DEVELOPMENT AND SCHOOL NEWS
NEW HEAD OF POCKLINGTON PREP SCHOOL APPOINTED
Suzy Ward was appointed as the new Head of Pocklington Prep School from September 2020 . She comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge of primary education having previously worked at Terrington Hall School as Deputy Head . She has also worked at Terra Nova School in Cheshire where amongst other responsibilities she held the post of Director of Studies . Suzy is a Sheffield University Law graduate and completed her teacher training qualification at Manchester University . She is a qualified ISI inspector , an accomplished violinist and enjoys the outdoors . On starting her new role , Suzy said : “ I am incredibly proud and excited about taking on the headship at Pocklington Prep . It ’ s been wonderful to start meeting and getting to know parents , staff and pupils .”
Suzy succeeds Ian Wright who relocated to Africa over the summer to take up the headship of St Andrew ’ s Preparatory School in Turi , Kenya .
ON LOCATION – FORMER STUDENT BRINGS TEAM OF FILMMAKERS TO POCKLINGTON SCHOOL
Pocklington School was used as a film location by production company Five Fifty Five Productions over the Christmas holidays , following an enquiry from Old Pocklingtonian George Jibson ( 09-16 ). George was the Production Manager for a docu-drama the company was working on , named Hellfighters .
The team of actors , crew and production staff used the school ’ s dining hall for a day as the base for wardrobe , make-up , production planning and stunt rehearsals , in preparation for filming scenes both in and outside the Music School . Several Pocklington School pupils and local residents took part in the day too , as film extras and observers .
Hellfighters tells the true story of the African American WWI soldier unit who went to the Front Line , amongst their many heroic acts , and also introduced jazz music to France . George and his colleagues have already filmed interviews with General Colin Powell and Grammy nominated artist John Batiste for the film , and the scenes shot at Pocklington School will form part of the series of reconstructions of the experiences of the ‘ Hellfighters ’.
George said : “ The narrative reconstructions are a key part of the overall film and when we were considering locations to use , I immediately thought of the Music School at Pocklington School for one of the scenes . It also seemed especially relevant considering the school ’ s history and association with William Wilberforce , and when I approached the school they were very keen to help .
( L to R ) Old Pocklingtonian George Jibson with current students Thomas McDowell and Henry Hudson , who both played extras in the film .
“ The cast and crew had the most wonderful time in Pocklington and we were all extremely grateful to the staff who were so helpful during the filming . The producer is very keen to return to hold a preview screening once the film is finished .”
Janet Knott , Deputy Bursar , said : “ It was a pleasure to welcome George back to school and to be part of this film production . The cast and crew were all a pleasure to work with and our premises team did a fantastic job of accommodating their requirements for the shoot . We now look forward to seeing the finished film and wish George and the team the best of luck for the next stages of production .”
saw a quarter of players represent their respective counties for the first time .
Sylvia King , Chair of U18 Yorkshire Girls said : “ A huge thank you to the team at Pocklington School for stepping in to help us out at extremely short notice for what turned out to be a fantastic day of girls rugby . The players , coaches and spectators all agreed that the facilities were excellent and the help the staff gave us to set everything up in time for the event was tremendous .”
Jonny Wheeler , Master i / c Rugby at Pocklington School commented : “ It was an absolute pleasure to be able to host the event for Yorkshire RFU . Having previously been involved in the North of England girl ’ s rugby I appreciate just how important these days are to the development of the women and girls ’ game .
YORKSHIRE RFU BRINGS WOMEN ’ S RUGBY TOURNAMENT TO POCKLINGTON SCHOOL
Pocklington School hosted a day of rugby for over 90 under 18 players at the end of February , organised by the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union , when the original venue for the day had to be changed due to flooding . Matches were played against Lancashire and Cheshire in a highly competitive tournament , which
It is also a superb advert to our own girls at Pocklington School of what is possible within rugby as we will look to promote the sport within the school and hopefully be able to enter a girls ’ team at Rosslyn Park next year .”
For enquiries about hiring facilities for conferences , events and performances at Pocklington School visit www . pocklingtonschool . com / about-us / facilities-hire , email facilities @ pocklingtonschool . com or call 01759 321200 .
12