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Pocklington 500 - Recent Events
P500 Dinner at Hall Garth, Goodmanham
Friday 16th September 2011, 7.00pm
The third in the series of Pocklington 500
dinners took place recently at Hall Garth, Goodmanham, the home of
former Governor of the school, Mrs Alison Bladon and her husband Johnny.
The property is a fine example of a Regency house and is set in
beautiful grounds within the village. After a welcome
drink of English sparkling wine produced in Hampshire by Johnny’s
brother Simon (www.jenkynplacevineyard.co.uk),
Darrell Buttery treated guests to a short pre-dinner talk about the
history and architecture of the house which Alison added to with her own
personal perspective on its history. Guests were seated in
three very different and impressive rooms within the house: the dining
room, the old kitchen, and the garden room, each with its own individual
character and style. Andrew D’Arcy and his team
served a wonderful four-course dinner which was accompanied by music
from L6th former William Winlow, an accomplished guitarist.
Andrew Dawes, Deputy Headmaster, commented “It was a really
special and unique evening. Alison and Johnny were fabulous hosts and
made everyone feel very welcome in their home.” The
dinner raised just over £1100 for the Project Archive 1514 appeal.
Saturday 2nd July 2011, 7.30pm
The Pocklington 500 committee joined forces
recently with the Old Pocklingtonian Association, Friends of Pocklington
School (FOPS) and Friends of Lyndhurst School (FOLS) to put on a unique
and exciting Foundation event. The Bunker Ball took
place on 2 July to help celebrate the School’s military history as it
approaches it’s Quincentenary in 2014 and to raise funds for both the
Archive Appeal and other FOLS and FOPS projects. The
evening started with a drinks reception in Wilberforce Court accompanied
by live jazz from the ‘Antigua’ band. Guests were
dressed to impress in vintage 1940’s or military style outfits
assembling in the ‘Air Raid Shelter’ Sports Hall for dinner and dancing
to Mr Swing. “It was a truly fabulous evening,
thoroughly enjoyed by all,” commented OP Andy Holloway (1992-2000) who
was amongst the 230 guests in attendance. Former
parent and current Governor Jill Atkinson who lead the organising
committee for the event said “it was an excellent night and well worth
all the hard work that everyone has put into it. We
managed to raise over £4,500 in total which is a fantastic effort.”
P500 Burns Night Supper
Friday 21st January 2011, 7.15pm
Over 90 guests gathered in the school library for a sparkling drinks reception which was to kick start a wonderful evening of traditional Burns Night music and merriment and excellent Scottish fayre. Iain McDougall presided over the customary sequence of events including the Selkirk Grace and the Address and Toast to the Haggis which was proudly paraded in on a platter by Andrew D'Arcy in full 'Braveheart' regalia and accompanied on the bagpipes by by Jerry Marsden. During the meal, guests were entertained by Miranda and Allison Bond singing traditional Scottish folk songs. The evening ended with a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne before guests departed. A total of just over £1100 was raised for the Project Archive 1514 appeal. Thank you to all those who supported the event.
P500 at the Merchant Adventurers Hall
Wednesday 15th September 2010, 7.00pm
The ancient hall of the Merchant Adventurers in
York was the setting for an archives fundraising event on 15 September.
Governor of the Company this year is our former Chairman of
Governors, Richard Haynes. He joined together with
other Merchant Adventurers with strong Pocklington links to host the
event.
Drinks and canapés were served in the Undercroft until guests were summoned upstairs to the Great Hall where the Governor welcomed everyone and said a little about the Merchants and their building. This was followed by a performance of ‘The Last Judgement’, the Mystery Play traditionally associated with the Company. Alan Heaven and his team had been invited to present the play during York’s Festival of Mystery Plays in the summer. It was a challenge to convert the production for indoors, but it was carried off brilliantly by the talented cast. Darrell Buttery, Hon. Curator of the Company’s pictures, then showed guests several of the Merchants’ works of art not on display. The entertainment concluded with arias sung by fifth former Olivia Turner, whose superb voice and professionalism captivated everyone.
Guests were then free to explore the hall and enjoy the display of treasures from the Merchants’ archives, arranged by Company archivist Rita Freedman. The evening raised in excess of £1600 for the archive appeal.
Pocklington 500 Dinner at Everingham Hall
Friday 11th June 2010
The second fundraising dinner was held at magnificent Everingham Park, a Grade I listed Georgian mansion by John Carr of York. The owners of the house, Pocklington parents Helen and Philip Guest, gave those attending a memorable evening.
The event began with drinks on the lawn and then the party moved into the astonishingly grand chapel for an introduction to the house and its former owners.
A superb five-course dinner was served to 70 people in three of the great reception rooms, the Sixth Form cabaret team visiting each one in turn to perform their light-hearted look at the school in Edwardian times. The event raised in just over £2000 towards the school archive appeal.
Our thanks go to all who helped to make the evening so successful, especially to the Guests for coping with such an invasion so cheerfully.
A PDF of the guest list from this event can be downloaded here.
Cockfighting and All That
Tuesday 4th May 2010
Darrell Buttery and a team of current pupils presented a lively talk on fascinating new aspects of the school’s history which included a re-enactment of an Edwardian school debate on female suffrage and a look at some of the earliest photographs of the school.
A PDF of the slides from the presentation can be downloaded here. (8MB file)
Pocklington 500 Dinner at Knavesmire Lodge
Friday 12th March 2010
Hosted by Darrell Buttery
At the first of a series of Pocklington 500 dinners, 35
guests including staff, parents and OPs gathered in the dining room at
Knavesmire Lodge for a wonderful evening of food, wine and entertainment.
After a drinks reception, host Darrell Buttery gave a short talk about the history of the house including the involvement of some of its former residents in the infamous Tranby Croft scandal.
Guests were then treated to a wonderful 5-course dinner prepared by Darrell and a team of volunteers including fellow School Governor Jill Atkinson and members of the School catering team Andrew D’Arcy and Gwen Walton.
After dinner a group of 6th formers performed excerpts from late 19th/early 20th century school magazine reports of the debating society proceedings to round off the evening.
“What a fantastic evening Friday was! We were so pleased to be part of it and fully support the goal you are all working towards. We wish to thank you and everyone involved for all the organising, planning etc involved in ensuring that it all went as smoothly as it did. We thought that Darrell displayed extreme generosity in welcoming us all - he was the perfect host!”
Knavesmire Lodge Guest List
Reunite the Years Supper
Pocklington School, Friday 20th November 2009
A supper was held at school to bring together those pupils who, in the past 50 years, have held a post of seniority during their time at Pocklington. Current and retired members of teaching staff were also invited to the event which was part of the school’s efforts to expand and develop links with past pupils in the run up to the 500th birthday in 2014. Guests were able to go on a tour of the school before a drinks reception in the library (previously the school gym!). This was followed by dinner in the dining hall with guests taking trays school dinner-style to the counter where a carvery was served by Andrew D’Arcy and his team. A self-serve cheese and port course offered another opportunity for guests to mingle and an enjoyable evening was had by all. ‘Homework’ comprised a file for each guest with a list of ‘lost boys and girls’ from their year group and a request for help to find them and put them back in touch with the school.
Photographs of the Event can be viewed and downloaded here.
Former Staff Supper
A supper for former staff was held at the Headmaster’s house on Tuesday 8 June 2009. The aim of the event was to re-establish links with former staff in the run up to the School’s 500th birthday celebrations in 2014. The evening was very enjoyable and provided an excellent opportunity to share ideas and thoughts on the 500th as well as catching up with old friends and colleagues. It is hoped that this will be the first of many opportunities for former staff to get together and keep in touch with the school.
A photo gallery of the event can be found by clicking here.