Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
This is the first point in the year where the ‘Hampton paradox’ becomes apparent – something all Hampton teachers are aware of.
This states that, when asked by their Form Tutors what the best bit of half term was, the Hampton pupil will answer ‘sleeping’. Yet, when their Form Tutor asks how they are feeling, the Hampton pupil will answer ‘tired’. It is intractable.
The Maths department have tried to find formulae to explain it. The History department have attempted to find precedents for it. Philosophy Club has grappled with it.
Yet it remains, undaunted.
Of course, looking at the 3G at lunchtime, ‘tired’ is not the first word that springs to mind.
The Third Year Blog simply sits back and continues to be amazed at how much all these brutally fatigued young men are managing to squeeze in to their lives. Having said that, the blog is a touch light on content this week – in fairness it is difficult to write engagingly about sleeping relentlessly – but please send in your contributions for next week!
Right, let’s see what’s been going on…
Heads of Year message
We trust that everyone enjoyed the half term holiday. It was great to receive such a positive report from the Geography department about the behaviour of Third Year pupils whilst on the Tenerife trip over the break – thank you and well done to all those involved. Well done to everyone for making a purposeful start to the half term this week. We hope that the Grade Card reflection exercise that boys completed on Monday will focus their minds on the task ahead. We ask that all pupils commit to high standards in school – aiming to impress in all they do in the classroom and through co-curricular activities.
No Limits Week
We are excited about the return of No Limits Week. We encourage all Third Year pupils to take a full and active part in the co-curricular activities on offer starting Monday 17 November, recognising that many clubs will make an extra effort to put on activities that are suitable for newcomers on a “have a go” basis. Every pupil will need to get sign off in their yellow books having attended three co-curricular clubs/activities. Our recommendation is that everyone should aim to try at least one club/activity that they have never done before. You can review some of the options that will be available here: co-curricular area of SharePoint.
Uniform
In the colder weather, pupils are allowed to wear sensible hats, coats and gloves to keep warm on their journeys to and from school, but they must revert to full school uniform throughout the school day whilst on site. This means they must wear a school tie (properly tied) and school blazer, with a white shirt (tucked in and buttoned up), smart black trousers, dark socks and smart black shoes (non-trainers). If they are cold, it is permissible to wear a vest under the shirt and/or a black V-neck jumper. Coats should not be worn in school. Persistent failure to meet these uniform requirements is a conduct issue.
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
Terrific Tenerife Trip
The Journey There
It was Monday, although it still felt like Sunday, and I woke up around two in the morning, ready to head to the main entrance of School. Here was where I would take a coach journey to Gatwick to start the trip. However, it wasn’t busy, maybe because I was half awake. Some boys had questionable breakfast choices when we were allowed to roam the airport before the gate was announced – ranging from Nando’s to Itsu. I preferred a packed salami sandwich instead. I wasn’t perfect either; a packet of gum is probably not the best thing to have early in the morning.
Once the gate was made visible on the flight information display screens, we returned to the meeting point and headed to the gate, where I would see the first window in the whole airport, surprised it was still dark outside. The wait for the flight and the flight itself was quite standard – a mixture of boredom, excitement, and tiredness.
My Main Highlights
Once we touched down in Tenerife, we bought lunch from a supermarket and did a large overview of La Laguna, which I was surprised to know was a UNESCO heritage site. We were later familiar with our room members in the hotel, which I was very pleased about.
Across the week, we did many fun activities, but to me a few stood out. I think that talking about the water park would be a given for any 13-year-old, but in terms of geographical experiences on the trip, there was much too enjoy. My two favourites were exploring Tenerife’s Cueva del Viento and hiking Mount Teide.
La Cueva del Viento (the Cave of the Wind) is the largest lava tube in Europe and the fifth largest in the world, with Hawaii being the home of the top four. La Cueva del Viento is also the only lava tube that has three different layers to it, or three different floors like a house. Lava caves like Cueva del Viento are formed when viscous lava hardens on exterior layers and the internal layers drain out. The hardened exterior layer is what forms a hollow cave which people can later explore.
On our tour of the cave, we learnt about the wildlife that lives there along with bits of geography and history. One of my favourite facts was about the way that the animals within the cave have evolved – all the animals, including the large lizards and rats, are born without eyes because in the cave it is pitch black. Eyes are not needed for these animals because they use extra energy that is required for movement and life in general. Scientists can only visit the complex where the wildlife lives twice a year; this is because the animals inside are prone to external diseases.
Mount Teide was the third volcano I have visited and the third tallest volcano from the ocean floor. I was surprised to know that all the ‘mountains’ in Tenerife were not actually mountains but extinct volcanoes – 321 of them! Mount Teide is a whopping 3.718 kilometres above sea level – so high it made my ears pop. It was an amazing experience with a unique ambience and a breathtaking view of the island.
Landing in England
I was tired when we touched ground in England after the same 3 hour 30 minute flight. I exited the plane and felt that same British breeze that I always miss. I was excited to tell my parents all about my trip, however long it would take.
By Ethan S-W (3H)
Take a look at some of the photos from the trip here.
Time for Table Tennis
Over the half term, I took part in the Worthing Table Tennis 2 Star Tournament and came away with two medals. In the under 15s, I played really well, winning all my group matches to reach the main draw. I then won my quarter-final and semi-final confidently. In the final, I faced a much stronger opponent and lost 3-0, but all the sets were very close and competitive.
In the under 19s, I only won one of my three group matches, so I went into the consolation round. After getting a bye in the quarters, I won my semi-final and final 3-0 to claim my second medal. I was really proud of my performance and I’m feeling excited and motivated for my next tournament next week.
By Naivedya A (3H)
The First Week Back
Time flies! We have already passed a week back from the half term break. The first few days back to school after a holiday is just like hitting a brick wall: most people are sleep deprived after lying in for the whole holiday and having to wake up at 6.00am on the first day of school. After all the necessities of teenage life such as video games, has now been left abandoned as dreaded homework and tests come and go. The half term holiday might provide a breather for the exhausting yet exciting school life but coming back may be a problem. Dragging yourself to school for the first few days might be tough but after these torturous days, you start to get excited about the next day at school. I hope there are some new clubs for this half term. I wonder what special events lies in store for this half term?
Thoughts from Ian L (3J)
Minifigures collection
As a lover of Lego Minifigures, I planned to buy the Spider-man, Across the Spider-verse minifigures the moment I found out about them. During the half term, I visited the Lego shop in Westfield shopping centre where I bought two minifigures – the Spider-Punk and Spider-Man 2099. Both of these were really hard to find, showcasing their rarity and how in demand they were.
They looked really cool with the Spider-Punk especially having a Mohawk and a cool bushy hair. I love collecting minifigures because of the creativity and the uniqueness of each minifigure. This new set is in my opinion, one of the best minifigure series.
By Ian L (3J)
Two Truths and a lie
Before half term, we had the honour and privilege of welcoming the (normally trustworthy) Miss Alexander into the lying booth.
These were her claims:
- 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 only seen one international match live. 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, our liar is Ms Doncel Cervantes. Pick the truth out of this!
- Ms Doncel Cervantes taught English as a foreign language in a remote village at the foothills of the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador
- Ms Doncel Cervantes was once in a sandstorm in the middle of the night while camping in Death Valley and had to be evacuated by the Park Rangers
- Ms Doncel Cervantes got stung multiple times by a smack of jellyfish far out in the coast of Sardinia on my honeymoon
Which is the lie? Find out next week!
Connection Corner
A big shout out to everyone who had a go at the last Connection Corner and well done those of you who answered all the questions correctly. The correct connection was Elements in Periodic Table! Merits go to Rishi V, Yusuf R, Oscar G, George T, Will H, Dante A, Artem X, Rayyan S, Alex A, Elliot P, Ollie S, Daniel O, Zaki T, Ethan W, Callan B, Toby B and Liangxu Z.
Another tricky one this week, have a go over half term and see if you can spot the connection:
