Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Pinch, punch, etc…
Here we are, marching into March. (In theory) the days are brightening, the sun is gaining warmth (or at least, you can assume that it would be if we got the chance to see it) and the spring term is moving on apace (this is a fact).
Spirits are high at the Third Year Blog and they seem to be reasonably high across the year group as a whole. It’s not surprising when there is so much going on… This week we have had the resumption of the School sports programme (with some football reports below), a fascinating Talk! from a leading professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry and the performance of Bleak Expectations. In the coming week, we have more sport, with the start of the Rugby Sevens season, the first Third Year WW1 Battlefields Trip of the year and the joint Hampton/LEH Third Year Charity Quiz as well as all the many different clubs and activities that are always going on.
All this Hampton based activity can make it hard to join in the celebrations and activities that are going on elsewhere in the world. Having said that, it can be confusing trying to keep up with what we are meant to be celebrating.
For instance, 1 March is National Welsh Corgi Day, National Pig Day, National Horse Protection Day and Mountain Hare Day. The Third Year blog doesn’t care how much you like animals, it would be very difficult to successfully celebrate all of these animals equally. Having said that, Pigs do have a lot to recommend them.
For those of you less interested in beasts, you could perhaps celebrate National Fruit Compote Day, or World Compliment Day. World Compliment Day, started by a Dutch ‘recognition professional’ (no, me neither) suggests that we each offer a heartfelt compliment to three different people in our lives on this day, leading to it becoming ‘the most positive day in the world’, which is an admirable and ambitious goal.
National Fruit Compote Day suggests that we eat more fruit compote. Mysteriously, it is unclear when National Fruit Compote Day first came into existence, or who is responsible for the idea of National Fruit Compote Day. One can only assume that, somewhere, there is a darkened room of people who have inherited enormous fruit farms gleefully watching Fruit Compote sales fly through the roof every 1 March.
Anyway, this is beside the point. While the Third Year Blog would strongly recommend taking part in World Compliment Day and would strongly oppose lining the pockets of the fiendish Fruit Compote magnates, the most important thing to do is to grasp the easier opportunities that are right in front of every Third Year Hamptonian.
Every day at Hampton offers an opportunity to do something fun; something interesting; something you might not have tried before. So, read about what some Hamptonians have done this week and then come back from the weekend, possibly filled with compote, and with the ambition to get involved yourself!
Heads of Year Message
Thanks to all the pupils who have sent match reports and other contributions to this and previous blogs. It is your blog and it is wonderful to hear your voices through it. Please keep the contributions coming to Mr Green!
Learning Support Screening
Following the DASH & Lucid testing that all Third Year pupils completed earlier this year, the Learning Support department will be asking several pupils to repeat one of those tests next week for clarification of their results. Having analysed the initial results, the Learning Support department will recommend a secondary screening for several pupils to find out a little more. The Learning Support department will write to those parents next week to request permission to conduct secondary screening. This is nothing to worry about. If the screening process does show any specific learning difficulties, then parents will be informed and boys will be able to get the appropriate support throughout their time at Hampton.
Battlefields Trips
Looking ahead to a very busy week next week, the first of two Battlefields Trip departs early on Sunday morning. We hope that Forms 3A-3E will enjoy their time in France and Belgium whilst representing the School and themselves with dignity throughout. Mr Roberts has set a project for boys in 3A-3E that are not attending the trip, so they should attend school as normal on Monday. Although we understand that the Battlefields Trip is a tiring experience for all involved, we should stress that we expect all pupils to attend school on Tuesday morning as normal.
Form Charity Quiz at LEH
The Form Charity Third Year Quiz with LEH will take place on Thursday 7 March.
- Date: Thursday 7 March
- Time and Location: 1pm at LEH (teams meet at Hampton reception promptly at 12:50)
- Teams of 3 or 4 boys per form
- Hosted by LEH
- £2 to play per person or £6 as a form
Form Charity raise funds for our three charity partners. Find out more here.
Co-Curricular
We encourage all boys to keep up their attendance at lunchtime co-curricular clubs and activities right through to the end of term. A reminder of what is available is linked here.
Behaviour notice
As we approach the middle of this half term, it is important to remind all pupils to maintain the high standards of behaviour we expect of Hamptonians in all aspects of School life. This includes your interactions with teachers, peers, visitors and parents whilst on the school site, on the journey to and from school, and during sports fixtures and school trips.
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 remember to let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you are having any difficulties.
Have a lovely weekend and “bon voyage” to those of you heading to northern France and Belgium on Sunday morning.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mrs M Bedford
STEM Fair
Last week saw some of our Third Year pupils take part in the annual Hampton and LEH STEM Fair, take a look at just some of the fantastic projects in the video below:
Bleak Expectations Review
It was great to see so many Third Years treading the boards of the Hammond Theatre stage this week in Bleak Expectations. Rory M (3A) tells us more:
On Wednesday 28 February, a busy Hammond Theatre was treated to a great performance of this year’s middle school play, Bleak Expectations, in collaboration with LEH. The play is a mash up of Bleak House and Great Expectations and as soon as the play started, I knew that we were in for a treat.
We were introduced to Pip Bin and his two sisters, Poppy and Pippa. Their idyllic childhood soon takes a tragic turn after their father dies and their mother plunges into insanity. The children’s new guardian is Mr Gently Benevolent, who is evil in the most despicable manner, not dissimilar to Count Olaf in Lemony Snicket’s ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’. Throughout the play Pip attempts to thwart Mr Benevolent along with his trusty sidekick Harry Biscuit and sister Pippa. Whilst there is heartbreak along the way, there is also a great deal of humour expressed in the form of well-timed jokes and witty one liners.
Overall the play was a magnificent success, and congratulations to all involved. Shoutouts go to Arthur K, Filip L and Daniel M, who played Pips 1 and 2 and Harry Biscuit, respectively. A big congratulations also to Mrs Jones, whose skilful directing was evident throughout the play, and combined with the talent on display, was what elevated the production to such great heights; it was certainly a play worth seeing.
Take a look at some of the photos from the fantastic show:
Football Update
A block fixture against Epsom College gave us some exciting matches last weekend. Let’s hear from Zaki C (3B) reporting on the U14C game, Sanjit B (3E) on the U14D fixture but first of all Bailey H-C (3C) tells us about the U14B match:
U14B Football
Last weekend, the U14B team stepped onto a muddy Hampton field to take on Epsom College. The team started strongly, dominating the first 15 minutes of the match. Quickly, Hampton were in the game with a goal from Kota D which put them on the front foot. Epsom weren’t going to give up that easily though, and put up a fight to get one back, only to be denied by strong saves and a disciplined defence.
Some Epsom boys weren’t so happy with the score and decided they would take it into their own hands, possibly putting a foot in where they shouldn’t have! Nevertheless, the excellent referee (none other than Mr Boyes) and a quality team spirit from the boys kept the game flowing and returned the favour with some well timed crunching tackles to keep the ball away from Epsom. It wasn’t long until a quick ball down the line, a lovely cross into the box, and a slotted finish put Hampton 2-0 up, with Adam S going on the score sheet. And the ball kept rolling for Hampton, as a free kick was whipped into the box and headed across the goal by Olly H for Bailey H-C to slot it home, sealing the deal. An Epsom linesman called offside, and the goal was ruled out, but a lovely play nonetheless. The whistle blew and it was another clear Hampton victory, ending at 2-0.
U14C Football
And the match begins. We start the game and Epsom pressure us straight off of the whistle. Unfortunately, a defensive error early on, gives Epsom a chance to put themselves ahead, and they score.
We wake up and are alive and ready to score the equaliser and get back into the game. We are back on the attack and a dangerous looking cross has been swung in from the left side and Rufus L slots it home to equalise the game. We are playing strong football, but Epsom booted it up and a high cross is sent into our box and the Epsom striker hits a volley towards our keeper, but Alex L gets a strong hand to it but the rebound off the crossbar sadly bounces perfectly towards the striker, and he scores. Epsom instantly have a boost of confidence and rush forward just as their keeper smashes the ball up and Epsom snatch another goal just before halftime. Mrs Smith makes some excellent substitutions at halftime to reduce the deficit. Just as the whistle blows to commence the second half, we put huge pressure on our opposition and after 10 minutes into the second half we get a goal back from a corner and Ethan G gets a shot off in the crowded box. There was one goal in it, and we had all the momentum and after a great goal from Ethan we hit back again and sunk another goal from Hamza Y who draws the game. Everyone was tired and it was closing in on full time but a miraculous pass was played through a gap in the defence and we capitalised on our chance. Our strikers were in the clear and their goalkeeper rushed out, but the ball is tapped under the keeper’s grasp and Issac M puts the game to bed.
U14D Football
Last Saturday, the U14Ds played against a very physical Epsom side away. It was an afternoon kick off, so the weather was slightly warmer than we were used to but still pretty chilly! The pitch was slanted and very bumpy. Despite this, we adapted to the conditions quickly after weathering a bit of pressure early on. As we got more comfortable with the conditions, we started creating more and more chances until Josh G broke the deadlock late in the first half with a finish from inside the box that required good reactions.
We started the second half with the same intensity that we ended the first half and once again dominated possession. One thing that we weren’t used to, however, was the physicality shown by the Epsom players and we did well to keep the ball despite their tackles. We were then rewarded when Ben R doubled our lead from the left side where he gracefully lobbed the ball over the keeper and into the top corner.
However, there was some controversy over whether Ben actually meant for it to go in! Then, after multiple corners, Jack M delivered a good cross to Sanjit B who was waiting at the back post to finish. Unfortunately, late in the game Epsom did manage to score after a small mistake in defence which induced a good finish from their striker. However, this was a minor blemish after what had, up to that point, been a very solid defensive performance (especially from goalkeeper Oli P who made some crucial saves) on a less than ideal surface where more mistakes could have easily been committed.
When the full time whistle blew, we were extremely happy in winning such a hard fought encounter that proved that skill is often more important than just raw strength. We were then even more delighted when we heard that the C team had come back from 1-3 down to win 4-3! Overall, it was a well deserved win that everyone contributed towards, and we hope to play the same sort of football in the future.
Lower School Art Exhibition
You are cordially invited to the Lower School Art Exhibition Open Event on Tuesday 5 March between 5.30pm and 7.30pm in the Art Department Gallery. Come and take a look at some of the fantastic artwork Hamptonians have produced this year.
Review of the BFI Festival
Oliver C (3A) along with classmates Daniel McC and Dylan L visited the British Film Institute Festival over half term, let’s hear more about it:
On 15 February, during the recent half term, me and my 3A classmates Daniel and Dylan attended the BFI Festival in London. After travelling to Waterloo station by train, we ate a delicious meal at Wagamama before making our way to the BFI.
On entering the building, we were immediately astonished by the size of the IMAX screen (it was gigantic!) and, shortly afterwards, the film began. It was called Anthropocene: The Human Epoch and it was a brilliant short film, with excellent film making, editing and music. It highlighted many different ways in which we as humans are negatively affecting the planet, some of which have rarely been explored in film. One incredibly powerful and shocking example was when we were shown the piled tusks of 10,000 elephants killed by poachers, and another example was when we were shown the devastating effects of large-scale marble mining in Italy.
The scale of the film changed beautifully throughout; one moment showing vast acres of lithium mining across a barren landscape from a perspective high above, the next, an unexpected, candid shot of two miners laughing about the risk of the microphone picking up criticism of their boss. This film showed us how humankind is drastically plundering the earth for its resources, but also what we are doing to try and preserve it. This gave all of us a whole new perspective on the true scale of the damage we are doing to the earth and that was why we all really enjoyed the film, while simultaneously being very shaken by its message and breathtaking imagery. Seeing it on such a huge screen only amplified the film’s power.
After the film ended, the three filmmakers came up to the front and answered questions firstly from a member of staff, and then a few from the audience at the end. This gave a fascinating insight into how much research was done, how much work went into arranging how to get the film crew to more remote and/ or dangerous locations; not to mention how they got the incredible shots that we had just been lucky enough to see.
One answer that stood out to me was when one of the filmmakers said that large scale and small scale are nothing without each other. There is a symbiosis between them. This is why they consciously used such drastic differences in scale throughout the film, and why I believe it was such a remarkable and indelible film. It left us in absolutely no doubt as to the magnitude of the damage being done to our planet in the quest to meet the demands (and sometimes needs) of the modern world.
TALK!
This week saw a fascinating Talk! with Professor Nick Lane, Rory M (3A) was one of the Third Year Hamptonians in the audience
On Tuesday 27 February, a large crowd gathered in the Hammond Theatre to watch Professor Nick Lane discuss his thoughts on the question ‘What Is a Feeling?’
Professor Lane approached the question from a scientific perspective, and as a Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry at UCL, his knowledge on the subject was considerable. Professor Lane started by talking about feelings and related associations. For example, although we feel ‘anger’ naturally, do we truly feel anything when we see the colour red?
Professor Lane used various sources of evidence to explain what could potentially affect our emotions, something which we know very little about in terms of hard knowledge. Professor Lane also posed to us the question of whether the earliest bacteria felt anything when they became the first life on earth. Overall, Professor Lane guided us through a journey of answering a challenging question with elegance and fluidity – an insightful, memorable and enjoyable TALK!
Following on from Nick Lane, next week we have another Talk! to get our teeth into. Nicholas Hopton has had an illustrious career in British foreign affairs. With the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for 35 years, he was the first British Ambassador to Iran and has also served as Ambassador to Libya, Qatar and Yemen.
Join us to hear Nicholas discuss his life as a British Ambassador, what is diplomacy and why it matters, and his thoughts on the challenges facing the Middle East and how the situation has changed and is evolving since 7 October 2023. Don’t miss Diplomacy & The Middle East on Thursday 7 March at 1:00pm in the Hammond Theatre.
Find out more here.
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE
Last week, Ms Doncel Cervantes offered us these ludicrous claims. What is true and what is not?
- Ms Doncel Cervantes taught English as a foreign language in a remote village at the foothills of the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador.
- Ms Doncel Cervantes was once caught in a sandstorm in the middle of the night while camping in Death Valley and had to be evacuated by the Park Rangers.
- Ms Doncel Cervantes once got stung multiple times by a smack of jellyfish off the coast of Sardinia on her honeymoon.
Perhaps obviously, as a teacher, Ms Doncel Cervantes did teach English as a second language in the foothills of Chimborazo. She did also get stung repeatedly on her honeymoon by jellyfish. She also did get caught in a sandstorm in the middle of Death Valley, but the lie was the idea that she got taken out of the Park by the rangers. No! She just slept through it. She is made of stern stuff.
This week, Mr Berezhnoi is trying to trick us all.
- Mr Berezhnoi is fluent in Latin.
- Mr Berezhnoi won a white belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament last month.
- Mr Berezhnoi has an encyclopaedic knowledge of classical music.
Which of these is the lie?
CONNECTION CORNER
Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. It caught a lot of you out, so well done to those of you who correctly guessed the connection was Colours of the Rainbow – remember the song, they are the first four colours mentioned – Red and Yellow and Pink and Green….. Big shout out to Huw P, Svajan G, Oliver C and Darshan S.
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 the answers from last week’s conundrum:
Which American National Park sits across Wyoming, Idaho and Montana? Yellowstone
In the Harry Potter series, Professor Dolores Umbridge mainly wears which colour? Pink
On what surface do you play the game of bowls? Bowling green
Connection: Colours of the rainbow (red, yellow, pink, green)
Have a great weekend!
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