Pocklington School - Allawalla Tingle Oct 2016 | Page 2
SPACEBEAR BATTERED BUT
UNBOWED AFTER ADVENTURE
A teddy bear blasted into space by pupils at
Pocklington Prep School has returned home
battered – but with some thrilling footage
from his adventure into the stratosphere.
“I’m glad he landed in my field because he could
easily have landed somewhere inaccessible and
never been seen again. I was pleased to be able
to get him back to the school.”
The bear, known as Major William Wilberforce,
soared 36km (22 miles) above Earth beneath a
helium weather balloon, before plummeting
back down at an initial acceleration of 9.81m (32
feet) per second once the balloon had burst.
Major William lost a leg during his adventure and
literally had the stuffing knocked out of him, but
a visit to a 'teddy doctor' and the delivery of a
bespoke crutch patched him up, and he’s now
looking forward to his next adventure.
The school has used remarkable footage from
Major William’s onboard selfie cam to make a
short film of his heroic journey, noting the
equivalent heights of various landmarks passed
during his 108-minute ascent and giving pupils
some thrilling views of Earth from above.
Patrick Allen, Pocklington Prep School’s Head of
ICT and 'Mission Controller', documented Major
William’s adventure in SPACEBEAR The Movie, a
gripping 13-minute account of the mission,
which began in June.
Fortunately for Major William, his ignominious
crash back down to Earth in a barley field 16
miles away from the launch site, and his
subsequent tussle with a combine harvester,
wasn’t captured by the camera.
A failure in his GPS tracking system meant he lay
unnoticed in a field in Raywell, west of Hull, for
50 days, until being spotted by farmer Richard
Thompson, who happens to be a former
Pocklington School pupil.
Mr Thompson said: “I spotted the little teddy
bear and his parachute as I was about to go over
it with the combine. When I read the labels and
realized he was from my old school, it was quite
a surprise.
POCKLINGTON
JOINS
YORKSHIRE
CARNEGIE
SCHOOLS
PROGRAMME
BUILDING FOR
THE FUTURE –
WORK STARTS
ON NEW ART &
DESIGN
TECHNOLOGY
CENTRE
Pocklington School has been selected to join
Yorkshire Carnegie Rugby Club’s new
Affiliated Schools Programme this year.
We were recently delighted to announce that
the Governors had given the green light for
the new Art and Design Technology Centre.
The affiliation will give pupils a closer insight into
the workings of the Leeds-based Championship
club. Its players and staff will visit and take part in
assemblies, and there will be a chance for
Pocklington to host a first-team training session.
He said: “Our pupils were so excited to hear
Major William had survived to tell the tale. We
had a worrying few weeks when transmission was
lost, so there was huge relief that he, and his
footage, survived.
At its June meeting, the Board considered the
results of the tender process, the continuing
success of the Campaign and the overall sound
position of the Foundation’s finances in reaching
this decision. Demolition of the old biology
building and the re-siting of a Portaka bin took
place at half term in June and the demolition of
the first slice of the existing Art and Design
Centre in July.
As one of just 16 Yorkshire schools invited onto
the Affiliation Programme, Pocklington pupils
will also be able to attend a Yorkshire Carnegie
home game and participate in the match-day
entertainment.
“The space project has inspired real enthusiasm
in the children. They were involved in every step
of the mission’s preparation and to see it come to
fruition
so
successfully
is
invaluable
educationally."
The scheme is aimed at introducing more pupils
to rugby union and Yorkshire Carnegie in
particular. It runs alongside the club’s England
Rugby Developing Player Programme, which
identifies and nurtures future talent.
Major William himself has been inspired by the
triumphs of Paralympians and will not let his
disability hold him back. He already has his sights
set on flying in a glider, swimming with sharks
and abseiling.
Pocklington School’s Master i/c of Rugby, Sean
Houltham, said: “We have been recognised by
Yorkshire Carnegie as a school that supports the
individual to achieve their potential, whilst also
balancing their sporting and academic needs.
This partnership is a great opportunity for pupils
of all abilities to enjoy rugby and develop their
skills.”
To see SPACEBEAR The Movie, go to:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmQz8Qqz9dg
Pocklington School’s rugby elite includes Lewis
Wilson, who left the Upper Sixth this summer.
Lewis was Yorkshire Carnegie Senior Academy
Player of the Year in 2015, has three caps for
England Under-18s and was joint vice-captain of
the school’s 1st XV.
Adam Blades, Yorkshire Carnegie Community
Manager, said: “It is great to have Pocklington
on board as one of the 16 affiliated schools.
“This is in recognition of the commitment
Pocklington has shown in attending various
Yorkshire Carnegie games and events over the
past few years. They have also allowed us the use
of their school facilities as a host venue for our
community events.”
Lisa McCann, the club's Schools Development
Manager, added: “We are delighted to launch
this scheme for our schools. This is a chance for
us to engage all of their students with Yorkshire
Carnegie, even if they do not play rugby union.
We are hoping to inspire the next generation of
Yorkshire Carnegie fans and this is an exciting
time for us.”
Major William Wilberforce - 35km up
MEGAN
AWARDED
SCHOOLS
DESIGN PRIZE
FOR A LEVEL
COURSEWORK
Megan Glew (05-16), Upper Sixth Leaver has
been awarded a Schools Design Prize by The
Furniture Makers Company and her design is
featured on their Schools Design Prize
webpage.
The Schools Design Prize is a unique award given
to promising young students in over 1100
schools across the country each year.
As part of her AS level Design Technology
project, Megan’s brief was to design and
manufacture a piece of flat pack furniture. She
chose a lounge chair, gathering inspiration from
Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe’s MR Chair. Her final
design used a basis of birch faced plywood and
red upholstery fabric to create a cushioned,
comfortable chair.
Megan used a variety of manufacturing
techniques, which are all available in the Design
Technology Department at Pocklington School.
Mr Ellis, Head of Design at Pocklington School
commented: ‘Megan’s enthusiastic and focused
approach allowed her to make full use of the
industrial processes available to her in the
Design Technology Department. Her AS coursework is still being used to inspire the next generation of pupils studying Design Technology.’
After receiving her A level results, Megan
obtained a place at Nottingham Trent University
to study Product Design. We wish her well with
her studies and future career.
Construction began by contractor Houlton on 1
August, with Phase One due for completion by
31 May and Phase Two handed over in October
2017.
The Campaign continues and a second Progress
Report with further details about the project will
be produced in due course. To find out more
about the Campaign, you are invited to come
along to an informal meeting to hear our plans in
more detail, culminating in a tour of the site.
Contact Susan Kay on 01759 322626 or
[email protected] to book a time. To
view a copy of the last Progress Report and the
Campaign Brochure please visit www.pocklingtonschool.com/campaign
We look forward to our new Art & Design
Technology Centre so we can continue our
strong tradition of inspiring the creative minds of
the future in a modern, vibrant environment.