New OP President elected
A term like no other and yet boarding at Pocklington has still been great
Joan Gough ( née Sawyer , 75-77 ) has been elected as the new OP President at the Annual General Meeting of the Old Pocklingtonian Association held in November on Zoom . Joan , who was one of the first girls to attend Pocklington School in the Sixth Form , is now the first female OP President in the history of the Association . She succeeds Trevor Loten ( 70-80 ) who stepped down from the role after coming to the end of his three-year tenure .
Congratulations also go to Charlie Lambert ( 01-08 ) who was elected as Vice President . He takes over from James Sweeting ( 81-88 ) who stepped down after eight years on the committee .
Trevor commented : “ I am really pleased to be handing over the reins to Joan , who has been an integral part of the OP committee for several years and congratulate her on becoming the first female President !”
Joan said : “ I am delighted to be taking on the role of OP President and very much look forward to working with Charlie and all members of the committee to build on the achievements of my predecessors . With the unusual times in which we are living , our initial priority will be to engage with and support our younger members as they work through this time of great uncertainty . To this end , we are very fortunate to have Rachel and Leanne in the OP office whose hard work and dedication provides continuity and makes all our endeavours possible .
I would also like to thank Trevor and James for their significant contribution over the years . Their combined experience has been of much value to the OP committee and we look forward to keeping in touch and seeing them at OP events once these can resume .”
Other newly elected committee members are Matthew Atkinson ( 85-93 ) and Michael McInstry ( 00-11 ).
During my years working in boarding , I have heard many reasons why pupils and their families choose the boarding option at schools across the UK ; the structure of a boarding house helps pupils with their studies , reduced travelling time to and from school , the stability it gives pupils if their parents work overseas or long hours during the week , improving English skills for international pupils , extra activities on offer , to name a few .
All of these are great reasons to board . However , the long-lasting benefits of boarding are often not the ones that children and parents envisaged at the outset . No , it Is the sense of community , of life-long friendships formed and independent skills developed ( laundry , cookery , gardening ,…) that prove to be the most valuable . That and the vast number of communal activities and house events that boarders could not have imagined enjoying before they became boarders .
This has obviously been a term like no other for all of us . Boarding life has not been quite the same . Some boarders arrived two weeks before the start of term to self-isolate in Fenwick-Smith . Mixing between house ‘ bubbles ’ and movement for boarders off-site has been restricted by tiers
and lockdowns . Sunday activities which would have involved trips to Flamingo Land , the seaside , climbing walls and trampolining have had to be curtailed . We kept two boarding houses open at half-term for the first time , and all four at Exeat . Many boarders have barely left site since September .
And yet , whenever I have seen the Boarding Houseparents on a Monday for our weekly meeting and asked them how things were going they have almost always replied positively . They have said how settled the boarders have been , accepting of the changes in place and enjoying life with their ‘ Pock ’ families . We have brought activities to the boarders ; zorbing , archery , mobile pizza vans and nights around the fire pit have been the order of the day . If big events have been cancelled the boarding houses have adapted and had ‘ in-house ’ events .
Our boarding houses will close for the Christmas holidays . I wish all our boarders a safe journey home , a good rest away from the school , and a very Merry Christmas . We know they will be back in January ready for whatever the Lent term might throw at them .
Steve Greaves , Head of Boarding
6