Pocklington School is a privateday and boarding school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in 50 acres (20 ha) of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, 12 miles (19 km) from York and 26 miles (42 km) from Hull. It is the 67th oldest school in the United Kingdom and celebrated its 500th birthday in 2014.
Introduction
The most common entry points are at Pre-School and Reception, at Pocklington Prep School and the First Year (Year 7), Third Year (Year 9) or Sixth Form in Pocklington School. Pupils can however be accepted for all school years subject to vacancy. All pupils are interviewed as part of the admissions process. Academic scholarships and exhibitions are offered to candidates for the First Year, Third Year and Sixth Form of Pocklington School. A limited number of Sixth Form Bursaries, worth up to 100% of the day tuition fee, are available to Sixth Form applicants.
The current Headmaster is Mr Toby Seth,[1] appointed in January 2019.[citation needed]
Pocklington School has a number of traditions, such as the year group naming convention (first year, second year, etc.). Its mottoVirtute et Veritate is Latin for With courage and truth.
There are four houses: Dolman (named after the school's founder John Dolman), Gruggen and Hutton (named after former headmasters Rev. Gruggen and Rev. Hutton) and Wilberforce (named after the 18th/19th-century anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce who attended the school).
The school has an armed forces centre, located on the edge of campus in the Annand VC Cadet Centre.[2] The Combined Cadet Force takes part in various competitions each year and cadets can attend camps around the country.
The school sports hall is housed in the train shed of the former Pocklington railway station, designed by George Townsend Andrews.[3]
The school runs outreach programmes engaging other schools, and working in the local community, as well as an app called Chatta to improve communication among preschool children, and has won awards for this work.[1]
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was the school's most notable pupil. He attended Pocklington School from 1771–76 and is famous as the parliamentary campaigner who brought about the abolition of the slave trade and the emancipation of slaves.[4] A statue of a freed slave sculpted by Peter Tatham (1983–93) is in the centre of the St Nicholas Quadrangle. A bronze statue of Wilberforce as a boy, by York sculptor Sally Arnup, stands near the school foyer. Dr John Sentamu unveiled the new statue in autumn 2007, which was erected in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of slave emancipation.[5] Pocklington School appeared in a television programme entitled In Search of Wilberforce, made by former BBCnews presenterMoira Stuart, and first shown on BBC 2 on 16 March 2007.
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(February 2018)
Richard AnnandVC, attended 1925–32, awarded the Victoria Cross in 1940 during the Battle of France. His final visit to the school was in 2002 to unveil a copy of his citation. This can be seen in the Senior School Reception entrance. The new CCF Centre, opened in 2009, is named after him.
Christopher ElliottCBMBE, attended 1960–65, Major General, commanded the 6th Armoured Brigade, Director of Military Operations and Director General of Army Training and Recruiting.
John How, attended 1894–1899, Bishop of Glasgow and Primus of the Church of Scotland. In the 1930s, he was Chaplain to George V, Edward VIII and later George VI.
Lord MoranMC, attended 1894–99, personal physician to Winston Churchill, author of The Anatomy of Courage and The Struggle for Survival, his personal accounts of looking after Churchill.[11]
Sir Tom StoppardOMCBE, attended 1950–54, playwright. His portrait, presented to the school by Peter Stoppard (1949–1953), hangs in the senior school reception entrance.