Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
It seems inconceivable that it is already half term. I’m sure Stephen Hawking would have had something more concrete to say on the matter, but it is moments like this where the strangely elastic nature of time is evident in that it feels like the last five weeks have flown by while simultaneously feeling that the Christmas holidays seem like an awfully long time ago. Interesting though this pseudo-philosophy is, what you really want to do is get into celebrating the achievements of all these Third Years, so that they can ride triumphant in to the sunlit glory of half term.
This week, the hot floodlight of acclaim falls upon the rowers and the performers. The weekend saw the Third Year rowers’ first foray into the ferocity of competitive oarsmanship. Would they sink or swim (well, row, but go with me here)? Find out below.
This week has also seen the performances of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Rave reviews have come through from everyone I have spoken who saw and heard it and it has made its imprint on the School, with the music emanating from the Hammond throughout the week and brightly dressed characters ambling through the corridors to dutifully ask for catch up work from their teachers like the Hamptonians they are. Below you can read a view from some of those involved with what was, undoubtedly, a marvellous experience for all on both sides of the curtain.
All that remains is to wish you all a happy, healthy half term and to let the rest of the blog speak for itself…
Heads of Year Message
We hope that as many Third Years as possible will get involved in the latest Interform Challenge Event – “Come dine with me”! This is a great way for boys to do something nice for their families over the holidays, work on their culinary skills, and earn Interform Challenge points all at the same time.
We have written separately today to Third Year parents on the subjects of personal safety, e-safety and the RSE course. We hope that parents will find the time to read our letter and that this will promote useful conversations at home over the holidays.
Third Year Parents’ Evening
We hope that parents have all been able to make video call appointments for Third Year Parents’ Evening on Tuesday 21 February.
Please contact Mr Gray (s.gray@hamptonschool.org.uk) for assistance if you have been unable to make the necessary appointments.
Study Skills Evening
A date for your diaries next term: Study Skills Evening (for parents) will take place on Monday 24 April from 6.30pm. Note that this is later than we advertised in our start of term letter, but we believe that it will work better as it coincides with the start of revision for Third Year pupils in the lead up to exams week (May 22-26). We will write to all parents in early March with further details, including how to sign up to attend the event. The capacity for this event will be 100 people, so we ask that only one person per household attends.
Boys – We wish you all a peaceful and restorative half term holiday, and we look forward to seeing you in a week’s time – refreshed and rejuvenated for next half term. Have a lovely week off!
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Miss M Bedford
Rowing Success
The East Molesey stretch of the River Thames hosted one of the biggest events in the junior rowing calendar – the Hampton Head. Director of Rowing, Mr Greenaway, tells us how our J14 crews got on:
On Saturday the J14 Squad had some outstanding success at Hampton Head winning the J14 Octuples event and with the 2nd Octuple coming second out of the field of 13 crews. The Hampton 1st Octuple powered their way along the course and impressed themselves upon the race with a six second lead ahead of Westminster, but the Hampton 2nd Octuple were not letting them have it all their own way and arguably more technical and although not as physically strong were only three and half seconds behind the Hampton 1st Octuple and just under three seconds ahead of Westminster. An impressive team result and we look forward to see how they fair at the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head in March.
So what did the rowers themselves make of their experience?
On Saturday, 400 boats from various schools travelled to the Hampton Boat House and raced in a series of time trials. It was very exciting and the Hampton U14 A and B octos came first and second in their divisions with a four second gap in between them. It was a difficult but fun race and we are all looking forward to the next one. Billy T (3J) A Octuple
The performance by the B team boat was very good, as we clocked in a time of 9 minutes and 20 seconds, which was only 4 seconds slower than the A team boat, which achieved a time of 9:16. The B boat came second and the A boat came first in the J14 octuples, which is quite impressive for our first race of the year. The wait to start was nearly an hour and a half from the boathouse to the starting line, so we were told to bring food and a water bottle to stay hydrated. Other than that, the wait was very boring. Since I was the 4th seat from the bow, I had very little to do, but towards the end, more space cleared up and our cox (the person who steers the boat and tells the rowers what to do) got the four rowers closest to the bow rowing, which includes me. As we got nearer to the starting line, there was a significant jump in nerves and excitement. We started off very strong and kept a good pace throughout the entire race. The climax of the event was when we came up on Emanuel School’s octuple and overtook them. This happened near the end, and all of us were rowing as hard as we could to pass them. It was truly an amazing event, and I cannot wait for the next one. Leon M (3B) B Octuple
Last Saturday saw the Hampton Head, a huge rowing event featuring lots of schools such as Westminster, Abingdon and Kingston Grammar. In the J14 category, there were four different octos racing the 3000m race. The day started bright and early with our boat on the water by 9am. I was coxing the 3rd Octuple and our race number was 228. We joined the long queue snaking up the river and it proved challenging trying to keep order with the current so strong. We eventually got moving and after about 45 minutes of queuing we were ready to start the race. The race was tough, thankfully we were one of the last boats of the morning, so we had most of the river to ourselves. We finished the race in good time with very few slip ups. The crew did very well as we came third in the category, along with the 1st Octuple coming 1st overall and the 2nd Octuple coming first in their category and second overall winning us all well-deserved medals. Leander K-B (3J) C Octuple
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
It was great to see some of our Third Year Hamptonians treading the boards in this year’s Junior Musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Not only were they entertaining packed Hammond Theatre audiences with their acting and singing, but some were part of the all important theatre technical crew.
Harry N (3J) tells us all about what goes on behind the scenes:
The lights fall. Though the curtain has not risen yet, the people backstage in the Hammond are already getting to work. There I am, at the back of the auditorium, mixing the volumes of the microphones in the orchestra pit. Props and lighting are on standby. The overture slows to a stop and the curtain rises.
This is the perspective that you usually don’t really see. Theatre Tech Club takes care of almost everything backstage for performances. That is:
- Lighting
- Sound
- Props
- Set changes
- Mic packs for the actors
- Making sure the actors are quiet backstage (very difficult)
- A lot of saying the word “standby”
Of course, it’s quite a lot for just the theatre technicians to handle and even with more people, we all specialise in one or two specific facets of the club.
There’s always something to be done during a performance. For me, I’m just stood there pushing faders up until you can actually hear the actors. And that’s good enough for me. There’s always something I can focus on and get involved with, and I really enjoy that.
Overall, this whole show has been amazing to work on. Many thanks to all the actors from Hampton and Waldegrave, everybody backstage in the Hammond, and all the teachers that brought everything together for five great performances.
Rock Concert
Catch up on some of the highlights from this year’s Rock Concert:
Interform – Come Dine with Me
As you all know, the Third Year Interform trophy is one of the most prestigious prizes in South West London. The first term and a half of the year has seen a variety of events, from the white heat of the Tug of War competition to the calculated precision (or not, in some cases) of the codebreaking event.
This half term sees the Interform ‘Come Dine with Me’ event. All you need to do is cook a meal for your families over this half term break, take a picture of it and then email that photo to Mr Moore (H.Moore@hamptonschool.org.uk) with your name and form as the subject of the email. Each verified photo counts as 1 point for your Form. Each pupil is only allowed one entry (though, of course, you are allowed to cook more than one meal for your families over half term!).
Will any Form manage to get 100% of the Form to cook something?
We will feature some of the more impressive efforts in the first blog after half term.
Talk!
A year on since since the invasion of Ukraine, don’t miss the opportunity to hear from renowned foreign affairs journalist Tim Marshall, and author of international bestseller ‘Prisoners of Geography’ in the next Hampton School Talk! on Friday 24 February. Find out more here.
Lion Print
Those of you who are familiar with the Hampton School crest (which is ALL of you, of course), will be very aware, no doubt, that the Lion is holding a quill. While some may argue that to face the world in the 21st Century he might be better served by a calculator, I would disagree. To be able to start with a blank page and then end with a piece of writing that can move someone, motivate someone, persuade someone or explain something is surely one of the greatest skills that a person (or Lion) could have.
In the School there is a groundswell of these great writers, but there is not often the opportunity to show it. That opportunity is here in the form of Lion Print.
This is a beautifully art directed book which pairs creative writing from Hamptonians with art produced by Hamptonians and its publication is one of the highlights of the School year. If you are a budding writer, this half term is the perfect time to take the opportunity to try to be part of this marvellous publication.
There is no set focus or genre (we are hoping to include poetry and prose), and unlike previous years, we will not be relying on a school competition to provide material for the magazine. Instead, we are asking any budding writers to submit a piece of prose (or a poem) by the beginning of the summer term. You should aim for between 500 – 1000 words.
The first step would be to express your interest to Mrs Bartholomew, who edits the publication.
If you think you are interested in submitting a piece, it would be helpful if you could let her know the following details of what you are thinking:
- name and form
- genre (poetry or prose)
- general focus or story idea.
If you could email this information to t.bartholomew@hamptonschool.org.uk by Tuesday 27 February, it will allow Mrs Bartholomew to start planning the design and pagination of the magazine.
This is a fantastic opportunity, so please do give it a shot!
Two truths and a lie
Last week, Miss Embiricos gave us two facts and a filthy lie:
- Miss Embiricos’ favourite food is sea urchin salad
- Miss Embiricos has represented Greece in the Ultimate Frisbee World Cup
- Miss Embiricos’ cousin is in the movie Fantastic Beasts
The lie here is the idea that Miss Embiricos represented Greece in the Ultimate Frisbee World Cup – I have not seen her throw a Frisbee, but as I understand it her technique would not cope with the rigours of international competition. As a side note, I should emphasise to you all that, despite her best efforts, sea urchin salad will not be making it on to the regular Hampton lunch menu rotation.
This week, Mr Walsh, 3C Form Tutor, is our subject. Three ‘facts’ about him are below (though, frankly, it feels a bit as if ALL of these are lies).
- Mr Walsh visits a different country every weekend
- Mr Walsh holds a pilot’s licence
- Mr Walsh reached the rank of Champion 1 in Rocket League
I promise you only one of these is a lie – which one? Answers in the blog next week…
CONNECTION CORNER
Well done to the everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. Everyone who entered guessed this week’s connection! Merits go to all those who correctly guessed that the answers were all to do with New York. Big shout out to Jasper E, Teddy H, Max M, Matias S-M, Albert S, Prabodha A, Leander K-B, Fraser K, Samuel H, Robbie M, Adam M, Tanmay B, Max F, Namish J, Stanley A, Eugene K, Ben B, Advait B, Oliver A, Thomas G, Jude L S, Avraj M, Agalyan S, Joshua R, Johnny R, Eric M, Ollie W and Ameya M.
In case, you’re still perplexed here are the answers from the last week’s conundrum:
Which Northern Line station lies between Tooting Bec and Colliers Wood? Tooting Broadway
Braeburn, Melba and Golden Russett are all varieties of what? Apple
What is the name of the café in the sitcom Friends? Central Perk
What is the name of David and Victoria Beckham’s oldest child? Brooklyn
Connection answer: All things to do with New York (Broadway, The Big Apple, Central Park, Brooklyn)
We’ll be back with more fiendishly perplexing conundrums after the break!
