From The Headmaster’s Study, 5 March 2021

While I have thoroughly enjoyed contributing some introductory thoughts for our Hampton@Home e-newsletters this term, I shall not be disappointed if this week’s edition proves to be the last of the genre. For all that has been collectively achieved during our Covid-imposed periods of guided home learning, I know that I am not alone in being delighted by the resumption of Hampton life ‘offline’ on Monday. As one of my colleagues observed earlier this week, none of us are especially keen on e-Hampton becoming a trilogy!

Our heartfelt thanks go to the many parent and staff volunteers who have been supporting the provision of lateral flow tests to pupils as part of facilitating our safe and secure return to the School site. As you will read in the related H@H story, a phenomenal ‘Team Hampton’ effort will, by next Friday, have enabled us to administer around 4000 such tests to pupils. It has been inspiring to witness this remarkable logistical feat in operation since Wednesday and the manner in which it has happened says a great deal about the togetherness and fellowship at the heart of our School community.

The January-March 2021 iteration of national lockdown has undoubtedly been challenging at times, but a silver lining to the pandemic cloud has been the creativity, resourcefulness and commitment shown by boys and colleagues alike. A compilation video, ‘Look back at Lockdown’, features in today’s H@H and illustrates these qualities in abundance.

This week’s digital round-up also includes an introduction to Careers Week, commencing on 15 March. Over 100 Hampton alumni are involved and they represent an impressively wide range of professional fields. We rejoice in the fact there is no such thing as an archetypal Hamptonian and we set great store by our boys being able to follow their passions, wherever these may lie. This is amply demonstrated by the He’s A Hamptonian posts that have appeared on our social media platforms recently. Do watch the accompanying video in today’s H@H for insight into some of the fulfilling paths that our recent Leavers are following.

I trust that those who participated in this week’s Thursday Night In cook-along with Head Chef Paul produced some impressively tasty burgers, alongside picking up some invaluable kitchen tips – not least a fail-safe way to prise open a stubborn jar! We have been able to hear from some well-known media names during our weekly broadcasts and I am pleased to confirm that the concluding programme this term will involve two of the UK’s leading football journalists. Please join us on 18 March to hear from David Jones, Sky Sports presenter of Monday Night Football and Super Sunday, and Jason Burt, Chief Football Correspondent at The Telegraph. I am naturally hoping that both our guests will predict a bright future for London’s biggest and most (historically) successful team!

Before then, the first of this week’s challenges is provided courtesy of Mrs Halford from our Biology Department and demonstrates the magic of milk. Meanwhile, our Director of Football, Mr Burke, asks you to test your dexterity by attempting the multi-sport juggle challenge.

And finally… it gives me particular pleasure to conclude this series of H@H e-newsletters by mentioning the latest musical offering by our celebrated male-voice choir Voices of Lions. We were indebted to VoL for singing us out of summer 2020 lockdown in style with their poignant version of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, and they have recorded another superlative ‘virtual’ performance. Their mellifluous rendition of Vive L’Amour provides some suitably uplifting listening ahead of our much-anticipated return to the School site – many congratulations to the current and former Hamptonians who took part under Mr Roland’s expert aegis.

Enjoy the weekend and we can look forward to seeing one another in person on Monday!

With kind regards and best wishes

Kevin Knibbs
Headmaster