The Pocklingtonian 2017/2018 | Page 12

SCHOOL NEWS// STAFF LEAVERS ED LONG It is with genuine sadness to write that Ed Long has left Pocklington School. Ed joined the History Department in 2010 and it became clear, very early on, that here was one of the most dedicated and professional teachers one could ever have the pleasure of working with. Meticulous, incredibly and dauntingly well organised, driven by a pure passion for the subject and definitely the last man in any bar to ever open his wallet to buy you a drink… Alongside being a fantastic History teacher Ed has been an U15 rugby coach, in charge of 2nd XI cricket, Fg Off in the RAF section of the CCF, Gruggen Sixth Form Housemaster, Head of Sixth Form and even a dab CHRIS THORNTON-HOLMES Chris Thornton-Holmes joined us in September 2013. He immediately engaged with our students and they responded to his warm personality. His teaching allowed all students (and staff!) to sing whatever style of music they preferred, and walking past his room, one can hear the diverse strains of hand at a bit of Geography too. He set up the Munich trip, has been an integral part of our many USA ventures and was a founding father of the ‘History Boyz’ – the Pocklington School History Department that developed with myself, Mr Webb and Mr Hall and latterly with Mr Braidwood too. It does feel like a family member is leaving us. Ed will be hugely missed by the students and the school in general. He will be missed even more by the History Department as both a great teacher and opera, musical theatre or Ed Sheeran! In his short time with us, Chris has achieved remarkable success. Fifteen of his students have passed singing diplomas. He has two former students studying singing at Leeds College of Music, one student going up to the Royal College of Music in September, and two Oxbridge Choral Scholars. Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg, as he has inspired countless students to find a love of singing and performance. Beyond his time in the Music Department, Chris has thrown himself into life at Pocklington. He joined Dolman boarding house to help cover Wendy when she broke her leg last year THE POCKLINGTONIAN GH However, there is something poetic and connected about Ed’s move to Ripon Grammar School: he will reunite with Mr Webb (Headmaster!) and with another ex-Pocklington History Department teacher in Mrs Fell. The flame keeps burning and the legacy lives on. Still much in demand as a singer, Chris was asked to join the company of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in 2015 for their production of William Tell. Chris used his influence to facilitate a group of senior pupils to meet several of the principles, and to visit backstage at the opera house – even managing to stand on the hallowed stage. It was an inspirational moment: Sam Hird, Chris’ protégé, was literally lost for words. 10 colleague but, far more importantly, as a friend. It is a pleasure to work with people you get on with but it is rare to work with those who you can have that fortune to use that word with: friend. and it quickly became clear he was a natural. In September he started one night a week and it was clear the boys really enjoyed his nights. Nicola fondly recalls one evening: On walking back into Dolman with the older after prep, loud music and wailing was filling the ground floor, on investigation we found 9 prep boys dancing on the windowsills with blow up microphones singing their hearts out. After another half hour, Chris emerged from the common room and said, ‘I called it a night because they have just started to get a little carried away’. Chris’ bedtime stories will go down in history. The boys told Nicola Bradshaw not to read The BFG as ‘she couldn’t get the voices right’ and she should ask Mr Thornton Holmes to teach her. Chris would take on the voice and actions of each character and the boys would be spellbound. Chris has also been a hit with our boarding parents. When the Hartfields returned their boys and where struggling to leave, Chris sat at the piano and played a piece from the Greatest Showman; the whole family were