Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
Welcome back, Second Years! After a well-earned Easter break, we’ve jumped straight back into school life – and what a sunny start it’s been! With the glorious weather came a rare but very welcome adjustment to our uniform policy (no blazers or ties – we won’t complain!). Despite the relaxed dress code, it’s been a packed and energetic return, with plenty going on both inside and outside of the classroom.
Looking ahead to next week, we’ve got something very sweet to look forward to: the Second Year Form Charity Bake Sale is taking place at breaktime on Tuesday 6 May in aid of this year’s brilliant Form Charity partners – Shooting Star, the Alzheimer’s Society, and UNICEF. Hopefully, many of you will embrace your inner Paul Hollywood this weekend and rustle us all up some tasty treats! Whether you’re baking or buying, make sure to get involved and support a fantastic cause (and maybe even enjoy a brownie or two along the way…).
This week, we have a particularly bumper blog; read on to find out more about ISFA squad successes, Interform photography results, some fabulous Easter adventures, and all the exciting things coming up this term – including steel pans, school trips, Interform Athletics, and a particularly quacking Tutor Question of the Week!
Merit Milestones
Just one merit milestone to celebrate this week – well done to James Ayres, who’s now on 70 (fantastic!)
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 Finn M (2J):
Would you rather have to fight off:
- One gorilla-sized duck – 2H
- Ten duck-sized gorillas – 2B, 2L, Mrs Owen
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.
Interform Photography
Over the Easter break, Second Years were tasked with photographing ‘the beauty of Spring’ for our Interform Photography competition. Miss Tiller and I had the challenging, albeit enjoyable, task of judging the entries and, after some deliberation, the results are…
1st – 2P
2nd – 2H
3rd – 2W
4th – 2B
5th – 2F
6th – 2L
Sadly, we didn’t get any entries from 2J, so they came 7th by default!
Although we judged the entries from each form as a whole, our three individual winners were Albert K (2P), Ollie S (2H) and Henry S (2W).
Very well done to all who got involved and be sure to take a look at the gallery to see our winning entries!
ISFA Squad Success
After we returned from Easter, Mr Hurst got in touch to let us know about the success of several Second Years during the ISFA squad selection process. Our particular congratulations go to Thomas Y (2W), Neil M (2L) and Rafi B (2W) who were chosen from over 65 attendees to represent London. Here’s what Mr Hurst had to say:
At the start of the Easter holiday, the U13 ISFA Representative Festival took place at Haileybury School. Three Hamptonians: Thomas, Neil and Rafi all took part having been selected for the ISFA London squad, after performing extremely well in the 10-month training program leading up to the festival. We are still waiting to hear who has been selected for the U14 National Squad, however, having been there as a coach for the London team I saw first–hand how well they conducted themselves on and off the pitch and represented the School in true Hampton fashion. Regardless of if they are selected for the national squad or not, being one of the 20 players representing the London region (from the 65 that took part in the training program) is still a fantastic achievement as it is made up of some of the traditionally strongest footballing schools in the country.
Summer Term Excitement!
Now that the spring term has ended, we are in the shortest term of the year: the summer term. In the spring term, there were many exciting things happening and it seemed as if almost every week there was some sort of competition whether it was for Interform or academic! Yet still, after such an exciting term there are more events to happen. These are some events that I am excited for in the summer term. I am really excited for the Caribbean Steel Pans experience which will be happening next Tuesday. I think that it is going to be really fun to learn a new and rare instrument!
Surprisingly, I am excited for exam week to come along but not due to the exams – because of the Interform Athletics! In my opinion this is the best Interform competition because everyone can participate in a wide variety of sports for different skills. Then, of course, I am excited of the half term to come along after a hard week filled with important exams. The first week back we start off with an RS & Philosophy Trip, and later in the half term a Geography Trip and also a History Trip! I personally think that the Geography Trip will be the best but that is also because I really like Geography. My unbiassed opinion is that all of the trips will be great and a way to learn through a different perspective similar to No Limits Week.
I am also excited to be a part of the Drama play The Hounds of the Baskervilles, but I think as an audience member I would be excited to go and watch too. I can tell you from behind the scenes that it will be a really funny show for the audience!
By Ioan P (2J)
Easter Escapades
The morning alarm on my phone rang. It was time to go to Hadrian’s Wall School Trip. Eager to get to the historic site, I sprinted out of the door, rushed into the car with half a croissant in my mouth, and came to school at 7:20am. We boarded the coach with our friends, waiting for the long journey to Chester, and then to the wall itself. After a few toilets breaks at the service station and some long-needed leg stretching, we collected our sandwiches and arrived at the city Chester. Chester was Once a Roman controlled city, its ancient Roman name being Deva.
Firstly, we set off walking to our picnic spot, next to the ancient Minerva shrine. Minerva, or Athena in Greek, was the goddess of tactical warfare and wisdom. Many people prayed to the ancient shrine, and it remains standing boldly. It is very rare as unlike other shrines in museums, it has remained in its original location since it was built. After praying to Minerva for good weather, we ate some lunch and set off to the Roman gardens. In the beautiful gardens, we saw ancient Roman pillars, mosaics, and even ancient underfloor heating systems called Hypocausts! A few minutes away, we came across the only surviving Roman amphitheatre in the UK. It was home to gladiator shows that brought up to 1000 people from far and wide to see the spectacle. We learnt how women and children sat at the back, how gladiators faced bears and boars, and how gladiators were prisoners of war and slaves. Unfortunately, only half of the amphitheatre has been excavated, since it would take major demolition work to take out the remaining half submerged underground. We visited and walked around the high Roman walls that were surrounding the fort in a playing card shape. On the way, we saw famous landmarks such as the Deanery Fields, King Charles’ tower, and the mysterious elliptical building, that no one knows what purpose it served.
We then continued with our coach journey past beautiful rainbows and tall hills to our accommodation, the Sill at Hadrian’s wall. The rooms were en-suite and the beds were comfortable, and spacious, and the food being better than I expected, especially the tasty hash browns. We had evening entertainment, talking about the Roman armour, and what legionary soldiers and auxiliary soldiers wore, and their lifestyles. We learnt that legionary soldiers were Roman citizens, and had more rights compared to the Auxiliary soldiers, who were just outsiders and foreigners who were paid to join the Roman army. We snuggled into bed, and slept to our hearts content, Then, the unthinkable happened. While we were sleeping, the fire alarm malfunctioned! In our pyjamas, we went outside in freezing cold conditions, however we were saved at the last moment by the call that it was a false alarm. The teachers kindly extended our sleep for an extra hour!
The next morning, we got into our hiking gear, and met up with Kevin, our guide at Cawfields. While walking some of the length of Hadrian’s Wall, we enjoyed looking at wildlife, including ducks, swans, sky larks, and (lots) of breeding frogs! Hadrian’s wall was beautiful and fascinating, and we were all in awe at the sheer craftsmanship and the effort it took for the Romans to build the entirety of the wall. Then we arrived at the Roman Army Museum, saw some 3D films, and tested our strength on a replica Syrian archer’s bow. Afterwards, we departed to Vindolanda, and saw the famous tablets, and ruins, that gave us a good insight into what a Roman soldier’s life would have looked like. When we arrived at the hostel we did a quiz, and slept immediately, as we were absolutely shattered. I am glad to inform you that no fire alarms went off that night!
On the final morning, we got ready to depart the Sill and said our goodbyes. We started walking up Hadrian’s Wall again, and saw no-more Sycamore gap, and came together as a group to form human letters that said Salve! I was part of the V, and it was very good fun. After some more walking, we saw beautiful cliffsides, and lakes, along with steep walks and strong winds that almost swept us off our feet. On our final visit, we visited Houstead’s Roman fort and viewed the barracks. Finally, we visited the ancient Roman fort toilets, nicknamed by us as the ‘skibidi latrine’, and we all enjoyed a final group photo, before boarding on the bus back home.
In the end, the trip was very jam packed with fun and was certainly one of the most informative and fun trips I have done so far at Hampton! Thank you very much to Miss Winstock and all of the teachers who took us.
By Alexander B (2L)
Over the holidays, I went back to my home country, Pakistan, with my family to visit my relatives. Most of my relatives live in Pakistan, so after a fun trip to Hadrian’s Wall with my classmates, me and my family took off from London Heathrow on a Qatar Airways flight bound for Hamad International Airport, supposedly the best airport in the world! When we arrived there, I was stunned by how modern the airport building was, with a whole train system running above our heads! After that, things just got better because, to my surprise, we all got upgraded to Qatar Airways’ business class for our next 2-hour flight to Karachi. The business class was awesome and even had a whole bar in the back! I really enjoyed lying fully flat in a bed whilst 35 000 feet in the sky.
After landing, we were greeted with the morning sky and rush hour. From the airport, we headed to my grandmother’s house, where we would be staying for the rest of the trip. On the first day, we decided to take it easy, resulting in us having a 5-hour nap. After that, we visited my uncle’s house, where we met my cousins, uncle and aunt, but that was pretty much it. Days 2 and 3 were similar, with us going to my maternal grandmother’s house and meeting more relatives. Day 4 was one of my favourite days by far as at night, me, my dad, my uncle and one of my cousins attended a T20 cricket match, where we watched the Karachi Kings beat the Multan Sultans in an upset.
When day 5 came round, I went along to surprise one of my cousins on her birthday. We went to a massive mall where we played laser tag and went to an arcade. The trip got even better because on the next day, I found myself in another huge mall in which I bought some great souvenirs, using the money that my relatives were kind enough to give me. Finally, on day 7, me, my family, and a handful of my relatives made our way to a 5-star beach resort, which was something out of this world. There was a whole private beach, 3 public swimming pools (one of which was an infinity pool) and even private pools to every room! I even got to ride a quad bike at full speed on the beach! With a whole villa to myself and my cousin, we explored and soaked in as much as we could in the 1 night that we were there. On the next day, sadly, it was time to go. After a scrumptious breakfast, we headed back to my cousin’s house, where I said farewell, as on the next day, we got ready to head back home. After visiting the best airport in the world once more, we boarded our Qatar Airways A350-1000 (in which I got a peek into the business class Q-Suites cabin!) bound for London.
By Rayyan S (2J)
Towards the end of the Easter holidays, my family and I went to Virginia Water Park, which is a not too far of a drive from Hampton. When we reached Virginia Water (after a lot of traffic – it seemed like lots of people had had a similar plan to us!), we were almost immediately greeted by a black swan – I never knew these existed! And, just a few minutes of uphill walking later, we saw the famous waterfall called the Cascade. It measures at 9.1m tall and has been standing for nearly 250 years. With some more uphill walking, we were met with the Leptis Magna ruins. There’s a lot of history behind these – they originally came from a Roman city of the same name, which is actually located in Libya today! The ruins were then previously kept in the British Museum from 1816, until they were gifted to the park in 1826, before being rebuilt in 2009.
We headed back to get a small snack from the café, and we then set off for one last shorter walk in the opposite direction. It was there where we saw the last landmark of the day – the popular totem pole. It was gifted to the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1958 and has stood there up to now, but it might not be here for much longer… This is because over the past 60 years of its existence in the park, it has started to deteriorate and has slowly lost its colour and charm. It is scheduled to be taken down later this year. Overall, I really enjoyed the views (you can see a picture below), and I would definitely go there again. If you haven’t, please visit it whenever you can!
By Sujay N (2L)
While I was in America, I went to the UN (United Nations) headquarters in New York. Our guide was from South Korea, and an employee of the UN. He explained that people from all nations work for the UN. The UN was created in 1945 to stop future wars and most importantly WW3 from happening after the horrors of the two previous world wars. The first Secretary General was Trygve Lie, who famously described it as ‘the most difficult job in the world’, and the current one being António Guterres.
There are three founding pillars of UN headquarters which are: peace and security, development, and human rights. They have 195 flags listed in alphabetical order from the 193 member states and the two observer states, which are the State of Palestine and the Holy See. The artwork collected in the UN headquarters are very diverse, with donations from Italy, Norway and many more. For example, there is a metal globe near the entrance of the headquarters which was donated from Italy. They also have a list of human rights on a wall, with illustrations to help everyone understand them, as not everyone can read or write.
Every official meeting they have a device to translate into six languages: English, Russian, Spanish, French, Chinese and Arabic. The device is put on your ear which fully covers it to translate the language spoken. The area/council room was open to the public until the 1990s due to safety concerns. The Trusteeship council used to discuss issues with colonialism and the sharing with borders of that kind, but after colonialism was demolished, it was still being used for more unique issues and concerns. The guide told us that some K-pop groups from his country actually performed there.
The UN sustainable development goals (or SDGs) are: No poverty, Zero hunger, Good health and well-being, Quality education, Gender equality, Clean water and sanitation, Affordable and clean energy, Decent work and economic growth, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, Reduced inequalities, Sustainable cities and communities, Reasonable consumption and production, Climate action, Life below water, Life on land, Peace, Justice and strong Institutions, and finally partnership for the goals which have been listed previously. We also walked through a section between the two rooms, which included statistics on spending globally in comparison with military spending of all countries, with an annual 2.4 trillion dollars spent on military worldwide, 224 billion dollars on developmental assistance. The UN budget is noticeably smaller at around 4 billion dollars. There were also many artworks displayed throughout the tour.
By Erik P (2W)
Arriving in Kashmir felt like stepping into a painting. After touching down, we headed straight to Aru Valley. The lush green meadows, dotted with wildflowers, stretched as far as the eye could see. Next was Chandanwari, where the river rushed over smooth stones, and Betab Valley, named after a Bollywood film because of its movie-perfect scenery. After a quick lunch, I tried a pony ride in Pahalgam. Trotting through pine forests and along bubbling streams, I felt like a true explorer. The next day, we set off early for the four-hour drive to Gulmarg. Towering peaks appeared on the horizon, their snow-caps gleaming in the sun. Once there, I couldn’t wait to go sledging down the slopes. Sitting on a wooden sled, I pushed off and zoomed down the hill. The chilly air whipped my face, and the perfect powdery snow made every slide smooth and fast.
Day three was all about height and speed! First, we rode the famous Gulmarg cable car—the second highest in the world. As we climbed, the landscape unfolded beneath us: forests gave way to snowfields, and distant villages looked like tiny toy houses. At the top, I strapped on skis for the first time. For an hour, I glided over the white slopes, sometimes stumbling but always getting back up. It was challenging, exhilarating, and a lot of fun. On day four, we left the mountains behind and drove to Srinagar, the heart of Kashmir. Our first stop was the Mughal Gardens. Nishat, Shalimar, and Chashma Shahi each had perfectly trimmed lawns, fountains, and terraced flowerbeds bursting with colour.
Another early start on day five for a trip to Sonmarg. The highway wound alongside rivers and waterfalls, and before long we reached the town. From there, I hopped on another pony for a ride up to Thajiwas Glacier. Snow clung to the jagged glacier rocks, and the air was crisp and fresh. The pony’s hooves crunched over the frozen path, and every turn revealed a new breathtaking view. We were back in Srinagar on day six, I spent the day exploring local streets and markets. I strolled past houseboats floating on Dal Lake, their wooden decks decked with potted plants. The shikaras—brightly painted boats—bobbled gently as they ferried visitors. All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. Packing my bags, I felt both tired and thrilled by everything I’d seen. Kashmir had offered adventure, beauty, and memories to last a lifetime.
By Shaurya D (2L)
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 our last clue ‘Only Second Year art hoards mistakes’ (6) was…
‘Errors’!
Reason: ‘Only second’ indicates only considering every other letter of the following words, which, in this case, are ‘year art hoards,’ as ‘mistakes’ is the definition. If you only consider every other letter of ‘year art hoards’ you get ‘errors,’ which means mistakes!
Can you guess this week’s?
Clue: Start perfect for Mr Knibbs (10)
Hint: This is a charade clue, where you put two synonyms together to make the answer. The answer is comprised of synonyms of ‘Start’ and ‘Perfect.’
Come back next week to find out if you guessed correctly!
Guess the Year
Ready to test your time-travelling knowledge? Our inaugural edition comes from Nicholas S (2P) who got in touch to suggest this new feature. Have a go at our Guess the Year challenge and see if you can pinpoint the year when these historic and pop culture moments took place…
- The Fellowship of the Ring film was released
- Wikipedia Came into Existence
- The Australian National Team set a world record for the largest victory in an international football match, beating American Samoa 31-0
Come back next week for the answer!
Pet of the Week
Every week we are meeting one of Second Year’s furry (or scaly!) friends. This week we have two pets of the week! Here’s why Wilf W (2J) thinks Bandit and Lyra deserve to be pet of the week:
These are my cats Bandit and Lyra. They are sisters and are Bengal cats. This means that they are very vocal and friendly. Originally, Bengals were tree cats, so they enjoy climbing around on fences and trees, trying to get as high as possible. They are mostly friends, but occasionally we have to break up a fight or two! Bandit can often be spotted outside our house, looking for attention from passers-by. They have a cat flap; however, they prefer to be let in personally through the front door. Luckily, neither cat seems to have an inclination for hunting, with the occasional fly or spider being their biggest prey! I am mostly jealous of them, when they jump onto my bed for another sleep, as I leave to catch the bus to school. In fact, they are probably asleep right now!
Would you like to see your pet featured? Email e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk with a picture of your pet, along with their name, age, and why you think they deserve to be featured. I can’t wait to meet them!
Marvellous Music
The start of a new term is the perfect time to get involved in one of the many musical ensembles that Hampton has to offer. All non-auditioned ensembles will be learning some new music this term, and we would love to have you involved! Take a look at some suggestions below:
- An orchestral instrumentalist (basically anything except piano, guitar, bass, piano & drums) up to Grade 5 – Concert Orchestra with Mr Ferrier (Wednesday 1.15pm – Music Hall) or Sinfonia with Miss van Ments and Miss Estall (Thursday 12.35pm – Music Hall)
- A junior singer – ROAR! with Miss Mattinson (Tuesday 1.15pm – Music Hall)
- A choral singer – School Choir with Mr Daly (Monday P3 – Music Hall)
- A rock musician – consider auditioning for the Rock Concert in June – auditions happening soon so keep an eye out for more information!
- A junior piano player – sign up for the Junior Keyboard Concert – again, keep an eye out for more information.
- A jazz musician – Junior Jazz with Mr Ferrier (Wednesday 12.35pm – Music Hall) or Swing Band with Mr Ferrier (Grade 4+, Wednesday 4.00-5.00pm – Music Hall)
Speak to anyone in the Music Department if you are interested in getting involved but unsure what is best for you!
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 (belated!) Easter-themed questions come from Sujay N (2L). Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here.
If you’re keen to write some general knowledge questions for the Blog, please email e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk
