Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Third Year entered fully into the spirit of No Limits Week and experimented with lots of new clubs at lunchtime; as a form tutor it was great to hear boys encouraging each other to break out of the routine and try something new. Friday was Mufti Day with the World Cup-inspired theme of “Team Colours” and Third Year Hamptonians turned out in the kit of their favourite team (mostly football, but other sports were represented). Money raised will go to our three Form Charity partners; The Ishami Foundation, The Royal Marsden Foundation and Momentum Children’s Charity.
The Arts Award also got underway this week and 21 Third Year artists met with their advisers and began their creative projects which range from writing a novella; to composing a piece of music with alternative instruments; to writing the soundtrack for a computer game, and to making an architectural model of a hospital.
In this week’s Blog we have impressive poetry from the unexpected source of the Physics Department and an account of a successful Model United Nations conference last weekend. We have the annual String Concert to look forward to on Tuesday at 7pm so grab your ticket here.
Some boys may be tempted by the cash prizes for the Aristotelian Award for Research competition. It is aimed at Third Year pupils and aims to promote independent research. Please send your essays by email to t.rigby@hamptonschool.org.uk by Friday 3 February 2023. Mr Rigby will give all entrants five Merits and will select the top four entries for the national competition.
To find out more, take a look at the essay guidelines here.
Heads of Year Message
Nobody could be in any doubt that the Football World Cup is imminent whilst walking around the school site today. “Team colours” mufti day provided a colourful backdrop to lessons, whilst raising money for our three nominated Form Charity partners and heralding the arrival of the latest instalment of the global festival of football. As the Headmaster’s address in Monday’s Assembly touched upon, the controversies surrounding the build-up to and hosting of this tournament by Qatar should remain front of mind whilst we enjoy the football. In particular, for those of us supporting England on the pitch, we can also choose to support the stance they are taking on Human Rights and LGBTQ+ issues both on and off the pitch throughout the tournament.
Anti-Bullying Week
This week has been Anti-Bullying Week in schools nationwide. Miss Holmes spoke about this in Assembly on Monday to reinforce the messages that we regularly give to all our pupils – that bullying of any kind has no place at Hampton and there is a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviours. Boys are always encouraged to treat one another with kindness, tolerance, empathy and respect. If you have any concerns that this is not the case for yourself or for your son, please contact us, as these are issues that we always work hard to resolve with sensitivity.
No Limits Week
We have been delighted to see how Third Year pupils have bought into No Limits Week and used it is an opportunity to try new activities. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves in the process and our sincere thanks go to the teachers who put on such wonderful and varied co-curricular activities. Having tried something new, our hope is that boys will keep going to the club(s) that they enjoyed – this could be the start of a lifelong hobby, interest or passion! Boys – these are the things that will enrich your lives, so the time you invest in them now will pay dividends in the future.
U14 Rugby
Finally, we would like to wish the U14A Rugby team well for their Middlesex Cup Semi-Final fixture against Gunnersbury on Tuesday next week. Best of luck in reaching the Final. Do yourselves proud, win or lose.
Boys – Please remember to let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you are having any difficulties. We hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mr H Moore
MUN Success
Leander K-B (3J) tells us all about the recent Model United Nations Conference:
On November 12, Hamptonians across all year groups travelled to RGS in Guildford for the RGSMUN. Hamptonians represented the delegations of France and Bukino Faso (East Africa) and we were split into levels of ability from Beginner to Advanced. I represented France at the intermediate level, in the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), discussing the topics of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device) and Piracy on the Gulf of Guinea. We had a long day of fruitful debate before moving to the General Assembly where we discussed the fictional crisis of a UFO landing in Russia. The day finished with the awards ceremony with nine Hamptonians winning an award, including myself winning the only Outstanding Delegate award for Hampton. All in all a brilliant day and can’t wait for the next conference to come around!
Well done Leander!
No LiMits Week
It was fantastic to see you all getting stuck into all the different clubs on offer at lunchtime during No Limits Week. Take a look at just some of the new activities you tried this week:
Rowing Report
One of the Third Year rowing coaches, Mr Perry, tells us about what our rowers have been getting up to on the water:
On Saturday 12 November, some of the Third Year competed in their first ever rowing competition, the Teddington Head, and had an adventure to get to the start line. After rowing downstream from the boathouse, the octuple (eight rowers with two oars each, and a steersperson) went through Molesey lock and past Hampton Court Palace. They raced 5,200m from past Kingston Rowing Club to Steven’s Ait. This event was a time trial, with many different categories of boat racing all at the same time.
There were only two crews in the J14 octuple event and the other crew started in front of the Hampton boat. After a strong controlled start the gap had been significantly reduced, with the Hampton crew overtaking many other boats in the process. However coming around Raven’s Ait in Kingston, they became tangled with another boat losing valuable time. Despite a strong finish the crew finished agonisingly close behind their opposition. Despite not coming out on top, the boys all enjoyed their racing experience, and without getting tangled who knows what would have happened!
The Third Year squad now have some private fixtures to look forward to before Christmas.
Oliver S (3H) also tells us about the Teddington Head and what it was like to be in the boat:
Last weekend, eight J14 rowers competed in Teddington Head. The crew consisted of Patrick M (3C), Oliver S (3H), Ben F (3H), Daniel T (3J), Will L (3G) , Azam A (3H), JR Ozen (3A) and Boris D. We arrived at the boathouse, with fixed feelings of dread and anticipation for the race, which was a time trial format, the winner being the boat who posted the fastest time over the 5.2km course. We made our way to the start line, the golden gates of Hampton Court Palace, 45 minutes before the start of our division and fell into position along the bank. The anticipation began to build in the boat. We watched as crews flew past us, knowing that would be us in a few moments. Then the time came, we spun around and set off.
We kept in mind all the work we had put in over the last two months and channelled all that into our strokes. We were flying along, averaging a sub 2-minute split time. Then, it all began to fall apart. As we approached the halfway mark, a series of ‘crabs being caught’ hindered our progress. It seemed that as soon as we got back into a rhythm, another ‘crab’was caught. As we came out of Raven’s Ait, approximately 1.7km from the finish, we collided with a Kingston single sculler. We sat there for nearly a minute, trying to prise their oar from our boat.
When we got going, it seemed as though our race was over. However, we did not give up and pushed through to try and close the gap. In the remaining distance, we came from over a minute back to 9 seconds, with a total time of 21 minutes and 48 seconds. We then turned back and headed for home, arriving at the boathouse just after sunset to a round of applause from parents and coaches alike.
Well done to our rowers for keeping going!
Cross Country
The Richmond Borough Cross Country championships will be held on Friday 2 December this year. Hampton traditionally do very well in this competition, which leads on to the Middlesex Championships and then the English Schools. If any Third Year Hamptonians are keen to compete in the event please see Mr Clarke in his office G10 or join us on Monday or Friday lunchtimes by the sports hall for training at the start of lunch.
Physics Poems
This week’s Physics homework for forms 3B and 3J was to write a rap/poem about Thermal Conduction – the pupils really impressed with their creative rhyming. Here are four of the best from 3J. Well done to you all! (Mrs Reilly)
Heating a substance gives it more energy,
Atoms vibrating and moving rapidly,
Transfer of heat from hot to cold,
This is conduction – we are told.
Outermost electrons are loose and free,
They vibrate but not visibly,
Conductors have materials that like to move,
Free electrons inside doing the groove.
Copper, gold, silver, iron and steel are all conductors,
But alloys are impure and more like obstructers,
Insulators are rubber, glass, oil and a diamond gem,
And don’t let electrons move through them.
By Thomas G (3J)
Conduction, what could it be
It doesn’t really matter to you or me
However the main factor is that electrons are free.
Metals conduct well it’s quite ironic
That just happens to be as they are ionic.
Ionic structures are like bricks
regular and standard
so conduction just clicks.
However be careful not to mix
Alloy conduction can be a fix.
Yet conductors can be quite hectic
They conduct energy as both heat and electric.
By Basil G (3J)
Today I’ll be rapping ‘bout heat transfers
And from sitting on a cold bench I can infer
That hot goes to cold
Like an online trend
And the particles in a hot object
Go full send
Heat is the sum of total energy
(But temperature is the average energy)
As you know I’m rapping this cleverly
But if you get this wrong in the test it’s jeopardy
The electrons in an atom build up energy
And bosh and bounce into the particles relevantly
And if you touch this heat
It’ll make you go “Gosh!”
Because of this bouncing in the particles
Heat goes down the object till it stops it
Now the object loses heat to surroundings
But yes (don’t worry) energy is still conserved
And we represent this in a way that’s absurd
Sankey Diagrams!
By Ollie D (3J)
Metal atoms are great,
Because their electrons can separate.
They can move around the metal,
They will never settle.
Heating ions makes them vibrate,
Gaining energy as they gyrate.
Free electrons move the energy like gold,
Taking it from hot to cold.
In alloys the electrons have to move slower,
So they end up with conduction that’s lower.
Insulators hold on to their electrons tighter,
Holding them with all their might.
By Ryan C (3J)
Locker League
3F’s locker league has continued with much excitement. Let’s hear from Mrs Reilly and Mr Dow:
Advait B triumphed in his match despite having one arm in a plaster cast, some boys forgot their locker codes, and boys who have a “bottom row” locker claimed they were disadvantaged! Mainly we discovered that; practice was key, you need to keep calm under pressure, and that a little bit of luck really helps. Thanks goes to our super Sixth Form mentors Pranav S and Matthew M who have refereed matches and ensured fairness. We are down to the semi-finals, with four strong locker unlockers due to face off in the next few days. Well done to Gabriel H, Advait B, Josh C, and Fabio TP – we wish you all luck and hopefully a place in the finals of Locker League!
CONNECTION CORNER
Well done to the 37 Hamptonians who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner, and in a first for the competition everyone correctly guessed the connection as Playing Cards. We’re obviously making this too easy for you! Big shout out to Thomas G, Alexander P, Raif D, Aditya Ku, Max F, Jasper E, Jack Y, Charlie H, Aaron L, Albert S, Gregory M, Oliver A, Robbie M, Stan A, Yaseen M, Alex W, Joshua G, Maurice R, Matthew J, Leander K-B, Juan-Leonardo SH, Henry P, Avraj M, Eugene K, Ben B, Mattias S-M, Jude L S, Samuel H, Neel M, Agalyan S, Adam M, Teddy H, Joshua R, Johnny R, Eric M, Oliver S and Aditya Ki. Don’t forget to collect your merits! Bragging rights go to Form 3B and 3E this week with the most correct 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:
Which supervillain is Batman’s nemesis? Joker
Which band sung the song ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’? Queen
What does the Tinman wish for in the Wizard of Oz? A Heart
The ‘Golden Bear’ is the nickname of which golf legend? Jack Nicklaus
Connection answer: Playing cards
Have a great weekend!
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