Hampton@Home: May 22, 2020

Welcome to this week’s edition of Hampton@Home, which arrives with you as the first half of a remarkable summer term draws to a close. It has been a period like no other I have known in close to 13 years at Hampton and seven in The Headmaster’s study, but e-Hampton (like its physical counterpart) continues to offer us plenty of uplifting daily examples of togetherness, ingenuity and good humour. While Hampton parents and our wonderfully dedicated Common Room have embraced our guided home learning provision in impressive fashion, much of the credit for the programme’s success deservedly goes to the boys themselves. My colleagues and I know how challenging this period has been for our boys, as they will understandably be missing cherished aspects of daily Hampton life (our 3G sportsground immediately springs to mind!) and time in the on-site company of their friends. As you will see below, our pastoral teams have recorded some special video ‘thank you’ messages for their respective Year Groups. I fully endorse the sentiments expressed and should like to add my personal gratitude to Hamptonians of all ages for their wholehearted, enthusiastic and generous-spirited approach to e-Hampton. All of these attributes, along with a healthy dose of competitiveness, were much in evidence when I dropped in this lunchtime, via MS Teams, on an epic Second Year inter-Form quiz – congratulations, 2J, for winning on the very last question!

National lockdown has required all of us to call upon our reserves of resilience, and medical professionals are understandably emphasising the need for rapid, rigorous and well-funded research into the potential impact of Covid-19 on wellbeing. We have, since Monday, been highlighting Mental Health Awareness Week and this e-newsletter offers a useful opportunity to reinforce that your son has the pastoral resources of our School community to draw upon if he is experiencing difficulties or struggling to cope with anything.

Given that we emphasise so often at Hampton that supporting those around us with kindness is a fundamental pillar of our ethos, it is noteworthy that Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 has placed particular importance upon the word ‘kind’. As our Lead School Counsellor, Michael Uccelli, explains in his excellent presentation linked below, kindness to others as well as ourselves is crucially important at all times and certainly in our current circumstances. I encourage you to watch Mr Uccelli’s video clip with your son over the holiday period.

In previous end-of-term letters, during what we should perhaps now look back upon as the ‘old normal’, I have expressed my sense of awe and amazement at just how much our boys manage to fit into their lives at Hampton and beyond. In this regard, I am delighted that their creative flair and imagination remain so evident during lockdown. You will read below that Vishal Saha of our Third Year has reached the final of the BBC 500 Words young writers’ competition, and you are sure to enjoy the first in our Lunchtime Recitals series, which showcases the musical talent of Fifth Year Hamptonians.

It is of course possible that half term will bring further developments and updated Government/Public Health England guidance that might affect the education sector. Naturally, I shall contact you via email if there is anything announced by the authorities that will require us to amend our current e-Hampton arrangements.

In the meantime, thank you again for your continued support and very welcome encouragement. I wish you and everyone in your family/household a restful, enjoyable and sunshine-laden half term break.

With kind regards and best wishes