Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
With the Easter break within sight, you would forgive someone for starting to wind down towards the end of term, but this couldn’t be further from what has been happening in the Third Year. After the weather induced cancellations of a fortnight ago, the usual busy schedule of sport returned this week with fixtures for football, rugby and rowing and you can read about them in the Sports Round Up below.
Some members of the Third Year attended a lecture by Sir Anthony Seldon on Tuesday, where they had an insight into the Prime Ministers of the last 300 years. Arun D and Alex N from 3D went along and said they found it very interesting and enjoyed Sir Seldon’s humorous approach, particularly when he notes the most important quality for a Prime Minister to have is luck! The UKMT Intermediate Maths Olympiad took place on Thursday and the Third Year were represented by Nathan N and Avi B. This is a national competition for students from Third to Fifth Year, and so it is an excellent achievement by the boys to have qualified for this stage – I hope it went well and look forward to hearing the results! Today saw the Third Year musicians cap off a busy week with an exciting Steel Pan Workshop which gave the boys the opportunity to learn about a different musical culture and tradition. I hope everyone has had a great week and that this weekend is a restful one before a final push to the end of term.
Heads of Year Message
On Thursday, Forms 3E–3J matched the mature and thoughtful approach to the Relationships & Sex Education morning that Forms 3A-3D had shown last week. Thank you to all the teachers who gave their time and expertise to make both of these RSE mornings a success, and thank you also to the boys for participating so sensibly – we hope that you found the workshops interesting and informative.
We enjoyed hosting many Third Year parents at the Study Skills Event on Tuesday evening. Thanks to Mr Chaveneau, Mr Neville, Ms Conway, Mr Dawson and Mr Uccelli for delivering such lively and useful workshop sessions. We sent all the digital resources used during the event to parents on Wednesday, and these are also available on the (recently launched) My School Portal.
Well done to the Third Year musicians who took part in the Music Workshops this morning – they looked (and sounded) great!
Third Year Germanists can look forward to an afternoon out at the theatre on Monday as they travel across to LEH to watch a German play. We hope all the boys involved have a wonderful (or should that be “wunderbar”?) afternoon. The boys will know that we expect behaviour to be impeccable on the walk to and from LEH, and for the duration of the visit to the LEH school site.
Midday on Friday next week brings the end of another action-packed term. The final half day of School will be a mufti day with funds raised towards our nominated Form Charities for the year.
Spring Grade Cards will be available to view via My School Portal from 4pm on Friday.
Covid testing & precautions
Face coverings are no longer required to be worn by pupils in School or on School coaches, although all members of the School community are welcome to wear one if they prefer.
We would advise that boys take a PCR test if they have symptoms of Covid-19 (a raised temperature; a new persistent cough; a change in sense of taste or smell), and continue to follow the isolation guidance if they receive a positive PCR test.
Positive PCR test results should be reported to the School using the Firefly form here. Once received, arrangements will be made for your son to join lessons online and complete work from home if he is feeling well enough to do so.
Absences
For medical absences, please notify your son’s Form Tutors via email (cc’ing absence@hamptonschool.org.uk) on the morning of each day of absence by 8:45am.
For planned absences and appointments, please contact Heads of Year requesting the absence with as much notice as possible.
Boys – Please remember to let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you are having any difficulties.
Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the final week of term.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Miss V Smith
Music Making
Our Third Year musicians travelled to the Caribbean this week for an energetic Steel Pan Drumming workshop. Often described as the sunniest music on the planet, the Hamptonians learnt a traditional piece of music from Trinidad. Take a listen below:
Sports Round Up
U14A Football vs Whitgift by Nick A:
Having played Whitgift three times already this season, winning two and losing one, we knew it would be a difficult game against a good outfit. We started the game slightly on the back foot, with us struggling to keep possession but at the same time not giving Whitgift many chances. After about 10 mins, a controversial penalty decision went against us, as there wasn’t much contact on the Whitgift winger. Nevertheless, the penalty was taken and James saved it in spectacular fashion, diving to his left, to tip it round the post. It seemed like we had a major let off, however some sleepy defending from the resulting corner, meant Whitgift scored to make the score 0-1. Only a few minutes after the first goal, Whitgift won another corner and scored again. After the second goal our play got better as we started to move the ball nicely, and a few chances were created before the half time whistle was blown. The second half kicked off, and within 10 minutes we were 4-0 down from a penalty and a well worked goal. At this point it would be easy for heads to drop and for Whitgift to extend their lead, however we got a glimmer of hope, when a fantastic passing move was finished off brilliantly by Quinn from the edge of the box. This seemed to shock Whitgift as they couldn’t match our tempo and intensity. We then pulled another goal back from a set piece, as a teasing delivery was whipped in by Quinn and tapped in by Nick. This pulled the score back to 4-2, however it was too little too late, but in the last 20 minutes everyone on the team played excellently, and there were a lot of positives to build on for our Elgin Final against Aldenham.
U14B Football vs Whitgift by Joshi RDM:
Last weekend, the U14B team played against a strong Whitgift side. After only two minutes, thanks to a helpful deflection, Mikey’s effort hit both posts before finally trickling in to make it 1-0. Unfortunately, our lead didn’t last very long, as an equaliser came soon afterwards. As the half progressed, Hampton was clearly the dominant side, stringing together passes and keeping Whitgift in their own half. A breakthrough almost came as Joshi hit the post from a tight angle and then, 5 minutes later, hit the post again from the edge of the area, but unfortunately there were to be no more goals in the first half. As the second half opened, Hampton piled on the pressure, which resulted in a great counter attack which saw Billy played through, who then went on to calmly put it away. However, sloppy defending unfortunately meant that Whitgift were able to equalise again shortly after. Nevertheless, Hampton remained determined and eventually this paid off when Mikey scored from close range. However, as the game entered its final phases, Hampton legs grew tired, and Whitgift put in an excellent performance to sneak in two lucky goals to win the game. Despite the loss, Hampton played excellent football and were very unlucky to lose.
U14C Football vs Whitgift by Alasdair M:
After a draw against Wellington College in the previous fixture, U14Cs were determined to get a win. The whistle blew to start the game and both teams were forced to get used to the wet and slippery conditions caused by rainfall the previous night. Hampton were first to adapt and challenged Whitgift with a series of attacks. After regaining possession Whitgift were quick to counter and with long balls over the top, centre-backs Connor H and Alasdair M were under constant pressure. Each time this happened they were able to either launch the ball to awaiting wingers or lay it off to full backs and pass their way out of the back. The first goal of the match came from Rohan PM. He regained possession at the half way line and after dribbling down the wing, he cut inside and blasted the ball in the top right corner – the keeper did not stand a chance. Although the rest of the first half lacked much action, Whitgift’s best chance of the game arrived after a long ball over the Hampton defence to their striker. It was a one on one and goalkeeper Rocky M was quick to react .however did not have to worry as the powerful shot from the Whitgift striker sailed over the crossbar. It was an even game for most of the second half, most of the play happened in the middle of the pitch giving the Hampton midfielders a lot of work to do and tested their stamina. One goal behind, Whitgift were fixed on scoring an equaliser. They created many opportunities however each was either put wide or saved by Joe G. It seemed that Hampton were still hungry for more as in the last attack of the game, the ball was threaded through to winger Ben W who crossed the perfect ball for Dante P to volley into the back of the net. A great 2-0 win for Hampton!
Great to see both Alasdair M and Ollie S writing match reports for the Hampton Sports Chronicle, take a look at the website here.
National Junior Sculling Head by Max C and Daniel M:
This Wednesday, the Third Year rowers went to Dorney Lake to compete in a Head Race against other crews. The A boat came fourth, finishing just 2 seconds behind second place and the second boat finished 11th out of 14 second boats. Despite it being miserable, wet weather all day, it was a great experience and a really fun opportunity for both boats.
Arts Award
The Arts Award is an external GCSE level qualification offered by Trinity College London, in which Third or Fourth Year pupils complete a creative project in an area of their choice, for instance they might record a music album, write some short stories or build a model; there is a huge range of possible projects. They also have to lead others in their area – this is usually done by the boys delivering workshops to primary school pupils who visit Hampton for the day. As well as completing their final piece (e.g. book, album, etc), they evidence all their work in a portfolio, which gets submitted to their moderator at the end of the year. As such, the Arts Award also encourages students to hone other valuable skillsets such as research and planning, whilst developing leadership skills. In the upcoming blogs, we will be hearing from pupils about what their project is all about. This week, we hear from Xander B:
I decided to try out new forms of art techniques such as wirework, collage and Cyanoprinting with a project entitled “Senses.” As part of the syllabus, you undertake extensive planning and research to include visits to exhibitions, review artists and approach artists for interviews. The next steps now are to produce and finally exhibit my work. The scary part was actually starting the project and realising how many steps there are in the start to end creative process, so it is important to plan meticulously and manage your time. I would recommend anyone to try the Silver Arts Award if they can, as it can lead you to learn new skills. Here is a photo of a collage work I made that was inspired by Bice Lazzari, a modernist Italian artist as part of my research.
Talk! The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
On the 15 March, the Hampton School community welcomed Sir Anthony Seldon to deliver a Talk! on his latest work, 300 years of Prime Minsters: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The distinguished political historian provided detailed insights on the history of the Prime Minister, broadening the understanding of the school community on the most powerful job in the land. He provided his opinions on the role of the Prime Minister as well as engaging with audience members, making the half hour experience exiting, informative and fun. Sir Anthony’s sense of humour was also on display including quick-witted comments that filled the Hammond with laughter. I am sure that parents, pupils, and teachers alike thoroughly enjoyed Sir Anthony’s Talk!
Thank you, Sir Anthony! Zaidan A
Treasure Hunt
Well done to Ralph Y who solved last week’s Treasure Hunt with the answer 5!
Have a go at this week’s instalment:
Connection Corner
Well done to all of you who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. The sun is due to shine this weekend, so very apt that the connection was ice lollies! Merits go to Arun D, Evan R, Samuel B, Rudy S, Alfred B, Monty S, James S, Ed M, Ollie S, Oliver D, Viren A, Rayan J, Eashan A and Thomas W-M! Bragging rights once again go to 3G.
This week’s conundrum – it’s a tough one this week! Have a go below:
In case you’re still perplexed, here are last week’s answers:
What was the name of the famous 80s TV detective played by Tom Selleck? Magnum PI
The Beatles were collectively known by what famous phrase? The Fab Four
What word do Americans commonly use to describe tornados? Twisters
What is the word for a large meal that is typically a celebratory one? Feast
Connection: Ice lollies (Magnum, Fab, Twister, Feast)
