WELCOME TO THE THIRD YEAR BLOG!
Like everything else this week, the blog is essentially melting, so don’t touch your screen as it may well be sticky. No one wants Third Year Blog all over their hands when all they wanted to do was read it.
Of course, the relentless heat affords the pupils the exceptional privilege of not wearing a tie or a blazer this week. This then affords the teachers the exceptional privilege of not having to tell pupils to put their blazers on or to tie their ties properly. This doesn’t let anyone on either side off from the the constant, never-ending ‘tuck your shirt in’ battle. In fairness to the pupils, almost any movement beyond breathing heavily seems to be enough to dislodge the errant polyester. In fairness to the teachers, there are very few things more likely to whisper ‘School code, School code’ in your ear than a squad of Third years swaggering down the corridor with their shirts untucked. ‘Twas ever thus.
Even without ties and blazers, Hampton is still abuzz with activity, with the Third Year in particular throwing themselves into the summer term with the sort of gusto usually reserved for southern fried chicken on a Friday.
This means a bumper blog this week, with reports from the Cricket teams and from the Rowing squad’s efforts at the Star regatta. Beyond the sports fields (and waters), we have a German Olympiad, exceptional artwork and a host of pupils receiving their Headmaster’s Merit Certificates. That doesn’t even cover the Arts Award Leadership day that some of the Pupils went on today, which we will be able to give a full update on next week.
Frankly, I am astonished. I found it hard enough to stand up and then sit down again without passing out in this heat, and yet these boys manage to push themselves to get all this remarkable stuff done! Let’s hear about it…
HEADS OF YEAR MESSAGE
It is a burgeoning blog this week (reflecting how busy Third Year pupils have been with Arts Award workshops, drama rehearsals, sports fixtures etc.), so we will keep our message to the essentials:
- Any pupil that could not collect their new laptop this week should go to the IT office next week for collection. A reminder that there is software loaded onto the school laptops that enables safeguarding monitoring to take place. Any online searches, social media interactions or other digital activities that meet the threshold of concern will be picked up by the school’s network filters when the laptop is brought into school. Pupils should recognise the need to use the laptops for school work and school purposes only (including when away from school).
- We expect impeccable conduct from the whole Year Group throughout the RS Talk on Thursday morning next week. Mike Haines OBE always speaks with compassion and wisdom about his very challenging life experiences, and we anticipate that all our pupils will show him the respect he deserves whilst listening and asking questions on the theme of Forgiveness. Please notify us, or the RS department, in advance if you have any concerns about this talk.
- Temporary uniform changes will continue next week, so pupils will not be required to wear blazers or ties while in School or on their journeys to and from School. Shirts should still be tucked in. We also want to remind pupils that chewing gum is not allowed in School and head phones should be removed as pupils enter School in the morning.
- We spoke to all Third Years in a Year Group assembly this week about the importance of adhering to the School Code of Conduct right until the end of the last day of term, and the need to follow personal safety advice when outside school and into the holidays.
We hope that everyone makes the most of the remaining three weeks of term. Please throw yourselves into the activities on offer and keep supporting one another with kindness right until the end of term. As always, do reach out to us or your Form Tutors if you are having any difficulties.
Absences
For medical absences, please notify your son’s Form Tutors via email (cc’ing absence@hamptonschool.org.uk) on the morning of each day of absence by 8:45am, or complete the absence form via the parent portal. For planned absences and appointments, please contact Heads of Year requesting the absence with as much notice as possible.
We hope you all have a lovely weekend in the sunshine!
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Miss M Bedford
Oxford German Olympiad
Arie B (3C) entered the Oxford German Olympiad, with his entry being Highly Commended, which is a remarkable effort. Here, Arie talks us through the experience of being involved.
After entering the Oxford German Olympiad, I was pleased to find that one of the challenges involved Art, which I greatly enjoy doing as a hobby. I then spent some time translating the poem “Auf Dem Land” to English, and finding each of the animals mentioned. I proceeded to begin to sketch some of them, but as I believed I could not use many sheets of paper, I had to exclude four. I began to add some texture and then marked the page as finished.
I then began working on constructing a recipe for a beloved German food: Schnitzel! I chose this as it could also be made from tofu for a vegan option! I wrote it down on a paper with a picture of the desired product in order to make the recipe better looking. I then submitted it.
Overall, I found the competition very fun, and it helped me to get better at German and Art in a very enjoyable way. I hope to enter more competitions like this in the future, and maybe even win!
Take a look at Arie’s submission here. Well done, Arie!
HELP Project
It’s been great to hear so many of you have completed a HELP Project this year on a whole host of interesting subjects. Let’s hear from Matthew J (3E) about the inspiration behind the wonderful piece of art he’s created:
For my HELP project this year, I decided to create a piece of art inspired by the French street and pop artist Mr Brainwash. I incorporated many elements into these pieces including multicolour spray paint, iconic Banksy stencils and inspirational messages such as ‘SMILE’ and ‘NEVER GIVE UP’. I enjoyed making them and I am pleased with result.
Cricket Update
U14A Cricket
After losing the toss, we were put in the field on one of the hottest days of the year to play St Paul’s School. An early wicket bowled by Tom B and a catch at midwicket by Dawood A gave us hope that we could finish the game quickly. Two amazing 360 run outs meant that we were still in the game with Joe P and Yuvraj S both picking up important wickets including their opener who scored a devastating 84 runs. St Paul’s ended their innings on 147/6 which was a reachable target in our eyes.
However, when we went into bat our openers quickly realised what a difficult wicket it was to bat on. 2 early wickets meant that we could have been in big trouble but Aditya K, Rohan V and Aadi K stepped up to the challenge and gave us hope scoring 13, 33 and 31 respectively. Yuvraj S who was brilliant with the ball came in and hit a vital 19 off 15, before he was dismissed, marking the time of the bowlers coming to the crease. We only needed 15 off the last over but St Paul’s decided to bring their opening Middlesex bowler back on and with his pace he managed to dismiss 4 of our players causing us to feel robbed from a win that was in our grasp. It is a big improvement from the start of the season but we are excited about next week where we face off against KCS Wimbledon. By Dawood A (3H)
U14B Cricket
We arrived at St John’s at 1:30 and the game commenced soon after. We started off with some great bowling from Alex W and Ollie W. Our first wicket came when Stanley A threw a bullet to Harry behind the stumps. After some good bowling and very tight fielding they were 50-3. The two set batsmen started to build a good partnership. One of the batters started going for it and the ball was flying all over the ground. He scored his fifty very quickly but soon after Harry D brought Ollie W back on. Ollie W delivered and the batsmen hit it very high, but we didn’t need to worry because Jack Y had settled under it. He took the catch and soon they crumbled, going from 100-3 to 135-6 at the end of the game.
We started our batting off very well with Stanley A and Charlie M smacking the openers around. They both fell getting caught playing cut shots, and Stefan H and Will K got to the crease. They built a good partnership before Stefan H fell to a peach of a delivery. In the same over Will K got given out LBW, but after the game the umpire said he made a mistake. After that we crumbled and the next batsmen got out very cheaply. We were on track to win on run rate but only had one wicket left, with Ameya M and Ollie W at the crease. They played the next two overs defensively but that meant we ended up needing 36 in four overs. Ollie W, playing with his dad’s old bat, hit some beautiful shots and Ameya M supported him very well. With two overs to go we needed 18 runs. In the first over Ameya played a beautifully timed pull shot for four and we needed only 8 off the last over. Ameya and Ollie ran 3 quick singles, but that meant we needed 5 off 3.
Ameya M got Ollie W on strike, and we needed 2 off the last ball. Ollie played an amazing shot over the bowlers head for four runs and we won a very tight game with some tailender heroics. Overall our fielding was very good with run outs from Stan, Alex, Will and Harry, our bowling was strong when we kept it full but we got hit for lots of runs when it was short. Our batting was alright, but we can’t rely on Ollie W every game! By Will K (3G)
U14C Cricket
When we arrived, we knew it was going to be a hard match, but we still managed to start strongly. Our star bowler, Isa H-S got 3 wickets in his opening spell. Others including Arie B and Oliver B helped lower their run rate. However things turned south, as their batsmen started to form a partnership. Our heads dropped a bit but we knew we had to keep on going. They ended the 25 overs with a score of 218. We knew we had to bat very well.
The innings started very strongly, with Gianluca C and Pranavan P batting strongly with a great opening partnership. However as soon as Pranavan got out, very unluckily, it all went wrong. No one felt confident when going out to bat, which led to us needing more than 100 runs in 10 overs. Josh Chapman came in and hit two sixes in a row, but it wasn’t enough. We ended up losing by 53 runs. But, we keep on going and on to the next match we go. By Alex S (3G)
Star Regatta
Almost the entirety of the J14 squad left on Saturday morning to go to the Bedford Star Regatta. The regatta was unlike the usual time trial followed by six lane final races we were used to at Dorney for national events, instead taking a knockout format. Crews are drawn against opposition (some crews getting a bye based on previous results if it’s an odd number) they then race with the winner going to the next round and the loser going home. The A crew from National Schools had been entered as two quads (one being the bow four, the other the stern four: an interesting competitive prospect). Also entered was the octo B crew from National Schools entered as an A crew and the C crew entered as a B crew. Another octo and a quad were also entered but were placed in the band 2 event (designed to make sure everyone has close and competitive racing and can make through a couple of rounds).
These crews were changed slightly from National Schools though due to injuries and unavailability. The bow four quad started off racing Bedford Modern School but after a difficult race ended up behind. The stern four quad then arrived for its first race against Bedford who had beaten Dulwich earlier in the day. Since the 1.2km course was on a bed there was a slight difference in starting points with the stakeboats for the boat on the inside of the bend being a length behind those on the outside. So being placed on the inside bend we knew we would have to start fast to catch up and try and take control of the race.
With that knowledge we flew off the start bringing our bow balls level just before the bend. With the help of the bend we then managed to creep in front before beginning to put clear water between us. The gap of water slowly increased and so did our lead before taking the rate down a notch or two at the bridge which was a unofficial halfway mark. Bedford Modern broken by our lead which had slowly opened up couldn’t catch up and we won our first race and semi-final, the official distance verdict being “easily” (length margins stop being counted after a certain point and is instead put down as ‘easily’). We were to then relax and eat as we waited the relatively short two hours before our final, where we were to face the Bedford School crew had won against the Bow four quad earlier in the day.
This time we were to start on the outside of the bend. We again set off fast from the start, moving slightly away from Bedford before falling back to a length lead on Bedford which expanded to have about ¼ – ½ of a length of clear water in between us as we passed underneath the bridge. Then came the pain as we got closer and closer to the suspension bridge which marked the finish line and our lead again fell back to a length. Then came a massive push from Bedford who pulled back our lead to just ½ a length. Renewed strength and a desire to not lose when we had lead for so long helped us stop their advance. Then came a call for a big 10 strokes to finish off the race which was soon followed by another 10 and we went through the line with what we thought was a length advantage restored but was officially put down as ½ a length.
The band 2 octo was knocked out first round by a boat from Bedford school who then lost next round to eventual winners St Edwards by the closet margin in that event. The band two quad also suffered a similar first round exist losing to a quad from Bedford schools A crew who had made the B final of Nat schools. In the band 1 octos Hampton’s B octo were beaten by Bedford school’s A octo from National Schools and faced Hampton’s A octo in the final were they unfortunately lost. We must as always thank those who helped organise the event and all the coaches and look forward to racing next at BASHER II on Sunday. By Patrick M (3C)
Merits Galore
This week, the boys who have managed to receive enough merits during the course of the year to earn Headmaster’s Merit Certificates had the opportunity to receive those certificates from Mr Knibbs himself. Yes, the sweet taste of the Freddo that you receive when getting your merits signed off offers a brief rush of endorphins, but it is nothing compared to the deep satisfaction of receiving the certificate that recognises the efforts you have put in over the course of the year. Great work boys!
Two truths and a lie
Last week, Mr Moore offered these claims about his past:
- Mr Moore has won the National Rosslyn Park Rugby 7s
- Mr Moore is a massive Phil Collins fan. His favourite song is ‘You’ll be in my heart’, which featured in the film Tarzan
- Mr Moore scuba dived in the Bahamas to conduct fieldwork on endangered coral reef ecosystems
No one should be surprised by the fact that Mr Moore is a Phil Collins fan – he is a magnificent musician (Phil Collins that is, not Mr Moore). As a Biologist, Mr Moore’s interest in endangered coral reef ecosystems knows no bounds – when you think about it, it seems obvious that he might have spent his time in the Bahamas (the fact that the fieldwork was in the Bahamas would only ever be a secondary consideration for a Biologist of Mr Moore’s stature) involved in work of this nature. This leaves the lie as being the idea that Mr Moore won the Rosslyn Park 7s. His Rugby career is an illustrious one but, unfortunately, not quite that illustrious.
Having had Mr Rigby and Mr Moore step in to the ‘Two truths and a lie’ booth in the last two weeks, we now have another massive name coming in – Miss Bedford! What ludicrous claims is she making?:
- Miss Bedford has been swimming in open water with sharks and sea lions.
- Miss Bedford has five cats, named after the main characters in The Famous Five.
- Miss Bedford once read the news live on the radio whilst standing in a pond of koi carp.
Which is the lie?
ONCE UPON A PINE: THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO
The summer show, Once Upon a Pine: The Adventures of Pinocchio, is going to be performed by members of the Lower School year on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 June,
Tickets are FREE!
Book tickets here (there will also be some free tickets for pupils available on the door each night).
We hope to see many of you there enjoying what looks set to be a humorous and heart-warming show!
CONNECTION CORNER
Well done to the everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. Well done to everyone who correctly guessed that the answers were all Guardians of the Galaxy characters, merits go to Felix B, Max F, Leander K-B, Daniel O’S, Jasper E, Albert S, Stanley A, Robbie M, Ben B, Joshua R, Archer J, Tanmay B, Eric M, Jaipaal G, Neel M and Harry GW.
Another tricky one to have a go at over the weekend:
In case, you’re still perplexed here are the answers from the last week’s conundrum:
In astronomy, a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky is called what? Nebula
What leafy salad do Americans call arugula? Rocket
What is the name of the predatory insect named for the look of their folded forelegs, which are held close together as if praying? Praying mantis
What is the name of the screenwriter, writer and producer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Peter Jackson
Connection: Guardian of the Galaxy characters (Nebula, Rocket Raccoon, Mantis and Peter Quill)
