WELCOME// HEADMASTER PREFACE
HEAD BOY
I love Pock. The thought of going to University and forever
being an OP is surreal to me, yet having been a part of this
Foundation for the past ten years, I can honestly say that I
could not be more prepared.
Joining Pock as a boarder at the age of nine was daunting, but
the best decision of my life. The passionate care and dedication
of the staff, in particular Mr. Towner and Mr. Wright, whom
I cannot thank enough, is the main reason my parents chose
Pock. Boarding life has been a huge part of my time here, and
I implore everyone to give it a go at least once!
I’ve enjoyed every aspect of school life, from CCF and DofE,
to various trips around the globe; this school really does have
it all. Not to mention that the pastoral care is second to none
- working on a Peer Mentoring scheme with Emma this year
was just the cherry on top.
For those younger students, my advice would be to throw
yourself into every opportunity, if only to say you’ve done it!
HEADMASTERS PREFACE
Those of you who were present at Prizegiving in July will
have heard me quote Georg Hegel, the 19th century
German philosopher. Hegel famously stated “Das Wahre ist
das Ganze” in his essay “The Phenomenology of Spirit” . This
translates roughly to “The truth is in the whole”. This is a
quote that resonates with me as it reflects, in a delightfully
succinct manner, much of what we understand to be true
here at Pocklington. We believe in a holistic approach to
education, one that educates the whole child. This is our
truth at school.
As one of our core values, we know that finding and
identifying truth is a vital skill for young people today. Truth
can be hard to pin down. Though over-used, the label of
“fake news” reflects the need for all of us to scrutinise sources
of information more so than ever before. It is worrying that
the cry of “fake news” is often employed as a dismissal of
anything that isn’t particularly to one’s liking, whether fake
or true! One of the consequences of this liberal use of the
phrase is that we sometimes fail to consider our sources of
information and so fall into the trap of believing or spreading
genuinely “fake news”. This issue is particularly acute for
young people today. Try hovering (surreptitiously if possible)
You may get fed up of school at times, but recognise a good
thing when you see it. Pocklington has everything to offer, but
it’s up to you to take full advantage.
Grasp every moment of every year you have, because one day
you might look back on it and remember it as your favourite
year at this special school. I am fiercely passionate about
Pocklington School, and will forever cherish the many fond
memories I’ve made.
I wish Michael, Hebe and all the new U6th the very best for
the coming year – you’ll smash it!
Henry Foster
“My time at Pocklington has
been an absolute blast and I
hope that everyone else gets to
enjoy it just as much as I have”.
behind your child as they navigate their way through the
internet on their device and you will witness them access
links that as adults we would eagerly avoid. Like Alice in
Wonderland, they can rapidly find themselves down a rabbit
hole with truth a long way behind them. Therefore, it is our
obligation to educate them so they might pick their way
carefully and assiduously through reliable and unreliable
sources of information.
I sense a shift in young people’s consumption of social and
other media. There is a gentle groundswell of antipathy
towards mobile phones and certain social media sites have
lost cachet. Certainly, if you ask any of our students today
what they think about mobile phones, they will reel off some
of the dangers and risks they pose. I am not suggesting they
are likely to go fully cold turkey, but change is afoot! We
are proud of the way in which they have responded to our
mobile phone ban; we will though remain vigilant.
I am delighted to welcome you to this 2019/20 edition of
the Pocklingtonian. A publication that I can personally
assure you is entirely devoid of any “fake news” and one that
demonstrates that the truth of our students does indeed lie in
the whole of their efforts and successes.
Enjoy your reading.
THE POCKLINGTONIAN
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