News from Hampton Summer 2019

English Football Champions THE NE WSLETTER FOR HA MPTON SCHOOL SUMMER TERM 2019

Inside this issue: • • • • • • • • •

Beekeeping Coasteering DofE Awards Poetry Winners Portrait Exhibitor Rats’ Tales Rock Concert Sport Trips

Hampton win the ESFA Cup Hampton’s footballers entered the School history books with a stunning victory against Repton School in the 2019 English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) U18 Cup Final.

Over 360 teams started the tournament vying to win the ESFA trophy, one of the most sought-after prizes in schools’ football.

The final was a nail-biting game, with a penalty equaliser in the closing minutes, extra time and a penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Tim Wallace kept his nerve to help secure a 3-0 win for Hampton. Captain George Maxwell summed up the feeling of the team: “We are still on cloud nine! There can be no better way to end our Hampton footballing careers.”

“This was a true showcase of elite footballing talent: Hampton reigned victorious after enduring both extra time and penalties. Congratulations and well done to all those involved.”

John Martin, Chairman, English Schools’ FA

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A Day to Remember ESFA Cup Final day was undoubtedly a whole School community occasion.

Wearing black and yellow, hundreds of boys from across the year groups packed the stands at Shrewsbury Town FC. Waving Hampton scarves and in full voice from beginning to end, the supporters buoyed the spirits of the 1st XI and undeniably played their part in the success of the day. Back at School, boys and staff watched a live stream in The Hammond Theatre and roared the team on, while parents and alumni from across the globe followed updates online.

There was collective euphoria as the penalty shootout ended and a Hampton team lifted the ESFA trophy for the first time in the School’s history.

Social media feeds buzzed with news of the victory and hundreds of congratulatory messages from wellwishers. There was a palpable sense of community spirit said The Headmaster, Kevin Knibbs: “It was a truly wonderful day that will live long in the memory and showed why the ethos and culture of our School remain so distinctive and special.”

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Poetry Success

Creative Futures

Four Second Year linguists competed in the finals of this year’s Modern Languages Poetry Live competition.

Reading poems in a range of languages, the boys performed in front of over 200 spectators at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. Congratulations to Vishal Saha and Tom Oliver who both won Gold medals for their outstanding poetry performances in Spanish and German.

Leading figures from the creative industries shared their knowledge and expertise with Third Year pupils at this term’s Creative Futures event.

The 12 speakers, including seven alumni, talked about their career paths and ran workshops on subjects from video game design and public speaking to architecture and marketing.

Science Fair Over 60 boys exhibited projects at the annual Lower School Science Fair, with entries including a Lego solar system model, a DNA double helix and a homemade hydraulic arm.

Overall winner, Second Year Felix Von der Geest, used a cookie test to examine the psychology behind suggestibility and the power of persuasion. Offering his fellow pupils two identical cookies to sample, Felix managed to convince them that one tasted superior to the other by claiming it included his ‘grandma’s secret ingredient’.

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Dominic Nunn A portrait by Lower Sixth artist Dominic Nunn has been selected to go on display at the National Portrait Gallery in the 2019 BP Portrait Award: Next Generation.

Dominic painted the picture during a workshop at the gallery, where he was taught by professional artists.

Having his work displayed at one of the world’s leading art galleries, where it will be seen by thousands of people, is an opportunity of a lifetime says Dominic.

Hampton Bees An estimated 80,000 bees are now living in the Hampton hives.

Members of the Beekeeping Club have been lucky enough to observe the honey bee’s famous ‘waggle dance’, which the insects use to indicate the nearest source of nectar.

With high hopes of hot summer days and an abundance of midsummer flowers, we may have Hampton honey ready for the Autumn Term.

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Cubing Club Set up by Second Year Felix Lyon, club members employ skill, dexterity and logic to tackle a range of puzzles.

This term’s challenge was solving the fiendishly difficult Rubik’s cube in the fastest time possible.

Lacrosse Contest Hampton’s senior rugby players got to grips with a lacrosse stick in the annual match against LEH. Boys and girls swapped kits and were cheered on by classmates from both schools. Alas, despite weeks of secret practice and the use of some interesting techniques, the Hampton sportsmen fell to a 6-2 defeat.

The money raised will go to our four Form Charities.

Although Felix completed the task in an impressive 17.58 seconds, this is still some way behind the world record time of 3.47 seconds.

Retirees Teachers Mr Jon Cook and Dr Tim Leary are retiring this term after a combined 67 years of teaching at Hampton.

Historian Mr Cook has been both Head of History and Head of Cricket, coaching the 1st XI between 1990 and 1997 and introducing the first overseas cricket tour.

Dr Leary joined Hampton in 1989 as a Classicist and progressed to lead the Classics Department from 1998 to 2007. Dr Leary, the author of several scholarly works, then took on the role of Archivist and has collated a remarkable record of the School’s history.

“Hampton has been a lively and happy place to work throughout these past 37 years, and my small corner of it - the History Department – has always been especially full of fun and laughter. Long may it continue to be so.”

Mr Jon Cook

“Most enduring will be my memories of the many extremely caring, talented and devoted colleagues with whom I have been privileged to work, and the many bright and stimulating pupils I have taught.”

Dr Tim Leary

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The Lower School production of Rats’ Tales saw First to Third Years present a magical collection of folk tales from around the world.

Fun, high energy and filled with music, madness and mayhem, the cast expertly switched from comedy to tragedy as they weaved their way through seven stories.

Employing shadow puppetry and live camera projection, the show was a feast for the eyes.

Caroline Palmer Piano Masterclass Renowned pianist and chamber musician Caroline Palmer delivered a masterclass for Hamptonians this term.

Caroline, who is a piano professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, advised pupils on technique, practising methods and performance skills.

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Summer Rock Concert The Summer Rock Concert saw excellent performances from across the year groups.

The Junior Rock Band opened the evening with covers from The Strypes and Green Day. The Intermediate Rock School’s rendition of No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age received rapturous applause and our senior musicians were also on excellent form with some memorable performances from Max Elliott and The Shams.

Junior Schools’ Workshop

Leavers’ Concert

The annual Junior Schools’ Music Workshop Day was attended by over 50 young musicians from local primary schools.

Led by the Music Department and supported by over 30 Hampton musicians, the primary school pupils enjoyed workshops in Singing, Woodwind, Guitar and Brass.

The day culminated in an afternoon concert which included a rousing performance of Oom-Pah-Pah from Oliver! by all those on stage.

Family, friends, fellow pupils and staff gathered in The Hammond Theatre to celebrate our leavers’ contribution to the musical life of the School.

With a programme devised by the boys themselves, the Leavers’ Concert highlighted the outstanding level of musicianship at Hampton.

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Paris Fourth Year Francophiles joined LEH pupils for the annual French exchange trip to Paris.

The boys stayed with host families and toured famous landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, the MusÊe d’Orsay and Montmartre. The trip also included a visit to the Palace of Versailles and a day at Disneyland.

New York Economics pupils visited one of the most important financial districts in the world on their trip to New York.

The visit included a behind-the-scenes look at the United Nations headquarters, as well as a walking tour of Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. Another highlight was visiting the Bank of America where current Hamptonians met up with recent graduates now working as analysts at the famous investment bank.

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Valencia A trip to the historic port town of Valencia offered Second Year linguists invaluable language practice and an opportunity to enjoy Spanish culture.

The boys enjoyed trips to the Oceanogràfic Centre and the Science Museum, as well as trying their hand at preparing the region’s famous rice dish, paella.

The group also visited PortAventura World, where some of the bravest among them conquered one of the tallest roller coaster rides in Europe.

Boston Lower Sixth pupils went on a whistlestop tour of New England’s literary sites during their trip to Massachusetts.

In Boston, the boys visited the homes and haunts of writers including Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set her classic novel Little Women. At the Salem Witch Museum, the English pupils learnt about the infamous Witch Trials of 1692, an event later made famous by playwright Arthur Miller in The Crucible.

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Rugby Internationals 1st XV teammates, Louis Lynagh and Gwilym Bradley, faced each other as competitors in the U19 international match between England and Wales.

This was Gwilym’s second appearance for Wales and Louis’s fourth cap for England.

The two boys who leave Hampton this summer now hope to be selected for their respective U20 Elite Player Squads.

U15B ESFA Finalists An exceptional season for Hampton’s U15B footballers saw them reach the final of their English Schools’ Football Association Cup competition for the second successive year.

Cheered on by over 100 Fourth Year pupils, the young footballers faced Sandbach School at The Hawthorns, home of West Bromwich Albion FC. Despite a gritty performance this wasn’t to be Hampton’s day, but the U15s deserve much praise for their impressive form throughout the ESFA tournament.

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Cricket Hampton cricketers have played over 100 matches this season, winning 70 of them.

The U15A, U14A and U12A teams have reached their respective Middlesex Cup final competitions and the U15A and U13A players have reached their Surrey Cup semi-finals.

The 1st XI have seen some excellent results including wins against King’s College School, Dulwich College and St Paul’s School and a draw against Eton College.

Rowing

A total of 104 Hampton oarsmen competed in the 2019 National Schools’ Regatta, with five of the A boats and three B crews reaching their respective finals. Congratulations to the 3rd VIII and the J16 2nd VIII on well-deserved Bronze medals.

Plaudits also go to the 1st VIII on their win at the Reading Amateur Regatta and the two J16 coxed fours who took first and second place at the Marlow Town Regatta.

Athletics

Hampton athletes have been on excellent form this season.

There have been strong performances in both individual and combined track and field events, with six Hamptonians selected to represent Middlesex County.

Junior Hayden Christian (80m Hurdles) has been chosen to compete at the English Schools’ Individual Championships, while Intermediate Louis Middleton will compete at the National English Schools’ Combined Events Championships.

Coasteering The Lower School coasteering trip to the Jurassic Coast was adrenalinepacked.

At Dancing Ledge, the young adventurers navigated their way around sea cliffs by rock scrambling, swimming and jumping from great heights into the sea.

The boys also tackled an inflatable obstacle course, which provided plenty more opportunities to get wet!

Climbing

First, Third and Fourth Years headed to the Peak District to put their climbing skills to the test.

After a morning learning the basics from instructors, the boys donned harnesses and helmets to tackle some of the region’s most famous cliff faces including Stanage Popular and Burbage North.

With nerves of steel, the boys completed the climbs and are looking forward to more challenges next year.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Over 150 boys were involved in Silver and Gold DofE expeditions this term.

With 65-litre rucksacks on their backs, the adventurers have hiked hundreds of miles on expeditions in the New Forest, Dorset, the Lake District and Snowdonia.

Demonstrating admirable fortitude, the boys braved downpours, driving hail and occasional sunshine as they successfully put their navigation skills to the test. Well done!

NEWS FROM HAMPTON

SUMMER TERM 2019