Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Well, the School year is well underway for the Third Year.
Teams have been built.
Timetables have been lost.
Top buttons have come undone.
Fixtures have been won.
Maths has been Mathsed.
The 3G has been smashed.
The year-long battle of the untucked shirt has commenced.
All things that define what it is to be a Hamptonian. All that remains is for Sausage Casserole to find its way on to the lunch menu.
And this Saturday brings the opportunity to show off everything that makes being a part of it all so great: Open Morning!
Obviously, you are all super excited to be in on Saturday, as are your teachers. But, Open Morning is always a day when even the most cynical of us all find it hard not to be overwhelmed by the feeling of what a great place Hampton can be.
This may sound like propaganda, which is not generally the Third Year Blog’s style, but you’ll feel it on Saturday when you find yourself showing people around, or helping out in a department office or playing a sports fixture, as the School is flooded with people looking to see what makes Hampton tick.
So, make sure you enjoy the morning and show our visitors how awesome you are and what a wonderful place Hampton is to go to School. All you need to be is yourself (though, ideally a version of yourself that tucks his shirt in and does his top button up).
Anyway, enough of the pep talk… Let’s see what you’ve all been doing!
Heads of Year Message
Open Morning
We have every faith that Third Year pupils will do an excellent job showing visitors around the School site during Open Morning on Saturday. A reminder that pupils should arrive looking smart in their school uniform and enter the school via the Lecture Theatre entrance having come through the LEH/Hampton gate (next to the 3G pitch) in time to register by 10:30am. Collection is at approximately 12.30pm. Any parents dropping their child off by car on Open Morning will need to park in the LEH car park. It is important to note that all Third Year pupils are expected to attend Open Morning unless they are playing in a school sports fixture or parents have requested authorised absence in advance. As such, please notify the school via the Parent Portal if your child is absent for medical reasons on Open Morning.
Counsellor visits
To encourage Third Year pupils to think proactively about their own pastoral needs, one of the school counsellors visits each Form Group during an afternoon registration in the early weeks of term. This is a simple introduction to the counselling team and the service they offer in School. It also gives our pupils the opportunity to ask any questions they may have. These visits have been taking place during afternoon registrations over the last two weeks. If you would like to contact the School Counsellors to arrange a meeting or with a query, please email counselling@hamptonschool.org.uk.
Third Year pupils – Please remember to let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you are having any difficulties.
Have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes
Mr Rigby & Mr Moore
Teambuilding day
On Thursday, the Third Year mentor team led PSHE lessons with each class, reflecting on what they learnt during Teambuilding Day. Fortunately for the blog, we have had various reports from boys who had ALREADY reflected on their experience. Let’s hear what they had to say:
Teambuilding Day was a very fun and engaging event that I took part in, helping me get to know some of the new boys a LOT better, while still contributing to activities that forced us to work together. Let me take you on a journey through it!
Firstly, stood an activity that was both involuntarily confusing and interesting probably due to not hearing the rules properly, however we were put straight into it. The main task of this activity was to use six interlinked ropes, connected to a musical triangle looking object, to pick up uneven blocks and place them in the middle.
In the beginning, our teamwork was not necessarily pretty or impressive, however, over time, our coordination helped us place a few blocks in the middle (just about). After this was a more athletic game, where a spiderweb was created through bungee ropes in a frame. We had to get the whole team through each hole individually, not being able to use the same hole more than once.
After cruising the easier ones, we noticed that some ‘webs’ were WAY above standing height, so with blood, sweat and close calls, we warily carried pupils through the top of the frame. Despite this challenge not going so well, we assumed we were not alone in the struggle of this challenge. Another engaging challenge we encountered was a pipe with a whistle inside, where we had to fill the whole thing up with water for the whistle to ride to the top and for us to get it out. Except, the catch was that we couldn’t go inside a roughly two-meter radius of the pipe. We were given an INCREDIBLY large number of resources for this challenge: a few ropes, a small bucket, and a funnel. After various amounts of ideas, we settled on suspending the bucket between one rope, and using the other to push on the bucket, tipping the water into the funnel inside the tube. Luckily, we managed to spill most of the water into the funnel across multiple attempts, and we finished relatively quickly, however, the other groups in our form didn’t have as much fortune. Sadly, they didn’t discover the technique to getting the water in nearly as quick as our group did, yet everyone still enjoyed it.
These were just a few of the immensely fun events we took part in on Thursday, and I think it was very successful, as I got to know my classmates better; even though we came…below the podium.
By Monty S (3J)
This week, the entire Third Year took part in the interform Teambuilding Day. Every class tried different crazy challenges to earn points. One of our challenges was ‘the floor is lava’, but we weren’t allowed to jump from island to island and only had two planks we could use to build a bridge. It was very difficult and took many tries, with a lot of people and planks falling in lava, but we finally made it across.
Another obstacle was the Egyptian slide where we had to try to roll small cylinders under a plank of wood on which we had to balance. Many of us fell over but when some reached the end, they brought pieces of wood to rescue us and make sure we got across in time.
It was a brilliant day full of fun, and everyone really enjoyed it. 3B managed to come second overall. So close to winning!
By George MH (3B)
On Thursday, all Third Years participated in a Teambuilding exercise, which was extremely fun. I feel like I have a better connection with my form, even though my form teacher sadly couldn’t attend. My favourite activity was probably the ski activity, as we finished it very quickly. Overall my form finished third, and we all came closer as a form doing so.
By James S (3A)
Our Teambuilding Day was an absolute blast! With lots of new faces joining Form 3A this year, the day was designed to help us get to know each other, build friendships, and learn how we can work together as a team.
We took part in a range of exciting activities, from the fast-paced Egyptian Rollers challenge to building water tower tasks. Every challenge tested our communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills while encouraging us to think creatively.
As the day went on, we discovered our class’s strengths and fantastic understanding, learned to trust one another, and realised that everyone brings something valuable to the team. With lots of laughs, plenty of friendly competition, and some brilliant teamwork we are now energised for all the new adventures we will face together going forward.
By the end of the day, Form 3A felt less like a group of strangers and more like a team ready to take on the next academic year together. It was a fantastic start to the school year and a day we won’t forget”
By Ashutosh S (3A)
Last Thursday, we participated in teambuilding and went through seven challenging and fun activities. My personal favourites were the block building and the whistle rescue challenges.
In the block building challenge, we used a crane that was operated using 12 ropes that we all pulled to move the crane. It was especially hard for our group as the wind kept on blowing the tower down; however, we still managed to get five out of eight blocks in a tower.
In the whistle rescue, we used three ropes to position a funnel over a tube that had a whistle at the bottom. Our goal was to get the whistle out of the tube. We had good teamwork between our four groups and with ten minutes left, we figured out that we could use one rope to hold the funnel down on the tube and use the other two the position the bucket filled with water over the funnel and turn it so the water came out. We had to do this five times, and we managed to get three out of the four whistles out.
Teambuilding was great and I got to know all the people in my form better.
By Ethan C (3E)
Cricket Champions!
Since the beginning of last year’s summer term, the U13A (now U14A) team had been working towards the David English ESCA Cup which, if you didn’t know, was the national cup for our age group. To qualify for this cup every team had to win their respective county cups, which meant we knew we were always going to be playing a high standard of cricket. Over the next few months, we worked hard to progress through the competition knowing that each game could be our last. Until eventually the day of the final came.
The final took place at Oakham School in Rutland, so we stayed the night before at a Premier Inn. We woke up knowing we had an exciting day coming up. We got to the school early in the morning, ready for the start of play at 11pm. It was a scorching hot day, meaning gazebos and cold towels were needed. We did a calm warm up involving stretching and fielding, and then it was time for the toss. Our captain Kaarthikan M won the toss and immediately knew we wanted to bat. At the toss we thought that par score was 220, especially based off our incredible batting displays throughout the tournament, like in the semi-final where we scored a huge 230 off just 30 overs, whereas the final was 35 overs. But when we had a look at the pitch, we rethought our par score to 200 as there looked to be a lot in it for the bowlers.
As we started our innings our openers Jesse G and Yuvan M got us off to a flying start as we were 37-0 off 4 overs. However, then we had an England-style collapse which led us to 67-4 from 10.1 overs. Then Smyan M and Arhaan K stabilised the innings, leading us to 120-5 and then 121-6 soon after. From there we lost another quick wicket at 134-7 still having 15 overs to bat. Then a smart partnership from Ed J and Kyle O added 45 runs to the board, before Kyle O got out to the last ball of the dangerous off spinners’ spell, leaving us 8 down with 7 overs left. Then a quick-fire 30 partnership from Ed J and Max K to get us to 215-9 after 35 overs.
After a good lunch we started our bowling innings with the fiery pace of Kaarthikan M leading us to get a wicket off the second ball of their innings, which was a great way to show who was in charge. Their top order rebuilt well, but then we brought the spinners on, which was very effective as Bertie E managed to get 3 crucial wickets, which put the game in our hands. But then Kaarthi brought Rahul P back on and he amazingly got hattrick which was a real highlight of the final, as it sealed the deal and we were national champions.
Highlights
Edward J – 52(52)* Rahul P – 4-14
Yuvan M – 39(36) Bertie E – 3-32
By Jesse G (3H) and Edward J (3B)
Special Shoutouts
EMACT Art Competition 2026
We received the excellent news this week that Third Year pupil Isaac L had been named runner up in the KS3 category of the EMACT Art competition, which this year had the theme of ‘Troy’. Making this all the more remarkable is the fact that he won this very same category in the 2025 competition.
Below is his outstanding artwork. Well done, Isaac!
Football is back!
Last weekend, our U14E team had an amazing game and came away with a big 12–1 win. From the start, we played with confidence and created lots of chances. Yuvan M was brilliant and scored a hat-trick to help us take control of the game. Zach A also managed to score a hat-trick, helping the team keep pushing forward.
Rayan A completed the three hat-tricks with three goals of his own. Aarush A scored a great goal, while Moksha K also found the back of the net. Zac J then added another goal to complete our 12 goals.
Even though the other team scored once, we stayed focused and continued to play our football. Everyone worked hard, passed the ball well and supported each other throughout the match. Overall, it was a really good performance from the whole team, and we were happy with the result.
By Zach A (3C)
The best thing I did this summer
Over the summer, I went on a week long cruise around Norway, and it was an exciting and memorable experience. During the trip, I visited beautiful Norwegian destinations, where I could explore the towns and hike up mountains that looked like they would never end. As well as this, we made a small stop at Belgium, which led me to try some delectable Belgian delights.
On the days at sea, there would also be plenty to do on the ship, including swimming in pools, relaxing in the rooftop garden, watching live shows in the theatre and enjoying different restaurants and cafés. The highlight of the show was the magic carpet, which moves to different levels of the ship and provides views over the sea.
To add on, there were many different clubs going on like pickleball, gaming and even dancing. On our way back, we saw the Seven Sisters, which was stunning and a scene I will never forget. To sum up, travelling around Norway allowed me to experience a mixture of adventure, relaxation and entertainment all in one holiday.
By Akshaj A (3A)
Two Truths and a lie
Last week, as you will no doubt remember, Mrs Owen told us a barefaced lie. We just didn’t know what it was. Today, all is revealed!
These were here claims:
- Mrs Owen went to school with Paddy McGuiness
- Mrs Owen is a lifelong Oldham Athletic supporter
- Mrs Owen used to play darts for her university darts team
So which was the lie?
Upon learning that Mrs Owen is, in fact, a lifelong Oldham Athletic supporter, the Third Year Blog was left marvelling at how positive her outlook on life is, in general. Perhaps what helps her feel more positive about things is her excellence at darts – she did represent her university. What this means is that she didn’t go to School with Paddy McGuinness. We will leave you to decide whether this would be positive for Mrs Owen or not.
This week our willing liar is Mr Berezhnoi.
- Mr Berezhnoi previously worked on a farm
- Mr Berezhnoi is utterly, UTTERLY terrified of volcanoes
- Mr Berezhnoi is a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu
Can we possibly believe any of this? Find out what is true next week!
Connection Corner
A big shout out to all the Third Year Hamptonians who had a go at the very first Connection Corner of the year and well done those of you who answered all the questions correctly and guessed the connection as Disney characters! Merits go to Dylan S, Kiyan J, Yuvan M, Rayan A, Harri C, Ben W, Rahim K, Ojas P, Ethan C, Thomas D-L, Ansh R, Ralph L, Smyan M, Oscar V-V, Ethan C and Ediz Y.
Another tricky one this week, see if you can spot the connection:
Which planet was demoted to a “dwarf planet in 2006”? Pluto
What flower often found in fields, is commonly chained together to form garlands? Daisy
Who was elected as the 45th President of the United States? Donald Trump
Which actor played the part of Whiplash in Iron Man 2? Mickey Rourke
Connection: Pluto, Donald, Mickey, Daisy (Disney Characters)
