Broadcaster Clare Balding visited Pocklington School and spoke to pupils about celebrated former pupil William Wilberforce this week as part of her BBC Radio 4 Ramblings series.
Ms Balding asked Head Girl Hebe Quinney and Head Boy Mikey Smith about Wilberforce, a prominent leader of the movement to abolish slavery. They showed her the Wilberforce Statue in the school grounds, along with a mosaic and slave sculpture marking his achievements.
The broadcaster visited with Dr Rev Inderjit Bhogal OBE, a leading theologian and Methodist Minister who created the Wilberforce Way, a 60-mile walk between Hull and York commemorating the bicentenary of the abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in 1807.
Dr Bhogal is the founder and president of the City of Sanctuary movement which works with community groups across the UK to build a culture of welcome and hospitality, particularly towards asylum seekers and refugees. Dr Bhogal’s work with interfaith relations was recognised by an OBE in 2005.
Before setting off, they also met students from the school’s equestrian team and staff from its rambling group, The Worthwhile Wanderers. They recorded students talking about William Wilberforce and Ms Balding signed autographs and obligingly posed for selfies.
Deputy Head Clare Bracken said: “We are extremely proud of all that Old Pocklingtonian William Wilberforce achieved and our pupils were thrilled to welcome Clare and Inderjit to the school to talk about him.
“Wilberforce is a leading example of the school values of Courage, Truth and Trust which drive all that we do at Pocklington and mean that our students leave with a strong sense of personal and social responsibility, along with the ability to shape their own future.”
The Ramblings show will be on Radio 4 on 27th February at 3pm and repeated on Feb 29th at 6.07am.