Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Another busy Hampton week for the Third Years was highlighted this week by ‘No Limits Lessons Day’. Of course, this is not to be confused with ‘No Limits Week’, which is coming up soon. As you can tell, here at Hampton we are utterly determined to rid ourselves of limits of any sort (within carefully prescribed time periods). Rumours that Mr Knibbs has asked Eurodance ‘legends’ 2 Unlimited to produce a revised version of the School song are (sadly) unfounded.
No Limits Lessons Day involves teachers being encouraged to try to find different ways to bring their subjects (and pupils) to life. From a teaching perspective it can sometimes feel like a day that pushes you into a less comfortable place and you don’t necessarily look forward to it, but when the reality of the day is here and you are walking around the School seeing what’s going on, hearing the laughter from the classrooms and feeling the energy around the place, it all feels incredibly worthwhile.
Of course, there are the stories of teachers setting tests which you are allowed to complete in coloured pen, or the danger of finding yourself being asked to participate in eight different debates during lessons throughout the day, but the vast majority of stories you hear make you marvel at the creativity of the staff here and what they are able to come up with, from poetry escape rooms to drawing biologically accurate brains on to the white swimming caps that your friends are wearing. It is a wonderful day to walk the corridors and get a real sense of the sheer vibrancy that a whole School of Hamptonians can generate – it is enough to put a spring in the step of even the most battle-hardened teaching veteran. What a day!
And what of the Third Year this week? We have a hear about your experience of No Limits Lessons Day; a report from the Third Year Rugby captain on a tough match against a strong Cranleigh side and all about the recent CCF trip to Hackney. We also have Mr Wong feeding us dreadful lies, the truth about Mrs Clarke and our regular Connection Corner. Let’s dive in!
Heads of Year Message
No Limits Lessons Day
Hampton’s inaugural No Limits Lessons Day was enjoyed across the Third Year, encouraging pupils to engage with their subjects in new and exciting ways. Embracing the spirit of trying something new, teachers were challenged to ‘do something different’ and came up with a range of innovative ways for Hamptonians to interact with their subjects.
We were thrilled to see how whole-heartedly Third Year pupils embraced the opportunities presented on No Limits Lessons Day to experience new things and learn in a different way. Such lesson activities rely on a lot of trust and goodwill between teachers and pupils, so we were delighted that Third Year pupils upheld the best qualities of being a Hamptonian in making the most of the day – aiming for personal best while supporting those around you with kindness!
October Grade Cards
Parents will be able to access their son’s grade card from the end of the school day on Friday 20 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.
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.
Boys – Please let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you have any difficulties. Have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mrs M Bedford
No limits Lessons day
On Thursday, the former ‘Pens Down Day’ became ‘No Limits Lessons Day’. The name was changed to allow teachers more flexibility to explore different ways of making lessons more active. It also allegedly stopped some teachers from just making pupils do the usual work in pencil!
Some ‘No Limits’ lessons included drawing a Wheel of Theodorus in Maths, learning about Spanish music instead of doing regular music theory and having conversations in French about holidays at the front of the class. All these activities made for fun and engaging lessons and was a nice change from the usual format of lessons. Overall, No Limits Lessons Day was a great success, and should definitely be done next year, or perhaps be repeated next term on a different day, so pupils can enjoy different lessons that have no limits.
By Rory M (3A)
Rugby
On Saturday, the Under 14A team had a tough fixture against Cranleigh School. The game kicked off at 2:30pm after an intense warm up with the team. Unfortunately, during the first half, Cranleigh scored two converted tries. However, we did display some great rugby, holding up well against a strong school. In the second half, Cranleigh struck again with a few more tries. Despite this, the cheering and support from the U14B team reassured us! Overall, the team held up very well against a stronger team even though the score may not reflect it. Hopefully, we can seal a victory this week against Epsom College!
By Kian W (3J)
CCF
In case you didn’t know CCF, otherwise know as Combined Cadet Force, is a partnership between the School and the Ministry of Defence. CCF is run jointly with Lady Eleanor Holles and Hampton High and is open to Third Year Hamptonians and above.
I really enjoyed the trip to Hackney and I learnt a lot of things about being a cadet. I loved all the exercises that we got to do, especially Camo and basher building. My favourite moment was hiding camouflaged in the undergrowth with camo-cream on my face whilst the patrol group tried to find us.
I had a lot of fun in my group, meeting lots of people from different schools and years. I found it interesting how all these skills I have learnt can be used in a cadet environment. It has taught me a lot about being a cadet and aspire to be one of the instructors that ran the lessons. I can’t wait to go back next year!
By Alfie K (3H)
Two truths and a lie
Last week’s ‘contestant’ was Mrs Clarke. She claimed the following were true:
- Mrs Clarke’s mother was famous singer Petula Clark (she removed the ‘e’ from her surname for her stage name)
- Mrs Clarke once sat next to 90s pop icon (!!) Peter Andre on a flight to Japan
- The first album Mrs Clarke bought was Jason Donovan’s ‘Ten Good Reasons’ (it is worth noting that the Blog does not believe anyone would willingly admit to this)
Well, Mrs Clarke did once sit next to 90s pop icon Peter Andre on a flight, presumably leaving him to wonder who the ‘mysterious girl’ was that was sitting next to him. She also did buy Jason Donovan’s ‘Ten Good Reasons’ as her first album – she said it felt as if it was created especially for her. Of course, this means that her mother was not famous singer Petula Clark.
This week, Mr Wong steps up to the plate. Here are the three things he wants you to believe…
- Before he was a teacher, Mr Wong was a game developer
- Mr Wong is a Freemason
- Mr Wong is an experienced Handball coach
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
There are still tickets available for this year’s Senior Musical, the deviously delicious sci-fi smash hit musical, Little Shop Of Horrors! The meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he names “Audrey II”. This R&B-singing carnivore promises unending fame and fortune to the down and out Krelborn as long as he keeps feeding it, BLOOD. Over time, though, Seymour discovers Audrey II’s out of this world origins and intent towards global domination! Click on the link here to buy your tickets for what promises to be a great evening!
Clubs Galore
Take a look at the full list of all clubs, societies and other co-curricular activities on offer in the booklet below:
CONNECTION CORNER
A big shout out to everyone 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 William O’S, Christopher K, Josh G, Manraj G, Freddie T, Siddharth S, Darshan S, Rafe M and Brennan C.
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)
