Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Hampton School is generally a very pleasant place to spend your time. Of course, it is not all awesome highs. Sitting in F6 in the afternoon in June with the sun pouring in through the windows, essentially turning it into a sauna as you grapple gamely with what on earth happened with Caecilius in the caldarium and whether it happened in the perfect or the pluperfect tense, and wondering whether the caldarium F6 has now become would have been as hot as the one that Caecilius was in doesn’t necessarily make for the best of times. But generally, it is a pretty good place to be. The energy, the camaraderie, the noise, the 3G, the chicken katsu curry, the learning, all the Maths (so much Maths) – the list goes on.
Sometimes, though, the School feels as if it reaches beyond even that normally high level and it reaches what Ruskin might have called the sublime (in truth, it is probably not what Ruskin would have called the sublime, but it sounds lovely, no? And if the sublime, in Ruskin’s eyes, was about the relationship between greatness and the emotion that experiencing greatness can elicit, then maybe we can make some slight claim for it).
Today feels like one of those days.
There is a Second Year national semi final cricket match and the First XI are taking on an Old Hamptonian’s team filled with recent leavers, as well as some other less recent (in some cases MUCH less recent) leavers. As well as the players, there are dozens of other Old Hamptonians who have come along to watch.
Adding to the almost festival atmosphere, it is Friends and Family afternoon for the First Years which is a new event where they are able to bring in their grandparents and other member of their extended family so they can get a sense of the School and what the boys’ experience here is like. Add in the heat and the parents who have come to watch the cricket and the School feels as if it is humming with positivity.
All this means that there is a sense of connection and warmth flooding through the place. It is impossible not to feel lifted by what you can see around the School and the sense of happiness pervading the atmosphere. One of the great things about the School, at its best, is that it is a community that makes the people in it feel welcome and part of something really valuable.
There will be another great day on Monday, when the temperature will be even higher, when it is the Equality Picnic over by the Clubhouse during lunch from 12.35 to 1.45pm.
This is a sensational event, organised by the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Club, the Neurodiversity Society and the Pride Society, coinciding with the last day of the UK’s Pride Month. There will be softball, parlour games and popsicles (amongst other things) and it is a chance to have an awesome time while celebrating the diversity and inclusion which makes Hampton a great place to be. It is down to all of us, regardless of who we are, to help make everyone in the School feel part of the wonderful thing that our community is, and throwing yourself into this event wholeheartedly would be a great place to start. The Third Year Blog will be there, popsicle in hand, and we look forward to seeing you there too!
It’s also Giving Day next week and there are plenty of things happening around School. Take a look here and you can find out exactly what we’re raising funds for and how you can get involved. It promises to be an exciting few days at School!
In terms of the blog this week, we have some pretty impressive performances from some of the year group, so let’s move on to what achievements have been achieved!
HEADS of Year Message
Congratulations to our victorious National Chess Championship finalists!
Well done and thank you to all Third Year pupils for their respectful yet active participation in a number of presentations from guest speakers this week:
- Monday morning: Imran Ahmad (OH) “Perfect Gentleman” Talk
- Tuesday afternoon: Careers in Creative Industries Forum
- Thursday morning: Miss Williams (Fitzwygram Foundation) Giving Day Talk
Thank you to the many members of the Hampton School Community who gave up their time to support the Careers in Creative Industries Event on Tuesday.
We were also delighted to receive news of the excellent work of the Hampton delegation at the ISSP Art Day on Thursday.
With just one week left of this academic year, we really enjoyed celebrating the achievements of this Year Group at our Prizegiving event on Wednesday evening. Congratulations to all prize winners, who are listed here. It is impossible for us to recognise every achievement or worthy act with a prize, and we are well aware how many pupils deserve recognition across a wide range of academic and co-curricular achievements throughout the year. Please rest assured that these achievements are recognised and valued by teachers at each and every performance, sports fixture, grade card or event – even if a prize was not forthcoming on this occasion. We took some time to recognise and celebrate these achievements during our Year Group assembly on Thursday morning.
As well as the Giving Day on Tuesday next week (Third Year pupils will be allowed to wear Hampton sports kit to school in order to compete in the Interform 15:57 relay event at lunchtime), there will also be a Mufti Day on Friday (last day of term) to raise funds towards Form Charity.
Absences
If your child will be absent from School for any reason, please complete the absence reporting form, which can be found on My School Portal, on every morning of your child’s absence. For absences other than illness e.g. if a pupil has a dental or medical appointment during School hours, notice of this should be given in advance. For planned absences, please contact Heads of Year requesting the absence with as much notice as possible.
Boys, we hope you make the most of the last week of term. Please throw yourselves into the activities on offer (including the interform relay event on Tuesday) 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.
We hope you all have a lovely weekend in the sunshine!
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mr H Moore
English Schools’ Chess Championship
Thursday saw the Hampton School Chess team competing in the English Schools’ Chess Championship. This is a competition comprised of teams made up from pupils of any age through the School, so it is remarkable that two Third Years were part of the Hampton – Jai K (3G) and Tom B (3G).
What is even more remarkable about it is the fact that this team then won the competition.
National Champions!
Next week, we will have a report on the experience from Tom B, but for today, we have a photo of the winning team, some words from Mr Baker who was there to watch it all unfold and an incredibly warm glow of pride about such an incredible achievement.
Well done Jai and Tom!
The Third Year Blog first asked Mr Baker about how Tom B had performed:
‘Tom enjoyed a quite stunning debut in the competition; in moving up into the First VI, after the departure of Upper Sixth Naavya Sharma at the end of last season, he has more than stepped up to the challenge and the pressure – something that he dealt with impressively!’
‘In keeping his nerve in a tactical and complicated match in the Fourth Round against Magdalene School, his victory on time against an opponent – with an exceptionally high board six rating of over 2000 – was utterly pivotal to the team’s success, enabling the side’s hopes for a second title in three years to continue into day two.’
‘I was stunned at the accuracy, speed, and precision of his matches – as was the chess engine we were using to watch his matches; he is only going to get better and better in the coming four years!’
Moving on to talk about how Jai K had played, Mr Baker said:
‘At times, the accuracy and execution of his theory was staggering – even more impressive given that he was playing board two once again at the elite national competition for schools in the UK!’
‘His mental toughness and resilience after being on 0.5/2 points after two rounds was hugely impressive and mature – going on to win his remaining four matches to end on 4.5/6, was pivotal to the team’s collective success; he is undoubtedly a Hampton chess captain in the making!’
‘Pouncing on the smallest of errors by his opponents, exacting crushing defeats with surgical precision at speed, his performances gave the rest of the team enormous confidence, knowing that – even early on in the match – they were already 1-0 up with only 2.5 points to get. Clinical!’
Mr Baker is not an easy man to impress, so this is all high praise indeed! Once again, well played Jai and Tom!
U14A Cricket: Middlesex Cup Final
Regular readers of the blog (both of you) may remember that last week we heard about the U14A squad making it to the Middlesex Cup Final. How did they get on?
On Tuesday 17 June, after a hearty breakfast and lengthy coach ride, we arrived at Harrow School for our Middlesex Cup final match against Merchant Taylors’ School. In Second Year they had easily eclipsed our total for the loss of only one wicket and our hopes were not high going into the game, but we knew that if we all played really well we could beat them.
Unfortunately this is not what happened.
Apart from strong counter attacking 30s by Nico W and Manav V, we batted poorly, losing many of our line up to poor shot selection, and were bowled out for 159 in 40 overs. A good start with the ball then had them 8-2, but their next two batters played beautifully and both made fifties, chasing down our total in 21 overs for the loss of only three wickets.
It was an all round disappointing performance from Hampton, with our batting, bowling and fielding not being up to scratch. Thankfully, we performed poorly against a very strong team who probably would have won regardless, and not a weak team who we should have beaten.
Hopefully we can come back well from this defeat and regain our normal quality for Saturday’s game against Royal Grammar School, Guildford
Editor’s note: And they did, chasing down Guildford’s total of 156 for the loss of 7 wickets!
By Jon-Jon B (3G)
Summer Concert
Next week sees the School’s big Summer Concert. There has been a huge amount of work put in by the pupils and staff involved and we will hopefully have a report on it next week. In the meantime, the Third Year Blog would like to offer good luck to those involved from the Third Year:
Arjun S, Daniel S, Devam K, Ekam R, Gabriel K-S, George S, Ishaan M, James N, Joe B, Joshua A, Joshua D-L, Luis M-Y, Monti S, Oliver Y, Oscar S, Oskar P, Pierce B, Rohan K, Sebastian W, Sion K and Zac C.
Good luck all!
Two truths and a lie
Last week, we had two liars – both Mr Bakers. Which Baker cooked up the most convincing untruth? Who rose to the challenge? Who most successfully met the knead of the task?
First, we have the claims of Mr Baker (English):
- Mr Baker (English) was a top 10 UK chess player for his age at 16
- Mr Baker (English) is a question-setter for University Challenge
- Mr Baker (English) once played Hockey in the National Club Cup final in the National Stadium in Lee Valley.
As suggested above by his presence at the English Schools Chess championship, Mr Baker was an elite chess player and was in the top 10 in the UK for his age when younger. He also played Hockey in the National Club final in the National Stadium. This means that he isn’t a question setter for University Challenge, but the Third Year Blog is in no doubt that a polymath such as him would be able to make an outstanding job of it!
Moving to the claims of Mr Baker (Biology):
- Mr Baker (Biology) was School Captain during his time as a pupil at Hampton School
- Mr Baker (Biology) holds a motor racing driving licence
- Mr Baker (Biology) has the highest total number of wicket keeping wickets in Old Hamptonians CC history
It turns out that Mr Baker does hold a motor racing licence though, of course, you won’t find him zooming up and down Hanworth Road. He does have the highest total number of wicket keeping victims in Old Hamptonians CC history. Bearing in mind how many Old Hamptonians there have been, this is no mean feat. What this means is that he was not School Captain during his time as a pupil at Hampton, though the Third Year Blog can only assume that that was some sort of oversight on the part of the Headmaster at the time.
This week, we have Mrs Morse of the English Department lying through her teeth. These are her claims:
- Mrs Morse used to live next door to the drummer from Coldplay and was embroiled in a legal squabble between her landlord and the famous sticksman about a taxi
- Mrs Morse is a spoon whittler. If you give her a piece of wood, she will whittle a spoon for you. If she sees a piece of wood, she immediately pictures the spoon that she would whittle from it
- Mrs Morse was pursued for 4 years by the GB paralympic rowing team because they knew she had a condition called Equinus Foot, which potentially meant that she qualified for their squad and they wanted her to row for them
Once again, the Third Year Blog is left speechless (well, almost) by the sheer chutzpah required to suggest all this nonsense. Find out what is and isn’t true next week!
Connection Corner
Well done to the everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. Merits go to all those who correctly guessed that the answers were all Patron Saints of the UK. Big shout out to Huw C, James G, Joe B, Daniel S, Alex G and Josh B.
And drum roll please, it’s our final Connection Corner of the year!
In case, you’re still perplexed here are the answers from the last week’s conundrum:
- Who is second in line to the throne? Prince George
- Which actor played Spiderman before Tom Holland? Andrew Garfield
- Which author wrote Gangsta Granny? David Walliams
- Which French international football player previously managed Crystal Palace? Patrick Viera
Connection – they’re all patron saints of the UK
