Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
There has been a mood of industry among Third Year this week as everyone buckles down to work, conscious of imminent Grade Cards. There has been plenty of chances to let off steam on the sports fields or on the river and a good number auditioned for Joseph and his Technicoloured Dreamcoat (the call-backs are next week). One of the highlights of the week happens after our blog deadline, a Talk! With Fraser Nelson, editor of The Spectator magazine, on ‘Westminster Woes’ in the Hammond (review to follow). Clubs are in full swing and Yoga Club is reviewed in this edition: a great way for boys to improve strength and flexibility.
A good number of boys have been preparing their applications for the Arts Award. A reminder that the deadline is Tuesday 4 November and forms which can be found on Firefly need to be sent to V.Whitwam@hamptonschool.org.uk. I have been impressed by the ambitious and varied creative ideas springing out of Third Year. The brief is incredibly broad so I encourage boys to consider developing their skills in any art form. To give you some idea, this could be in poetry, song writing, dance, music, sculpture, photography, life drawing, portraiture, architecture, clothes design and much more.
I hope you enjoy the detailed and, at times, emotional match reports. Well done to everyone for taking part and being good winners and losers.
Heads of Year Message
Grade Cards
Parents will be able to access their son’s grade card from the end of the school day on Friday 14 October via the Parent Portal. The link to this will also be sent to parents via SchoolPost that evening. Boys should not worry unduly about their grade cards. Form Tutors will pick up on any academic concerns after the half term holiday, with the aim of offering support if required.
Coffee Mornings
We enjoyed meeting the parents of boys in forms 3B, 3D, 3E and 3F at Coffee Morning events this week and we are looking forward to welcoming parents of boys in forms 3G, 3H, and 3J at the Coffee Morning events next week. For any parents wishing to swap contact details with each other, this is the ideal opportunity.
Please feel free to contact your son’s Form Tutors by email to arrange a conversation over the phone if you are unable to attend these events but would like to speak with one of them. Similarly, if there are any concerns you have at this stage of the term that you would like to raise with us, please do contact us both by email and we can arrange to speak as required.
If any boy is unable to attend School due to ill health, please notify the School by contacting Form Tutors and absence@hamptonschool.org.uk, or using the absence link on the Parent Portal.
Boys – Please remember to let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you are having any difficulties.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mr H Moore
Musical Auditions
It was great to hear that so many of you tried out for this year’s exciting Junior Musical. Let’s find out more from Theo S (3A):
Last Tuesday auditions for the Joseph and the Technicoloured Dream Coat took place involving a great selection of pupils from First to Fourth Year. There was a huge amount of talent on display throughout the entire audition, as everyone sang and danced the night away. Multiple brave pupils stepped up in front of everyone there to perform brilliant solos, such as Stanley A (3A) and Freddie T (3H). Wish us all luck!
Clubs, clubs, clubs!
There are lots of clubs to choose from at lunchtime, here are just some of the actvities that you could have a go at next week:
Yoga
On Wednesday I went to Yoga Club in the Dance Studio. At 12.40, I got changed into my tracksuit and started the class led by Mrs Kirby. We warmed up on the yoga mats, testing our flexibility and readying our muscles. We then went into our main group of stretches: The Sun Salutation: this is a full-body stretch that is comprised of positions such as Downward Dog, Plank, Side Plank, and Tree Pose. We ended the session with relaxing, focused breathing, with the goal to release all of our muscle tension. It was a fun lunchtime club and I recommend it to anyone who is very sporty and looking for time to relax their muscles.
By Nathaniel C (3A)
History Society
Mr Roberts, Head of History, tells us all about History Society:
Mrs Arnott spoke to the History Society on Thursday on ‘Finding Women in Early Modern London’. If you imagine a woman in early modern times, what images spring to mind? Queens? Nuns? Witches? Fish wives and bawds in a Shakespearean play? Apart from the queens, I suspect all of the figures you imagine are powerless and secondary to men. But what if I told you that ordinary women – and I don’t mean rich aristocrats – could be powerful and significant, and that their voices (if we look carefully in the primary evidence) tell us they were far more diverse and interesting than the stereotypes that exist? Pupils were invited to think about these long-lost people and challenge their preconceptions about early modern life in London.
The full list of all clubs, societies and other co-curricular activities on offer at Hampton can be found here:
CO-CURRICULAR TIMETABLE 2022-3
Why not try a new club next week, plenty of time to get stuck in before half term.
Sports Reports
U14B ESFA Round 1 vs Coombe boys by Joe P (3H)
The U14B team lined up against Coombe Boys B team for our first ESFA match of the season. The game kicked off at after a 30-minute-long warm up, and straight away we were applying pressure to their defence. Our first chance was when Dominic S (3E) played a lovely ball over the top for our striker, Benjamin W (3D), to run on to. He took a touch and blasted it millimetres wide of the top corner. So close and really unlucky but a good sign of things to come.
Our first goal came about 10 minutes into the first half when Dominic S (3E) followed in on a save from the keeper and smashed it top right. For the next 5 minutes, we had chance after chance without the ball even reaching our own half but we couldn’t quite find the finish until Jasper B (3G – our right winger) came storming in from the right and thundered another one in. 2-0. Then we started to really play good football with a solid defensive play from Daniel L (3A), Maurice R (3H), there was also some lovely passes and dribbles in the midfield from Finley M (3G) and Freddie T (3H) which all led to a perfect counter attacking goal. The long ball to Nicolas H (3D) was perfect and he ran it down the wing and got the perfect ball along the ground to Gabriel G (3B) who finished it with composure.
At 3-0 there were more passes from the midfield and a strong defence keeping me as far away from the ball as possible. A perfect header from Dominic S got us another goal. And then just before half time, Robert B (3D) pickled up the ball from about 25 yards out and flicked it up to set himself for a volley, the keeper made an exceptional save onto the bar but his efforts were in vain as Jasper was there at the back post to clean up and make it 5-0 at half time.
In the second half we stayed strong and I was, yet again, kept very quiet in goal. However, even with the pressure mounting Dominic S couldn’t be kept out the game for too long so as he gathered the ball on the edge of the box he took the shot and, unfortunately for the keeper (who played exceptionally the whole game), it bobbled just round him for Dominic S’s hat-trick. The next few goals came from Nicholas H (3D) at right wing and Jasper’s hattrick from left wing and Dominic S’s fourth of the game. These goals helped us to a 9-0 victory in the opening round of ESFA and a game like this has left the team with lots of confidence for this year’s Cup run and season. Special mentions for performances go to Dominic S (3E) for four goals and Finley for five assists and we congratulate both of them for joint man of the match.
Mr Leafe, the U14B coach, gives us his assessment of their season so far:
The U14B Football team have made a strong start to the season; their hard-working performances have delivered four impressive results – including a 1-1 draw with an A-Team and victory in the first round of the ESFA cup competition.
The team are being challenged this year to play out from the back with confidence, and have so far scored fifteen goals and only conceded one. There have been notable fantastic goals from Robert B, and multiple Player of the Match performances from Dominic S. Keep it up, boys!
Rugby Reports
It’s not just the footballers who’ve been busy on the sports pitches, Jack H (3A) reports on the exploits of the U14A rugby team:
On Saturday last week, U14A team travelled down to Brighton, expecting a competitive match against Hurstpierpoint College. After a long drive, we made it to their nice pitches and began to warm up. The match started with two tries, scored and converted by Harry D (3A) but they managed to bring the score to 14-5 at half time. The second half started strong again with Stanley A scoring under the posts after lots of phases in their 22. Another unconverted try from them brought the scores to 19-10. It was a competitive match and both sides played very well. Well done!
Basil G ( 3J) tells us about the U14B match at the weekend:
On Saturday 1 October, we left for Hurstpierpoint ol for a rugby match. We had an hour and a half bus ride and, when we finally arrived, we did our usual stretches and practised the scrum and line-out in which we decided that the adequate call for mauling would be ‘mango’. Once the game commenced, we had little to no line- outs in our favour. We sadly were unable to score a single try in the first half of the match. The last play, however, quite extraordinarily consisted of four penalties and three line-outs due to a series offsides and kicking to corners.
Connection Corner
A big shout out to the 37 Hamptonians who had a go at this week’s Connection Corner and well done those of you who answered all the questions correctly. Lots of you guessed letters of the alphabet but the correct connection was Blood Types! Merits go to Jasper E, Aditya K, Eric M, Daniel O, Joshua C, Oliver S, Patrick M, Tanmay B, Archer J, Oliver A, Aaron L, Albert S, Gregory M, Fabio T-P, Daniel T and Joshua R. Bragging rights to 3H with the most entries.
Another tricky one this week, have a go over the weekend and see if you can spot the connection:
In case you’re still perplexed, here are last week’s answers:
What are the English letters that are equivalent to the Greek letters, alpha and beta? A and B
What type of insect can be a honey or a bumble? Bee
What qualification preceded GCSEs? O-levels and CSEs
What is the name of Italy’s premier football league? Serie A
Connection: Blood types (AB, B, O, A)
