From The Headmaster's Study
13 December 2024
There’s been an abundance of festive spirit at Hampton as we’ve approached the end of another vibrant term, especially at three splendid Christmas Concerts featuring over 320 of our musicians. Sell-out audiences in the Hammond enjoyed a series of memorable performances by our choirs, orchestras and ensembles, including our First Years emulating Mariah Carey’s celebrated high notes during their rendition of All I Want for Christmas is You. It was also a great pleasure to welcome so many Hampton families and friends to our annual Festival of Readings and Carols at St Mary’s Church – as ever, this uplifting seasonal occasion provided good cheer aplenty.
The 15 weeks since early September have been notable for the joie de vivre that is so happily characteristic of life at our School. Many of the highlights feature in the latest digital edition of News from Hampton (NfH) and accompanying end-of-term e-newsletter. Within these publications you will see some of 16 trips embarked upon by our pupils, including First Year adventures in the New Forest, and our Sixth Formers’ visit to Washington DC during the climactic days of the US Presidential election campaign. NfH also covers Hampton life inside the classroom – from celebrating Chemistry Week to the excitement and energy of ‘No Limits’ lessons. We’ve also been lucky enough to enjoy plenty of Performing Arts productions, including the hauntingly atmospheric A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story, staged in partnership with our neighbours at Hampton High. Earlier in the term, senior Hamptonians showcased their acting, singing and tap-dancing skills during a week of ebullient and high-quality performances of 42nd Street, the annual joint senior musical with LEH.
When it comes to dancing feet, you need to look no further than our rugby players and footballers. In the round ball game, several of our squads remain in the ESFA Cup, and our First XI, U15A and U13A squads all have ISFA Cup quarter-finals to look forward to after the mid-season break, making us the only independent school in the country with teams from all three age groups still in the hat. Meanwhile, Hamptonians who favour the oval ball code can also reflect on an enjoyable and successful first half of the season, culminating in our Lower School sides all performing well in their respective Middlesex Cup festivals. Particular plaudits are due to our U12s, whose hugely promising start to their School Rugby careers was duly rewarded with their first silverware wearing the famous black and yellow!
We remain delighted to see Hamptonians excelling academically while maintaining a healthy balance between their studies and making the most of the array of opportunities on offer. Newspaper ‘league tables’ should always be taken with considerably more than a pinch of salt; they certainly don’t represent a holistic, all-round scorecard. But it was nevertheless gratifying to see pupils’ and colleagues’ hard work reflected in Hampton’s prominence in recently-released Sunday Times ‘Parent Power’ standings (as the second highest-placed boys’ independent school and the 15th highest-ranked school nationally for academic excellence).
Our pupils should self-evidently aspire to great things given their many and varied talents, but it is even more important that they carry their gifts lightly, and do so while supporting those around them with kindness and respect. I cannot claim to be impartial on the subject of Hamptonians after 52 very happy and fulfilling terms in their company, but I do feel their most distinctive asset remains the ability to combine such high levels of achievement (both academic and co-curricular) with a refreshingly grounded approach to life at School and beyond. Their capacity to do so is in large part due to the example they are set by the energy, commitment and expertise of my Common Room colleagues, along with the support of our parents and their strong alignment with our values, culture and priorities.
As we reflect on the term just passed and look ahead to 2025, we can be confident that the good ship Hampton can continue to follow a carefully considered course through contemporary political and other challenges for our sector. What is certain is that life on board – for captain, crew and passengers alike – is bound to be action-packed, intellectually stimulating, and full of fun and laughter. There’s plenty of the latter in our 2024 Christmas video (linked here – headlined by the wonderfully talented Voices of Lions, with accompaniment from a host of familiar faces from our School community).
I wish all members of our Hampton family a peaceful and relaxing festive period, and a Happy New Year.
With kind regards and season’s greetings
