Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Anyone who spends any amount of time in the School will realise that the natural state of many Third Year Hamptonians is running around, shirt untucked, chasing a ball of some kind. Of course, there is much to be said for that, as long as you’re on the 3G and not in a classroom (though the quantity of confiscated footballs you can see in the groaning cupboards of the various departmental offices tells you that the average Hamptonian has not successfully made that distinction as yet). Context is everything, young lions.
Now, don’t be mistaken, the Third Year Blog would be the last blog to suggest that chasing balls has no value. Chasing balls has been a key part of our civilisation for centuries.
But, there are other ways to entertain yourself and keep yourself busy if the ball chasing is not an option, and Hampton is the perfect place to find those other things. Just today at lunchtime for the Third Years in terms of not chasing balls, there was:
- Running and cross country club
- Pickleball, Table Tennis and Badminton (I mean arguably there is some ball chasing involved here, but we’ll let it pass)
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion club
- Breakdancing, popping and locking club
- Low String Ensemble
- Dog club (there might be some ball chasing involved here, but not by Hamptonians)
- Backgammon club
- Consort of Voices
- Neurodiversity Society
- History Society
- Gardening Club
- Junior Maths Club (obvs)
- Junior Rock Band
- Rowing
As a wise man once said, LORDY BEANS, THAT IS A LOT OF CLUBS.
So, if you find yourself forlornly looking out of the window having inexplicably lost the desire to chase a ball (or having lost said ball to the teacher who saw you hammer it across G69 at your friend), then think instead about all the other things that you could potentially be doing. It is not an exaggeration to say that you will probably never in the rest of your life find yourself so well placed to find something new to do that you haven’t tried before, so try to make the most of it! (in truth, there are very few other scenarios where you are so well placed to chase balls, either, but that is not the point the Third Year Blog is struggling to make here).
The full list of co-curricular activities can be found on Sharepoint (cleverly, they are in the section titled ‘Cocurricular Area’) and there will be copies going up in Form Rooms very soon, so have a look at what is on offer and try something new.
Following on from this, we still find ourselves in the situation where 50% of this week’s blog stories do revolve around chasing a ball. Do with that what you will. Onward!
Heads of Year Message
It was lovely to meet so many parents at our Pastoral Forum on Monday evening. Thank you again to Third Year Form Tutors for hosting the discussion groups, to our speakers for providing their expertise, and to you all for attending and making the evening the event we hoped it would be. We have shared the presentation slides from the event with all Third Year parents in a separate communication earlier this week.
Co-curricular Activities
The full range of co-curricular activities have been up and running for several weeks now. One of the targets we set for Third Year pupils is to “get involved” in many different aspects of School life, and one of the best ways to do this is through the various co-curricular opportunities. It is not too late to try a new club, and we would encourage everyone to do this at least once more before the half term break. Details and timings of all clubs and co-curricular activities can be found here: co-curricular area of SharePoint. There is also a daily notice email sent to pupils each evening via their school email account, so they can plan for activities the following day.
MidYIS testing
A reminder that all pupils must bring their fully charged laptop with them to School on Monday to complete the MidYIS test during Form Period. Third Year pupils should not worry about this test. They cannot and should not attempt to revise for it. There is no pass or fail and the test will not affect their grade cards or School report. All we will ask is that they attempt all questions to the best of their ability.
October Grade Cards
Parents will be able to access their son’s grade card from the end of the school day on Friday 16 October via the online Parent Portal. The link to this will also be sent to parents via SchoolPost that evening. Pupils should not worry unduly about their grade cards. We will only ever ask them to aim for “personal best”. Form Tutors will pick up on any academic concerns after the half term holiday, with the aim of offering support if required.
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.
Third Year pupils – please let us, your Form Tutors or the relevant subject teachers know if you have any difficulties. Have a lovely weekend.
Best wishes
Mr T Rigby & Mr H Moore
Rugby season so far
The U14A rugby team started training a few weeks before the start of the school year with a few pre-season training sessions and we were looking like a decent side for the upcoming year. To add to our squad, we had a couple of new Third Year recruits and, so far, they have played very well in our opening games! Of course, this year we also have started strength and conditioning which is new to all of us, but it is very cool that we are able to train with all the equipment.
Our first game this season was against St Paul’s School and it was a tight game on the pitch and before the game even started my nose was bleeding! But we started the kick off in our first game in almost half a year. They were a much stronger side than they were last year, when we won quite comfortably. This year, they had also had quite a few new squad members. Unfortunately, we lost our first game 26-12, but we performed well and when we worked as a team, we ended up scoring tries.
Our next game was against RGS High Wycombe and we were all quite scared coming up to this match as the year before they were much more skilled than us and were much stronger than us. When we got there, the pitches were very nice and we were playing on the pitch just in front of the school buildings and there was quite a crowd of parents and family which was cool to have so many people watching us play. We played much better than last year and in the first half we dominated the possession, but we could only score one try, but we ended up doubling the amount of tries we scored last year and reduced their score by about 15 points! Once again, we couldn’t snatch a win, but our team was looking stronger and stronger every week.
Last weekend we played Ewell Castle who were a decent side. We gave away a few early tries in the first half which gave them a lead of 22-0 but once the side playing in the first half got together, they slowed down the scoring rate. Then in the second half our team played our best rugby yet this year. Cyrus K scored our first try which was a great try after he ran straight through three of their players! Then Hugh H got the conversion to make it 22-7. Then we got the ball out from the breakdown around our 22 and it came to me! I dummied their winger into a tackle and ran down the line and scored my first try this season! Unfortunately, we just missed the conversion, but we were now 22-12. We kept the attack going after that try and scored another! It was a beautiful team try for Dylan PH to place down in the corner. This made the final score 22-17. Unfortunately, it was another loss, but we put up a real fight and won the second half.
With KCS this Saturday and a few tournaments later this year we hope to get our first win and hopefully some silverware…again!
By James M (3B)
Football Fever
On Saturday the Hampton U14A team played in our second Elgin league game (basically operating in a league system with semi-finals being based on if you place in the top two in your group of six with there being two groups).
The game started at 10.30am and we kicked off in a 4-2-3-1 formation setting up to keep possession and play patient football. The game started with Bede’s taking control of the game and within ten minutes they had taken the lead with a free kick from the halfway line. We then wrestled back control and had a few good chances that we couldn’t take. We went into halftime 1-0 down.
Then after 20 minutes of the second half, Hugo H played a ball into Nico L who threaded a pass through to Kyle O who finished – the score was back to one all. For the final ten minutes both teams pushed for a win, but the game ended one all and both teams shared the points in a brilliant, hard-fought contest.
So, after winning our first game we got an important point against a very strong Bede’s team to move us onto four points from a possible six. A very good start to the season. Onto next week, where we play Bradfield College on Saturday.
By Hugo H (3C)
The Art of Navigation
Rowing at Hampton School is full of adventure, excitement and plenty of splashes! One of my favourite things about rowing is learning how to navigate the water. It is not just about rowing as fast as I can. We as a team have to watch where we are going, look out for other boats and learn how to steer safely and many other things. It makes me feel as if I am a real river explorer!
Being responsible for steering, I help guide the boat in the right direction and make sure we all work together as a team. I have to stay alert and listen carefully while helping my teammates row in rhythm. When everyone works together, the boat seems to glide across the water.
Every lesson is an adventure. We learn to understand the water and react to what is happening around us. It is amazing to see how much we improve with every lesson. Rowing also teaches us some really important skills: teamwork, concentration, communication and determination are all part of being a good rower.
But most importantly, rowing is FUN! There is something special about being out on the river with your friends, working together and feeling the boat speed through the water.
By Ashutosh S (3A)
My Road Trip Across America and Canada
My family and I flew from London to JFK Airport in New York. I was excited to begin our holiday in America and Canada. After landing, we hired a BMW for our road trip. We travelled by car throughout the rest of our adventure. Our first journey took us towards Buffalo and Niagara Falls. I enjoyed watching the changing scenery from the window. Every mile brought us closer to somewhere new to explore.
Niagara Falls was one of the most exciting places we visited. It has three waterfalls, including the huge Horseshoe Falls. The rushing water and its powerful roar were amazing. Seeing the falls in real life was much better than seeing pictures. There were also lots of fun activities to enjoy nearby. My favourite was the racing cars, which were really exciting! This stop combined the beauty of nature with plenty of fun.
We crossed the border into Canada and explored Toronto. We saw the city highlights and its impressive skyline. The famous CN Tower stood out above the other buildings. We enjoyed sightseeing, looking around and visiting shops. Our road trip also took us back across the border into America. We visited Chicago, then Detroit and Indiana along our route. Finally, we drove back to New York for the last part of our holiday.
We stayed in New York for seven days and explored the city. Times Square was full of bright screens, lights and people. We also saw the famous Statue of Liberty and went shopping. During our holiday, we enjoyed trying different places to eat. We tried Raising Cane’s and had a meal at Olive Garden. We also tried Crumbl Cookies, which added a sweet treat to our trip.
I loved this family adventure and would enjoy another road trip!
By Panshul B (3F)
Two Truths and a Lie
Last week, Miss Alexander lied to us through her teeth.
This is what she told us.
- Miss Alexander has a love of shoes and at the moment has a modest collection of only 75 pairs
- Miss Alexander has a love of travel and visited all seven continents
- Miss Alexander has a love of rugby but sadly her only experience of international rugby was watching England lose to South Africa in the 2019 World Cup Final
Miss Alexander does love rugby and can generally be heard on a Monday morning sharing perceptive views on the weekend’s international fixtures with Mr Bradley in the English office. Despite this, she has indeed only seen one international match live, which happened to be the World Cup final. If you were to ask Miss Alexander whether she loved ‘Rugby’ or ‘Shoes’ more, she would probably struggle to answer. She does indeed own 75 (seventy-five) pairs of shoes. Which means that the lie is that she has travelled to all seven continents – in fact she has only managed to make it to five of them.
This week, we have Mr Green shredding his already flimsy credibility by lying to you like a criminal.
- Mr Green has an irrational dislike of men wearing scarves indoors
- Mr Green will often get home from school, march straight out into his back garden and bounce on his children’s trampoline for 10 minutes, while listening to 4am Kru
- Mr Green’s favourite colour is green
Can any of this be true?
Connection Corner
A big shout out to all the Third Year Hamptonians who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. Lots of you guessed letters of the alphabet but the correct connection was Blood Types! Merits go to Armaan K, Oscar V-V, Smyan M, Ediz Y, Vivaan K and Harri C.
Another tricky one this week, see if you can spot the connection:
In case you’re still perplexed, here are last week’s answers:
What are the English letters that are equivalent to the Greek letters, alpha and beta? A and B
What type of insect can be a honey or a bumble? Bee
What qualification preceded GCSEs? O Levels and CSEs
What is the name of Italy’s premier football league? Serie A
Connection: Blood types (AB, B, O, A)
