Pocklington School is an
independent school in
Pocklington
Pocklington is a market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 8,337. It is east of York and northwest of Hull.
The town's sk ...
,
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
, England. It was founded in 1514 by
John Dolman. The school is situated in of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, from
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and 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 Reception, and school Year 3 at Pocklington Prep School and
the First Year (Year 7), Third Year (Year 9) or the 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 fee, are available to Sixth Form applicants.
The current Headmaster is Mr Toby Seth,
appointed in January 2019.
Pocklington School has a number of traditions, such as the year group naming convention (first year, second year, etc.). Its
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
''Virtute 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''. 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
George Townsend Andrews (19 December 1804 – 29 December 1855) was an English architect born in Exeter. He is noted for his buildings designed for George Hudson's railways, especially the York and North Midland Railway. Andrews' architect's ...
.
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.
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
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
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and the
emancipation
Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranch ...
of
slaves.
[
] 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.
Dr John Sentamu
John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020.
Born near Kampala in Uganda, Sentamu studied law at Makerere Un ...
unveiled the new statue in autumn 2007, which was erected in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of slave emancipation. Pocklington School appeared in a television programme entitled ''In Search of Wilberforce'', made by former
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...