Hampton@Home: June 12, 2020

Welcome to the eighth edition of our Hampton@Home e-newsletter.

Hot off the press comes the splendid news that Vishal Saha of our Third Year has been announced today on Radio 2 as a winner of the BBC’s 500 Words writing competition! You can hear all about Vishal’s brilliantly original story, The Diary of a £5 Note, in the interview with him linked below.

Included within this week’s H@H is the launch of the 1557 Challenge in support of our 2019-20 Form Charities and we hope that Hampton families will devise ingenious, enjoyable ways to raise funds for these admirable causes. I also encourage you to watch boys from our Genocide Awareness group, Genocide80Twenty, talking about their latest newspaper, #remember8372, which has quite rightly attracted praise and support from public figures worldwide. The thoughtful manner in which these Hamptonians, led so ably by Mr Lawrence, are contributing meaningfully and purposefully to the education of young people in the UK about the consequences of prejudice is inspiring, and resonates deeply in the context of current events in the USA and at home.

Alumnus Michael Timbs OH (2010) is another Hamptonian who is helping to raise awareness and promote education in support of social equality, and you can read about his impressive fundraising efforts below. It is also a pleasure to welcome back former School Captain Chris Searle OH (2017), who returns to introduce our latest H@H ‘Flashback Friday’ feature.

Current School Vice-captain Bart Briston explains why Bill Gates has made it onto his ‘hero list’ and you are sure to be impressed by Fifth Year ​Jacob Costen’s superb artwork, which I am delighted to report has been selected for this year’s Royal Academy Young Artists’ Summer Show. And if you are in the mood for another challenge, Mr Cook and Mr Fuldner from our Physics Department show you how to calculate the speed of light in your kitchen.

Meanwhile, our ever-enthusiastic Director of Rugby, Mr Thomson, demonstrates impressive target practice skills – Hamptonians are naturally encouraged to seek parental consent over any household location used for this particular activity! This weekend also offers members of our School community – boys, parents and colleagues alike – the opportunity to represent Hampton in the virtual Sevenoaks Athletic Challenge. I fully intend to contribute myself via a Saturday afternoon cycle ride through North Kingston, Wimbledon and Richmond Park.

We hope you are continuing to find the range of material we are providing via our online platforms helpful in keeping you informed, connected and entertained during lockdown. To ensure that you can access this wealth of material without difficulty, we have collated it within our new Hampton@Home eHub. This is linked here for your interest and ease of reference.

I wish everyone a lovely weekend and the best of luck if you decide to take part in any of our challenges.

With kind regards and best wishes