska, to matching up pictures to descriptions in Seri, a language isolate spoken in Northern Mexico. However, the hardest problem by far was making sense of phrases in Cantonese braille – as if braille alone wasn’t hard enough! Overall, it was a uniquely enriching experience, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to those with a passion for problem-solving. I was fortunate enough to be rewarded with a silver award in the competition, and enjoyed discussing the result with Mr Knibbs, along with four other high achievers. I look forward to competing in the Linguistic Olympiad again next year and hope some of you decide to take part too!
Classics Quiz Olympiad
Umair M (5F) tells us all about an exciting Classics event that Fifth Year classicists attended earlier in the term:
This term Chris K (5B), Ishaan A (5H) and I, alongside Fourth Year Shishir, took part in a Classics Olympiad. After a hasty piri-piri dinner, we made our way to Tiffin School to begin. There were 12 rounds of different Latin and Ancient History questions. My favourite rounds were the guess the myth by emojis and riddles in Latin. I thought that it was great that all the rounds were puzzles rather than just Latin and Ancient History questions. It certainly made it more fun. When we finished the Olympiad, we found out that our team, the Hampton Hoplites, had finished a respectable ninth place out of the 30 teams. Overall, it was a great event, and I hope I can do it again in the future.
Rugby Roundup
Jake O’R (5C) talks us through this term’s rugby fixtures:
As the U16 preseason began on a sweltering summers day at the end of August, the 30 members of the rugby cohort entered the School again with the will and want to perform. All eyes were on the opening fixture against KCS, which would start one of the toughest stretches of any school rugby fixture list. We travelled to the sun splashed paradise of Wimbledon and came up five points short against the fifth ranked team nationally the year previous, so heads were still held high. As we battled through the month of September unbelievable rugby was played by each member of the team, but sadly we came up short, much to the shock of many of the opposition coaches. However, we picked up wins at the end of the first half of term from encounters against Halliford and Orleans Park, which allowed us to progress to the regional final of the National Cup.
When we returned after the half term, sights were set on the illustrious Middlesex Cup, played on a bright Wednesday in November. We progressed to the cup after thtrr wins in our group to face London Oratory and Mill Hill, the latter we lost to in the final game of the day to come second, and a shock exit from the cup two weeks later to St Benedict’s was another bitter pill to swallow. The run of games picked up though, with two hard fought wins at the end of the season to Reading Blue Coat ad St Johns Leatherhead.
With that being the end of the 2025, sights are set for the final match of the season against Whitgift6, and then the 7s season will commence. The effort this team has put in this year has been nothing short of admirable, and all should be immensely proud of themselves. Record (all competitions) W:8 L:9 D:0
Football Roundup
So it turns out if you want to get some articles written about football, do not ask people in your Form… Either due to a rebellion against their Form Tutor or as a result of superstition and today’s fixture against Aldenham no articles have been received! So Mr Hooper reports on the last term’s action on the hallowed pitches of Hanworth Road:
The football teams have had a great term with the U16As and Bs both still being in their ESFA Cup competitions at the time of going print. The C team boast an incredible goal difference of 42 after some resounding victories including a win against the Bs which has seen Mr Malston banging on the Directors’ door asking for a promotion! Good luck to the As today who reignite last year’s triple header with Aldenham in the ESFA Cup.
Also in football, Social League football has gone from success to success with “Da Boizz” winning the latest league tournament, trumping “Sloth and Friends” into second and “The First XI” floundering in third. Thank you to all the Social League (and team) players for their efforts this term and lay off the mince pies over Christmas to comeback ready for next season!
Talk!
Not one, not two but three fascinating Talk! events this term. Rory M (5A) walks us through the most recent one with historian Helen Castor:
On Tuesday 2 December, historian and author Helen Castor gave a Talk! in the Hammond on Elizabeth I and the key events that defined her reign. It was essential listening for all the Sixth Formers doing A Level history, but there were also plenty of younger pupils and teachers and a large cohort of LEH students eager to hear about the Virgin Queen. The Talk! started with a summary of Elizabeth’s early life and her subsequent rise to the throne of England, seeing off numerous challengers and plots against her in the process. We learnt about how Elizabeth’s mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed when Elizabeth was only three, and that Elizabeth herself was imprisoned and accused of treason from a very young age, forcing her to adopt a resolute stance of opposition and give no indication as to what she was thinking. This would define her reign, as she deliberately avoided marriage and surrounded herself with loyal and competent advisors that guided and supported her during her reign. Overall, the Talk! was incredibly insightful into the reign of one of England’s most influential monarchs and allowed us to understand the challenges faced by English monarchs at the time, how these were heightened by being a woman and how she successfully overcame these challenges to leave a generally positive, albeit nuanced, legacy.
Making the impossible possible
Back by popular demand Max P (5E) sat down and interviewed Josh M-J (5E) about how to make the necessary changes to make into School on time.
Max – To set the scene, I ask you Josh to please lay out the state of your tardiness last year.
Josh – Let’s just say, stuff happened- life got in the way. Each morning bought a fresh surprise- forgetting to pack my bag the night before, not being able to find my clothes or simply taking too long eating my brekkie. Not to say I was late everyday- I did try my hardest. Simply put, my best effort just didn’t seem to be quite enough.
Max – Ok, with that in mind let’s get straight to the point, what changed?
Josh – I guess a spark was lit up inside me. I wanted to prove my Form Tutor wrong, to show him that I truly could come in on time. But, it wasn’t going to be easy. First, the period of change: no screen time in the morning, packing my bag the night before and leaving my uniform out on my desk. Then, the results came flooding in. Eight weeks, without a single detention. Ten without being late. I was a changed man.
Max – Ok, last one for our listeners, what would you recommend to help change things around for those who are still suffering the same thing as you did?
Take a look at the mirror. Breathe it in. Identify your problems. Find a solution. Take little steps first: avoid your phone in the morning, pack your bag the night before. Then, ramp it up. Go to bed early, get a good night’s rest. Be the early bird that catches the worm. If you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for me. Trust me, it’s worth it.
World School Chess Championships
Alex L (5D) gives us the next exciting instalment of his appearance at the World Schools’ Chess Championships:
As I woke up on the early morning of the second day of the event, I had no idea what was in store for us. We were paired against Sri Lanka; an even match, with ourselves being the slight favourites by rating. Whilst eating breakfast with the team, we discussed our team strategy; to win. And with that optimism we entered the playing hall, this time on the third table, being tied first for now…
Half an hour into the round everything seemed to go well, as we had solid positions on most boards, with myself pushing for a win early on. I had cornered my opponent into a losing position, with every single move allowing me to attack. It was then, when things fell apart. We were down 1-0 with two winning positions and one theoretically drawn, meaning if all went to plan, we could win 2.5-1.5. But alas, disaster struck as we dropped off one by one, thrown by the loss of the previous. Still thinking about our mistakes against Sri Lanka, we followed with another loss to the rapid Armenian team, which to give credit where it’s due was dominating by time on all boards, making it much more difficult for us to convert and win our better positions.
We walked down to team dinner with looks of disappointment but hope after support and encouragement from our accompanying teachers Mr John and Mr Doyle, for which the team was very thankful for. We knew that a mere half of the tournament ha passed, and if we focus, we’re still playing for gold. A good way to cool off was another game of football, some cards and a long night’s sleep. The third playing day of the event had continued with a draw against Cyprus (2-2) and a promising win against China, putting us at 3.5/5 rounds overall. Most importantly, it made us feel that we were back in the game, prepared to triumph in our last 2 games the following day. These two days were a good lesson to us to have more composure as a team and be able to quickly bounce back, without being discouraged by failure along the way.
We were ready for the final day of the championship to begin…
Stephen Spender Prize
The final report of the Blog comes to us from Kian IB (5F) who recently entered the prestigious Stephen Spender competition and received a fantastic commendation:
In this year’s Stephen Spender Prize, where pupils translate poems from different languages, I was pleased to receive a commendation in the U18 category. I translated Forough Farrokhzad’s poem, a famous Iranian poet, which was quite challenging. While there were many linguistic and stylistic challenges, I think the biggest difficulty lies in understanding the cultural and historical background behind her work. Her imagery is deeply connected to Iranian identity, politics, and social critique—layers that can easily be missed if you don’t interpret her poems carefully… My translation — “a product of the vast industrial machine of Plasco”— emphasizes her critique of how societal and institutional forces shape individuals, especially women. Farrokhzad uses this layered language to critique not only patriarchy but larger systems of power and bureaucracy. Her poetry still feels very relevant today, and she certainly deserves wider recognition as a important voice in world literature.
Take a look at Kian’s fantastic translation here.
