Pocklington School is a private day and boarding school in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1514 by John Dolman. The school is situated in 50 acre of land, on the outskirts of the small market town, 12 mi from York and 26 mi from Hull. It is the 67th oldest school in the United Kingdom and celebrated its 500th birthday in 2014.

Introduction

The most common entry points are at Pre-School and Reception, at Pocklington Prep School and the First Year (Year 7), Third Year (Year 9) or Sixth Form in Pocklington School. Pupils can however be accepted for all school years subject to vacancy. All pupils are interviewed as part of the admissions process. Academic scholarships and exhibitions are offered to candidates for the First Year, Third Year and Sixth Form of Pocklington School. A limited number of Sixth Form Bursaries, worth up to 100% of the day tuition fee, are available to Sixth Form applicants. The current Headmaster is Mr Toby Seth, appointed in January 2019. Pocklington School has a number of traditions, such as the year group naming convention (first year, second year, etc.). Its motto Virtute et Veritate is Latin for With courage and truth. There are four houses: Dolman (named after the school's founder John Dolman), Gruggen and Hutton (named after former headmasters Rev. Gruggen and Rev. Hutton) and Wilberforce (named after the 18th/19th-century anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce who attended the school). The school has an armed forces centre, located on the edge of campus in the Annand VC Cadet Centre. The Combined Cadet Force takes part in various competitions each year and cadets can attend camps around the country. The school sports hall is housed in the train shed of the former Pocklington railway station, designed by George Townsend Andrews. The school runs outreach programmes engaging other schools, and working in the local community, as well as an app called Chatta to improve communication among preschool children, and has won awards for this work.

William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce was the school's most notable pupil. He attended Pocklington School from 1771–76 and is famous as the parliamentary campaigner who brought about the abolition of the slave trade and the emancipation of slaves. A statue of a freed slave sculpted by Peter Tatham (1983–93) is in the centre of the St Nicholas Quadrangle. A bronze statue of Wilberforce as a boy, by York sculptor Sally Arnup, stands near the school foyer. Dr John Sentamu unveiled the new statue in autumn 2007, which was erected in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of slave emancipation. Pocklington School appeared in a television programme entitled In Search of Wilberforce, made by former BBC news presenter Moira Stuart, and first shown on BBC 2 on 16 March 2007.

Notable former pupils