Pocklington School seeks to admit candidates who will benefit from what the school has to offer and whom it will be able to support. The most common entry points are at Reception, and school Year 3 at Pocklington Prep School and the First Year, Third Year or the Sixth Form in Pocklington School. Pupils can however be accepted for all school years subject to vacancy. Offers of places at Pocklington School and at Pocklington Prep are subject to vacancy and to a satisfactory entry assessment and school report. All pupils are interviewed as part of the admissions process. Academic scholarships and exhibitions are offered to candidates from Pocklington Prep and to candidates for the First Year, Third Year and Sixth Form of Pocklington School. The aim of the awards is to recognise and promote academic excellence. A limited number of Sixth Form Bursaries, worth up to 100% of the day fee are available to Sixth Form applicants. The current Headmaster is Mr Toby Seth, appointed in January 2019. He was previously Deputy Head at King's School in Macclesfield and Assistant Head at Godolphin and Latymer School. Toby is a Cambridge University Modern and Medieval Languages graduate and has also served as Head of Department at both Wellington College and Dulwich College. Pocklington School, has a number of traditions, such as the year group naming convention. Its mottoVirtute et Veritate is Latin for By truth and virtue. There are four houses: Dolman, Gruggen and Hutton and Wilberforce. Each pupil from a new family is entered into a house; all following siblings enter the same house. 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.
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 is in the centre of the St Nicholas Quadrangle. A bronze statue of Wilberforce as a boy, by York sculptress Sally Arnup, stands near the school foyer. Erected in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of slave emancipation, Dr John Sentamu unveiled the new statue in autumn 2007. Pocklington School appeared in a television programme entitled In Search of Wilberforce, made by former BBCnews presenterMoira Stuart, and first shown on BBC 2 on 16 March 2007.
Notable former pupils
Richard Annand, V.C. 1925–32, awarded the Victoria Cross in 1940 during the Battle of France. His final visit to the school was in 2002 to unveil a copy of his citation. This can be seen in the Senior School Reception entrance. The new CCF Centre, opened in 2009, is named after him.
Prof. Mark Child, FRS, 1947–1955, Coulson Professor of Theoretical Chemistry, Oxford.
Mark Fisher O.B.E., M.V.O., 1958–65, architect and designer of rock concerts. Chief designer of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
John How, 1894–1899, Bishop of Glasgow and Primus of the Church of Scotland. In the 1930s, he was Chaplain to George V, Edward VIII and later George VI.
Lord Moran, M.C. 1894–99, personal physician to Winston Churchill, author of The Anatomy of Courage and The Struggle for Survival, his personal accounts of looking after Churchill.
Sir Tom Stoppard, O.M., C.B.E., 1950–54, playwright. His portrait, presented to the school by Peter Stoppard, hangs in the senior school reception entrance.
