Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
What a week it has been. The most notable element, beyond the fact that everyone was back, was the ‘time-to-put-the-big-coat-in-the-loft’ energy that Wednesday brought. The feel of the sun on your face is a wonderful thing. Of course, this sort of day in late February is very misleading as we are likely to be back to howling gales and soaked blazers in a matter of days, but it offers a promise of what is to come.
This week has also seen something that always raises the Third Year Blog’s spirits. The magnolia trees are starting to bloom. If you had talked to a 14-year-old Third Year Blog about this, he would have stared at you blankly before running out into the street (probably past a blooming magnolia tree) in order to find the nearest possible place to kick a football around.
But, once you start to see them, they are impossible to ignore. For the next two weeks or so, you will see them – good sized trees with almost incongruously large flowers of white, pink or even purple. They are beautiful, even if they are short lived, and just like daffodils they act as a bright reminder that spring is on its way. Keep an eye out and see how many you can spot on your way into School.
Indeed, the Easter holidays are only four weeks away already which seems, frankly, ludicrous. We are careening towards summer… and on that uplifting note, let’s see what the Third Year have been getting up to this week!
Heads of Year Message
Thanks to all the pupils who have sent match reports and contributions to the blog. It is your blog and it is wonderful to hear your voices through it. Please keep the contributions coming in to Mr Green!
Relationships & Sex Education (RSE)
RSE forms an integral part of the PSHE course in the Third Year. The RSE course started just before the half term holiday and continued this week with two more lessons. To support future lessons:
Boys – Please take a few minutes to complete the RSE questionnaire that you were sent via email from Mrs Halford on Wednesday this week.
Parents – Please speak to your son about the RSE course and key content. It is helpful for everyone if you can begin an open dialogue at home. We recognise that this might be uncomfortable for some pupils (and parents), so Michael Uccelli (Lead Counsellor) has recorded the following video message with some guidance to support difficult conversations at home. The video cab be found on My School Portal linked here.
Wellbeing Survey
Prior to half term we asked all Third Year pupils to answer a few questions related to their experiences. The most common themes arising for Third Year pupils are issues with sleep and organisation, followed by anxiety. Michael Uccelli (Lead Counsellor) has made a video about sleep, which is available on the parent portal via the following link here.
We hope that seeing a positive outcome to the survey and providing some helpful hints for self-care might encourage boys to understand why we ask these questions and prompt a helpful discussion at home.
If you have any concerns about wellbeing, please let us and/or Form Tutors know. Pupils or parents can arrange a meeting with a counsellor directly by emailing counselling@hamptonschool.org.uk.
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
Hans Woyda Maths Challenge
This Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to be selected for the Hans Woyda Maths Challenge quarter final against Reigate Grammar School!
In short, it is a competition in teams of four comprising of one Third Year, one Fourth/Fifth Year, a Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth pupil, with our team for the match consisting of me, Shishir V, Jihwan M, and Nathan N.
It is a fast paced competition, with questions given with a short time limit (usually 30 – 90 seconds) to answer. After initially staying about even against the very capable Reigate team, we managed to pull ahead around halfway through during the longer five minute team round, where we were given 30 numbers larger than 400 and had to find how they could be expressed as the sum of two integer squares or if it was impossible, which could be determined with a check based on its prime factorisation, where we scored a maximum of eight points.
From there it was relatively smooth sailing, and we managed to win the match comfortably with a score of 60-35 and advance to the semi finals for the first time in a few years!
By Ryan S (3C)
Rugby Roundup
U14B Rugby vs Radnor House
On the Friday 6 February, the U14B team had the opportunity to miss the entire afternoon of lessons for a Rugby match. It turned out to be a great reason to miss lessons, as the U14B’s pulled off a convincing win against a Radnor Side which never really managed to build momentum against the high intensity we played at.
As the match began, we started with a very quick chase of our kick and focused on high line speed to try and put the opposition under pressure. We had started with a very high intensity – almost too high – as the next ten minutes would be non-stop, with no pauses in play as neither team managed to really gain any ground with the ball in hand.
But with the high intensity, we began to thrive, and the quick speed against a side that was physically stronger than us overall allowed us to exploit the gaps in their defence. They began ‘honey-potting’, meaning our wingers, centres and fullback could run into space. This resulted in three consecutive tries for our team, with Tanish K moving to Fullback as Benny R had to come off due to an injury (he was fine in the end). Tanish performed excellently at fullback, missing only one or two tackles of the many try-saving tackles he had to make, and scoring one of those three tries. We then proceeded to score two more tries. At the end of the first half though, the intensity dropped, and three quick tries were scored by the opposition.
However, we rallied ourselves with a shining second-half performance from Ben H, who scored a hat-trick by darting through the defence with side-steps. Combined with this, we kept a clean sheet for the rest of the game, winning it 42-17.
Other notable mentions include Alex P’s consistency in conversions, a giant step up from last week against Fulham; Kahana M and Jaibir G (previously rugby players) being drafting in from Rowing so we could play; Freddie F and Xander L with some bone-crunching tackles, and many others with great all-round performances from the whole team.
By Eliott P (3G)
U14B Rugby Tour
We started off our day at Goals, where we played a small game of football through the rain. The match quickly became quite intense, with ambitious long-range shots and a few incursions of slide tackles (much to the dismay of our coaches). After this, we soon arrived at our hotel, Radisson Blu, and spent an hour getting settled in and ready for our evening activity – bowling.
At this point, the rain had finally died down, so we could get a decent view of Bristol through the windows of the bus. Upon getting to the bowling alley, we immediately ordered food and split off into groups of six into several lanes. It was very enjoyable spending time with my friends, despite the countless gutter balls!
The next morning, we had the incredible opportunity to train with SkillClub Rugby, who brought a whole new level of intensity and expertise. The coaching team was led by ex-professional Mitch Eadie, who played for Bristol Bears, and after the training session, we got to ask Mitch some questions about his professional career and how he thought we could flourish as rugby players.
During the session, we focused on passing accuracy and decision making under pressure, but the most important takeaway was the mentality and mindset that we as a team should bring not only to match-day, but also to training – resilience and consistency, but most importantly, positivity. We ended the session with a well-deserved lunch of cheesy pasta and chicken bake.
By David T (3E)
Lower School Art Exhibition
You are cordially invited to the Lower School Art Exhibition Open Event on Tuesday 3 March from 4.00pm-5.30pm in the Art Department Gallery.
First, Second and Third Years have been working hard in Art to produce some stunning work which is now on display in the Hampton School Art Gallery. They have explored a diverse range of subjects including the Natural World, Still Life, Public Art, Identity, World Art and Narrative Art.
We would be delighted if you could join us to see their creative work, and please do bring family and friends.
Two Truths and a lie
Before half term, Mr Bradley was our willing liar. These were his claims:
- Mr Bradley got to the final auditions to be a member of Take That
- Mr Bradley once took part in a month-long sausage eating competition
- Mr Bradley is an excellent drummer
So, what was truth; what was not? Well, one only has to watch Mr Bradley walk down the corridors of the School to know that he has the innate sense of rhythm that would make for an excellent drummer. Equally, one only has to watch Mr Bradley eat a sausage to know that it is certainly possible (indeed, likely) that he would once have taken part in a sausage eating competition. One only has to hear Mr Bradley sing to know for an absolute FACT that he did not make the final audition to become a member of Take That.
This week, the Drama department (all inveterate liars) sent Miss Tiller in the direction of the Third Year Blog in order to spread untruths.
Here are her (outlandish) 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
Surely all of these are lies? We will find out the truth 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 fish! Big shout out to Rishi V, Richard C, Uzair SC, Aaron J, Naivedya A, Rayyan S, Kolawole A, Charlie F, Liangxu Z and Leon S.
Another tricky one this week, have a go over the weekend and see if you can spot the connection:
What is the name of the children’s entertainer who always looks sad? Clown
What food do you often eat with ice cream at children’s parties? Jelly
What type of animal is Crookshanks in the Harry Potter films? Cat
Which precious metal did thieves steal in the infamous Brink’s Mat robbery? Gold
Connection: Can all be followed by fish (Clown, Jelly, Cat, Gold)
