NFH Spring 2019

Bright Futures!

THE NE WSLETTER FOR HA MPTON SCHOOL SPRING TERM 2019

Inside this issue: • • • • • • • • •

All My Sons Book Character Day Chess Finals ESFA Finals German Debating ISSP Music Day New Sixth Form Centre Rock Concert Rugby World Cup

Offers come in from the world’s top universities Hampton Sixth Formers are proving highly sought-after by the world’s top educational institutions. An impressive 31 Hamptonians have received offers from Oxford and Cambridge Universities this year and 83 boys are currently holding offers from global top10 universities.

Among these, 41 pupils have offers from UCL and 11 boys have conditional places at Imperial, universities which are currently ranked 7th and 8th in the world respectively.*

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SCIENTIFIC SUBJECT OFFERS

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HISTORY OFFERS

These figures are expected to rise even further before the university offers round closes. The Headmaster, Kevin Knibbs, warmly congratulated the boys: “I am delighted that Hamptonians’ distinctive blend of academic and all-round excellence continues to be so attractive to the world’s leading universities. Our pupils and their dedicated teachers deserve the highest praise and these prestigious offers represent well-deserved recognition for their hard work.”

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MEDICAL SCHOOL OFFERS

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MATHEMATICAL SUBJECT OFFERS

*QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS)

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LANGUAGES OFFERS

02 I NE W S FR OM HA MP TON

Heading across the Pond Several Hamptonians have offers to continue their academic studies abroad.

German Debating Finalists

Football Captain George Maxwell is in receipt of an athletic scholarship from the College of Charleston, South Carolina, while his 1st XI teammate, Shaun-Chris Joash, has a place at Furman University, South Carolina. Oliver Casale has been awarded an academic scholarship to study Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto.

Hampton linguists have reached the final of the Goethe-Institut German Debating Competition.

In a tense semi-final against Colchester Royal Grammar School, Noah Langford, Tom Settle, Agastya Jha and team captain Jake Emerson, debated whether electric cars should be the only vehicles allowed on our roads. The team now progress to the final at the British Council in London. Bis zum Finale!

Chess

Mathematics Success Our mathematicians have booked themselves a place in the national finals of the UK Mathematics Trust Junior Team Challenge after being crowned regional champions for the second year running.

This year’s winning team included Second Years Henry Ayres and George Berressem along with Third Years Krishna Wijayasingam and Akshat Mathur. The Hampton mathematicians, joint regional winners with Caterham School, now compete in the national finals in June.

Our chess players have excelled themselves this season. The First Team (pictured) is through to the National Schools’ Chess Championship final, and three Hampton teams topped the table in their division of the Surrey League.

Claiming victory in 20 out of 23 matches collectively, the First, Second and Third Teams all won their respective group competitions.

The Fourth Team also performed well, coming third in their league.

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New Sixth Form Study & Careers Centre The new Sixth Form Study Centre opened this term, providing senior boys with a stunning, state-of-the-art learning facility.

The centre offers a range of spaces for boys to study both collaboratively and independently. The ground floor atrium is furnished with sofas and chairs, alongside individual study booths and a central learning pod. Upstairs there is a silent study room and a range of classrooms.

A special assembly to mark the opening of the new building was attended by three former School Captains who were involved in the initial consultation stages of the build. Current School Captain, James Thompson, believes the new building is a fantastic addition to the School: “The new centre allows us to make the most of our time outside lessons, whether we want to study on our own or with others. It will prove even more valuable as we move closer to the public exams.�

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Book Character Day Second Years enjoyed dressing up as literary characters to mark World Book Day. Costumes covered the entire literary spectrum with appearances from perennial favourites including Tintin, the Mad Hatter, Mr Toad and Gandalf.

Seb Pedder won the prize for best costume after spending the day as a Flour Baby from Anne Fine’s young adult book Flour Babies, which tackles the challenges and responsibilities of growing up. The day raised an impressive £1,000 for Form Charity.

Lower School Art Exhibition Lower School artists were delighted to see their work on display in this term’s Art exhibition.

Second Years produced a selection of vibrant still life paintings inspired by artist Patrick Caulfield, while our First Year pupils created lino-cuts based on textile prints by Arts & Crafts designer William Morris.

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Pens Down Day

Hampton’s inaugural Pens Down Day was enjoyed across the year groups.

Designed to promote learning through communication and debate, teachers came up with a range of innovative ways to engage their pupils.

There were stop-motion videos on biodegradable polymers in Chemistry, English pupils used the Main Hall floor to map out the plot of Twelfth Night, and Mathematicians created a range of paper geometrical shapes.

Architecture Club Lower School pupils from Architecture Club designed a range of bridges considering engineering, construction and aesthetics.

After weeks spent planning and building, the fledgling architects put their designs to the all-important weightbearing test with some proving more sturdy than others!

Art Teacher, Miss Joanna Moore, praised the boys for their creative designs.

Finalists in this year’s Creative Writing Awards were invited to a series of masterclasses hosted by lecturer and young adult author Sara Grant.

The masterclasses focused on description and scene-setting. Challenged to create a gripping story opening, boys came up with ideas ranging from a dystopian world to a secret spy mission during the Second World War. Sara Grant also selected the winners of the 2019 Creative Writing Competition. Fifth Year pupil Ben Green won the senior category, Fourth Year William Mathers-Jones was awarded the intermediate prize and First Year pupil Isaac Tarragano was the winner of the junior category.

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Hampton’s young rock stars raised the roof at the 2019 Spring Rock Concert.

The Junior Rock Band opened the show with their rendition of Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

There was music from across the year groups, with a DJ set by Lower Sixth Former Dylan Little.

Original tracks, written and sung by Hamptonians, were a theme throughout the night including Fourth Year Tom Wykes’ performance of his song Figure it Out and Fourth and Fifth Year group What Happens Next performing Home, which they recently released as an EP. Organiser of the evening, Music teacher Mr Alex Fox, praised all involved: “The staging, lighting and sound made this akin to a professional event, and based on this showing, the Rock Concert will be in rude health for many years to come.”

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The Crucible

The inaugural Fourth Year production saw pupils from Hampton and LEH bring to life the story of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

A cast and crew of 34 pupils transported The Hammond Theatre audience back to the 1600s in Massachusetts as they retold the real-life events of the Salem Witch trials.

All My Sons This year’s Sixth Form Play All My Sons, directed by Johnnie Clark, Joss Connell and Ethan Delaney-Smith, received rave reviews.

With impressive sound and lighting support from Will Baker, the cast of ten senior pupils from Hampton and LEH gripped the audience, as they told the story of the Keller family in this 1940s Arthur Miller classic. Head of Drama, Mrs Jo James, singled out the directors for particular praise: “Johnnie, Joss and Ethan demonstrated consummate professionalism during the production of this excellent show.

Everyone involved should be very proud of their achievement.”

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ISSP Music Day Our Independent State Schools’ Partnership Music Day saw over 350 pupils gather for a day of music-making.

Pupils from partner schools Hampton High, Orleans Park School, Teddington School and Tolworth Girls’ School along with young musicians from Turing House School and Waldegrave School spent the day rehearsing at Hampton and LEH. The day culminated in a rousing concert for family and friends which included a range of ensemble performances and a full orchestral and choral rendition of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Winchester Cathedral Evensong Over 40 choristers were invited to Winchester Cathedral to perform Choral Evensong.

The Chamber Choir, made up of boys from First Year to Upper Sixth, sang a programme of liturgical music, which included Noble’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in B minor, Rose’s Preces and Responses and Monteverdi’s Cantate Domino.

Special mention must go to the Sixth Form organists who led the service, Nicholas Dibb-Fuller and Felix Elliott.

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RS Trip

Fourth Year pupils visited St Paul’s Cathedral and the Buddhapadipa Temple in Wimbledon to learn more about Christianity and Buddhism.

The boys took the opportunity to look around the iconic buildings and ask questions about the two religions. At St Paul’s, the Religious Studies pupils were invited to try on different clerical garments to understand more about their significance within the Christian liturgy.

Games Inventor

Third Year pupil Victor Smirnov has been named Young Games Inventor of the Year.

Victor was one of hundreds of young games designers to enter a nationwide competition run by the Green Board Games company. His impressive strategy game, Terra Draconum, was voted the best idea for a new board game by the public and a panel of judges. Victor was presented with a prize at the annual Toy Fair in London.

Ski Trips Junior and senior skiers enjoyed perfect conditions on the pistes of Alpe d’Huez in France and Bormio in Italy.

Our senior skiers successfully navigated the challenging World Cup run whilst our juniors, including several novice skiers, advanced well and enjoyed plenty of entertaining après-ski activities as they tried their hand at ice skating, outdoor swimming and tobogganing.

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Rugby World Cup The Webb Ellis trophy made an impromptu stop-off at Hampton on its way to Japan for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The trophy was brought into School by Mr Tom Hill, a Hampton dad and Chief Commercial Officer at World Rugby. Hundreds of fans, including 1st XV Captain, Louis Lynagh, and Joe Cornell, who captains the U12s, queued for the opportunity to have their photo taken with the cup. The trophy will now embark on a world tour before arriving in Japan for the start of the tournament in September.

Rugby It has been a productive Sevens season for senior and junior players.

The 1st VII retained the Middlesex U18 Open trophy after defeating Harrow School 19-17. Our junior teams also brought home silverware following the Warwick 7s tournament, where the U14s won the plate and the U12s the cup.

The Ibstock Place 7s proved a successful occasion too, with the U12, U14, U15 and 2nd VII all winning their age-group competitions. Congratulations also go to our U12Bs who have been undefeated all season.

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Fencing

Skiing Third Year skier Hal Lewis performed well in the English Alpine Ski Championships.

In the individual events, 14-year-old Hal competed in the U16 age group, coming 24th in the Super-G event and 27th in the Slalom.

Hal has qualified to compete in the 2019 British Junior Alpine Championships in Tignes.

Hampton’s fencers competed at the Public Schools’ Fencing Championships at Crystal Palace. Jacob Cooney made the last 16 in the Mount-Haes Foil category, whilst Osborn Zhu, finished sixth in the Mount-Haes Epée group.

Osborn travels to Poland to compete in the Challenge Wratislavia competition and has qualified for the British Youth Fencing Championships in May.

Basketball

Our First Year Basketball squad have performed well this season, winning the Richmond Knights’ Basketball Festival and finishing runners up in the Surrey Basketball Festival tournament.

A fantastic performance in the Surrey semi-final saw the Hampton players beat a strong Richard Challoner School side 18-14. In a tense final against Christ’s School, the Hampton team succumbed in the final period to end the match 14-9.

Climbing A team of seven climbers took part in the 2019 Independent Schools’ Climbing Competition in Swindon.

The boys, who ranged from First to Fifth Year, were up against teams from 31 other schools and had to complete challenges including a top rope route and a lead rope climb. There was also a difficult bouldering section to overcome. The Hampton climbers, who have never competed before, were delighted to finish tenth overall.

Footballers Make History 1st XI and U15Bs are ESFA finalists The 1st XI have entered the Hampton history books after securing themselves a place in the final of the English Schools’ Football Association U18 Cup Competition. It is the first time that our senior players have reached this stage in the ESFA tournament, which involves 364 teams from across the country.

After winning an epic semi-final battle against Gordon’s School, our 1st XI now face Repton School at Shrewsbury Town FC’s ground, Montgomery Waters Meadow.

Our U15B players are seasoned ESFA finalists, having reached the same stage in the competition last year as U14Bs. They will face last year’s opposition Sandbach School once again, when they meet for their final match during the Summer Term.

Director of Sport, Mr Carlos Mills, praised both teams: “To have two Hampton teams reach their respective ESFA finals is a significant and historic achievement. We are very proud of all the players and everybody at the School is excited at the prospect of two gripping finals.”

NEWS FROM HAMPTON

SPRING TERM 2019