Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
With the penultimate week of the school year now behind us, the countdown to the summer holidays is well and truly on! Just one week remains, and the excitement has been building across the Second Year, although that’s not to say we’ve been slowing down, especially as the Interform Competition edges toward its thrilling conclusion! This week featured two major events: the always-spirited Charity Fun Run on Monday and the high-stakes Interform Quiz Final on Thursday. With only the Swimming Gala left to go, everyone is very close and just three points separate the top two forms. As you can see, it’s still all to play (or should I say swim?) for…
2B – 42
2F – 50
2H – 62
2J – 49
2L – 49
2P – 41
2W – 65
The results of the Interform Fun Run were:
1. 2H – judges particularly enjoyed the team tunnel and the pause for a group huddle as they made their way around the course!
2. 2J
3. 2W
4. 2B
5. 2P
6. 2L
7. 2F
Special shoutouts go to Miss Winstock and Mr Hill who participated alongside their form, 2H, including in the barrel rolls towards the finish line!
The Interform Quiz results were:
1. 2W
2. 2P
3. 2B
4. 2L
5. 2J
6. 2F
7. 2H
In this edition, pupils reflect on last week’s superb Geography Trip and there’s a powerful write-up of several lucky Historians’ visit to the National Archives, alongside book and film reviews, an egg-cellent Tutor Question of the Week, another tricky Cryptic Clue, and our ever-popular Weekly Quiz (remember, this counts towards Interform too!).
It’s Giving Day next week and there are plenty of things happening around School. Take a look here and you can find out exactly what we’re raising funds for and how you can get involved. It promises to be an exciting few days at School!
Merit Milestones
Great to see some of you still collecting merits. Well done to the following Second Year Hamptonians:
Caesar Chen – 40
Toby Baker – 10 LION merits
Tutor Question of the Week
Each week the pupils decide on a question to ask all the Second Year Form Tutors.
This week’s question comes from Toby W (2B):
How do you like your eggs in the morning?
- Scrambled – 2B, 2W, 2L (tied), Mr Hill (with crème fraiche and chives), Mr Lee (scrambled with lots of butter – never milk!)
- Fried – 2H, Miss Eamens, Mr Boyes (inside a breakfast muffin!)
- Boiled –
- Poached – Miss Holt, Mrs Owen
- Omelette – 2L (tied)
Have you ever had a burning question you’ve always wanted to ask your Form Tutors?! If so, then please send your suggestions for a future Tutor Question Time to e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk.
Historical Archives Adventures
Just before the Easter holidays, the History department announced something that would strike excitement into the heart and historical mind of many a Second Year; they would be holding a competition based on the Suffragette Movement and the Fight to End the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The prize? A day trip to the National Archives in Kew!
My partner Richard and I worked throughout the Easter writing the script for and filming a documentary on the life of Toussaint Louverture, the man who had helped end slavery in the French Caribbean. After much anticipation and waiting, the winners of the competition were announced… Our hard work had paid off! My partner and I were among the lucky winners of the competition.
On Tuesday 24 June, which was a mufti day, I came to School wearing uniform. Why? Because the 21 winners were embarking on the trip to the Archives. After a surprisingly short journey, we arrived at the Archives. We walked past one corner and were greeted by a large concrete building with no windows that looked more like a nuclear bunker than a document storage area. This was the repository. Next to it was the entrance, a more modern looking building that seemed to be made of windows. Inside, on the floor, there was a large mosaic that said: “Ministry of Time Travel”, a reference to the interactive learning game that can be found on the official website. We then met our workshop leader for the morning, Andrea, who took us to a room on the first floor. There we had an introduction to the history of the National Archives. In 1836 a young man named Henry Cole was working with some historical documents and discovered a dead rat in a box containing an important parchment. The rat had eaten the document, and this made Henry Cole realise the importance of storing historical documents properly. This led to the founding of the original National Archives in Central London, which was sadly bombed in the Second World War, resulting in a loss of 3% of the documents (which is actually more than you may think considering there were originally 15 million documents).
Andrea’s workshop was on the Suffragette Movement of 1903. We were shown many documents on famous suffragettes. For example, Annie Kenney was known for being arrested many times, and went on hunger strikes in prison. She had to be force fed 297 times during her time in prison. At the end, we were also shown a shocking image. A suffragette was having an image taken of her by the police, yet she refused to look up. The police had to get a policeman to hold her head up so she would look at the camera. They had also painted out the policeman’s arm before putting it on the newspapers. The reason I found this so shocking was because of the atrocity of the barbaric actions used by the police to fight the suffragettes.
Afterwards, we had our lunch and were given a chance to go to the gift shop. There were many postcards and books to choose from. There was also an array of plushies of the unnamed rat of Henry Cole. We also enjoyed some wonderful piano performances from members of the group on the piano at the main entrance of the building.
Our second workshop was led by Sarah. Sarah’s workshop was on the Transatlantic Slave Trade in British colonies. We were shown a book in which a slave overseer would write down the punishments given to slaves who “disobeyed” orders. Some were for shockingly ridiculous reasons, such as not being able to harvest as much coffee crops as another. We were then split into groups and were given different sources to do with the Slave Trade for us to discuss. My group received a flag drawn by a slave on a plantation. The flag featured a soldier of the British Empire, and multiple flags of England, as well as an image of two slaves getting married and a slave wearing extravagant clothes. The interpretation for this image was that the slaves were not against the British Empire but simply wanted to be treated better and be able to get married.
I felt that this trip was extremely educational, and I found the documents incredibly enriching. My favourite part was learning about the rat of Henry Cole. I never expected the National Archives to have such an interesting history!
By Ethan W (2B)
Take a look at some of the fascinating entries in the video below:
Geography trip to River Cuckmere
Last week, we had an amazing opportunity to visit River Cuckmere on what was a scorching day. Located near the South Downs, and surrounded by acres of greenery, a vivid landscape lay right in front of our very eyes to admire and explore. We began our trip by walking along the riverbanks and discovering many meanders that had been shaped over time. In pursuit of the beach – the stop for our refreshments and lunch break – we marched on in the sweltering heat. Along the way, our teachers explained various things like the difference between erosion and deposition, and compared to classroom lessons, we were able to see real examples of both! Overall, this trip was highly enjoyable; we learned loads, got fresh air, and had laughs with friends throughout. It made Geography feel real and now we understand more about rivers just by seeing one up close.
By Riyaan G (2B)
Reviews aplenty!
The Recruit Review
The Recruit is the first book within the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore. It follows the life of James Adams (formerly known as James Choke) as he becomes an orphan and gets recruited by CHERUB, an organisation that trains children to become spies. He passes the tests to become a Cherub agent and starts basic training which you have to pass to take part in missions. He gets paired up with Kerry, a Cherub attempting the basic training for the second time. She had to drop out of the basic training for the first time because of a shattered kneecap. Due to this not having fully healed, she asked James to go easy on her in training. After training, he was given a mission, and was briefed by Amy, his swimming instructor. It involved them pretending to be siblings and go undercover into a settlement that contains the leader of the terrorist group Help Earth who plan to kill the leaders of oil companies and officials in a conference called Petrocon. After infiltrating and befriending the people close to the terrorists, they managed to get them arrested without suspicion. It is a great book as it combines everyday experience with the improbable. It is packed with action and full of humour – I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes James Bond and Alex Rider.
By Ian L (2F)
Interstellar Review
Interstellar is a nerve-racking movie that I recently watched. It’s about NASA explorers who embark on a mission in space to search for a new world where human beings can live because Earth is on the brink of collapse. It is packed with action and suspense but also emotional moments, especially between Cooper, one of the main characters, and his daughter. I liked how Interstellar merged science with adventure. The special effects were unbelievable, and the music just captivated everything. Overall, Interstellar was an influential movie that had me in awe from start to finish.
By Shaurya D (2L)
Equality Picnic
On Monday 30 June, our annual Equality Picnic takes place over by the Clubhouse during lunch from 12.35 to 1.45pm. This is a great event, organised by the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Club, the Neurodiversity Society and the Pride Society, coinciding with the last day of the UK’s Pride Month. There will be softball, parlour games and popsicles (amongst other things) and it is a chance to have an awesome time while celebrating the diversity and inclusion which makes Hampton a great place to be. It is down to all of us, regardless of who we are, to help make everyone in the School feel part of the wonderful thing that our community is, and throwing yourself into this event wholeheartedly would be a great place to start.
Cryptic Clue
As a renowned devotee of the club, Michael C (2J)’s passion for cryptic crosswords has extended into creating his own for us to try and solve!
The answer to last week’s clue ‘Emit recess?’ (9) was…
‘Breaktime’!
Reason: The word ‘emit’ is an anagram of time, quite literally breaking the word time!
Can you guess this week’s?
Clue: Clue: Colour in third year (3)
Hint: This is a hidden clue
Come back next week to find out if you guessed correctly!
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 Tom J (2B). Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here.
Here are the answers to last week’s quiz:
- In the UK, what is the term for the government’s legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by which year? 2050
- What type of rock is responsible for the white colour of the cliffs near Cuckmere Haven? Chalk
- Digitalis is the poisonous plant used by Stapleton in an attempt to weaken Sir Henry Baskerville’s heart. What is it more commonly known as? Foxglove
- What is the term for a Member of Parliament who does not hold a ministerial or shadow ministerial position, and is therefore neither part of the government nor official opposition leadership? Backbencher
- What is the process by which carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere by plants and stored in trees, soils, and oceans called? Carbon sequestration
Well done to Shaurya D, Mehrad M, Naivedya A, Ilakian D, Toby B and Reuben N. Don’t forget to collect a Merit!
If you’re keen to write some general knowledge questions for the Blog, please email e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk
