Hampton School Totally Explained

Everything about Hampton School totally explained

Hampton School is an independent, formerly direct grant, day school for boys, located in Hampton, London, England.

History

In 1556, a wealthy brewer who had acquired property in Hampton left in his will provision for the maintenance of a 'free scole' and to build a small schoolhouse 'with seates in yt' in the churchyard (using the now old fashioned lexicon of his time). This is the story of its survival and eventual growth to become a great school with an enviable reputation for high achievement, both academically and in sport, that it's today.
   Although Hampton School was thereby founded in 1557 there was provision in the will that the school would only continue as long as the vicar, churchwardens and parishioners carried out his requests. If not, then the properties would revert to his heirs. It seems that the school (in its first incarnation) didn't survive beyond 1568 and possibly earlier and the properties reverted to the heirs.
   Subsequently, however, the school was to be re-opened in 1612. This was as a result of a Commission that was established to enquire into the fate of Tudor charities that had disappeared for various reasons in different parts of the country. The “learned counsell on bothe sides” reached a deadlock at the Commissioners. However in the spirit of compromise and through the generosity of the then legal owner of the properties, Nicholas Pigeon, the school was re-endowed. The school has continued in various forms and in various buildings ever since.
   It was undoubtedly a shaky beginning, although in the 18th century it was nurtured by some celebrated benefactors, the Earl of Halifax, prime minister Lord North, and the great actor David Garrick. Difficult times had still to be overcome. But in the last century began a steady upward curve under a succession of fine headmasters and dedicated staff, leading to the watershed of the change in status from local authority to independent school in 1975. Since then the school has continued to expand and to flourish.
   Originally founded on March 7 1557 from the will of Robert Hammond, the early school assembled on the site of St Mary's Church and later moved to a purpose-built campus in 1880 on the Upper Sunbury Road before its move to the present site on the Hanworth Road in 1939.
   The School returned to its status as an independent, fee-paying school in 1975 in the light of changes to the administration of secondary education in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and remains independent to the present day. It is located next to The Lady Eleanor Holles School for girls, with which it shares several classes, clubs, facilities and a coach service.
   Founders' Day is celebrated by the school each year. The occasion is marked by a procession of boys walking from the school down to St. Mary's Church by the Thames, towards the end of the academic year.
   Hampton prides itself on its all-around successes, combining its sporting and musical successes with a strong academic record, having recently celebrated outstanding GCSE and A Level results in 2007.

Campus

The main School buildings includes an Assembly Hall, classrooms, and specialist facilities for the Sciences, Technology, ICT, Art, Music and Modern Languages. The site of 27 acres includes ample playing fields including four rugby pitches, seven football pitches, six cricket squares, six astroturf tennis courts, athletics facilities, a climbing wall and the Old Hamptonians’ Pavilion. (External Link

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Public Benefit

The primary purpose of the Hampton School Foundation is the advancement of education for children. Inextricably linked with this purpose is the aim of contributing to the public good. Hampton School aims to contribute considerable public benefit to the local, national and international community. Hampton hosts a number of programs, groups, societies and events, as well as numerous personal contributions to the community.

Charity

Through the Form Charity program the whole school community helps raise money and awareness for good causes locally (for example Princess Alice Hospice, Barnardos, Home-Start and the Shooting Star Trust), nationally (Jeans for Genes Day and Breakthrough Breast Cancer), and internationally (Opportunity International, the African Medical and Research Foundation, Pahamune House and Kiira College). In 2004/5, over £22,000 was raised by Form charity. An Inter-Form Form Charity Competition is run in the first three year groups with Form Charity Cups presented in the last assembly of the academic year. A range of Whole-school events are organised each year. These include an annual Staff Stars in their Eyes, a Staff Cabaret, and a Staff versus Student University Challenge, sponsored cricket matches and mufti days, and an Amarillo video featuring staff. Individual form activities include sponsored silences and fitness programmes, the design and sale of Teacher Top Trumps Cards, cake and sweet sales, and auctions. An annual Second Year Sponsored Character Day is also organised by a member of the English Department to mark World Book Day. A member of staff swam the English Channel in aid of the local Shooting Star Children's Hospice. The Second master of the school also ran an auction for Pete Doherty's hat from Live8 for charity

Carbon offsets - climate neutral school

Hampton School is the first school in the world to move towards Climate Neutrality.(External Link

) Working with Climate Care, one of the leading companies in the field, the school has taken steps to offset all the emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases produced by the daily running of the school site, by the flights and bus journeys involved in all School trips, and by the coaches which bring over half of Hampton pupils to school each day. Climate Care is offsetting all of these through a portfolio of projects including the provision of renewable energy and energy efficiency schemes in Southern Africa and India, and forest restoration in Uganda.(External Link

) The climate-neutrality scheme was formally launched by Vince Cable Member of Parliament, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor. In developing the climate neutral scheme, the school has also undertaken student-led "waste audits" designed to reduce greenhouse gases like methane and carbon, and is currently working with environmental architects to create a state-of-the-art "sustainable laboratory" within its Biology Department. Other projects, developed alongside Climate Care, involve building energy efficiency schemes in Southern Africa and India.

International aid

Hampton finances a link with Kiira College a secondary school in Uganda. Hampton has also actively aided countries such as Peru with charity, by setting up a microfinance bank helping those suffering economic hardship to set up small businesses. Hampton School has been awarded an S.O.S. Kit Aid Certificate by the International Rugby Board for providing sports kit for children in Eastern Europe and South Africa. Other overseas links include: Konan High School Jazz Band, the Mathieson Music Trust, Calcutta, St Hilda’s School in Buenos Aires and Children’s Art School No.5 Kiev.

Sports

Rowing

Hampton School Boat Club is one of the top school rowing clubs in the country and each year produces 1st VIIIs that compete at Championship level. The boat club is based at the Millennium boathouse which it shares with the Lady Eleanor Holles School. Rowing at Hampton is open to boys in the third year and above and the boat club competes at many races both at home and abroad. Hampton has produced three treble winning 1st VIIIs in its history and has been represented at every Junior World Rowing Championships since the event's creation.Martin Cross a history teacher there's a gold medalist from 1984 Olympics and won bronze in 1980. Many Old Hamptonians have also gone on to compete at higher levels such as The Boat Race, the World Rowing Championships and the Olympic Games, such as Greg Searle and Jonny Searle (Olympic rowing gold medallists).

Rugby

Rugby at Hampton School is also of a high quality and former pupils include Simon Amor (England Sevens Captain) and Andy Beattie (Bath back row and current England 'A' player). Recent successes include winning the Middlesex Sevens in 2006, and 2007. The current 1st XV have had mild success but the lower years such as the U12 and U13 have had great success. The U13A (2007/8)team look a very promising side for the future, only losing one game in two years, that game to RGS Lancaster an extremely good rugby school with many Hampton players away for that game.

Football

Football is a very popular sport at Hampton, with a number of competitive teams in each year group. The school regularly takes part in national competitions, winning the Boodles ISFA Cup in 1999 and 2007 and reaching the final in 2005. The 1st XI has been coached by former semi-professional player Iain MacLean for over 30 years.

Cricket

Cricket is of a high standard at Hampton, with domination of the County Cup throughout the school. The 1st XI reached the National Independent Schools twenty/20 competition Finals in 2005 and 2007. This success was based on the supreme batting of Stuart Benzies, Jamal Chohan's all-round ability and Duncan Peel's tactical genius.

The arts

Music

This is an area of much recent successful development building on a strong musical tradition. In addition to class music, nearly 400 boys receive instrumental tuition from visiting teachers. Hampton has a thriving yet expanding Music Department, which celebrates many strong Associated Board Music Exam results every term. One pipe organ pupil at the school, Timothy Burke of The Mules, served as Organ Scholar at Exeter College, Oxford from 2001-2004. More recently, Lawrence Thain became Organ Scholar-elect of New College, Oxford a year early. Another student, Tim Lambourn, has also been elected Organ Scholar to Jesus College, Cambridge. All three were taught by Julie Ainscough

. There is a full Symphony Orchestra, as well as a String Orchestra, a Chamber Orchestra, Wind Band and two Jazz Bands. There are about thirty different music groups playing regularly. Frequent concerts provide performing opportunities for these groups, and for soloists and chamber groups.

Drama

Dramatic productions also range widely: a typical year might see a Shakespearean or classical play, many studio presentations including pupils' own work, a musical, and evenings of junior drama, with each Form in an entire year group putting on a play, or a whole year group involved in a major production, an excellent example being the "450th Musical," a work designed to commemorate the schools 450th anniversary, which involved contributions from every year of the school, and was devised entirely by the 5th and 6th Forms. Part of it was shown to Prince Andrew when he came to lay the foundation stone for the new 450th Performing Arts Centre, and he was said "to have laughed all the way through." A Hampton School Theatre Company, “In Human Form”, took its own plays The London Thing, which was well reviewed in both the Scotsman and the Times Educational Supplement, to the Edinburgh Festival in August 2000, and returned there in August 2001 with their play Lucky. A newly formed Theatre Company, “About Turn”, took its first production to the Edinburgh Festival in August 2002 and returned in 2004. A new Sixth Form drama The Dating Game, starring students John Winterburn, Ben Lander and Andrew Curry, was shortlisted for the National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough in 2006 and was taken to the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to highly positive reviews.

Debating

A range of topics is addressed and boys of all ages are encouraged to participate, either as a main speaker or from the floor. Debates are held with the Lady Eleanor Holles School and teams are entered in national events, notably the Schools’ Mace and the Oxford Union competition. The Debating Society has seen numerous colourful performances, yet hasn't witnessed much success in such external arenas. Participation from all members of the school community is encouraged.

Writing

The School Magazine, The Lion, which is distributed free to every boy’s parents and to every Old Hamptonian wishing it, is produced by an editorial team of pupils, led by a teacher. It is produced at the School on our own desk top publishing equipment and supplied for printing on disc. This magazine includes boys’ creative and original writing. Boys on their own initiative also produce student magazines, which offer much scope for creativity, and amusing insights into life at Hampton. An arts magazine is also issued called The Literary Lions.

Talk!

In September 2000 a lecture series “Talk!” was inaugurated. Since then over one hundred distinguished visiting speakers from the worlds of art, business, the media, politics and science have spoken and answered questions from large audiences.

Art

The School offers great encouragement and opportunity for boys to develop an interest in the Arts, with several going on to study Art and Architecture. The Art Club provides generous facilities for work in a range of media with competitions for those interested. In 2000, new facilities for Art were opened: these consist of four art studios (one for the Sixth Form) including a suite of 15 iMacs; a kiln for production of ceramics; and a gallery for student and external exhibitions. In 2004 a further studio was added.

Old Hamptonians

Notable teachers past and present

Martin Cross - Olympic rowing gold medallist (External Link

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Maurice Xiberras - First Leader of the Democratic Party of British Gibraltar (DPBG) (External Link

)

450th Anniversary

The 2006/07 Academic year saw the 450th Anniversary of the School's foundation. This was recently celebrated, in a thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral. In addition to the formal 450th celebrations, Hampton is also running a selection of events for the boys: from the recent 450th Lunch, which includes eating stew from a loaf of bread without cutlery in order to replicate the ways of eating in 1557, to an attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Teachers and pupils will all run a 100m sprint!(External Link

) However, this was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and won't take place. David Starky, a prominent historian, was also due to speak, but this took place in the following academic year.

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