Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Well, here we are. The last blog of the year! What a moment.
The collective sense of nearing the finishing line is tangible in the School, both amongst the pupils and the staff. It is an odd thing that regardless of how long or short a half term is, everyone’s ability to make it to the end intact and sane flexes to match it. The Third Year blog suspects that if we had a 12 week half term (to be clear, this is in no way a recommendation), the point at which everyone would start to fray around the edges would be halfway through week 10. Equally, if the half term was only 3 weeks, after 2 of them everyone would be getting marginally more tetchy.
This makes it sound as if Hampton is currently a fretful, morose place with fed up pupils trudging the corridors being barked at by overtired teachers – incorrect! This week, we have had Third Year pupils competing in and winning a Geographical quiz competition against pupils from other Schools. There were also two of the most magnificent events of the year – the Interform Basketball and the Interform Volleyball. There are moments as a teacher where you wish the parents could see the excitement, energy and enthusiasm of the pupils at the School, and these events are prime examples of that.
On Wednesday, it was the Basketball competition. In truth, the Third Year Blog is not a massive fan of basketball. To this untrained eye, it seems to be a sport which champions the individual over the team and values flashy frippery over everything else. Watching the Third Year Interform basketball was enough to change that view. The skill, athleticism and, yes, teamwork on show was wonderful to see, all culminating in a last second victory for one of the Forms. A report from the scorer of the winning basket (goal? points?) is below.
On Thursday, it was the Volleyball competition, which was one of the loudest events the Third Year Blog has ever attended. Rumour has it that the nature of the acoustics of the Sports Hall has led to PE staff contracts containing a disclaimer related to any potential damage to their hearing. To say that the event was cacophonous would be a gross, gross, understatement. In fact, Mr Hooper was able to confirm that, at its peak, the noise level reached 109 decibels (the basketball only made it to 103 decibels), which is described as a similar sound level to a symphony orchestra or a power saw – I will leave it to your imagination as to which of these comparisons is more apt.
But, the noisy chaos came from the sheer thrill of the competition and from working with the people you share a form room with to try and beat the other people you know who share a different form room in a sport that none of you play very often. It was joyous to watch and, again, the celebrations of the victors were glorious. But so were the smiles on the faces of everyone there, regardless of whether they won or lost, or whether they were a teacher or a pupil. What a way to close out the year (nearly – there are still a few days left…)! Again, a report from the winners lies beneath.
And on that note, let’s get into the meat of the last blog of the year! Happy Christmas from everyone in the Third Year team!
HEADS OF YEAR MESSAGE
Interform Competition
Well done to all the boys who took part and made the Interform Basketball (Wednesday) and Interform Volleyball (Thursday) competitions vibrant and enjoyable occasions. Read on for an update on how these events have impacted the Interform Competition.
Festive Events
There is plenty to look forward to between now and the end of term, including the School Carol Service which is being held on Monday 11 December at 7.45pm in St Mary’s Church in Hampton, and the Christmas lunch on Tuesday 12 December. Whilst we are looking forward to many opportunities for festive merriment over the final few days of term, we hope that the boys will recognise the need to maintain their usual levels of good behaviour and mutual respect for teachers and peers.
Grade Cards
Parents will have access to the end of term grade card from 4.30pm on Wednesday 13 December via the parent portal. Any follow-ups will be conducted by Form Tutors from the start of next term.
End of Term
The last day of term is Wednesday 13 December, which will be a mufti day in aid of our Form Charity partners. Term will end at midday on Wednesday 13 December. The school coach service home will run at 12.15 on that day.
Boys – Please remember to let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you are having any difficulties.
Enjoy the weekend and keep going until the end of term before a well-deserved holiday.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mrs M Bedford
Interform Basketball
On Wednesday lunchtime, the very competitive Interform Basketball took place in the Sports Hall. We (3H) had a very experienced and ready squad, consisting of five tough players, but everyone from each form was getting fired up and excited for the upcoming tournament.
First, all the forms were divided up equally into the initial groups and then the competition commenced. We had a very tough game against 3E to kick the tournament off for us and we were just able to pull through and get a very narrow victory (only by one basket). We then prepared for our next group game by making a couple of substitutions. We were able to win the next game quite easily by several baskets, meaning our team was now guaranteed the win in our group, and we were able to have a well-deserved rest, during which the final game of our group was played.
Our morale was high, but we all kept steady heads. Because we had come top of our group, we moved into the final cup group with all the other winners from all the other groups. It was looking pretty tough as we were facing opponents with much skill and height: we could not let let our guard down. Our first opponents were 3C, who we knew would be a challenge. However, due to some great team playing, nice shots and really strong defence, we were able to win the game comfortably, with our team putting in a few tremendous baskets and our defence not letting them score more than one.
The other team in the Cup group was 3D and we knew that we had to be wary of them. 3D vs 3C was a tight and entertaining one to watch, with 3D just pulling ahead in the final minute and winning it. Next up, it was our final match, and we were facing 3D who had the same number of wins in the group as we did, meaning the whole tournament was down to this game. It started off strong with many steals, rebounds and well attempted shots. But then, about a minute into the game we managed to score a basket putting us in the lead. However, just moments later, the other team shot from long range, and it went in cleanly keeping us on our toes.
The final five seconds of the game drew in on us, but we still had one last attempt. As seconds ticked down, we drove a couple steps forward into mid-range territory before taking a shot with the buzzer going off right after it was taken…but the shot made its way into the hoop and we won!! The crowd and our team went wild, what a way to win the Interform basketball competition. After a hard struggle, our team thoroughly deserved it.
By Dean F (3H – and the scorer of the magnificent winning basket)
Interform Volleyball
3E went into Interform Volleyball confident that we could win, Jatin C, George E, Ollie H and Brennan C were our team, and we were in a group with 3B and 3F. For our first game we played 3B and played very well with us coming out with a 16-2 win. We went into our next game with our spirits high knowing that if we won this game we would top our group. We started the game well and got a good lead however 3F fought back but in the end we came out on top 14-7. We were through to the cup where we knew we would face tough opposition from 3D and 3E. We played the first game of the cup against 3D and we started well going 2-0 up but they pulled it back to 2-4. However, some strong serving from Jatin C and George E brought us to a shaky lead of 6-5 going into the last-minute game and we managed to hold on for a 7-6 win. 3C would then beat 3D after a strong comeback and we knew it would be a final between us and 3C. We served first winning the first point, the game would then go back and forth us holding onto a tentative one-point lead and we managed to win interform.
By Ollie H (3E)
Interform Action
The Williams Cup
As you all know, the Interform competition is all in pursuit of the magnificent Williams Cup. Few pieces of silverware are so treasured. Few are so difficult to win. But where does the week’s Interform activity leave the rankings? It is very tight at the top…
1st : 3C – 30 pts
Joint 2nd : 3D, 3E and 3H – 27 pts
5th : 3G – 22 pts
Joint 6th : 3A and 3F – 13 pts
Joint 8th : 3B and 3J – 10 pts
There is still so much still to play for, with only about a third of the events having been completed. It is going to be a titanic race to the finish line…
Geography Association World Wise Quiz
Well done to Akshay N (3A), Alfie K (3H) and Guradaes S (3A) who were crowned champions of this year’s GA Junior World Wise Quiz, the first time a Hampton team has won in many years. Well done to our geographers!
SHOEBOX APPEal
Hamptonians spent the week organising, filling, and wrapping over 100 shoeboxes to donate to Solace Women’s Aid. Solace is a leading specialist charity in the UK supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse. The lifesaving support that Solace provides to over 20,000 women, children and young people each year is so important. Each form donated items including stationary, toys, vital hygiene products, games and so much more. The donations will certainly make a huge impact on those in need and the life changing work that Solace do. On behalf of Form Charity and Solace, we would like to thank all Hampton staff and pupils for their valuable contributions to the shoebox appeal this Christmas.
Thank you to everyone who contributed!
Two Truths and a lie
Last week, Mrs Reilly offered a filthy lie, nestled amongst some glowing truths. But which of the statements below was the lie?
- Mrs Reilly relaxes by knitting; and has recently mastered cable stitch.
- As a teenager Mrs Reilly was regularly mistaken for a boy due to having very short hair.
- Mrs Reilly hasn’t left the UK mainland since 2015.
Frankly, all of these seemed unlikely, but the untruth is the idea that Mrs Reilly relaxes by knitting. Of course, what she really does to relax is silently calculate the potential energy of everything in the room she happens to be in.
This week Mr Towl, a new addition to the Third Year tutor team, is the one putting his career at risk by willing lying. What nonsense does he have for us?
- Mr Towl has scored a goal at Wembley Stadium.
- Mr Towl has cracked his head open on four separate occasions.
- Mr Towl has been on 18 plane flights in 2023 – one every 19 days.
Which is the lie? Find out in January…
CONNECTION CORNER
Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. Another tricky one, which foxed a few of you. Yes, they’re all types of food but we were after more than that. The correct answer was Pies! Big shout out to Jaime R B, Ambrose B, Ishaan A, Harry W, Olly P, Rafe M, Hamoodi A-A, Alex C, Rufus L, Alexander M, Kiran G, Jake O’R, Rory M, Swajan G, Oliver C, Aarav B, Arthur K, Bailey HC and Luke F. Don’t forget to collect your merits!
Connection Corner is having a well-deserved rest over the Christmas break. We’ll be back with more fiendish conundrums next year.
In case you’re still perplexed, here are last week’s answers:
Which major tech company was founded by Steve Jobs in 1976? Apple
What is the name of the stadium where Fulham FC play their home games? Craven Cottage
What is a Jack-o’-lantern made from? Pumpkin
Hanger, porterhouse and strip are types of what? Steak
Connection answer: All types of pie (apple pie, cottage pie, pumpkin pie, steak pie)
