Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Welcome back everyone – it’s been a long summer! We hope coming back to School this week has been a joyful experience for all our new Third Years. We are particularly delighted to welcome our new boys, joining Hampton for the first of many fantastic years to come, and to the new Form Tutors who have joined the Third Year team this year!
Each week in the blog, we will be looking to celebrate the achievements, large or small, of our Third Year boys as they progress through the academic year. If you have any news or accomplishments that you’d like to share with our Third Year community, please email them to j.neville@hamptonschool.org.uk and we will be sure to include it in the next edition!
Heads of Year Welcome
We were delighted to see the smiling faces, energy and enthusiasm as Third Year boys returned to classrooms on Wednesday after a well-deserved summer break. Whether a returning Second Year pupil or joining from a Prep School, all the boys have started the school year remarkably well. They are settling into the new Form Groups with characteristic adaptability and we have already received several positive comments from subject teachers who have been impressed with the early interactions with their Third Year classes – well done boys! They have also responded well to the challenges of familiarising themselves with a new timetable, new classrooms, new Form Tutors and new subject teachers, so we are sure that the boys will benefit from a couple of days to regroup over the weekend.
We spoke to all the Third Year boys together on Wednesday and were keen to emphasise a few important points. Firstly, they are always welcome to speak to us, their Form Tutors and/or their Sixth Form mentors on any subject, but particularly if they have a question or a problem relating to School life that they need help with. Secondly, they should be themselves and must be kind to themselves over the coming days and weeks. The exertions of starting a new term in a new environment are very challenging, so they must give themselves time and space to rest, sleep at night, eat well and stay hydrated. It may take a little time to feel completely settled (and this is to be expected), but the boys should be calm and authentic in their interactions with teachers and peers. Finally, we set the boys some aims for the year. We hope these will act as a guiding principle for their time in Third Year:
- Always aim for personal best in everything you do at School – academic endeavour; co-curricular engagement; interactions with teachers and peers.
- Be kind to everyone in the School community.
- Get involved in as many aspects of School life as you can.
- Speak up if you need assistance or if you get things wrong.
As a reference, please see the presentation that accompanied our assembly talk here.
We have high hopes for the new Third Year boys and we are really looking forward to supporting each of them and helping them to achieve their potential this year.
Best wishes
Miss Smith & Mr Rigby
CO-CURRICULAR FAIR
From Beekeeping to Basketball, Chemistry to Cryptic Crosswords, the Lower School Co-curricular Fair took place this lunchtime. Hamptonians can choose from over sixty lunchtime clubs, sports, orchestras and ensembles to take part in. Have a look at the video below to see what some of our First and Third Year pupils have decided to try out:
The full list of clubs on offer can be found in the booklet below:
Why not have a go and try something new!
School Coaches
On Thursday, Mr Morris (Deputy Head) spoke to all the boys using the coach service to get to and/or from school. He reminded the boys that they must remain seated and wear seatbelts at all times, be courteous to and not distract the coach driver, treat fellow passengers with consideration (including in their use of language, mobile devices and social media), and generally to maintain the standards of behaviour expected of Hamptonians, as outlined in the School Code. Mr Morris made it clear that boys risked losing their place on a school coach if they could not follow these reasonable requirements. He also reminded boys that their place was booked on a specific coach and they were not at liberty to travel on other school coaches.
Mentors
The Upper Sixth Formers who are acting as Third Year Mentors this year introduced themselves to the Third Year boys on Wednesday. The boys can look forward to a wealth of experience and top tips that the mentors will undoubtedly provide!
One of the mentors, Shivam T, said this about the year ahead:
“I wanted to become a mentor as I know that joining in Third Year can be tough to integrate with the other boys and I want to help the new boys as my mentors helped me, and I also want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable in their Form as they are together until they finish GCSEs.”
Another mentor said,
“Having been stuck at home all summer, I’ve been really looking forward to getting back into the school routine. It was especially great to see the excitement of the Third Years and how at ease the new boys were with their new school. I’m thrilled to see what this year will bring and looking forward to see what great things these boys will do.”
Finally, a top tip,
Get stuck in, enjoy yourselves and most importantly, never shy away from the feeling of togetherness that Hampton brings.
Wise words indeed!
Over the summer
The Third Years seem to have enjoyed themselves over the summer holidays, despite everything that’s been going on in the world! Plenty of boys managed to jet away for a week or two, even with the extra admin involved with travelling currently, and it was great to hear about trips to France, Spain, Greece and Italy.
Felix R enjoyed the tense Euro 2020 semi-final between England and Denmark at Wembley, but with a Danish mother it was certainly a competitive family affair!
Amulya T was lucky enough to visit the sunny seaside town of Southport over the summer, although not the Pleasureland which was sadly closed! He seemed to spend most of his time in the arcade instead!
Felix L was delighted to be able to take advantage of a swimming pool on his vacation, but jumping in from a great height wasn’t his wisest move and a broken ankle was the result! Hope it heals up soon, Felix!
Alex B cooked up a storm in the kitchen and his lamp chops went down a treat! Yum!
National Make Your Bed Day!
Sunday 11 September is National Make Your Bed Day!
According to the National Sleep Foundation, making your bed can help improve your sleep by reducing the amount of tossing, turning, and restlessness we experience. Reducing all that turmoil in the bedroom offers great returns, such as good health!
In addition, we at the blog are willing to bet that your parents will be jolly pleased as well, so everyone wins! We look forward to seeing you back in School, fully refreshed, on Monday morning after a revitalising night in the sack!
Teambuilding Day – Thursday 16 September
On Thursday next week, the Third Years have their annual Teambuilding Day. This is always a highlight of the year for the Third Year and a great opportunity to make friends and get to know people. Boys should attend school as normal on Thursday in their sports/games kit and get ready for a fun-filled day of exciting and thought-provoking activities!
3J have already been trying to get a head start by playing a ‘getting to know you’ game in Form time that involved fascinating facts about one another’s family, sporting allegiances, pets and even favourite foods!
Third Year Inter-Form Competition – The Wills’ Cup:
Every year, the Third Year compete in a wide range of events in the Inter-Form Competition. The Wills’ Cup, donated by two long serving members of the Pastoral Team, is awarded to the Form which amasses the most amount of points in competitions running throughout the School Year, which range from a variety of sports to activities such as a Spelling Bee and a Quiz.
Question of the week
Each week, we pose a question for you to get stuck into with the chance to win a merit if you answer correctly. What fun, I hear you say!?
We’ll bed you in with an easy one this week. Don’t forget to include your name and Form to win that merit!
Oops! We could not locate your form.
