Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
In the words of the world’s most popular soft drink: ‘Holidays are coming, holidays are coming, holidays are coming’. The arrival of the advert that song comes from on our screens has become one of the more commercial Christmas traditions in the UK. This year it was put on their YouTube channel on the 19 November (yes, the 19 November!!!!) Like it or not, it certainly tells you that that Christmas is on its way, though the Third Year Blog will not be proactively listening to Christmas songs until the end of term. If we must listen to Cliff Richard singing about mistletoe and wine, let’s not get overexcited and commit to it too early.
Linked to this, the Third Year Blog is a firm believer in the value of the game ‘Whamageddon’. This originated on an online forum dedicated to Car Racing (many more things than we realise probably do originate on forums dedicated to Car Racing) and is a competition that anyone can take part in.
You ‘win’ if you manage to get from 1 December to 24 December without hearing any part of the song ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham. As soon as you hear it (even the tiniest part of it), you lose.
Hearing a cover version is OK.
Seeing the video for the song, but without sound, is OK.
But if you hear even one second of George Michael crooning about who he did or didn’t give his heart to and what that individual did with it, then you are OUT.
Of course, this has become a fiendishly difficult thing to manage in a world where we are all essentially swamped in ‘Christmas’ from midway through November onwards, but it is well worth your time.
While the Third Year Blog may be a grinch at heart, the rest of the School embraces Christmas more thoroughly, metaphorically sinking into its tinselly, cinnamon-scented embrace. The massive Christmas tree in reception is a giveaway. Christmas themed earrings and ties will start to appear. Soon, Mr Leafe will be wearing his Hull City Christmas jumper which, the Third Year Blog believes, is the only one in existence.
Either way, there is now only two weeks until the Christmas break. Does that mean that the high-octane Hampton life is slowing down? Noooooooooooo. Do you want to hear about? Yes!
Let’s gooooooooooooo!!
Heads of Year Message
We are very grateful to the Third Year pupils who gave up their Saturday afternoon last weekend to help with the hosting of the 13+ entrance exam and we are equally grateful to those boys who will be helping us as we welcome the 12+ entrance exam candidates tomorrow morning. All involved will, no doubt, remember their own entrance exam experiences and appreciate the value of a friendly greeting and considerate hosting around the school site. Thank you all and remember to sign off your well-deserved LION Merits!
Well done to everyone who performed or helped behind the scenes on the production of A Christmas Carol this week. It was the culmination of a term of hard work and the result was a wonderful spectacle.
Interform Competition
We are approaching a busy period of term for interform events. On Thursday lunchtime next week, interform rivalries will be resumed at the Volleyball competition in the Sports Hall. Then on Wednesday 11 December “general knowledge” will be put to the test as we host the Interform Quiz in the Lecture Theatre. We hope that the boys get involved and enjoy these events either as players or as supporters.
Festive Events
There is plenty to look forward to between now and the end of term, including the Christmas Concerts on Thursday and Friday evenings next week, the School Carol Service on Tuesday 10 December at 7.45pm in St Mary’s Church in Hampton, and the Christmas lunch on Thursday 12 December. Whilst we are looking forward to many opportunities for festive merriment over the coming days, we hope that the boys will recognise the need to maintain their usual levels of good behaviour and mutual respect for teachers and peers throughout.
Boys – Please remember to let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you are having any difficulties.
Enjoy the weekend.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mr H Moore
Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Competition
Wonderful news reached us this week regarding Louis C (3G). He has been awarded the Pearl Award in the Visual Art: Handcrafted Category of the 2024 Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest.
This award was achieved as part of a group project outside of School. The experience was particularly enriching as the group engaged in meaningful discussions and brainstorming sessions about environmental issues, making the process both educational and rewarding. Winning an award on top of this has been a delightful outcome! With over 5,200 entries, being selected is a significant accomplishment. Louis’s work is currently featured on the contest’s website, their online gallery, and social media platforms like Instagram. You can view it here.
Well done, Louis!
Football Update
This week we have two U14A football reports. One is a brief consideration of the season so far – the other focuses on the weekend’s fixture against Ardingly…
At the beginning of this season, we were excited for the games ahead. We had just welcomed in new players and had high hopes for the coming games. In the first game, we won 5-0, and we went undefeated in the next four games. After that, we put up a good performance in the next games, however we had an unfortunate run of good teams and even with good performances, we lost a few games in a row. Then, we got knocked out of ESFA, but won our County Cup game, so we have high hopes going into the game on Tuesday (a game that they won and hopefully we will have a report on next week!) and for the rest of the season.
By Macsen B (3F) and Charlie L (3F)
Now it’s the turn of Dean F (3F) who tells us about U14A match against Ardingly:
As we woke up at 7.30am, we were ready to go to Ardingly, which was around an hour and a quarter away. When we got there, we realised that the pitches were very muddy. As we were warming up, we had noticed that they had three Brighton players including one who was injured. In the first 10 minutes it was evident that they were a good team as they played very good one touch football, but by half time there had been no goals. But in the second half, they scored three goals in quick succession. The first goal was where they received the ball from the halfway line and dribbled through our team. The next goal was that there was a sloppy back pass towards our CDM which led to a goal. Their final goal escapes me (in truth, forcing poor Dean to fully describe the goals his side have conceded seems harsh). With 2 minutes left to go, I found the ball in the box and hit it first time. It took a huge deflection, making its way past the keeper, bringing the score back to 3-1, though we were unable to reduce the lead further.
The U14B footballers also travelled to Ardingly, let’s hear from Nayan W (3F):
Hampton U14B team travelled to Ardingly last Saturday, hoping to continue their run of strong results. Hampton started well, with the opener coming from Josh S, who curled a first-time effort into the side-netting from outside the box. After this, Ardingly sent a low cross into the six-yard box, and goalkeeper Eric R went to collect it, but spilled the ball into the path of the striker, who then scored. Ardingly started the second half pushing forward, quickly scoring with a player striking the ball into into the bottom corner. They kept coming at us, getting a corner, which then deflected into the goal off a player’s back, making it 3-1. Things were looking tough, but Hampton didn’t give up, going to all out attack. The goal came from a free kick, with Elijah Thomson curling an effort into the top left corner. Hampton continued to press as time ticked on and, as the end of the match loomed, Charlie McNeil had a shot and scored to make it 3-3.
A great comeback!
No Limits Week
As you all know, last week was No Limits Week. Having asked for any stories of new clubs that people went to, we have an overall report on some of the new things people tried…
The Design and Engineering department’s Design Ventura competition proved very popular. The task is to design the chassis of a Scalextric car based on the Le Mans 24 hour race. It sounds as if almost too many people turned up, which is a wonderful scenario for a club to find itself in! Some pupils tried Board Games Club, with Exploding Kittens a popular choice. Neev G apparently defeated Hari P in that game of Exploding Kittens, but it left Hari questioning whether Neev had played entirely within the rules, which sounds like exactly the way Board Games Club should be! Other pupils tried Volleyball Club (excellent timing with the Interform Volleyball looming…) and really enjoyed it. There were players of all abilities, as well as the opportunity to play with pupils from older year groups, which they really liked. Plenty of new interests kindled!
Thanks to Hari P, Neev G, Eric R, Arha D and Manilo C for contributions to the report.
Cross Country Success
It was fantastic to hear about the success of our Third Year Cross Country runners in the Richmond Schools’ Championship. In the 4.2km U15 event, our Second and Third Year team of Derin, Isaac, Jiashan, Navid, Oskar, Rafi and Sebastian finished a competitive third place in a very strong field of athletes. Special mention must go to Sebastian W (3E), who finished in a fantastic tenth place. Well done everyone!
Take a look at some of the action from the race:
Rock Concert!
All pupils should have received an email inviting them to sign up to audition for the Rock Concert, which is being held on Friday 31 January 2025, but with auditions in the last week of this term, after school on Wednesday 11 December 2024.
In the email, there is a link to a form for them to fill in. Pupils need to complete that form and submit it by Friday 6 December if they would like to be considered for the concert. Please come and speak to Mr Thomson or Mr Ferrier in the Music Department if you have any further questions.
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE
Last week our willing liar was Mr Berezhnoi. Can we possibly believe any of this?
- Mr Berezhnoi previously worked on a farm
- Mr Berezhnoi is utterly, UTTERLY terrified of volcanoes
- Mr Berezhnoi is a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu
So, a thing this exercise has taught us about Mr Berezhnoi is that he has previously worked on a farm (though I don’t believe that it had anything to do with avoiding inheritance tax). It also teaches us never to anger Mr Berezhnoi as he IS a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu. What this means is that he isn’t terrified of volcanoes – we know this because he has previously climbed Mt Etna in Sicily.
This week, Mrs Reilly steps up to the plate once again, suggesting that she is much more comfortable with lying than the Third Year Blog is comfortable with. This time, she has introduced a theme of sorts. A truth is that Mrs Reilly likes entering competitions.
Which of these items has she NOT won in the past?
- A weekend break in Bath with £250 spending money
- A Fortnum and Mason cheese hamper
- A luxury spa day in Richmond
What has she not won? Find out next week!
CONNECTION CORNER
Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. Another tricky one, which foxed a few of you. Yes, they’re all types of food but we were after more than that. The correct answer was Pies! Big shout out to Kit B, Matthew L, David W, Huw C, Alex G, Willoughby E, Daniel S, James G, Oscar S, Danyal P. Joe B, Gordon L, Seb W, Ishaan M, Devam K, Josh B and Thomas N.
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 last week’s answers:
Which major tech company was founded by Steve Jobs in 1976? Apple
What is the name of the stadium where Fulham FC play their home games? Craven Cottage
What is a Jack-o’-lantern made from? Pumpkin
Hanger, porterhouse and strip are types of what? Steak
Connection answer: All types of pie (apple pie, cottage pie, pumpkin pie, steak pie)
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
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