The Old Pocklingtonian 2015/16 | Page 2

Dear Old Pocklingtonians,

Pocklington School’ s long tradition of innovating, while remaining true to its core values, is part of the reason it has thrived on the same site for more than 500 years.

The latest big project in our continued aim to provide the right facilities to inspire our pupils for life, a new Art and Design Technology Centre, is looking very real now that our £ 2m fundraising target is within reach.

L-R Leanne Maycock( External Relations Administrator), Susan Kay( Development Officer) and Rachel Dare( OP Liaison Officer)

Hello and welcome to the 2015 / 2016 edition of the Old Pocklingtonian! I hope you enjoy reading this year’ s issue of the magazine which as usual is packed with interesting stories and updates on all things OP. I am always looking for new material and ideas for features and articles, so if something comes to mind please do let me know.

Many of you will have heard or seen the name Leanne Maycock on various OP communications in recent months, some of you may even have met her at an OP event, but I am delighted to take this opportunity to officially introduce and welcome Leanne to the OP community in her role as the new OP Administrator. Leanne works for the OP office two days a week and the rest of the time she provides administrative support to other members of the External Relations team. Leanne worked as a nurse before starting a family. She later retrained as a medical secretary and prior to joining Pocklington School she worked at St Leonard’ s Hospice as Deputy Retail Manager in York. She has three children who all attend the school, so already has a very active involvement and interest in the school and OPs.

Another name that you may have come across is Susan Kay. As reported in the last magazine, Susan is the school’ s Development Officer and over the last year, she has been working with External Relations Director, Sheena McNamee and myself to create a new Development Office and Alumni Relations Plan for the Foundation, to maximise our resources and create a coordinated approach. Following much consultation with different stakeholders, we are now starting to deliver the Plan which focuses on continuing to develop a culture of philanthropy with all members of the Pocklington family. Susan has also been working with a team of others on the Campaign for a new Art and Design Technology Centre to replace the‘ temporary’ Portacabins. Things are progressing really well and you can read more about it in the Development and School News section on page 12.

Looking ahead, we have another busy year of events and activities and I hope to see many of you at these over the coming months. Have a look at the back cover for the full calendar of events. On the careers front, I am working with the OP Committee to develop a mentoring scheme to support younger OPs and sixth formers as they navigate their way through higher education, apprenticeships and employment. You can read more about the scheme and how you can get involved later in the magazine.

I think that’ s all for now, but please do keep in touch and send me your news and updates for the website and the next magazine!

Thank you as always for your support over the last year – it is a pleasure to work with OPs!

Rachel Dare OP Liaison Officer

And that’ s in huge part due to the support of our Old Pocklingtonian community, whose generosity in terms of both positive comments and monetary donations, has propelled us towards our aim.

The new Art and Design Technology Centre, on the site of the old Biology department, will house the latest technical design equipment, as well as the light and space for traditional arts and crafts. It will give the department’ s collaborative and creative spirit, which has already inspired generations, the platform it deserves.

The creative industries are now worth £ 84.1billion per year to the UK economy, generating nearly £ 9.6million per hour, according to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. It says the sector grew by 8.9 % in 2014 – almost double the rate for the UK economy as a whole.

Employers across nine industries from the world’ s largest economies rated creativity among the top three most desirable qualities in a future labour market, in a recent survey for World Economic Forum.

Pocklington School has long recognised that innovative, lateral thinking can solve problems across any workplace, and our teaching approach reflects an aim to nurture resourceful, curious learners rather than those who simply regurgitate facts.

The independent thought we prize, along with the cross-fertilisation of ideas we promote, has helped many OPs thrive in careers that would not be considered‘ arty’ at all.

Even those who have forged‘ creative careers’ cover a huge spectrum. They include architect John Rhodes( 82-92) who led design teams for the F1 circuit and pits facility at Silverstone, and the Leeds First Direct Arena; footwear designer Catherine Lobley( 93-95); and Joe Hodgson( 95-02) who adapts Land Rovers for export and prepared some of the vehicles used in the James Bond film, Skyfall.

Our alumni have gone on to design sets for Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics( Mark Fisher, 58-65); help conserve York Minster’ s stained glass( Julie Hodgson, 94-01); and design furniture for the audio and TV industries( Guy Wilson, 76-81) – to mention but a few.

Many of our students have been lucky enough to win Arkwright Scholarships, awarded to high-ability 15-16 year olds to encourage them to consider Engineering and Technical Design as a career. The Trust was led for ten years from its launch in 1991 by Tony Pickering( 81-92), former Headmaster of this school. He was among a group of Headteachers who believed Design and Technology was not being given the profile it deserved as a breeding ground for potential future leaders in Engineering and Technical Design.

We believe through giving every pupil the opportunity to pursue their interests, with the stimulus and facilities to spark and evolve ideas, they will develop their talents to the benefit of society, as well as any workplace.

Thank you to all who have made a contribution – big or small – to ensuring future generations of Pocklington School pupils receive every opportunity to become creative and collaborative thinkers who will inspire and be inspired.