Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Summer in England is a wonderful, wonderful thing. We live in a country where, in the depths of February, the idea that it might be possible to walk the streets dressed in shorts (shorts!) and flip flops (flop flops?!) seems ludicrous. And yet here we are, sweltering inelegantly.
Of course, what we do have in these conditions is cricket.
Cricket is undoubtedly a polarising activity and the Third Year Blog would not pretend to have either the persuasive power or the reach to make anyone feel any differently about it, but, having offered that magnanimous nonsense, the reality is that cricket is awesome and if you disagree, then respectfully, you are wrong, and you have never experienced the sheer emotional and physical beauty of someone making no attempt to score at all in the sport of their choice for several hours and yet still finding themselves feted as a hero because they got a draw. A draw.
As you may be able to tell, the Third Year Blog tends to lose its cool (not THAT sort of cool, the Third Year Blog has never had that) when faced with the idea that cricket might not be a sensational use of five days. Fortunately for the Third Year Blog, there are also pupils in the School who feel the same way.
This week, amongst other things, we have reports from several matches for the U14A team – read on below to see how it went. It’s not ALL cricket, but for this week, the Third Year Blog is going to pretend that it is, at least in this bit.
Heads of Year Message
Prizegiving
Congratulations to all the Third Year pupils who have been nominated to receive an award at our Prizegiving event next week. Their achievements are rightly recognised at this time of year and we look forward to applauding them on Wednesday evening. However, we are always very aware that prize winners (although worthy) are only a small representation of the achievements of the Year Group as a whole. We cannot award prizes for every effort grade 1, note played in tune, line rehearsed, goal scored, tackle made, ergo test completed, wicket taken, mountain climbed, or homework handed in on time, but this should not detract from the recognition of each of those achievements. Well done to everyone for what you have achieved this year.
Laptops
A reminder to all pupils and parents that there is software loaded onto the school laptops that enables safeguarding monitoring to take place at all times. Any online searches, social media interactions or other digital activities that meet the threshold of concern will be picked up by the school’s network filters when the laptop is brought into school. Pupils should recognise the need to use the laptops for school work and school purposes only (including when away from school).
The laptops must be brought to school fully charged for the day ahead each morning and should be placed on “sleep” mode (via the Start Menu) when not in use to preserve battery during the day.
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.
We hope that everyone makes the most of the remaining weeks of term. Please throw yourselves into the activities on offer and keep supporting one another with kindness. 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!
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mr H Moore
Global Acts of Unity
The Religious Studies and Philosophy Department were delighted to welcome Giles Bancroft, Chair of Global Acts of Unity, to Hampton to speak to our Third Year pupils. Global Acts of Unity was set up by Mike Haines OBE following the murder of his brother David, an aid worker, by members of ISIS in 2014. Mike was unable to join us this year, but Giles shared Mike’s journey to forgiveness of his brother’s killers. He discussed the damage that hate does and why unity, tolerance, understanding, and forgiveness are of the greatest value. Third Year Hamptonians reflected on the talk:
George S (3D) & Nathan W (3D):
This was a deeply-empowering talk on how to relieve grief of losing loved ones and working against terrorists in an unconventional way. Mr Bancroft gave us all a heart-felt account of the life of David Haines from his work in humanitarian aid to his capture and eventual murder by ISIS in 2014, and it showed us the unique response of his brother, Mike Haines, who forgave the terrorists to counter their hateful intentions. His journey to forgiveness was inspiring to hear and highlighted the issues of terrorism. Mike showed us his pacifist approach to such a dramatic act of violence by doing exactly what the terrorists did not want, and inspired us all to be respectful to all people and not to fight violence with violence.
Joshua L (3C) & Lucas W (3C):
Last Tuesday, the Third Year listened to Mr Bancroft (Chair of Global Acts of Unity) tell the tragic story of David Haines. David – a selfless aid worker – was captured, tortured and murdered by ISIS, a terrorist organisation which operates in Iran and Syria. Although David’s brother Mike was not available to tell his story, I learnt something completely new. Mike (who had devoted his life to tell his brother’s story) had forgiven ISIS for their awful actions. He explained that by letting hatred envelop him, he was letting those terrorists win. Terrorists work by separating the community, Mike worked to build these relations back. I learnt about the importance of forgiveness and community in this talk. Now I know the importance of building bridges, not burning them.
Cup Finalists!
Last Friday, the Hampton U14As arrived at St James’ in the sweltering heat, ready to participate in the semi-final of the cup. We had played St James’ once previously and beat them comfortably, but we knew that they could have completely changed since then, so we made sure to not be too cocky. It was a 25 over game.
St James’s batted first on what was a relatively tricky surface, and after a slow start they lost their first wicket, courtesy of a smart catch by Charlie L off Louis S. Monty R then picked up another three quick wickets, and we had St James’s reeling at 26-4 after 9.2 overs. Unfortunately, their opener was still in, and rebuilt their innings with the number 6. The middle overs were disappointing from us, as we definitely should not have let them get as many runs as they did. Finally, after a 63 run partnership Monty R bowled their opener for 47.
What followed was the most incredible collapse I have ever witnessed. St James’s lost their next five wickets for only three runs, and were bowled out for 102. Seb W claimed a wicket and Max J claimed 3. Brilliantly, Monty R ended the innings with figures of 6-0-20-5, taking the first ever 5 wicket haul for our team. It was a great performance which Monty should definitely be extremely proud of.
Despite the low total, we knew the chase would not be so easy on the pitch, and our openers Sid S and Seb W began the chase watchfully. Unfortunately for Seb, he absolutely hammered a long hop to cow corner, only to see deep midwicket take an absolute stunner one-handed. Our captain, Manav V then arrived at the crease but was dismissed quickly, leaving us 20-2 and in danger of collapsing further.
However, Fred O and Sid S played a lovely 42 run partnership, the highlight being a gorgeous check cover drive by Sid S, who was dismissed for a well played 29. Fred O then proceeded to run out Charlie L soon afterwards, a communication mistake that must be worked upon, but happens to the best of us. Nico W and Fred O then finished off the game with two overs to spare, Fred driving the last ball over extra for six to finish on 43. A strong victory, this meant that we were in the cup final, which will have happened by the time you read this article.
By Jon-Jon B (3G)
Cricket Friendly
On a scorching hot day, the U14A team set out to get their first win vs KCS of their careers. Due to the sun, it was a hard pitch with some green and uneven bounce, so we knew batting would only get harder as the day went on. Therefore, our captain Manav elected to bat after winning the toss. After a great spell of opening bowling from them, we were left 19-2. However, Charlie L, in at four, managed to claw together a 27, acting as a strong base for the next batters. Our captain, Manav, led by example with a quick 21 and with some consistent, fast-paced scoring from our bottom order, we were all out for 120. Not too bad for some tough circumstances. We had a small tea break and were out in the heat 15 minutes later.
We knew this match could be tight. However, following a perfect start they were left 8-4. 3 brilliant wickets from Sebastian W to get a strong opening lineup in the mud and Louis S taking one after a great catch from Nico W. This stayed consistent and they were 60-7 resulting from the beautiful spin bowling of Vayun and Monty. It seemed we could be winning this easily, yet a solid partnership took them very close, as they now needed 10 off the last over with no more wickets remaining.
Nico stepped up to bowl it. It was his first over of the day and was brilliant. He kept their scoring low and after great fielding we ran them all out for our first win against them in two years.
By Louis S (3D)
Golf Success
We left School early in the day, with Mr Worrall driving us to the Richmond Schools’ Competition at Fulwell Golf Club. We arrived half an hour before our tee times, and I warmed up by hitting balls in the nets and putting for 10 minutes. I teed off at 1:20pm, playing with two boys from St Paul’s. I played safe on the first tee and just put it into play on the fairway. I then put it on the green and two putted for an easy par. On the second, I felt a bit more confident, so I hit an aggressive shot. I had 157 yards left to the pin and I hit a soft 8-iron and stuck it to 3 feet. An easy birdie.
Afterwards I bombed a drive on the third hole and had another 100 yards left. I decided to be aggressive again and stuck it to four feet. Another easy birdie. By then, I was 2 under par. On the fourth, I made a mistake and went into the bunker. It was a tough shot but I got it onto the green for a two putt and got par. On the Par 5, I bombed another drive, hitting it over 300 yards. I then hooked a pitching wedge long left – my worst shot of the day. I chipped on and got another par. Afterwards I got a bit scared and played safe for the rest of the round, going even par through the next 4 holes.
In total, I shot 2 under par, which was the best score of the day. I beat people from St Pauls, Harrodian, Turing and Orleans. Joe B came second place in the nett category and a First Year called Harry came first for the Y7&8 category, shooting 1 under par. Finally, I won the gross Y9 Category with 2 under Par. A successful day for me, but also for Hampton!
By Brian K (3J)
Third Year Rowers Powering the School for Green Week!
As you know, this week is Green Week. There are all sorts of School activities encouraging the pupils and staff to be more environmentally aware and to take steps to try to have a positive impact. One of the louder activities of the week was the Boat Club’s attempts to see if they could generate enough power through their rowing in order to power the whole School. Did they succeed? Alex A has a report for us…
A startling ‘go’ set us all off. Two teams with one goal: to power the School for as long as possible in our 15 minute window.
In team 1, Hari L, Marcus P, Isaac DQ, and Alex A generated a combined total of 67,000 watts throughout the period, but team 2, consisting of Joe B, Zac C, Fraser MC, and Joseph MF pulled off 88,000 watts, adding up to a combined total of 155,000.
Following these tallies, the knackered rowers proudly took a picture with their achievement, powering the entire school for 102.85 minutes with only 15 minutes of toil.
By Alex A (3B)
Two truths and a lie
Last week, our liar was Miss Tiller. These were her claims:
- Miss Tiller was a Morris Dancer for 5 years
- Miss Tiller is unable to eat anything red due to a traumatic childhood event involving a tomato
- Miss Tiller had a seagull emotionally attach itself to her while she was at university. It even went to lectures with her
Now, the Third Year Blog is not going to beat around the bush here. Miss Tiller was a Morris Dancer for five years. She can eat red things. But, what that means is that she did have a seagull emotionally attach itself to her when she was at university. And that seagull went to her lectures. The Third Year Blog doesn’t know about you, but this begs A MILLION questions.
This week, we have two liars – Mr Baker, the Teacher of English and Mr Baker, the Teacher of Biology. It is our very own Baker Off, but with lying, not cakes and biscuits.
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.
And then 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
While none of this seems terribly convincing, some of it is, as per the rules of the game, true. But, there are also two filthy lies. Find out what is what 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 Rivers in the UK. Big shout out to Matthew L, Joshua A, Huw C, James G, Oliver Y, Alex G and Joe B.
Another tricky one this week, see if you can spot the connection:
In case you’re still perplexed, here are the answers to the last conundrum:
What is the name of partner in crime of Bonnie Elizabeth Parker? Clyde Chestnut Barrow
What wool patterned fabric has become synonymous with Scottish and Irish style? Tweed
What motorway suspension bridge connects South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales? Severn Bridge
What is the name of the barrier that protects Central London from flooding? Thames Barrier
Connection: Rivers in the United Kingdom (Clyde, Tweed, Severn, Thames)
Have a great weekend!
