Welcome to the Third Year Blog!

Hasn’t the weather been glorious?! It’s been an extremely busy week with so much going on for all the pupils in the Third Year.  Last weekend saw a full quota of sport with our A to C Cricket teams in action at St Paul’s and the rowers heading to the Star Regatta – more on that below in the Sports Round Up.

A further Personal Finance PSHE session was delivered to tutor groups on Monday morning, which focussed on the differences between cash, debit and credit payments. Tutor groups 3E and 3F also completed the next module of their First Aid training.

On Wednesday, all Third Years attended a talk by Mike Haines OBE who spoke about the concept of forgiveness and his personal journey of deepening his understanding of this. The first sporting occasion of the week also happened on Wednesday when our athletes headed to the Regional Finals; it was a very successful day with the team coming second overall by only eight points.

Good luck to those Third Years performing at this evening’s Rock Concert – I hope that it’s an epic show!  Good luck to the cricketers and rowers in action this week and also to those Third Years playing in the inaugural Hampton Golf Competition next week.

I hope you enjoy reading the blog and that everyone has a great weekend ahead!

Heads of Year Message

It is a burgeoning blog this week (reflecting how busy Third Year pupils have been), so we will keep our message brief and to the essentials:

• A reminder that pupils who joined the School prior to Third Year will need to reset their iPads and collect their new school laptops at lunchtime on Tuesday (Atrium) or Wednesday (Lecture Theatre).
• We are grateful to the pupils that joined Hampton at 13+ in September who wrote a postcard to their former Prep School this week – there were some lovely messages.
• Well done to the whole Year Group for their impeccable conduct throughout the RS Talk on Wednesday morning. Mike Haines OBE spoke with compassion and wisdom about his very challenging life experiences, and our pupils showed the respect he deserved whilst listening and asking excellent questions on the theme of Forgiveness.
• We strongly encourage Third Year pupils to take advantage of the range of opportunities in School over the coming weeks. A couple of highlights for next week (more details below):
• Tuesday lunchtime: Interform Codebreaking
• Tuesday & Wednesday evening: Alex.Wonderland the Lower School summer show (more information below and free tickets for pupils)

We hope that everyone makes the most of the remaining three weeks of term. Please throw yourselves into the activities on offer 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.

Best wishes

Mr Rigby & Mr Moore

Sports Round Up

U14B Cricket vs St Paul’s by Viren A:

The first match after the half term break saw a confident B team visit St Paul’s. After Hampton won the toss and elected bat our two openers Viren and James E walked out to bat. After a solid opening partnership of 60 Viren was given out LBW but a great performance from James with 39 and a quick fire 24 from Zak H helped the team to put up a great total of 171 for 5 wickets lost. After the St Paul’s openers came out to bat, our bowling attack started with a fired up attitude to win. The fielding was superb with some great catching from James E and Angus H and of course the star performance in the field was Angus’ hat-trick (3 wickets in 3 balls) after he clean bowled the batsmen and sent the off stump flying. In the end Hampton managed to bowl St. Paul’s all out for 139 after almost 28 overs. Another great win for Hampton – thank you to St. Paul’s for hosting us at their wonderful grounds.

The Star Regatta by Arun D:

The Star Regatta was run by Starclub Rowing in Bedford. In order to make the long journey whilst also leaving plenty of time to prepare our boats, the rowers had to arrive at school at the daunting hour of 6:00am. This regatta was exciting, but also made us slightly nervy, as this river was very unfamiliar to all of us, and extremely narrow. Some crews’ first races were very early, whereas others where later in the afternoon, and this meant that each crew always had fellow J14s cheering them on. Our A octuple won their event, and the B quadruple also won theirs, making it a successful day for Hampton. It was then cool to receive our first proper tankards. Overall, it was a great experience and, although we were really tired by the 7:00pm finishing time, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

And another report from Third Year rowing coach Mr Rowett on the Star Regatta:

On a very long, hot day in Bedford last Saturday our rowers enjoyed success at the Star Regatta. We took 22 boys with us and raced in five crews in four different events.

Our B octo had a hard fought race against Bedford School who were just a bit better than us on the day, and so were knocked out in their heat. Our C quad had the misfortune to be drawn against our B quad in the first round, but put up a really spirited performance despite knowing the likely outcome of the race!

The A quad won their heat and semi final comfortably against Bedford School and then Bedford Modern School. In the final against King’s School Ely, we had a great start and pulled away very fast before disaster struck. The boys were moving just a bit too fast for their skill level and an oar got stuck in the water and could not be retrieved, allowing our opposition to row past for a win. In this instance the hare lost!

No such errors were made in the A octo, which powered through their heat against Dulwich College (3 lengths) and semi final against Bedford Modern School (4 lengths). The final was a really close fought but well controlled race against Bedford School. Hampton pushed out a ¾ length lead within the first quarter of the race, maintained this advantage through the middle section and then held off Bedford’s finishing charge to win by ½ length.

Finally, the B quad produced an ‘easily’ verdict in their heat against Oundle School (despite rowing with only three boys for most of the race after snapping an oar), beat our own C quad in the semi final and then powered away from Bedford School in the final, winning by 4 ½ lengths.

Overall our boys not only gained a lot of valuable side by side racing experience but also enjoyed a day in the sun with their friends!

All the winners received tankards (a very traditional rowing prize).

The video clip shows the start of the J14 B Quad Final vs Bedford School.

Track and Field Regional Finals by Sam M-J:

On Wednesday 15 June, a group of Third Year pupils merged with the Fourth Years to take part in the Track and Field Regional Finals in Croydon. Over the course of the day, all the athletes felt the effects of the extreme temperatures that we had to endure. Despite this, all pupils competed with passion and a will to do well. At the halfway stage of the competition, after all Intermediate Boys (Third and Fourth Year) had competed in their respective events on the track, Hampton were on 275 points, in first place, just ahead of rivals Dulwich College. Daniel Mills and Omar Khan, both achieved personal best times in their 200m races,  where they were competing against older boys. After all events had been completed (including the infamous 4x100m relay at the end of the day – a second place finish for Hampton Intermediate Boys), we awaited the results. Unfortunately, we finished in second place, on 496 points, slightly behind Dulwich. This was one of the best results seen by Hampton in the Regional Finals, with every athlete playing an important part.

Ealing Summer Open Swim Gala by Daniel M:

Last weekend, I attended a swimming gala at Northolt Pools for the Ealing Summer Open. It started at 8:00 am on Saturday and Sunday and there were many events. It finished at around 5:00 pm and it was a long and tiring weekend.  I raced a total of 9 events and left the pools with a total of 9 medals. I was particularly pleased with my 100 metres Freestyle race, where I improved my personal best by 4 seconds. My club also won the team award.  Overall, it was enjoyable, and I would recommend swimming as a sport to everyone.

French Comic Strip Competition

Last half term, all boys studying French in the First, Second, Third and Fourth Year were invited to take part in Hampton’s French Comic Strip Competition.  To enter this competition, boys were asked to create at least two scenes of a comic, in French, using their favourite fictional characters but imagining a story of their own. The creativity and the use of French on display was outstanding and deciding winners was a real challenge, but the following Third Years did exceptionally well to win the following prizes:

• 1^st Place – Pablo B & Sam B (3C) « Tintin et le Mégalodon »

• 3^rd Place – Thomas W-M (3F) « Tintin échappe à sa quarantaine »
• « Coup de cœur » (Special mention) – Ethan Q « Tintin et le football sur la lune » ; Freddie M, Daniel M & Will McT « Tintin et la course à moto »

Below are some examples of the fantastic work!

Portland Climbing Trip

Henry W (3E) tells us all about the exciting Adventure Society Trip some of our Third Years went on last weekend:

Last Friday, we left after lunch to go to Portland – the trip took around 4 hours including a stop on the way. When we arrived we took our bags inside had a quick brief and the had dinner. After dinner, we split up into two groups, one going to the beach and one to do team building. After a nice breakfast on Saturday morning, we split up yet again based on ability levels and headed out for a full day of climbing in the sun. Then we headed back to the youth hostel had dinner and went back into our groups from the night before and either watched football or did bridge building. The next morning we packed our bags put them in the van and had breakfast. Afterwards, we split into our climbing groups for another enjoyable climbing morning which included some sharp rock and smooth hold climbs including a grade 6a+ which was certainly a challenge. Just after lunch we left for home returning back at school slightly after 6pm. It was certainly a fun trip with difficult climbs filled with new challenges to explore and overall a great experience!

Alex.Wonderland

Written by Lewis Carroll in 1895, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a classic tale of a young girl named Alice, who on an ordinary afternoon, falls asleep in a meadow and dreams that she follows a White Rabbit down the rabbit hole. In our version, Alice, or should we call him ‘A’ discovered a website and falls deep within the virtual world. A has multiple levels to complete to win the game. We see A control various avatars as he adventures through the levels of wonderland meeting a myriad of characters whilst being constantly tormented by a virus called the Cheshire Cat. And what’s at the end of every video game? A boss level!

Join us on the 21 and 22 June to discover if Alex makes it to the final level and defeats the Red King. Tickets for pupils are free.

Book your tickets here (there will also be some free pupil tickets available on the door each night).

Interform Competitions

The final Interform competitions of the academic year are on the horizon – the competition is wide open and strong performances in the upcoming events could make a big difference to the current standings!

CODEBREAKING

This will take place between 12.40-1.10pm in Room 98 (up by the Politics/Psychology office) on Tuesday 21 June.

Each form needs to turn up with a team of 2-5 codebreakers!

BASKETBALL

This will take place on Friday 1 July on the Garrick Tennis Courts starting at 12.40pm.

The format will be 5 minute ‘3 vs 3’ half court matches but each form needs to have at least 5 players in their squad and you cannot just play the same 3 players in all matches.

UPCOMING CLUBS

As we enter the final half term, it’s your last chance to try something new from the wide range of activities that are offered at Hampton.  Here’s a reminder of ones that you might like to check out:

• Croquet Club takes place on a Wednesday from 1-1:45pm between the Porter’s Lodge and the tennis courts at the front of school.  No previous experience necessary – just a steely streak of competitiveness!  Come and enjoy the sunshine – all welcome.
• Psychology Club will be running this term on Thursday at 1.15-1.45pm in Room 98 – all Third Years are welcome to come along. We will be discussing fascinating psychological phenomena such as déjà vu and the Placebo Effect, and even be conducting our own experiments!
• Garden Club takes place in the Geography Department Garden from 1pm on Thursdays. If you are interested in how to grow your own food from seed, propagate plants from cuttings and generally want to experience a rewarding and therapeutic new life skill then come along and see what green-fingered Hamptonians are up to.
• Photography Club will be happening on a weekly basis this term – a chance for any budding photographer interested in developing their skills. It will take place in Art5 every Tuesday and will run by Aryan S in the Sixth Form.
• Current Affairs Club is up and running! The club is open to all in the First to Fourth year, and happens every Friday at 1.20pm in Room 99.  From exciting debates to interesting news stories that you may have otherwise missed, this club is all about digesting what’s going on in the world in a fun and engaging way.  Attendance is not compulsory week on week, so if the club is not for you – no worries!
• Maths Club takes place on a Friday at 1.10pm in Room 7. New members are always welcome – you don’t need to have attended before.
• Climbing Club happens on a Friday at 12.35pm by the climbing wall. Any level of experience is welcome – come and try something new!
• Philosophy Circle run by Mr Scott also happens on a Thursday at 1.20pm, taking place in Room 21. Come along and get involved in some thought-provoking discussions!

Poetry Translation Competition

Do you fancy a creative challenge using one or more of the languages you study at school? How about exploring another language that you or your parents speak at home? Keen to write some rhymes or craft some quatrains?

THEN TRANSLATE A POEM FROM ANY LANGUAGE AND SUBMIT IT TO THE STEPHEN SPENDER PRIZE! This is a national poetry translation prize with categories for all ages, as well as cash prizes and publication for winning entries.

Find out more at Poetry Translation Club with Mr Gordon in Room 11a on Tuesdays at 12.40pm, or by visiting Firefly>Modern Languages>Stephen Spender Prize

here

Talk! Cindy Rose

Do you fancy yourself as a global tech leader of the future or perhaps want to find out more about how tech innovation continues to change the world, then come along to the next Hampton School Talk! event on Monday 27 June at 1pm in the Hammond Theatre when we’ll be joined by Cindy Rose, President of Microsoft for Western Europe.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear Cindy talk about the future of Microsoft and her mission to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more. The global tech leader will also be shining a light on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and discussing all things tech, from artificial intelligence to the internet of things, tackling climate change to explorations in space. It promises to be fascinating event.

Dingbats

Last week saw the first DINGBATS feature, where you were asked to work out what common phrase was described by the clue below.  The answer was of course: fork in the road!

Good luck for this week – Can you work out what word is described by the clue below?

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 part of the phonetic alphabet answers. Big shout out to Rocky M, Sam B, Monty S, Thomas T-S, Arun D, Oliver D, Nathan N, Avi B and Thomas W-M.

Another tricky one to have a go at over the weekend:

In case, you’re still perplexed here are the answers from the last week’s conundrum:

This week’s installment:

In what country would you find the cities of Jodhpur and Chennai? India

What is the name of the famous moustached silent film actor who often donned a bowler hat? Charlie Chaplin

Which Canadian province has the highest percentage of French speakers? Quebec

What is the capital of Peru? Lima

 Connection answer: All part of the phonetic alphabet (India, Charlie, Quebec, Lima)

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

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