STAFF ANNEXE
more tranquil surroundings of the Channel Island of
Jersey to the then very different Pocklington all-boys
school of 1984. Early posts included the Wilberforce
Senior Day Housemaster (1987 to 1993: in the old
House system, this involved the pastoral care of
pupils from the fourth form to upper sixth), and
leading the RAF section of the CCF (1987 to 1993).
FAREWELL
The school bids farewell to the following staff:
Matthew Adams (13-17), Latin and Ancient
Greek, Head of Classics, Housemaster Dolman
Sixth Form
Mike became Head of Chemistry for the first time
in September 1991, taking over from David Stanton
who had become the Senior Master. This was a post
Mike held until 2005 when other responsibilities took
priority and he became the Senior Master himself,
encompassing the Director of Teacher Training,
where he coordinated Initial Teacher Training, Staff
Professional Review and Development, and the
Newly Qualified Teachers in the school. A wide-
ranging and pivotal brief.
Patrick Allen (07-17), Prep School, Subject
Leader Computing
Garry Binks (84-17), Physics, Head of Physics
Helen Binks (16-17), English (maternity cover)
Leah Class (16-17), Economics and Business
Studies
Jen Cliff (16-17), Prep School (maternity cover)
Mike Evans (84-17), Chemistry, Senior Master,
Head of Chemistry
Sean Houltham (06-17), PE and Games,
Housemaster Hutton Lower School, i/c Rugby,
Non-Resident Tutor Fenwick-Smith House
Laurence McKell (15-17), Geography,
Pastoral Director
Paul Oatridge (15-17), Mathematics,
Housemaster Wilberforce Middle School
Jess Roman-Blencoe (15-17), Spanish and
French
Emma Snelling (17-17), Prep School (cover)
Ron Tribe (15-16), Geography
David Watton (87-16), Economics and
Business Studies
GARRY BINKS (84-17)
up more opportunities; foreign travel on some
fantastic sports’ tours, more career opportunities in
examining and inspecting, so there was no need to
move on. So, whilst so many years here may seem an
eternity, in fact, the time has flown and my early days
at school are as vivid as my final ones. Highlights? Yes,
there have been many; seeing my daughters grow
up as they went through school, teaching with my
wife in our final year, the first long overseas rugby
tour to Canada, the list goes on and on. However,
the abiding memory I will take with me, and miss
the most, is the friendship and camaraderie that
is such a feature of the staffroom. I have worked
with some wonderful people, and a huge amount of
‘characters’, but I am humbled to say that so many
of them are and hopefully will remain my closest
friends. I have been to their weddings, seen their
children christened, and shared so many happy
times with them both inside and beyond school.
They work so hard, and it has been a privilege to be
one of them. On to the future. Many ask what I am
going to do, more pertinent is what I am not going
to do; marking, preparing lessons, attending meetings
are all things I won’t miss! What I actually plan to do
is travel, America’s west coast and the Sydney Ashes
test are already booked, but I have challenged myself
to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats so if you
see my on the leafy lanes of East Yorkshire training
then give me a wave!
MIKE EVANS (84-17)
As a scientist I could look back on my career at
Pocklington in numbers, thirty-three years, ninety-
nine terms, six sports tours, five physics colleagues;
I could go on. This does not tell the story, as more
important would be the number of pupils I have
taught, or in some cases tried to teach! It has been
the sheer diversity of these young people, which
has meant that no day at Pocklington has ever been
boring, although hundreds have been enjoyable, and
a few have been challenging. When I came to school,
I promised them three years before I moved on to
‘greater’ things. But Pock meant there was no need;
housemasterships, running rugby teams, heading up
a department all came along and the opportunities
were gratefully accepted. These posts then opened
38
We are in a period of time at Pocklington whereby a
stock of illustrious Masters who have functioned and
shepherded the school through the last 30 years or
more are, in a steady stream, leaving us. Mike Evans
is certainly one of those highly familiar and concrete
pillars of the school infrastructure.
Mike has done so much over the years, that it
becomes an unedifying task to try to capture it
all, running the risk of appearing to minimalise a
long career of highly successful and intense A-level
and GCSE Chemistry teaching, countless expertly
organised school e