News from Hampton Spring 2023

NEWS FROM THE

NEWSLETTER

FOR

HAMPTON SCHOOL

HAMPTON

SPRING 2023

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

BATTLEFIELDS TRIP

• CHESS MASTER

• COOKING WEEK

JOSEPH

This year’s Junior School Musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, was a feast for the ears and eyes.

Staged by a cast and crew of over 60 pupils from Hampton and Waldegrave School, the high-octane production packed the Hammond Theatre for three nights running and included rock and roll songs, ballads, and the ever-popular classic Any Dream Will Do.

UKLO

The 2023 UK Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO) saw Hamptonians excel at a range of challenging linguistic data problems.

Eleven Hamptonians secured awards in this year’s exceptionally difficult paper. Particular congratulations go to Lower Sixth Former Henry Ayres who received a Gold Award for the second consecutive year, and now goes forward to round two of the Olympiad.

TOP MARKS

Upper Sixth Former Henry Shard has impressed in round two of this year’s British Physics Olympiad, achieving a Gold award which places him in the top 24 pupils who sat the challenging paper.

Henry’s academic prowess is also reflected in his other A Level subjects. He was awarded the highly coveted Roentgenium Award in the 2022 Cambridge Chemistry Challenge and achieved a Distinction in the second round of the British Mathematical Olympiad.

INTERNATIONAL MASTER

Following a remarkable few months on the chess circuit, Fifth Year Rajat Makkar has been named an International Master, awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

Rajat is one of only two U20 chess players in the UK to hold this prestigious title and hopes to become a Grandmaster before he finishes his A Level studies.

BANK OF ENGLAND

Budding economist Will Colvine will work for the Bank of England this summer after winning the Bank’s ‘2023 Innovation Competition’.

Open to sixth form and university students, Lower Sixth Former Will was selected as a winner from hundreds of entrants.

His prize is a paid internship with the Bank’s data and technology team. The prestigious placement will help Will enhance his technology and data knowledge while gaining invaluable work experience in a field that he hopes to pursue after university.

WORLD BOOK DAY

Literary characters roamed the School corridors as Second Year Hamptonians celebrated World Book Day 2023. From Willy Wonka to Frankenstein and Postman Pat to Sherlock Holmes, boys and their teachers enjoyed representing their favourite characters, while raising money for Form Charity.

Alexander Melikyan won the prize for the best costume, after spending the day as Gandalf, the wise wizard in the iconic novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings

STEM FAIR

Hamptonians from across the year groups competed in the annual Hampton and LEH STEM Fair.

Working in teams, pupils spent weeks devising projects designed to address the challenges of the future. Impressing the judging team, pupil innovations included motion trackers, virtual reality programmes, and an Arduino controlled car.

MODEL UNITED NATIONS

Hampton’s debaters are going from strength to strength, with an impressive haul of awards at Haileybury, one of the biggest MUN conferences of the year.

Topical issues under scrutiny included managing natural disasters, strengthening the coordination of humanitarian assistance and the deportation of refugees. Six Hamptonians won individual delegate awards, and the team representing Cambodia took home a highly coveted ‘Distinguished Delegation’ award.

COOKING WEEK

First Years enjoyed a homeworkfree week this term in order to focus on improving their cooking skills.

As well as learning new dishes, pupils were encouraged to prepare a meal for family members, which reflected their culture or heritage. They also enjoyed a First Year tea party, with boys bringing in homemade culinary delights to share with the rest of their form.

TALK!

Hamptonians, partner school pupils and the wider community enjoyed hearing from a broad range of renowned speakers this term.

The Talk! series welcomed bestselling author Tim Marshall, who marked the year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. Polar marine biologist Professor Lloyd Peck spoke about life in Antarctica; and leading antislavery lawyer Professor Parosha Chandran shone a spotlight on the plight of victims of modern-day slavery. The founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, Laura Bates, also spoke to a Hammond Theatre audience about her work highlighting and tackling gender equality.

CHORAL SOCIETY

The Hammond Theatre was treated to an unforgettable evening at the 2023 Hampton and LEH Choral Society Concert. Over 200 musicians and choristers including parents, members of staff, friends and current pupils came together to perform Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor followed by John Rutter’s Gloria.

ROCK CONCERT

Over 60 musicians from First Year to Upper Sixth took part in the 2023 Rock Concert.

The impressive range of talent on display included the Junior Rock Band’s electric rendition of Bon Jovi’s track Livin’ on a Prayer to the band Scatter’s inaugural performance of their original song Get Out of Here. The evening was brought to a suitably rousing conclusion with a six-drum finale of Royal Republic’s song People Say That I’m Over The Top.

CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT

Musicians from across the year groups performed a range of ensemble pieces at the annual Chamber Music Concert.

There were many notable highlights including a lively rendition of Haydn’s Divertimento, while the Lower String Ensemble performed the rhythmic themes from Bizet’s well-known opera Carmen

YOUNG PIANIST OF THE YEAR

Lower Sixth musician Tomás Escobar has been named ‘Young Pianist of the Year’ at the 2023 Richmond upon Thames Performing Arts Festival.

The talented musician played a selection of pieces in the 13 to 18 age group category, including Liszt’s Vallée d’Obermann and Danzas Argentinas by Alberto Ginastera. Tomás was awarded £100 and the Edith Steinitz Memorial prize.

ICELAND

Fourth and Fifth Year geographers headed to Iceland this term.

The four-day visit to a land of extraordinary geographical features included a visit to the Reykjanes coastal peninsula. Hamptonians were able to see the mudpots and fumaroles of the Seltún geothermal area and the Stampar volcanic fissure. The GCSE geographers also visited the famous 60-metre high Seljalandsfoss waterfall, an impressive scene of icicles and cascading water.

SKI TRIPS

Our junior and senior skiers enjoyed superb conditions on their annual ski trips.

Hamptonians from Fourth Year upwards headed to the Dolomites in Northern Italy, while younger boys arrived in Austria’s Sportswelt Amade region, which offers some of the best skiing in Europe. Alongside busy days on the slopes, apres-ski activities included tobogganing for the juniors and a chance to watch the World Cup Final for the older boys.

ISSP MUSIC DAY

Hampton joined forces with LEH to host the annual Independent and State Schools’ Partnership (ISSP) Music Day.

Over 170 musicians from eight local schools came together for a day of music making which culminated in a celebratory evening concert for family and friends. A rousing rendition of the Anvil Chorus from Verdi’s Il Trovatore was a fitting finale to a wonderful day of music for all involved.

ART EXHIBITION

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

First Year pupils produced colourful linocut prints based on the natural world, and paintings inspired by Paul Klee. Second Years created collages on a ‘Still Life’ theme, while Third Years produced sculptures inspired by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore.

BATTLEFIELDS TRIP

Third Year historians travelled to Belgium and France to visit First World War battlefields and museums and learn first-hand about the conflict that affected so many.

The trip culminated with Hamptonians attending the Last Post ceremony at Menin Gate, where they laid a wreath on behalf of the School to honour the sacrifices made by soldiers from Britain and the Commonwealth.

RUGBY 7S

Our First, U16 and U14 squads all performed strongly at the Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s.

In addition, there were finals appearances for our First VII in the Hampton Founders’ Day 7s, and our U14s at the Warwick 7s. The U15s brought home the Plate from the John Pieroni tournament, and Hampton’s U16s won the Surrey Plate competition and the RGS Guildford Shield.

CROSS COUNTRY

Hampton’s runners excelled at this year’s Middlesex Cross Country Championships, with Third Year athlete Marcus Solomon defending his U15 title in convincing style.

Marcus, along with Upper Sixth Former Henry Fagan, also represented Middlesex at the English Schools’ Cross Country Championships which took place in Nottingham.

ROWING ROUND-UP

Following a successful Hampton Head at the start of the term, the boat club has gone from strength to strength.

At the Schools’ Head of the River race, the J16 First and Second VIII both finished in the top three in their respective events. The main sculling event of the season, the Oarsport Junior

Sculling Head at Dorney Lake, saw the J15A and the J14B octuples win Gold medals in their respective races, and the J14A octuple bring home a Silver medal.

J16 First VIII

J16 Second VIII J15A Octuple

PARTNERSHIP SPORT

Hampton hosts a number of partnership sports tournaments across the year including tennis, badminton and volleyball competitions.

This term, Grey Court School, Rutlish School and Coombe Boys’ School joined Hampton for the annual Year 7 Surrey Schools’ Basketball Tournament. We also welcomed Year 7 to 11 pupils from local schools for the Richmond Borough Indoor Rowing Competition.

INTERFORM SPORT

Interform sporting competitions are an important part of the Hampton sporting calendar across the year groups.

Lower School pupils enjoyed an exciting afternoon of Interform Football and Rugby, with the young sportsmen showcasing some excellent skills as they went head-to-head in a series of fiercely contested matches.

ESFA FINALISTS

The Hampton community is gearing up for a trip to Stoke City FC after the First XI reached the final of the U18 English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) Cup.

A total of 374 teams started the competition in September and an epic 3-2 semi-final win against Forest School secured Hampton’s place in the final of the prestigious national competition.

This is the second time in five years that our footballers have reached the U18 ESFA final, which will be a whole-School occasion. Many Hamptonians hold fond memories of 2019, when Hampton’s First XI brought home the coveted ESFA Trophy after victory in front of 700 Hampton supporters.

Director of Football Mr David Burke congratulated the senior footballers:

“What a fantastic achievement for this set of players, who have grown stronger as a team since the beginning of the season through dedication, commitment and hard work. We are all looking forward to an exciting final.”