Debating Delights, Climate Action & Football Fever!

Welcome to the Third Year Blog!

Saturday is National Cereal Day. This essential day gives you the opportunity to take time to reflect on your favourite cereal. Alternatively, you could think about trying a different cereal, or you could select your favourite cereal ‘mascot’ (spoiler: it is the Honey monster). Or, you could even take time to imagine the board meeting that led a cereal company to think that trying to foist this idea on a nation would definitely work.

Comparatively, this Sunday is International Women’s Day, which is genuinely important.

Why? Well, for centuries and centuries, the world was designed for men, and women were actively excluded from certain areas of life. Even in the UK, a seemingly civilised country, it’s incredible to look at a timeline of when certain changes were implemented:

1891 was the point at which the right for men to use corporal punishment against their wives was taken away.

1918 was the first year that women were allowed to vote (but only if they were over 30 and owned property because, heaven knows, they couldn’t be trusted otherwise!).

1920 was the first year that women were allowed to work in the law and accountancy professions.

1944 was the first year that a woman was allowed to be a teacher if she was also married.

1975 was the year that gender-based discrimination against women in the workplace, education and training was made illegal.

Beyond these obvious moments that, in making a change, demonstrate the awful reality of the situation beforehand, there are other more subtle ways in which the world is designed for men.

As an example, data taken from a book published in 2019 shows that if a woman is involved in a car crash, she is 47% more likely to be seriously injured than a man and 71% more likely to be moderately injured, even when researchers control for factors like height, weight, seatbelt usage and crash intensity. A woman is 17% more likely to die in a car crash. Why?

Essentially, cars are designed with men in mind, even down to the point of safety. Of course, cars are rigorously tested for safety. We all know what a crash-test dummy looks like. However, if you’re picturing one in your head right now, you’ll be picturing one that is based on what the average male body shape looks like. This is because, for decades, there was no such thing as a female crash-test dummy. The first one was developed in 2011. So up until that point there was no attempt to understand how a woman might be affected differently by the impact of a crash, meaning that they were more likely to die in one.

Thankfully, days like International Women’s Day make sure that the fight for equality carries on. This battle for equality is morally important, but it is also important for the world. Global research conducted in 2012 showed that ‘the very best predictor of a state’s peacefulness is not its level of wealth, its level of democracy, or its ethno-religious identity; the best predictor of a state’s peacefulness is how well its women are treated.’ (Hudson, Valerie et al. 2014, Sex & World Peace. Columbia University Press).

The fight for women’s equality is important for all of us and all of us can play a part in trying to help create a society where equality is celebrated when it is achieved and fought for when it is not.

Yes, an unexpectedly serious start to the Third Year Blog, but sometimes we have to be serious. The world won’t be changed for better by gentle commentary on the weather, weak jokes about cereal and lengthy paeans to the importance of the Third Year Interform Williams Cup, prestigious though it is.

Time to see what the magnificent Third Years have been getting up to in the last week or so!

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. Please contact the School Nurses if you have any questions about the vaccinations: Nurse@hamptonschool.org.uk.

Co-Curricular

We encourage all Third Year pupils to keep up their attendance at lunchtime co-curricular clubs and activities through to the end of term. A reminder of what is available: here.

Behaviour & uniform notices

• School blazers must be worn to school as part of a full school uniform.
• Hampton sports kit should be worn on Thursdays, not assorted sportswear.
• Pupils should not run in the corridors.
• Pupils should attend morning registration (8.45am) and afternoon registration (1.50pm) promptly each day in their Form Room, in order to arrive on time for the start of period 1 (8.55am) and period 6 (2.00pm).
• Pupils should only use laptops under instructions during a lesson or with the express permission of a teacher. Third Year pupils are not permitted to use mobile phones in school without the express permission of a teacher.

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

Model United Nations

On Saturday 28 February – a group of pupils set off for Epsom College. For some it was their first ever experience attending a Model United Nations conference – while for others it was just another conference. The day started promptly, with an eviction of a Croatian delegate in a separate committee and the DISEC (my committee) filled with fruitful debate. This was my first time experiencing a conference – and it was truly great. 

There were many violations of the ‘no personal pronouns’ rule with punishments being dished out in the form of karaoke. In the second half of the day, some bribery of the chairmen/women took place but none were accepted as they were in the form of cookies. 

Eventually, the Russian delegate in DISEC (me) took forward the resolution regarding Maritime Terrorism. It started off well, until I was faced with 13 points of information. It seems that it was about to fail – until the Pakistan delegate made a speech about how we should vote for it but make an amendment as, and I quote, he thought that ‘death was not a severe enough punishment’. He suggested a hunger games style battle for all maritime terrorists and if they made it out alive they would go through re-education camps. This passed with an overwhelming majority and ended up being a key part in how I got my first ever resolution passed.

We ended the day with General Assembly, where a hypothetical USA taking Greenland situation was posed. After all of this, it was time for the awards. Charlie F (3A) won an award for Highly Commended Delegate in DISEC and a Sixth Former won best delegate in the SOCHUM committee. Finally, after a good performance in all of the committees and general assembly, Russia (our delegation) won a highly commended award for all of the delegations, coming in third overall. This was a truly fun time and we hope to do this again soon!

By Aneesh A (3F)

ISSP Climate Day

On Tuesday 3 March, the Hampton Independent and State School Partnership held the annual climate and ecology day. There were five Hampton pupils from the Third Year attending the event held at our partner school, Teddington, alongside Hampton High, Lady Eleanor Holles, Orleans Park, The Hollyfield School and Tolworth Girls’ School.

During the day, pupils investigated potential wildlife areas on the school site and designed a climate campaign focused on how students can make their school a little more “wildlife friendly.”

Ideas put forward by Hampton Pupils that were a winning choice included ‘Saving Energy’, ‘Pick Up litter challenges’, ‘less use of single-use plastic’ and a greater focus on more ‘eco-friendly products’. The favoured option of Mrs Astrup and Mr Walsh was the potential creation of a new wild area near the bike area. Hampton pupils were also hugely successful in an escape room challenge where their knowledge of all things geographical and climate related ensured they won the event (and edible prizes!).

Pupils also interacted with animals most affected by climate change and a lack of environmental awareness, learning interesting features they have had to take on to adapt to an increasingly difficult world around them. On behalf of the Hampton pupils, I would like to thank Teddington School for organising such an insightful day!

By Mr Walsh

Rugby Sevens

On Monday, the U14A rugby squad travelled to Caterham School for the Surrey 7s tournament. There were many big names in attendance which we were looking forward to playing further down the day. To start things off, after a small block of technical training, the starting 7 stepped onto the pitch to play Wallington. Not much to take out of a good win with special mention to Christian O, who sparked the win with three tries and three assists to start off the day. Then came the match against Ibstock, the harder team to beat in our group. At the start of this game, we broke through a tackle which lead to Ahaan S getting the ball on the wing unmarked for an easy try and putting us up 5-0 in the first minute. After some back and forth action of their players breaking tackles and ours doing so too, we came away with the win after two tries from Toby B, who ran down the length of the pitch after receiving a pass from Christian O, to finish the match off 26-12 to Hampton.

The next two games were much like our first. The other team could not manage to break apart our solid defence and put points on the board allowing us consecutive wins with over 40 points scored in each. After the group stage Hampton ended up as the second highest scorer in the group stage behind Whitgift, who had one more game to play than we did. After a lengthy lunch break to regenerate our much-needed energy, we quickly learned that we had to play Whitgift in the quarter final of the cup. Not an easy match against the eventual runner ups just behind Cranleigh.

With nerves high, we kicked off to start the match. Whitgift put early pressure on us with their unwavering strength and turnover ability, putting two quick tries on us in the first half to put us on the back foot straight away. Despite this, hopes were high as we were going downhill for the next half, a major advantage on a nice pitch. Much like the first half, Whitgift put great tackles on us, but Hampton responded back with a few good hits and steals. Unfortunately, they spread the ball out wide for the next two tries and we just couldn’t keep up.

However, the match wasn’t over. Our spirits weren’t down. We persevered and passed the ball quickly getting quick ground for our team to play into. Five meters away from the try line, a Whitgift player came in and tackled Pablo R B who, after trying to pass it on, lost it. It all seemed over, but as if by a miracle, the opponent was offside and the tackle was high. Now was our chance. After playing the penalty quickly we gave the ball down to Juna C, who finished the play off with a try after some great hands and silky footwork. Even if we didn’t come away with the win, we played our hearts out and fought for a respectable 24-7 loss against the arguable favourites to win it, putting us 7th out of 40 teams overall, a result that our squad was more than happy with. We can take out many positives from this day, and it turned out to be a great day for learning and making a mark on a hopefully super positive 7s season for the boys.

By Pablo RB (3G)

Football update

The U14A team experienced a tough loss in the Surrey Cup in extra time on Thursday night against St Richard Reynolds Catholic College – it was too difficult an ask to get one of the boys to write about such a tough moment so soon after the event, so Mr Hooper stepped in with his report on the match:

It was very much a game of two halves. Hampton started very slowly and seemed like they were going to get blown away by the quality, size and hunger of SRRCC and were lucky to go in at half time only facing a 0-2 score line. After a motivating team talk at half time, the team really turned up for the second half and turned a 2-0 deficit to 2-2 quickly showing great heart and battling spirit. Poor defending of a set piece put them 2-3 down with only minutes to go but an equaliser in the final minute took us to extra time which was the least we deserved.

Again, poor defending of a set piece cost the side as they conceded in extra time and were unable to find another equaliser against a side who knew they were now in a battle and were very happy to get away with a win. The boys should be very proud of their character to come back from a poor first half and they worked very hard against a strong, physical side on a tricky pitch that did not suit their usual Hampton style of football.

By Mr Hooper

 U14C Football

The courageous U14Cs went off on a trek to St John’s, Leatherhead early on Saturday to bring home a victory. After arrival, the team warmed up before starting the match. We started with an early goal from Finn T, assisted by a brilliant cross from Jack T. Hampton were strong from early on and hoped to get more goals after such a quick start. This set us off on a great streak of play and we were rewarded when Finn T scored again with an amazing strike from outside the box. For the next ten minutes, the Cs kept the ball, passing it around to try and find a third, with this passage of play leading to a goal from Aman C, who hit a great shot from outside of the box.

At half time, Hampton were 3-0 up and hoping to continue with their brilliant football. Inspired by a great team talk, Hampton scored very soon after the start of the second half with Ridhaan G delivering a poacher’s finish after a brilliant assist from Chester F. Being 4-0 up meant Hampton could have relaxed, but they were hungry and their work led to another goal by Finn T, completing his hattrick to make it 5-0.

It was nearing the end with only ten minutes to go but Hampton were keeping the ball well, with Finn T playing a ball through to Chester F who finished the move off beautifully. Hampton weren’t done yet as Ridhaan G got his brace nearing the full time whistle to finish it off for another win from the U14C’s. A dominant performance!

By Finn T (3G)

Book review

Bad Science is a bestselling science book by Ben Goldacre who proves ‘real’ things wrong. In his sharp and often hilarious bestseller, Bad Science, Dr Ben Goldacre takes apart the pseudoscience (fake science that lacks evidence) that saturates modern life. It is an academic, yet captivating text in which the author dismantles how the media, marketers, and “quacks” manipulate data to sell everything from detox footbaths to miracle vitamin pill. Whether you’re a budding medic or someone who wants something ‘science-y’ to read, this is a must-read.

Goldacre’s writing is full of outrageous facts yet remains easy and fun to read without getting boring. I personally think that even though it conveys all the factual information, it still retains its fascination, making sure that the reader does not throw away the book halfway through. This book is similar to ‘What if?’. While being more medical focused, you could still relate it to everyday affairs such as the placebo effect (‘thinking something works so it works’). I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes science and is in need of an interesting book. 

By Ian L (3J)

Special Shoutouts

Congratulations to Naivedya A (3H) on being shortlisted in the Young Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Naivedya is a regular attendee at The Writers’ Room and this achievement is a fantastic result for the budding author. Keep it up!

Two Truths and a lie

You will remember that last week, Miss Tiller came from the Drama department to lie for us.

This is what she told us:

• Miss Tiller was a Morris Dancer for five 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

So, which was the lie? There is quite a lot to pick apart here. This week, we will start by revealing the truth. Miss Tiller is able to eat red things and has not been irrevocably scarred by an unexplained tomato-based incident, which is a relief. What this means is that she was a Morris Dancer for five years. There are only about 12,600 Morris Dancers in the UK which makes Miss Tiller quite rare. ‘The Morris Federation’ observes that there has recently been a surge in ‘rapper sword dancing’ and ‘border’ Morris amongst young people, but the Third Year Blog is unclear as to whether Miss Tiller was at the forefront of these innovations, or driven away by their threat to tradition. It also means that Miss Tiller did have a seagull emotionally attach itself to her while she was at university, to the extent that it went to lectures with her. We will simply leave that fact there for everyone to digest.

This week we have Mr Wong to lie for us. What does he want us to believe??

• 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

Which is the lie? Find out next week!

Connection Corner

Well done to the everyone who had a go at the last Connection Corner.  Merits go to all those who correctly guessed that the answers were all British Prime Ministers! Big shout out to Ali S, Toby B, Callan B, Harry, George W, Yusuf R, Uzair SC, Reuben N, Marvin K, Mehrad M and Charlie F.

Another tricky one this week, have a go over the weekend and see if you can spot the connection:

Have a great weekend!