EDITOR’ S NOTE
From the
HEAD’ S STUDY
Dear Old Pocklingtonians,
We hope that the arrival of this magazine finds you healthy and thriving. I do hope that you are enjoying life, wherever it has led you, and my goodness our Old Pocklingtonians are having some fantastic adventures from reading through these articles.
Dear OPs, Hello and welcome to this year’ s edition of the OP Magazine!
It’ s been another exciting year for the OP and Pocklington School community, and we’ ve got some great stories and updates to share with you.
To start with, we extend huge congratulations to OP Kerry Downes( 96-05) featured on the front cover, whose debut novel That Time Everything Was on Fire was published by HarperCollins earlier this year. Kerry’ s writing has already been well received, and we’ re thrilled to see her creative journey take off in such an impressive way.
Former Bursar, Paul Bennett’ s Adult Battlefield Tour in August 2025 was a deeply moving and memorable experience for several members of the Pocklington School community, not least OP Tony Morris( 52-55) who was chosen to deliver the Exhortation and the Kohima Epitaph at the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres. See page 12 for the full report..
Continuing with the theme of remembrance, we are hugely grateful to OP Richard George( 74-81), Paul Bennett( Former Bursar, 04-21) and David Dyson( Former Staff, 88-18) whose meticulous research has enabled us to update our Roll of Honour to coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the opening of the Memorial Cricket Pavilion( 1 October 1955) and the 80th Anniversary of VE Day( 7 May 1945). Read more in the archives section on page 14..
Here at School, as well as welcoming our new Head, Becky Lovelock( see From the Head’ s Study opposite), we’ re delighted to announce the opening of our Little Pips Nursery, for children aged 0 – 4. Led by OP Sarah Cobb( née Pimm, 95-97) and her team, the new facility opened its doors on Monday 1 September and marks an exciting new chapter in the School’ s educational offering. Check the Little Pips website for more information.
As always, this magazine is a celebration of OPs past and present and the many ways you continue to inspire each other and future generations. Thank you for being part of our community and do keep sending us your news! Happy reading!
I am delighted to be here, and hope that you received my introductory letter( sent separately). There are lots of opportunities for us to meet over the coming year, which I hope you will take, and I am looking forward to chatting with as many of you as possible. I have already met several of you in and around the community, in the beautiful town of Pocklington, in York, at Fangfest running stalls, and whilst walking our dogs! You really are a diverse, positive and fascinating bunch.
We have had an exciting start to the Michaelmas Term here. Middle School are enjoying their newly renovated area that allows pupils space to breathe and brings the beautiful grounds we are so proud of inside with soft furnishings, greenery, beautiful artwork and a wonderful panoramic view of Fentons displayed proudly. The Prep School has also had some renovation, including the installation of an exciting new mural by our Head of Art, Dan Cimmerman that the pupils are inspired by. Our new nursery, Little Pips, along with its outdoor natural playground with flowing river, has had a huge uptake and is close to capacity already. And to top it all, just yesterday( at the time of writing) our 1st XI Hockey beat Ampleforth 2-1, and our 1st XV won the Dallaglio cup 29-21, made all the sweeter by the fact that it was on their own turf, the Dallaglio pitch! There is a short video of the boys’ excitement on Instagram if you happen to follow us(@ pocklingtonschool, @ headpocklington).
Of course, there are challenges ahead for us as a school. It is a turbulent time for independent schools in the UK, and I won’ t sport with your intelligence by explaining in what way. It is important that we continue to spread the word about the amazing school we have here and build our pupil numbers back up to where we would like them to be, and we hope you will help us with that messaging – sometimes even just a positive conversation from one of you with a family who is“ wondering” will make the difference. Boarding in particular is an area we would like to focus on, as the boarding community here is key to who we are as a school. To that end, we have a range of visits planned for our senior team including various European destinations and Nigeria, and I myself will be visiting China to meet with a number of potential families. We would also like to build our UK boarding, which has suffered since Covid times unfortunately, and if you have any contacts or thoughts on that front, I would be delighted to hear from you.
Excitingly, over the next ten months we will be putting together our new strategic plan,“ Towards 2040” and I hope to have your input on that. You may have received a message and survey from us by the time you receive this magazine and I hope you feel able to contribute. Additionally, please do write and let us know your thoughts. Our focus is not on creating any new narrative about what Pocklington School is – in many ways we love it just as it is. However, what we want to do is to take its strengths
Best wishes
Rachel Dare OP Liaison Officer
OP Office, Pocklington School, West Green, Pocklington, YO42 2NJ
Tel: 01759 321307 Email: darer @ pocklingtonschool. com
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