Hamilton was educated at The John Henry Newman School, a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage. At the age of five, Hamilton took up Karate to defend himself as a result of bullying at school. In addition to racing, he played association football for his school team with eventual England international, Ashley Young. Hamilton, an Arsenal fan, said that if Formula One had not worked for him he would have been a footballer or a cricketer, having played both for his school teams. In February 2001 he began studies at Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS), a private sixth-form college in Cambridge.