Sport
Whilst we may not appreciate the changes enforced upon us by the arrival of Covid-19 , we have had to get on with it and adapt and make the very best of this rather different period of our lives . The pandemic has challenged and continues to challenge us in all aspects of school life - sport provision perhaps more than most - and this has required students and staff alike to ‘ step up ’.
Like so many other areas in school , the games department have witnessed the character , commitment and resilience that we have in our student body . Many will have understandably asked , “ A term without fixtures , what are our students preparing for ?” It ’ s a fair question , but to the credit of those involved in sport , not one that we have let hold us back .
The attitude and resilience shown by our students throughout our games programme and after-school provision has been excellent . Not once have I seen an individual waver in their desire to perform and develop ; numbers have exceeded expectation and sessions have been ferociously competitive .
My thanks go to colleagues , many of them teaching visually , virtually and online and still creating opportunities to support the
Co-Curricular programme and several of them giving up their time upskilling themselves with webinars / zooms with high-performance athletes and coaches . Our captains of the term , Grace Beckett and Ben Maycock have shown qualities of leadership , patience and understanding beyond their years ; let us hope that they will have the chance to lead their respective teams in some form of fixtures in 2021 .
We saw a fortnight of “ House ” sport before the Christmas break . Rugby and hockey took centre stage with students competing together in “ bubbles ” for Divisional House Tournaments from First to Upper Sixth Form .
We still have several of our leading rugby players , Kobby Fofie , Ed Hasdell , Billy Spruyt and Tom Hirst training with the U18 PDG Academy squad whilst former student Ben McNamara ( 16-20 ) who recently signed a 1st team professional contract with Hull FC Rugby League , has had a phenomenal first season scoring his first try on debut !
Charlie Hutchinson and Tom Gledden have been selected for the North Yorkshire U17 Hockey squad and our Equestrian team are currently competing via NSEA zoom !!
In OP news , Lydia Robinson ( 18-20 ), the UK ’ s No 1 squash player in her age group secured the highly sought-after Sport England-funded Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme and after a truncated season Tom Loten ( 06-17 ) signed a further year ’ s contract with Yorkshire CCC .
What can 2021 bring ? Opportunities for Lucas Bradshaw and Isobel Brosenitz to lead the boys ’ hockey and girls ’ netball and we look forward to a full programme of girls ’ cricket to support the tennis and athletics in the summer . Ed Hasdell , Tom Dyson and Taggy Medforth will lead the cricket and tennis squads respectively and for myself and colleagues we have the excitement of putting together a sporting programme that will be the envy of all schools as we move into the new five day week in September .
With the outstanding enthusiasm and commitment of our pupils , staff and parents I am confident that we can match and enhance the current programme that we have and create even more opportunities for our students for many yeas to come .
Have a wonderful Christmas and prosperous 2021 .
David Byas , Director of Sport
Like every other aspect of school life , the co-curricular programme has had to be heavily adapted in light of the restrictions surrounding Covid . Nevertheless , the programme has continued to run , maintaining the highest standards of teaching and coaching by our dedicated staff . Some staff have willingly doubled up their weekly slots for the running of these clubs , ensuring the provision of the co-curricular programme has been as unaffected as possible . As an addition to this , new clubs have been added to the programme such as iDEA , a digital skills activity instigated by the ICT Department which leads to a qualification comparable to D of E .
The Activities Fair at the start of term was held for new First Year students and was met with equal enthusiasm from our young Pocklingtonians , who have proceeded to take an active role in the clubs and opportunities on offer . To name just a few , Debating , Textiles , Quiz Club , Table Tennis and of course , everyone ’ s favourite , 5-a-side football have been bursting with energy throughout this term .
The Music Department have worked admirably in ensuring face-to-face music lessons have continued and that the students have still been afforded the opportunity to continue making music . The Autumn Concert will be a real highlight of the term . In Drama , rehearsals have been in full swing for our first ever virtual-live performance of the senior school play ‘ Green Room ’ – an innovative and exciting way of getting around the restrictions in place . It has been a wonderful sight to see students engrossed in the CCF programme on a Thursday afternoon and finally , the Sports teams have continued to train throughout the term , despite the inability to run fixtures for the time being .
Commitment of both staff and students has been on display in abundance throughout these very testing times . But what all of this really shows is that anything is possible if we work together . And I ’ m proud to say that at Pocklington , we do work together .
Lucy Hornby , Head of Co-Curriculum
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