Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Next week is English Celebration Week at Hampton. This is a week close to the heart of the Third Year Blog as, well, it’s a blog.
Why does English need a celebration week? Well, it’s easy to forget how important it is. Language is something fundamentally human, to the extent that we take it for granted. But it is incredible. You could argue that our ability to communicate anything that we want to by either using a series of shapes, or by exhaling air across our vocal cords and changing the noise it makes by using our teeth, lips and tongue is one of the most remarkable things we can are capable of (frankly, the Third Year Blog could witter on for hours about this, but will leave you with the task, if you have the inclination, of seeing if you can work out what the physical difference is between making vowel sounds and consonant sounds is).
It goes without saying that what is equally incredible is our ability to then interpret those shapes or sounds and what the other person means by them.
But beyond the sensational practicalities of language, English can be much more to you than that.
It offers the chance to be welcomed into a different viewpoint on the world; the opportunity to see life through different eyes. That can sometimes be challenging, but can be the pathway to understanding, empathy and growth. Of course, you still learn most from your own experiences, but what you read can be a part of that.
But English is not just about stories. It can also be about power. We are constantly surrounded by language, and that language is often trying to gain some sort of influence or control over our behaviour, whether that is through advertising, social media, the media, politicians, teachers or any other number of presences in your lives. Being able to understand the way that language is being used towards you and to navigate your way through that is a large part of growing as a person.
Of course, on the flip side to this, the more precisely and thoroughly you are able to use language yourself, the more you are able to use it to your advantage. That might be through being persuasive, or being able to make friends, or being able to articulate exactly what you are thinking or feeling, or being able to adapt your language and register to adapt to any situation you find yourself in. Whatever form it takes, that control of your own language allows you to use language to your own advantage.
More than that, language can be simply be silly or fun. As an example of this, during the School photograph on Thursday, to pass the time, a few members of staff came up with a haiku to capture the moment (and to distract themselves from the biting wind).
The wind announces
The storm on the horizon
“Everyone say “CHEESE!”
The long and short of it is that language is one of the most remarkable things that you have easy access to. English as a subject is essentially training for using this superpower we all have – of course it needs celebrating!
So, there are plenty of fun and thought provoking events on next week, with more information further down the blog, so do take the chance to get involved!
Heads of Year Message
Vaccinations
The Richmond Immunisation Team will attend school on Thursday 19 March to administer DTP teenage booster, MenACWY, and MMR (for anyone who has not already had two doses) vaccinations. The nursing team wrote to Third Year parents on Tuesday 13 January with details about the vaccinations and a consent form. Please complete the consent form by Friday 13 March. Pupils should make sure that they eat a good breakfast on the morning of the vaccinations and wear a short sleeve shirt (or one that will easily role up). Please contact the School Nurses if you have any questions about the vaccinations: Nurse@hamptonschool.org.uk.
No Limits Lesson
We are grateful to all subject teachers who made lessons a bit different on Tuesday this week as part of our bi-annual No Limits Lessons day. Well done to Third Year pupils who took part in this (and their RSE morning on either Monday or Thursday) with enthusiasm and maturity.
English Celebration Week
We are very much looking forward to listening to the Third Year Blog’s very own Mr Green who will be speaking on Tuesday lunchtime in the Lecture Theatre as part of the panel of experts sharing their professional experiences using language in A Way with Words…
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 absence. For absences other than illness (e.g. if a pupil has a medical appointment during School hours) notice of this should be given in advance wherever possible. For planned absences, please contact the Heads of Year requesting the absence with as much notice as possible.
We hope that everyone enjoys the weekend.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mr H Moore
Say Cheese!
Earlier this week, the entire School assembled for that rarest of occasions: the whole School photograph. Now, the Third Year Blog is well‑accustomed to gathering thoughts, but gathering people — all of them, at the same time, in the same place — is a rather more impressive feat.
So when the picture is unveiled, do take a moment to look beyond the lines and blazers. Somewhere in there, beneath the frozen smiles and valiant attempts not to be blown sideways, is the shared spirit of Hampton — and that, even in a chilly wind, is worth celebrating.
Rugby Galore
Middlesex Sevens
On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to attend the Middlesex 7s tournament. Before the tournament, we knew that we would be facing some tough opposition, so we had to play well. Thankfully, we immediately set the tone with a 2-2 draw against a strong Latymer side. We had outplayed them, particularly Juna C, who had made some amazing runs on the wing. However, disappointingly, they scored a try in the last play to equalise. Then came our toughest game, against London Oratory. We played well, but a few mistakes ended up costing us the game, in a 3-1 defeat. Even though we had lost, Aaron J’s try had been excellent, being an individual flash of brilliance. We ended the group stage, with 1 draw and 1 loss.
In the next round, we were drawn against Richmond and Turing House. These were going to be two tough games, and we needed to be playing at our best. We started strong, going 4-2 up against Richmond, with Asher H making a brilliant tackle to open the game; however, a disappointing final few minutes, again, meant that the game ended in a draw. Finally, we had to play against Turing House. This was our best game by far; we completely dominated them, winning 5 tries to 1. Particular credit goes to Finn M, who played exceptionally well with an outstanding run to end the game.
It was a memorable conclusion to what had been both a tough, and enjoyable day.
By William B (3J)
Orleans Park Sevens
We all left school at the end of break, buzzing for another 7s tournament. We got onto a school minibus and set off for Orleans Park School. Sadly, Patrick J had not brought his speaker and so we were forced to listen to Mr Haynes’s ‘amazing’ music on the way. Fortunately, it wasn’t a long journey.
On arrival at Orleans Park School, we warmed up and made our way to the field for our first game against Windsor Boy’s School. Unfortunately, despite our warmup, we weren’t fully dialled in and narrowly lost to them by a few points.
However, after that, we couldn’t stop winning. We beat Hollyfield, and then Turing House by an astonishing 8 tries in 14 minutes, including a hat-trick from Toby B. Whilst that first loss meant that we missed out on winning the group, we did come second which meant that we qualified for the plate competition, where we would play the hosts, Orleans, and Isleworth & Syon. We first played Orleans, who we beat quite convincingly, before getting an opportunity to watch Orleans play our final opponent. The score there was relatively equal, with Isleworth coming out slightly on top. Thus, we ran onto the pitch, ready to hopefully win our first silverware of the season.
We got off to a good start, scoring first, and then putting a few more tries past them, to give ourselves an unassailable lead. We had some last-minute drama, when there was an extremely late tackle on Christian O, which started a minor on-field brawl, with some of their players and Patrick J involved. Both Patrick and their main assailant received red cards, but this action came too late to make a real impact on the result, and we sealed our first trophy of this year’s 7s season.
With luck, it won’t be our last.
By Toby B (3D)
We arrived at Orleans Park School at around 12 after a morning of lessons. We had a strong squad of players and, after a quick warm up, we had our first game. We were playing Windsor Boys school who were a strong side and had an organised defensive line which we managed to break thanks to some amazing play but, unfortunately, they were a strong side who managed to win on conversions.
Our next game was against Hollyfield, who we play in Rosslyn Park later on the season. They seemed like quite a physically dominant side, but we managed to beat them, hopefully setting the tone for Rosslyn. We then played Turing House, who had played a Hampton side the day before, and from the kick off, we were quite dominant, with the final score was along the lines of 47-0.
After we came second in the group stages, we played the tournament hosts, Orleans Park. With quite a large home crowd watching, we started the game strongly and managed to beat them, meaning we only had to beat Isleworth, who beat us in the Middlesex Cup earlier this season. We were determined to beat them.
They had quite a few good players, a skilful 10 and a strong runner. We managed to keep them relatively quiet however and won the game, winning the plate. Standout players included Christian O with 10 tries but the whole team played very well.
By Patrick J (3J)
No Limits Lessons Day
Below is a piece of artwork created on No Limits Day by Harry R (3F) using Desmos.
As the Third Year Blog understands it, Desmos allows you to create images using mathematical formulae and thinking. However he did it, Harry has created a particularly striking image of a power station here – well done Harry!
English celebration Week
Next week it’s English Celebration Week – take a look at the poster below and see what you can join in!
Two Truths and a lie
Last week Mr Wong was our willing liar. What were his claims?
- Mr Wong picked his preferred first name after a fantasy fiction character
- Mr Wong is a deeply experienced handball coach
- Mr Wong’s favourite sport is tennis
Well, if Hampton were to start a handball team (it feels like we should, to be honest), Mr Wong would be the prime candidate to run that team having been a qualified Handball coach for a decade. Mr Wong did pick his preferred first name after a fantasy fiction character – this was a moment when he was in secondary school and a teacher asked him to choose a first name. His choice was the main character in the Dark Elf Trilogy – if you are a member of D & D club, you may be able to work out what it is…). What this means is that tennis is not Mr Wong’s favourite sport. They say first impressions last and Mr Wong’s first impression of playing tennis was in his first year of university when he managed to hit himself in the face with his racket. Let’s just say that Mr Wong has never played tennis since.
This week we have the normally honest Mrs Reilly besmirching her own reputation. This is what she would like you to believe…
- Mrs Reilly has swum the English channel
- Mrs Reilly loves a good cream tea
- Mrs Reilly was once caught in an earthquake in Japan
Which is the lie? Find out 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 counties of Ireland. Big shout out to Liangxu Z, Rishi V, Uzair SC, Kahana M, Reuben N, George W, Toby B, Charlie F, Naivedya A and Matthew T.
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 the last week’s conundrum:
What is the name of the poem where the first, second and fifth lines have the same rhyme and rhythm? Limerick
What is the name of the impermeable buoyant material that is most commonly used to stopper bottles of wine? Cork
Which sports presenter will host Wimbledon on the BBC this summer? Clare Balding
What is the name of the chain of local bakers’ shops that can be found in Hampton, Hampton Hill, Teddington and Twickenham? The Cavan Bakery
Connection: All counties of Ireland (County Limerick, County Cork, Country Clare, County Cavan)
