Revolting Rhymes, Choral Society & Happy Holi!

LION merits

Sujay Neela – 10
Liangxu Zhong – 50 (what an achievement!)

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 Nirvaan B and Riyaan G (2B). What is your favourite chip condiment?

1. Vinegar
2. Ketchup – 2B, 2H, 2J
3. Mayonnaise – Mr Lee (specifically Japanese sushi mayo!)
4. Curry Sauce – 2W, Mrs Owen, Mr Boyes
5. Mushy Peas
6. Other (please specify!) – Miss Holt (baked beans!), Miss Tiller (Nando’s sweet chilli jam!)

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.

Club of the Week

I have been going to Pride Society on Monday and Thursday Lunchtimes, and I have found it great! It is a safe space where you can chat, and you don’t need to be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community to come. It runs from 12:35pm to 1:45pm, with a small break for people to get lunch. If you have a club or a music lesson on Monday or Thursday, you can leave Pride early to get lunch and go to your club. All in all, Pride has been brilliant, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone in Second Year!

Revolting Rhymes Renditions!

For the past few weeks, in drama, we worked on a play on a children’s story that was slightly altered to add more humour and to make it feel like it took place now in the present. My class, 2L, worked on the Snow White and there were three changes/ twist in our story.

Firstly, at the beginning, when the king lost his wife, he went to find another one almost straight away, and he did this on an app on his phone. And the reason that he chose the evil queen, was because he ran out of free swipes! And because he didn’t want to buy the premium version of the app, so he can have unlimited free swipes, so he was forced to choose her. Some things didn’t change like the magic looking glass (which told the evil queen the true answer to anything she asked), the part when the hunter faked Snow White’s death when the evil queen she asked him to kill her (because Snow White was prettier than the evil queen) and the fact that the hunter gave the queen a fake heart (to “prove” that he killed Snow White). Everything else was very funny.

The second twist was that the seven dwarfs were gamblers and had lost all their money on betting in the horse racing tracks! And thirdly, Snow White stole the evil queen’s looking glass so that the dwarves could ask it which horse would win the next race! And at the end, after choosing the winning horse, they were billionaires! These hilarious twists were extremely fun to perform.

In addition, we managed to watch the other form’s performances as well. I won’t explain all of them or I’ll be here all day. However, my top favourites were Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and the Three Little Pigs. The whole experience was fantastic, and I hope we will do this again in the future.

By Ethan C (2L)

Back to the Hammond Theatre and back with a bang! My first performance on the Hammond Theatre stage in a while, was highly enjoyable as we were treated to an evening filled with comedy and amusement. Not only did our groups perform our own allocated plays, but we were owed the pleasure of watching other forms’ performances as well. From the giants in Jack and the Beanstalk to Litte Red Riding Hood, everyone played their part to produce an excellent showcase to the audience. As I took my final bows, I reflected on the laughter that our performances brought with it and the smashing atmosphere it created. After this entertaining experience, I am more eager than ever to try out for more drama productions and be able to receive more incredible opportunities like this. Well done to everyone for putting a ton of effort into these plays!

By Riyaan G (2B)

Choral Society

On Saturday the 15 March, Hampton and LEH pupils gathered for one last practise before our massive final performance which started at 7pm. With Mr Roland as the conductor and the whole orchestra playing with us, we were excited for the grand finale in front of packed crowd in the Hammond.

The final show began as we went straight into Insanae et Vanae Curae by Franz Joseph Haydn, a song all in Latin which actually means “Insane and stupid worries flood our mind.” Based upon the title of the name you could probably imagine the riveting atmosphere. It was then followed by the Nelson Mass containing the pieces, Kyrie, Gloria in excelsis deo, Qui Tollis, Quoniam, Credo in unum Deum, Et incarnatus est, Et resurrexit, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Die qui tollis, Dona nobis pacem. I definitely have to give credit to our four soloists that performed with us. Our Soprano soloist was Kirsty McLean who had a powerful yet dolce voice. She is a Britten Pears Young Artist and a Wigmore Hall Young Artist and has worked at many opera companies across the UK, including her debut at the Royal Opera House this year! Stephanie Franklin was our Alto soloist who is known for touring and performing at international concerts with groups like The Sixteen, with whom she performed in Glock’s Orfeo and Aeneas at The Grange Festival. She has also performed with the BCC singers with whom she performed at last year’s BBC Proms. James Gilchrist was our renowned tenor soloist who began his full-time music career in 1996. He has performed in the Britten’s Church Parables in St Petersburg, London and at the Aldeburgh Festival; Nocturne with the NHK symphony in Tokyo and many more notable performances in San Francisco etc. He has also taken part in reward winning performances in Opera Houses in Paris and Rome. Michael Craddock our base soloist is a founding member of the reward-winning vocal group The Gesualdo Six, he performed with the ensemble for 10 years, touring internationally to venues including Wigmore Hall, the Sydney Opera House and St. John the Divine in New York.

I believe that the Choral Society was not just about music but about making friends and despite being the only Second Year in the Choral Society, along with Colin Y in the Orchestra, I was able to meet and interact with a lot more people from many other year groups!

By Ethan S-W (2L)

Happy Holi!

I recently had the most incredible time at Holi! It was a day full of fun, laughter, and lots of colours. Holi is known as the festival of colours, and it truly lived up to its name. Everywhere I looked, there was a burst of colour filling the air. By the end of the day, my face and clothes were completely covered with these vibrant colours! It felt like I was a part of a giant rainbow, and I loved every second of it.

Everyone around me were ecstatic. We danced, played with coloured powder, and shared big smiles with friends and strangers alike. The excitement was impossible to ignore, and I felt so happy being a part of the celebration. While the day was mostly about having fun, I also learned some interesting things about Holi. This festival marks the arrival of spring and celebrates the victory of good over evil. Celebrating Holi helped me understand the importance of letting go of grudges and embracing new beginnings. Looking back, Holi was more than just a festival—it was a day of freedom, joy, and togetherness. The memories of laughing, dancing, and being splashed with colours will stay with me for a long time.

Overall, my time at Holi was an unforgettable adventure. It was a beautiful reminder that life is full of bright moments, and sometimes you just need to dive in and enjoy the splash of colours!

By Shaurya D (2L)

Pet of the Week

Every week we are meeting one of Second Year’s furry (or scaly!) friends. This week, we are remembering Tarzan.

Here’s why Ben F (2J) thinks Tarzan deserves to be pet of the week:

This was my cat for the whole of my life up until now, he was thirteen when he passed. People living in Hampton village or by Hampton station, Tarzan’s hotspots of sightings, you will probably recognise him as “the cat from Plenty, the local pizza place” or “the ginger cat who keeps turning up in my house”. Well, let me explain:

At the age of ten Tarzan was diagnosed with cat dementia, a memory disorder that caused him to forget where he lived and who his owner was. He was always an adventurous cat, by name by nature, (once when he was a kitten, he scared of two foxes by himself in the middle of the night!) but when he was diagnosed things turned a whole lot crazier; we had heard from neighbours that he had wandered into their houses and he managed to escape and turned up in Putney!

For a year we let Tarzan live in a local pizza place. There he felt loved, and he had all the attention he wanted. Six months ago, he passed away in his sleep, and we held a small funeral in the village square with 20 people present watching the ashes be spread. “He was Hampton’s cat, and he will not be forgotten” were the words of the owner of the pizza place. He was daring. He was fearless. He had no clue how much we loved him. He was Tarzan. 

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!

Cryptic Clue

As a renowned devotee of the club, Michael C’s (2J) passion for cryptic crosswords has extended into creating his own for us to try and solve!

The answer to last week’s clue ‘The Atrium contains warmth’ (4) was…

‘Heat’!

Reason: The words ‘The Atrium’ contain the word ‘heat’ inside of them (T-he At-rium) with warmth being the definition.

Can you guess this week’s?

Clue: Play triads for section of school

Hint: ‘Play’ indicates an anagram

Come back next week to find out if you guessed correctly!

Rugby Fixture

The U13’s played in the Ibstock tournament on the 17/03/2025 which was Monday this week. They were very successful in this tournament, there was some well-played rugby in this tournament which helped the U13’s wins the tournament. They went undefeated winning all their games convincingly with the closest game being a 25-15 win over the hosts Ibstock. There was a wide variety of try scorers with some coming from the wing the carriers and the links. 

By Christian O (2J)

Food Bank Collection