Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
Firstly, and most importantly, today marks the end of Ramadan – Eid Mubarak to those of you breaking your fast!
The other thing that has happened this week is that we have actually seen the sun. The warmth on your face is a wonderful thing. You could argue that one of the great pleasures of living in Britain is the fact that we see the sun so rarely for such a long period of time that once it does appear, we feel its positivity more intensely than we otherwise might do. Certainly the onset of summer can potentially offer a lift for us all.
But it is not yet summer.
No!
Actually today is the Vernal Equinox, as you all knew.
This means that, strictly speaking, it is only just the start of spring – despite the fact that the spring term has nearly ended. Today at noon, if you were on the Equator (which you probably weren’t), the sun would have been directly above you. You would have had no shadow at all, unless your hair was particular voluminous (which is not a problem the Third Year Blog faces).
In astronomical terms, the equinoxes are the moments when the northern and southern hemispheres get exactly the same amount of day and night time hours as each other. The solstices, which happen in the middle of summer and the depths of winter are the points when the difference between the day and night time hours in the different hemispheres is at its greatest.
How would you remember which was which of the solstice and the equinox? Well, thinking about it etymologically helps (etymology is the study of the origin of words).
‘Solstice’ comes from the latin for sun (‘sol’) and the latin word ‘sistere’, meaning to stand still or pause. So, it means the point at which the sun stands still – the point at which it is either closest or furthest from earth.
‘Equinox’ comes from the the latin prefix for equal (‘equi’) and the latin for night (‘nox’). So, that is referring to the point in the year when, regardless of where you are on earth the night hours are equal.
Language is great, right?
What does this mean specifically for the Third Year? Precious little.
But, what knowledge to be able to take with you. Never underestimate the importance of knowing something that other people might find interesting!
So, what do we have to report in terms of the Third Year? Well, this week’s blog is one of the moments where the Third Year Blog itself can only sit back and admire the sheer variety of pursuits that the pupils pursue. Bravo all. Read on, champions!
Heads of Year Message
Notices
- Please can all pupils ensure that they check their School email once a day, but not during lessons or school hours unless with the express permission of a teacher.
- Please can all pupils take a moment to respond to the summer term Sports Options email from Mr Mills next week.
- Midday on Friday next week brings the end of another action-packed term. The final half day will be a mufti-day with funds raised towards our nominated Form Charity partners for the year.
Grade Cards
Grade cards will be available for parents to view via My School Portal from 4.30pm next Friday. We encourage all parents to review grade cards and discuss with your son over the holidays. Form Tutors will conduct academic review meetings with their tutees from the start of next term.
Exams
Third Year internal exams will take place during the week before summer half term from May 18-22. We would like to emphasise that the Easter holidays should not be treated as study leave. We do not expect Third Year pupils to start their revision over the Easter holidays. However, the holidays do present the ideal opportunity for everyone to ensure that any missed work is caught up and there are no gaps in notes, so that we are all ready to “hit the ground running” from the start of the summer term. We will cover Study Skills with all Third Year pupils during PSHE lessons from the start of next term and there will be no “new” homework set (other than structured revision tasks) by teachers in the two weeks leading up to exams.
Study Skills Evening
Towards the start of the summer term, we host a Study Skills Evening for parents to support pupils’ good learning habits at home. Please put the date in your diaries for the evening of Monday 27 April. We will write to parents separately with full details and sign up information for this event.
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
U14 Football – Arsenal Independent Schools Trophy
The Arsenal Independent Schools Trophy brings together six of England’s best footballing schools: Hampton, Bede’s, Aldenham, Millfield, Dulwich and Bradfield, all hosted at the world-renowned Arsenal Academy Training Ground. Hampton made the two-hour journey to North London, and, even as the underdogs coming into the competition, we anticipated a great tournament and some tough oppositions.
Energy was high on the bus and in the changing rooms, and that correlated with all our performances on the pitch. First up was Aldenham, the winners of the Elgin League, who were a strong side with some exceptional individuals. The result was a 3-0 loss, but that didn’t represent the full match, with a valiant performance and some great opportunities throughout the match. Next up was Dulwich, who were the runners-up at the end of the tournament, and after an early goal by JJ O, we held out strong in the defence to finish the game a 1-0 victory, and, across the tournament, we were the only team that beat Dulwich in regular time.
Next was Bradfield (another strong side) who, after an early goal by Robert W, we beat with another 1-0 victory. In these two matches, our defence shone, with control in the midfield from Mika R and JJ O, as well as strong performances by Josh D C and Oliver H at the back. Then, with our third game on the bounce, we had tired legs coming in to a match up against Millfield, the eventual winners of the tournament. We unfortunately lost 2-0, but again this doesn’t demonstrate the full story. The boys put out another strong performance, but Millfield were a strong side that were hard to beat. Our final match was against Bede’s, who were also a very strong side, and unfortunately beat us 2-0.
While we finished the tournament fifth, we performed well as a team, with all the boys coming together to fight as hard as we could to win as many games as possible while missing our captain Thomas Y, as well as our vice-captain Neil M, and others. The boys fought hard in every game, and every one could have gone either way. Well done to the boys for a strong set of performances and good luck for the final game of the season against Reading Blue Coat School.
By Charles B (3F)
Interform Chess
On Thursday, each form group chose two people to play in the interform chess competition.
It started off well, with 3F, 3D, 3J and 3B progressing forward. Afterwards, performances from Long T, Luoke W and Aneesh A were a highlight of the semi-finals, with a notable performance coming from Alex de V in the early rounds. It came to a final of 3B vs 3F. After a silly mistake from Aneesh A and a masterful performance from Luoke W, it came to a bullet shootout after a tied result overall. Luoke W – coming off a performance where he had five seconds and his opponent had one minute, he quickly won the bullet game – sealing a first win in all Interform competitions this year. Well done to those who participated, with notable performances coming from Long T, Luoke W, Aneesh A, Alex de V, Kolawole A and Patrick J.
By Aneesh A (3F)
Chess vs KCS Wimbledon
On Friday last week, a group of people set off for a league chess game at KCS Wimbledon. It was fun, with brilliant moves and blunders being seen. In Third Year, Aneesh A and Luoke W won their games in the U18B and A teams respectively. We look forward to the next few coming up.
By Aneesh A (3F)
Hampton Piano Competition 2026
The results of the Hampton School Piano Competition were announced earlier this week and it was brilliant to see Milan S of the Third Year taking first place in Class 1.
Congratulations, Milan!
2026 STEM Fair Review
The annual Hampton and LEH Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Fair saw bright sparks from across the year groups showcasing their innovations and inventions.
A total of 15 teams, with Hamptonians ranging from First Year to Fifth Year, took part in this year’s STEM Fair creating superb inventions.
Within the Third Year, there were two teams that both produced fantastic creations; an AI automated drone that could drop seeds onto visually dry patches of grass, and a wind tunnel that could obtain the coefficient of friction for modern passenger aircraft.
There were some fascinating projects on display, congratulations to all the budding scientists who came up with inventions designed to answer the questions of tomorrow.
Here is a list of all projects created:
- How Much Electricity Do Household Appliances Really Use?
- Recreating the Double-slit Experiment
- Testing Aerodynamics in a Wind Tunnel
- Hologram Projector
- Pedal Trike
- Aegis 8
- Remote controlled spitfire
- RC tank target shooter
- Travel agent
- Rubber dart turret
- Exploring multifaceted AI aerial platform utilisation
- Intelligent Plant Watering System
- Low Power Radar System
- Clothes Folder
- Chess Intelligence and Programmable Player
Report from Mr Walsh
Food Bank Collection
Please support our Feltham Food Bank Collection on Friday 27 March. They are particularly in need of tinned meat, coffee, pasta sauce and tinned fruit. Please bring your donations to the front of School from 8.15am. Thank you!
Two Truths and a lie
Last week we had Third Year tutor titan Mrs Reilly lying at us. These were her claims…
- Mrs Reilly has swum the English Channel
- Mrs Reilly loves a good cream tea
- Mrs Reilly was once caught in an earthquake in Japan
So which was the lie?
Well, Mrs Reilly was once caught in an earthquake in Japan, though the Third Year Blog imagines that her instinctive understanding of forces drawn from years of the study of Physics ensured that she remained safe, regardless of where she was. Mrs Reilly does love ‘a good cream tea’ (of course, to an extent, this claim begs the question of how ‘good’ the cream tea needs to be for here to ‘love’ it. Would she also love an average cream tea? How poorly constructed would the cream tea need to be for her not to love it? Questions, unfortunately, for another time). What this means is that Mrs Reilly has not swum the English Channel, though it is surely only a matter of time.
This week we have Fourth Year tutor, English teacher and previous Head of Third Year, Mrs Bedford stepping into the hot seat. What are her claims??
- Mrs Bedford has been swimming in open water with sharks and sea lions.
- Mrs Bedford has five cats, named after the main characters in The Famous Five.
- Mrs Bedford once read the news live on the radio whilst standing in a pond of koi carp.
Which is the lie? Find out next week!
Connection Corner
Well done to the everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. We were after something quite specific last week, merits go to all those who correctly guessed that the answers were all English football team suffixes. Big shout out to Alex B, Rishi V, Toby B, Harry R, Kolawole A, Leo S, Alex D V, Caesar C, Reuben N, Naivedya A, George W, Charlie F and Arjan C.
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 the answers to last week’s conundrum:
What is the name of the daughter in the Adams family? Wednesday
What is the name of the fictional pub in Coronation Street? Rovers Return
Where does legend say that Robin Hood and his band of men lived? Sherwood Forest
There are four major airlines in the USA – American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines. What is the name of the fourth? United Airlines
Connection: English football team suffixes – Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United (among others)
