WELCOME TO THE THIRD YEAR BLOG!
Half term is right there. Indeed, by the time you read this, it will BE half term.
On one level, this seems unfeasible. Stephen Hawking would probably be better placed to articulate this, but it feels as if the half term has flown by while it simultaneously feels like Christmas was about a decade ago.
Not only this, but this half term essentially marks the halfway point in the School year. As of the point we return from the break, you are closer to being Fourth Years than you are to being Second Years. The Third Year Blog doesn’t really know if this is meaningful in any way.
Regardless of the vagaries of time, we are where we are. A week of glorious rest, recuperation and other things that begin with the letter ‘r’ (and other letters, of course; we are an inclusive learning environment) awaits.
In the meantime, let’s see what the Third Year have been doing with themselves!
HEADS OF YEAR MESSAGE
Thanks to everyone for supporting our Form Charity partners by coming to school in Mufti today. We can sometimes do this on autopilot on the final day of term, but it is worth reminding everyone of the money we raise in the process and the educational purpose of looking beyond the school gates at our impact on the local, national and global communities of which we are a part. All funds raised from the £2 billed contribution will go directly towards our three charity partners for this academic year, Shooting Star Hospice, Alzheimer’s Society and UNICEF. We’re also grateful for the many Food Bank donations that pupils brought to school this morning.
We thoroughly enjoyed watching the interform rowing challenge on Thursday lunchtime. A strong showing from every Form meant that over half the Year Group participated in (or supported) the event. The boys put in a phenomenal effort and between them covered over 30,000m of rowing in a lung busting 15-minute race. Well done to 3A who determinedly held onto a slender lead to win the event, but also to 3B who pushed them all the way. Everyone should be very proud of their efforts after the race!
The rowing was followed on Thursday afternoon by interform football and rugby competitions. More on these and their impact on the overall standings to follow. The aim of these events was to encourage participation and inclusion, which we made clear to the boys in our Year Group Assembly earlier on Thursday and was emphasised by the Sports teachers at the start of the event.
On the topic of rugby, good luck and safe travels to all those Third Year pupils taking part in the U15 and U14 Rugby Tour to the East Midlands this weekend. We expect high standards of behaviour from everyone going on the tour and we look forward to hearing all about it on your return.
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 & Mr H Moore
Rock On!
Last week was the Hampton School Rock concert. A couple of Third years were involved – Macsen B (3F) and Konrad G (3A).
By all accounts, it was a magnificent event, with the only issue being that the various amplifiers were unable to be turned up to 11.
Below is a video that captures the power of the pupils’ performance! Well done Macsen and Konrad!
What a talented set of musicians we have!
Chess Update
A couple of weeks ago, we went to Sutton Grammar school to play against their A team in chess. We travelled by the school minibus, which took an hour to get there. After getting to Sutton, we tossed the coin up in the air and we called tails. We won the toss and chose black on odd numbered boards. On board 1 I played an opponent who gave me a tough fight with the queen’s pawn opening, but I eventually swindled him into a positional bind which eventually led on to me winning the game. At the end of the match, our final result was 6-0 which helped us to get up to second in the table right behind Wilson A team. Hopefully, we will be able to overhaul them as the year progresses!
Report by Jai K (3G)
Junior Academy of Music
I enjoy music a lot, and outside of the many opportunities that Hampton offers for music, I enjoy attending the Junior Academy of Music, where I play the Viola, and the Piano. It is every Saturday, excluding the holidays, and during the day, you do things such as, chamber groups, orchestra, theory, your instrument lesson, and general music.
My day runs from 10am-5pm and is loads of fun! It’s great to be involved in something like this outside of school, and to be with people who enjoy music as much as I do, and it is somewhere that I can develop my musical abilities further. It’s not all a breeze, though! I have to do lots of practise so I can keep up, as many of the older students at the academy are much better than me! Orchestra is my personal favourite part of the day, because everyone is at such a high level but, I have to admit, the conductor scares me! He is very attentive to every detail, and once he made my desk play alone, which terrified me. I’m so glad that I got into the Junior Academy, and it is always something that I look forward to at the end of my week.
Report by Pierce B (3G)
Interform BONANZA
Yes – BONANZA. There was so much Interform on Thursday of this week that it was almost too much. Lunchtime saw the brutality of the Interform Rowing Competition, before the afternoon (yes, including period 6!) was spent on the Football and Rugby pitches.
All this in order to compete for the Williams Cup (and, probably, a few packets of Haribo for the winning Form to share)!
So, who did themselves proud? Well, everyone, to be honest. The competitions were hotly contested, but also managed in a fine spirit. Thank you to the sports staff for organising it all. But, who won?
Interform Rowing
The Third Year Interform Rowing event has been officially confirmed (by the Third Year Blog) as the single sweatiest event in the history of time. It is also quite loud. But it is great fun. Watching the team work of the boys as they manage transitions between rowers and encourage each other to destroy themselves physically in pursuit of the Williams Cup is quite the sight to behold. It also offers very clear evidence to support the idea that technique is important for successfully going fast on an ergo.
This is all well and good, but who won?
1 – 3A – 4381m – 9pts
2 – 3B – 4320m – 8pts
3 – 3D – 4201m – 7pts
4- 3F – 4089m – 6pts
5 – 3J – 3906m – 5pts
6 – 3E – 3903m – 4pts
7 – 3H – 3836m – 3pts
8 – 3G – 3794m – 2pts
9 – 3C – 3743m – 1pt
Interform Football
The Interform Football was very hotly contested, with the winning Form only triumphing on goal difference…
1 – 3C – 9pts
2 – 3F – 8pts
3 – 3E – 7pts
4 – 3B – 6pts
5 – 3D – 5pts
6 – 3A – 4pts
7 – 3H – 3pts
8 – 3G – 2pts
9 – 3J – 1pt
Interform Rugby
The Interform Rugby competition was won by the same form that won the Football, which is an impressive feat. Less impressive is the fact that they came last in the Rowing…
1 – 3C – 9pts
2 – 3B – 8pts
3 – 3A – 7pts
4 – 3D – 6pts
5 – 3F – 5pts
6 – 3J – 4pts
7 – 3H – 3pts
8 – 3E – 2pts
DNP – 3G – 0pts
Overall Standings
So, after all that, who is leading the charge towards the magnificent prize? It is incredibly close at the top…
Joint 1st – 3B & 3D – 45pts
Joint 3rd – 3A & 3F – 44pts
5th – 3C – 33pts
Joint 6th – 3E & 3J – 30pts
8th – 3H – 28pts
9th – 3G – 19pts
Two Truths and a Lie
Last week, Mr Zannetou was the teacher trying to trick us all. He made these claims…
- Mr Zannetou is affiliated with the Mozambican national football team
- Mr Zannetou raced cars (he is unspecific about which type of cars)
- Mr Zannetou was once a security guard for 90s pop idol and reality TV hero Peter Andre
Which was the lie?
Well, it turns out that Mr Zannetou did work as a security guard for 90s pop idol Peter Andre, presumably working hard to keep ‘mysterious girls’ away from him. He did also race cars. He is not affiliated with the Mozambican national football team. This is not a real surprise as it would be impossible to cope with that commitment whilst also overseeing the U13E team – one man can only offer so much of himself to the furthering of the game of football.
This week, we have another guest to the Two truths and a lie spot, with Miss Bellingan, who is clever enough to teach English AND History. But, this intelligence does not preclude her from being willing to LIE. Here are her claims. Which is the lie?
- Miss Bellingan is allergic to cranberries
- Due to an old family superstition, Miss Bellingan refuses to wear the colour purple on Wednesdays
- Miss Bellingan has a deep fear of sea sponges
CONNECTION CORNER
A big shout out to everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner and well done those of you who answered all the questions correctly. Merits go to all those who correctly guessed that the answers were all to do with New York! Merits go to Matthew L, Neil T, Liam C, Alex G, Oscar S, Willoughby E, Bevan P, James G, Huw C, Armaan V, Aayushmaan C, James N, Oliver Y, Ben J, Dean B, Sebastian W, Joe B, Vayan J, Leonard H, Daniel S and Gordon L.
Another tricky one this week, have a go over the half term break and see if you can spot the connection:
In case you’re still perplexed, here are the answer’s to 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)
