1 0 I THE HA MPTON IA N
School News
French debating finalists Hampton has once again reached the final of the National French Debating Competition. In a replay of last year’s semi final, the Hampton teams made up of Samuel Peters and Toby Tolson from the L6, and James Hughes, William Miller and Jacopo Olivieri (reserve) from the U6, competed against some of the
UK’s leading schools on topics such as the independence of New Caledonia, the financing of French private schools and the banning of the sale of bottled water. The level of debate and linguistic skills were exceptionally high and the boys were most impressive in their valiant efforts, particularly in the “lutte acharnée”.
BBC Young Musician Will Thomas Upper Sixth Former Will Thomas was named as a finalist in the BBC Young Musician 2018. It is the second time that trumpeter Will has reached the finals in this prestigious national contest. He will now compete against four other musicians in the Brass Finals on 19 March, in the hope of reaching the overall finals taking place in May at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Will started playing the Cornet at the age of eight, and soon added the Trumpet and then Flugelhorn. By the time he was twelve-years-old he had achieved Grade 8 in Trumpet (with Distinction), and was the youngest member of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain.
Over the past four years, Will has continued to excel musically, achieving his ARSM in piano with distinction, and a distinction in his DipABRSM on trumpet. Will is also a senior member of the Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2017, he won the Guildhall’s most prestigious award The Lutine Prize. At Hampton, Will plays in a number of ensembles and recently set up the jazz/funk band Funktion.
On overall aggregate scores, Hampton’s U6 team were able to successfully seal a victory and advance to the final at the French Institute on 20 March. All of those who took part should be proud of their prowess as well as being true ambassadors of the extremely high quality of language learning for which Hampton received much praise on the night.