1. Introduction

2. William Wilberforce

3. Notable former pupils

4. References

5. External links

Pocklington School is an independent school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in {{convert|70|acre|ha}} of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, {{convert|12|mi|km}} from York and {{convert|26|mi|km}} from Hull. It is an Anglican foundation and Friday morning church is compulsory for years 7–11, although pupils from all faiths are accepted. It is the 67th oldest school in the United Kingdom and celebrated its 500th birthday in 2014.

Introduction

Pupils sit entrance exams in order to join the senior school, years 7–11. After having taken GCSEs, pupils may enter the Pocklington School Sixth Form, providing they meet the required results. The main points of entry to the senior school are 11+, 13+ and 16+, but entry is not confined solely to these year groups. Entry is subject to examination and references from the pupil’s current school. Academic and music scholarships are available at most entry levels including the sixth form. Pocklington School has a Pre-School, Pre-Prep and Prep School, situated on the same grounds, accepting pupils of ages 3–11.

The current Headmaster is Mr Toby Seth, appointed from January 2019. He was previously Deputy Head (Development) at King's School in Macclesfield.

Pocklington, like many private schools in the United Kingdom, has a number of traditions, such as the year group naming convention (first form, second form, etc.). Its motto Virtute et Veritate is Latin for By truth and virtue.

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). Each pupil from a new family is entered into a house; all following siblings enter the same house.

The school has an armed forces centre, located on the edge of campus in the Annand VC Cadet Centre.^[1] 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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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 sculptress Sally Arnup, stands near the school foyer. Erected in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of slave emancipation, Dr John Sentamu unveiled the new statue in autumn 2007.^[4] Pocklington School appeared in a television programme entitled In Search of Wilberforce, made by former BBC news presenter Moira Stuart, and first shown on BBC 2 on 16 March 2007.

Notable former pupils

• Richard Annand, V.C. 1925–32, awarded the Victoria Cross in 1940 during the battle for 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.
• Prof. Mark Child, FRS, 1947–1955, Coulson Professor of Theoretical Chemistry, Oxford.
• Sir Edward Clay, K.C.M.G., 1955–63, Diplomat, High Commissioner to Kenya.
• Sir James Cobban, 1920–29, educationalist, headmaster of Abingdon School, 1947–70.
• Martin Crimp, 1968–74, playwright.
• Alexandra Dariescu, 2002–2003, Piano soloist.^[5]
• Arthur Stuart Duncan-Jones 1890–1897, Dean of Chichester for 25 years, speaker on foreign affairs and on Christian attitudes to war.
• Adrian Edmondson 1969–75, co-writer / actor of Bottom and The Young Ones.
• Kyle Edmund, 2002–2006, tennis player.
• Stewart Eldon C.M.G., O.B.E., 1966–71, British Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, Dublin.
• Christopher Elliott C.B. M.B.E., 1960–65, Major General, commanded the 6th Armoured Brigade, Director of Military Operations and Director General of Army Training and Recruiting.
• Andrew Farquhar C.B.E., DL, 1966–72, Major General, General Officer Commanding 5th Division, awarded the Legion of Merit by the U.S.A. in 2005.
• Mark Fisher O.B.E., M.V.O., 1958–65, architect and designer of rock concerts. Chief designer of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
• Sebastian Horsley, artist and writer.^[6]
• John How (bishop), 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 Moran, M.C. 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.^[7]
• Eillie Norwood, 1875–1879, actor.
• Xavier Pick, 1982–1990, artist.
• K. A. Pyefinch FRSE 1911-1979 zoologist and expert on brown trout
• Robin Skelton, 1937–43, poet and literary scholar.
• Frank Smailes, 1924–27, Yorkshire and England cricketer.
• Sir Tom Stoppard, O.M., C.B.E., 1950–54, playwright. His portrait, presented to the school by Peter Stoppard (1949–53), hangs in the senior school reception entrance.
• Peter Walker, C.B., C.B.E., 1959–68, Air Marshal, director, Joint Warfare Centre, Europe.
• Rob Webber, 1994–2004, England international rugby union player (hooker).
• William Wilberforce, 1771–1776, politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to stop the slave trade.
• Sir Dawson Williams, CBE, MD, HonLLd, DLitt, DSc, FRCP 1867–1872, consultant physician and longest-serving editor of BMJ (British Medical Journal).

References

External links

• Pocklington School
• Old Pocklingtonians
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20091111012523/http://www.jasoncarr.org.uk/index.html Composer Jason Carr's website]

• Pakkins' Land Volume Three: Forgotten Dreams
• Pakkins' Land Volume Two: Quest For Kings
• Pakkoruotsi
• Pak Kret District
• Pak Kun Hye
• Pak Kun-hye
• Pak Kyong-sam
• Pakled
• Paklenica
• Pakman
• Pak'ma'ra
• Pak Mei
• Pak Mun Dam
• Pak'nSave
• Pako Ayesteran
• Pakokku
• Pakola
• Pakora
• Pakorus
• Pak Ou Caves
• Pak Ou caves
• Pak Pong-ju
• Pak Prachatipat
• Pak Protector
• Pak protectors