BOARDING //
FENWICK-SMITH HOUSE
This has been yet another very positive year for the boys in Fenwick-Smith House , even though it stopped short in March 2020 due to the situation with Covid-19 . I have to say it has been very strange and above all very quiet in Fenwick-Smith House since lock-down began and we very much look forward to welcoming boarders back to the Fenwick- Smith House as soon as possible .
The staff team continue to do all they can to support the boys , offering a balance of outstanding pastoral and academic support . I could not do the job I do without the fantastic work of Mr Loten ( Resident Tutor ), Mrs Burnside ( Day Matron ), evening tutors Mr Perham , Mr Copley , Mr Wheeler , Mr Parker , Dr . Andrews and Mr Bull . The Domestic team of Mrs Terry , Mrs Metcalfe , Mrs Jackson , Mrs Anderson and Ms Baxster keep Fenwick-Smith House looking as good as it did when it opened in March 2007 and I am indebted to them for their contribution too . In recent months we have been on “ Zoom lessons ” with the pupils and we have been messaging them regularly . As our Matron said recently , we have been missing the boys and cannot wait to see them soon and to get back to some sort of normality and boarding routine . Not having much in the way of sewing and sorting to do for the boys , Kim turned her attention to making much needed scrubs for the NHS at York hospital and helping Steve Ellis and others in the design department making PPE visors .
I ’ d like to thank the boys for all they contribute to the house . Boarding houses are never dull places to be and there is always something going on and the boys keep us all on our toes – in a positive way , of course ! The way they dealt with their premature return home was a credit to them . Many faced uncertainties at the airports and periods of quarantine in hotels away from their families and they simply got on with it without a fuss and dealt with things in a very mature and pragmatic way .
Head of House this year was Afonso Spencer , supported by Deputy Heads of House Ares Niu and Nixon Cheung , themselves ably assisted by the prefects Josh Nolan , Ed James and Nick Wang .
It was great to see some of the Fenwick- Smith boys getting in amongst the prize winners at this year ’ s online virtual speech day : Academic Subject Prizes were won by : Will Dare ( Economics ), Michael Smith ( occasional boarder ) ( Spanish ). Awards for Individual Contribution to Work : Boris Liu ( Pitts-Tucker Art Prize ), Michael Smith ( David Galloway Prize for Modern Languages ), Awards for Individual contribution to Sport : Will Watts ( Jackson Rose-Bowl for All-round Contribution to Boys ’ Sport ), Music : Michael Smith ( Alice Boyes Trophy for Exceptional Performance in Music ), Awards for individual Contribution to Drama and Theatre Studies : Joshua Nolan ( Richard Vergette Cup for Acting ), Awards for Individual Contribution to CCF : Afonso Spencer ( Contingent Commander ’ s Award ), Ed James ( John Derbyshire Trophy ), Matthew Brown ( Recruit trophy ( Army )). Awards for Individual Contribution to the Boarding Community : Afonso Spencer ( The Robert Smith Cup ). I am also delighted to report that one final notable and prestigious award , the overall contribution to 6th form life , announced on the day in the Headmaster ’ s speech , went to Afonso Spencer , rounding off an outstanding time in both boarding and day school life for him .
Many of the Fenwick-Smith boys very much enjoy their time in the Pocklington School CCF Contingent , both Army and RAF , and it is no surprise to see their leadership skills in CCF being useful and very much coming to the fore in other areas of school life . It is fantastic to see boarders getting heavily involved across the plethora of activities and clubs that the school offers , and this can only help the boys in later life .
There were some notable highlights for me this year . It was great to see upper 6th pupil Josh Nolan take the lead role of Scrooge and perform so well in this year ’ s school play – A Christmas Carol . Josh has understudied for lead roles in the past but this year it really was his time to shine . Ed James has worked backstage with the sound and lighting for the last 5 years and Thomas Brown ( Topper ) can be relied upon in any production .
I mentioned in my CCF RAF report the fact that we had been invited to attend the Remembrance service in November at St Catherine ’ s Church in Barmby Moor and to form part of the honour guard and the boarders were well represented on the day . The Secretary
THE POCKLINGTONIAN 33