BOARDING//
FAIRCOTE
HOUSE
The year was 1988… A first class stamp
cost 12p; a new royal baby - Princess
Beatrice of York - was born in August;
This Morning aired on TV for the first
time with Richard Madeley and Judy
Finnigan; and BBC Red Nose Day
raised £15 million in its first year…
This was also the year girls began
boarding at Pocklington School in the
newly repurposed Faircote House. The
house itself has a rich history: In 1867,
the Fairweather family lived in and it
was used as the town’s doctor’s surgery
before it became part of Pocklington
School properties. Robert Peel was
the first housemaster to welcome new
boarders and in the 30 years that have
followed, Faircote House has undergone
many changes, hundreds of girls have
passed through our doors, and we have
seen many staff come and go.
This year in particular, we have said
goodbye to Glenda Smith, who retired
at Christmas after working in Faircote
for 8 years – 4 as a non-res tutor, and
4 as our day matron. Stepping into her
incredibly snazzy shoes as day matron,
Jill Dowson – affectionately known
to the girls as ‘Jilly D’ – joined the
Faircote team after 19 years working
in other areas of the Foundation. She
has brought with her an abundance of
energy and character, and has quickly
become a well-loved member of our
house. We also waved our final bon
voyage to Eliza Burg and her family at
Easter, as they returned to Australia to
await the arrival of baby number two
and begin a new chapter of their lives
together. Alex Chenery, also head of the
EAL Department, is our new resident
house tutor, and is the most positive and
hard working person we have ever met!
It is always with a tinge of sadness that
have to say goodbye to our leavers,
and this year is no different. We would
like to wish the best of luck to our 13
inspiring Upper Sixth boarders and 4
hardworking Fifth Year girls, who move
on to pastures new in July. We have
equipped them with as many life lessons
as we could, and are proud of the
well-rounded young ladies they have
become. It goes without saying that you
all have a standing invitation to come
back and visit often!
A thank you must go out to this year’s
House Prefects – you have done a
wonderful job! Looking forward to next
year, Emma Falkingham will be our
Head of House, and will be joined by
a team of deputy heads: Oniro Ibani,
Abby Chen, Erin He, Nikita Roy and
Rita Ni. As in years previous, these girls
have been selected to represent Faircote
as they are great role models for our
boarders, and we look forward to seeing
them excel in their roles throughout
the year.
As we look forward to the next 30
years, we encourage all who may have
a passing interest in boarding to give
it a go. In the words of one of our U6
THE POCKLINGTONIAN
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