Welcome to the First Year Blog!
The interform competition is really heating up, and no, that’s not just the School’s radiators as the weather gets colder! Today saw the much-anticipated Interform Chess matches take place (results coming in next week’s blog), and next up we’ve got Interform Basketball on Tuesday. Time to swap pawns for points and checkmates for slam dunks – though let’s be honest, a First Year dunk might need a trampoline!
Thursday’s Christmas Concert was a showstopper, with First Years singing their hearts out in a festive flurry of joy and enthusiasm. The energy was electric – even if the late finish meant some boys were so tired they couldn’t write their blog pieces this week. A huge thank you to everyone who still managed to contribute and well done on stage!
Don’t forget the Shoebox Appeal for Solace Women’s Aid – the deadline is Wednesday. Wrap those boxes and bring in gifts for children who may not be as fortunate this Christmas. It’s a wonderful way to live out Hampton’s values of kindness and community.
Looking ahead, we’ve got the Carol Service at St Mary’s Church on Tuesday and the legendary Christmas Lunch on Thursday. Yes, it’s officially paper hat and pigs-in-blankets season! With just one more week left of term, let’s finish strong: top effort, best behaviour, and plenty of gratitude. Say thank you to your teachers, friends, and all the Hampton staff who’ve made this first term seriously excellent and seriously fun.
As for me, I’ll be putting up my Christmas tree and wrestling with the tangled lights. Wish me luck!
BASKETS, BUZZ AND BRAGGING RIGHTS
Calling all Basketball players! Get ready to shoot your shots, make your layups, and go for a dunk (though unlikely in the First Year!). This year’s interform competition continues with the First Year Interform Basketball on Tuesday at 12.40pm in the Sports Hall. If you need to change, you should change in your usual changing room for Sports afternoons. PE/Sports kits, and suitable trainers please! Organise your teams of 5, with a maximum squad size of 10.
Any questions, please see Mr Hooper.
SOLACE SHOEBOX APPEAL
The 2025 Shoebox Appeal is now live! This Christmas, Form Charity is organising a Shoebox Appeal in aid of Solace Women’s Aid. Solace is a leading specialist charity in the UK supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse. The lifesaving support that Solace provides to over 20,000 women, children and young people each year is so important.
Each pupil is asked to donate one item for their Form’s shoebox. Forms in the First to Fifth Year will be putting together shoeboxes for younger children. The items that Solace have suggested for the shoeboxes are as follows:
- Educational games
- Hair accessories (in particular products for Afro-textured hair)
- Sports equipment (e.g. balls)
- Puzzles
- Small Lego or building block sets
- Arts and craft sets
- Books, Stickers and stationary
- Soft toys/dolls
What are you waiting for, let’s get filling those shoeboxes!
JOYFUL JINGLES AND JOLLY VOICES
Today, it was the night of the annual First Year Christmas Concert. There had been this special buzz around us. It was, for most of us (including me!), our first time performing in the Hammond Theatre. We had rehearsed our songs tirelessly in our music lessons and had a rehearsal during period 3 as well. After the school day had finished, we headed home ready to come back to sing our hearts out in the concert. We prepared for the big moment and before we knew it, we were on the stage. I was in the front row and had a slight bit of nerves to begin with. As our first song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” I could tell we were growing in confidence every word we sang. Shortly after we began our second song, the lyrics still echo in my head: “Hark! Now hear the angels sing, a new king born today…”. Multiple performances followed ours from ROAR! and many more. Even though I couldn’t watch it, all of us went to the Lecture Theatre to enjoy ourselves with a movie!
By Pesandu W (1W)
TALK! WITH HELEN CASTOR
I was seated with like-minded people who were all interested in Helen Castor’s TALK! She is one of the leading historians in this decade. She talked about the hardships, behaviour and experience of Elizabeth I. As we sat down, Helen Castor told us about Elizabeth’s awkward situation when she was in her reign (1558-1603). This was all because Henry VIII had made a mess of the country’s religion and had several heirs. First, Elizabeth was a woman which meant (even after Queen Mary) that some people were still concerned about her place, since at the time people thought that men were bigger than women. This also meant that she could not marry since if she married one of her folks, it would be considered normal that her husband would be above her, but this obviously could not happen since she was the Queen. Even if she marries a foreigner, people will fear of an outlandish power controlling England. Elizabeth made it clear in a speech that she was not going to marry, but because she was a woman nobody listened. That was why she created the Virgin Queen – the Queen that God gave to the world and she was to stay in eternal youth.
Like a puzzle, Elizabeth’s words were normally different to what she meant. She was hard to read, and people were confused by her sometimes. One of the likely reasons is that she experienced trauma and shock from an early age because her mother Anne Boleyn was beheaded by Henry VIII. Her father and mother were not nice to each other!
Overall, I learned loads of different facts about Elizabeth I and Helen Castor has taught me many remarkable things that I will treasure for life. I think from all the Talks I have been to, I have learned so many different points, facts and things. I would encourage everyone to go to Talks.
By Julian H (1H)
BIG IDEAS AND BURGER BITES
Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to represent First Year in the SNRG meeting. In this meeting, all the Year Groups presented their ideas to chefs and catering managers on how to make lunch at Hampton even better. My idea was to implement “Theme Days” for example Taco Tuesday, Mediterranean Mondays, Best of British, etc.
Other ideas included: more options post-match teas, breakfast available at break time, salt and pepper available at all times, improve vegetarian options, etc.
I was the first one to present their idea and the last one to give a speech! As I started talking, I realised that even though they were looking at me, the other children weren’t really listening, mainly because the chefs brought in different vegetarian options for all of us to try and give our feedback! All our ideas were taken into account by the catering team.
It was my first experience taking part in a meeting and presenting in public, I even memorised my speech! All the food was excellent, especially the burger and I had a very good time. I really recommend you volunteer to attend the next meeting, you never know what will be discussed and what food you will get to try out too!
By Miguel B (1B)
SCREENS, SCROLLS AND SMART CHOICES
Last Friday, the First Year had a Digital Wellbeing morning as part of the PSHE curriculum. Instead of the standard first three periods, we were learning about AI, gaming, and balancing screen time. First, we learned about how news has changed over the years. Back in the day, people either read newspaper articles or watched news on their TV. The news would change as editors wrote articles depending on what most people liked and wanted to read. Now most people read news digitally, and algorithms gives you the news based on views and what you’ve looked at. After that, we had a talk in a different room about the positives and negatives about gaming and about how instead you could spend your time differently doing things such as board games or other games not involving devices. Then after that, for our final period, we looked at how looking down at a device can affect your body. For example, looking down at your phone constantly can cause bad neck pains and the same goes for your back. We also looked at how to sit up straight when playing on a device or using a laptop as a straight posture causes less damage to your body. After that it was break and Digital Wellbeing morning was over.
By Karter E (1J)
LIGHTS, LENSES AND LEARNING
In the Theatre Tech Club, we had a fascinating, hands-on opportunity to observe the complex engineering behind the equipment used in our very own professional venue, The Hammond Theatre. Led by Mr Thompson, we gathered around a broken ETC light fixture, which is a vital part of our School productions. To make sure everybody stayed safe and only experts undertook important work, we watched intently as Mr Thompson carefully took apart the unit, revealing the intricate internal components – from the array of wiring to the sophisticated circuit boards and the precise optics of the lens system – giving us an amazing insight into the technology that illuminates our stage. Despite all of us trying to understand the fault, the issue proved too complex for a quick fix during the session, bringing home the need for professional repair and teaching us an important lesson concerning the technical issues in live theatre. The session was truly inspiring, and we are looking forward to our next meeting, which will be on lighting techniques in the Drama Hall. Our next production is Treasure Island. Get ready for the pirates!
By Ruben V (1F)
BIG QUESTIONS AND BRIGHT MINDS
This is for any Hamptonian or future Hampton pupil as I want to recommend an amazing club. It is called Young Philosophers and will interest anyone who likes thinking about things in more than one way. Like last week, we did an awesome hectic dialectic on how to live a good life in a Roman’s point of view. Since there are four of us, we each chose our side and had a few minutes to research. Then, we started. Anyone who wanted to make a point stood up – but the point had to be agreeing or disagreeing with the last person’s point. Any good argument would get thrown a sweet by Mr Hill, our amazing club leader and also my Religious Studies teacher. All First to Third years are welcome and I recommend going, and not just for the sweets!
By Aahil U (1G)
THE BATTLE OF THE SUBJECTS
Let’s hear from Avirat P (1H) who has written a poem about all of his subjects:
In the halls of thought
Where ideas ignite
The subjects awaken
With thoughts alight
Maths is first to strike
Firing away its quickfire problems without a second to lose
Addition, Factors and Algebra
There is no time to choose
English quickly responds to scene of war
Reading from the dictionary – complexing words galore
Slowly and slowly boring the others to death
Till the fall to the floor
Science strikes with lab coats shining bright
Physics showing the power of pure light
Chemistry unveiled its harmful, irritant and toxic chemicals
Biology teaching the body to fight, which looks like a knowledge quest to last
Ohhh! History whispers, with a sombre tone,
You stand upon the ground that I won
Bringing memory of all human past
The lessons learnt are going to last
Let’s us paint the world with colourful Art
With brush, canvas and creative fire
Bringing our spirit higher
So, as they argue with passionate thought
These are various lessons which we are taught
Each worth a prize,
Reflected in our eager eyes.
FACT FINDING FUN ACROSS HAMPTON
We are fortunate to study in our big school campus (it’s on a beautiful 28-acre green field site), as we can enjoy the state-of-the-art facilities across all areas of school life. Yet have you ever tried hunting in School? No, I am not going to hunt deer, bears or any game, as it is not legal. I am talking about hunting for facts about Hampton!
After I read the First Year blog every week, I scroll down the page and look for the “Hampton Hunt” section and the challenge of the week. Throughout the last couple of weeks, I’ve been visiting the Language Corridor, the Cloisters, and most recently, the Geography Courtyard. This week, I went to all the staircases and looked for the wonderful art piece (I hope my answer will be correct). As I went around the School, I’ve actually learnt a lot of facts about Hampton without noticing. That’s why I look forward to the Hampton Hunt every week!
Let’s go hunting for facts together in the weeks ahead!
#SeriouslyExcellent #SeriouslyFun
By Hiu Yeung K (1P)
Terrific Tempest
Our amazing First and Second Year thespians didn’t just perform Shakespeare’s The Tempest — they blew us away! From magical storms to unforgettable characters, the production had it all. Missed it? Or just want to relive the drama? Hit play on the video below and dive back into the magic!
Food Bank Collection
Please support our Feltham Food Bank Collection on Friday 12 December. They are particularly in need of tinned meat, coffee, washing pods and biscuits Please bring your donations to the front of School from 8.15am. Thank you!
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).
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 Ronak B (1F) on being named this week’s Tutee of the Week!
Ronak shows enthusiasm, overwhelming positivity, politeness and helpfulness in all that he does, and is always willing to give everything a go – well done Ronak!
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!
Last week’s challenge: What colour is the staircase that this wonderful art piece is on? Mr Jimenez’ favourite Hampton art piece is on the blue staircase! (Blue is also his favourite colour!)
A big shout out to the First Years who correctly found the answer to last week’s Hampton Hunt. Well done to Karter E, Miguel B, Mahad H, Andreas C, Lewie G, Pesandu W, Hiu Yeung K, Aditya S, Mikaeel K, Rhys C, Owen S-W, Arav B, Ryan P, Ahrin K, Rayan S, Ted D, Edin H, Dominic B, Sam W, Julian H, Arthur C, Edward G and Finley S. Don’t forget to collect a merit from your Form Tutor next week!
This week’s challenge:
Where would you find this Christmas tree that was put up this year?
