Arthur Mellows Village College

Arthur Mellows Village College
Address
Helpston Road Glinton Peterborough , Cambridgeshire , PE6 7JX England
Coordinates	52°38′13″N0°18′09″W / 52.63693°N 0.30246°W / 52.63693; -0.30246
Information
Type	Academy
Local authority	Peterborough
Department for Education URN	136266 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11to 18
Colour(s)	green, white and black
Website	http://www.arthurmellows.peterborough.sch.uk

Arthur Mellows Village College is a secondary school in Glinton in the local authority of Peterborough. The college is an academy with a specialism in technology.

Olympic gymnast Louis Smith and footballers Luke Steele and Lia Cataldo are amongst the alumni.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

The school is named after its founder, Arthur Holditch Mellows (1892–1948), a British army captain from the Hunts Cyclist Battalion ^{[1] [ failed verification ]} who was promoted to colonel during World War I, served in Iraq during the 1920s, and commanded local Home Guard units during World War II. ^{[2] [3]} In the interwar years he became a solicitor, and from 1935–37 he was Mayor of Peterborough. ^{[4] [5]} From 1943 onwards he headed the national education committee.^{[ citation needed ]} He owned a black Chrysler Windsor, an unusual sight in wartime Britain. ^[3]

1940s Chrysler, of the type owned by Arthur Mellows

Colonel Mellows was returning from a shoot on 16 October 1948, when his car was struck by a train at Conington, Huntingdonshire. ^{[6] [7]}

The college opened in 1949. ^[8] From 1948 until the 1970s, the Arthur Mellows Memorial Trust hosted lectures at the college and provided education grants in subjects of interest to Mellows. ^[8]

In the 1970s and 1980s the college was ahead of its time in community links. Arthur Mellows offered evening classes and a meeting area for community groups and had a public library on site. As such the school used to refer to the headteacher using the title "Warden".^{[ citation needed ]} More recently this was changed to the more recognisable term "Head of College".

The college was originally built to serve the villages from Wittering to Eye which form an approximate straight line, the village of Glinton being in the middle. More recently the school developed a broader catchment including pupils from the large Peterborough suburb of Werrington. In the 2000s multiple Peterborough schools were considered failing, closed down, demolished, rebuilt and re-named.^{[ citation needed ]} However, Arthur Mellows converted to academy status, underwent significant expansion and was considered a successful school.

Architecture

Built just after WWII, the college was designed so that it could be quickly converted into a hospital if necessary.^{[ citation needed ]} However, this was never required. It is most evident on the main ground floor teaching corridor of the original building, where large glass windows make easy viewing from corridor to classrooms which could be re-purposed as wards. The external walls of these classrooms are almost entirely glass, which would have allowed patients access to large amounts of light and south facing patios.

School performance and inspections

As of 2022, the college's most recent inspection by Ofsted was in 2014, with a judgement of Outstanding. ^[9]

In 2008, results at GCSE and A-Level were above average. ^[10]

References

1. Godmanchester history
2. Hunts Cycles
3. Jones, B. (2014). The Peterborough Book of Days. Book of Days. History Press. p. 80. ISBN   978-0-7524-9381-7 . Retrieved 27 November 2022.
4. BSEE
5. Arthur Mellows
6. Orme, S. (2012). Haunted Peterborough. History Press. p. 88. ISBN   978-0-7524-8153-1 . Retrieved 27 November 2022.
7. 1948 report of the accident
8. Clegg, Alec (1970). "THE ARTHUR MELLOWS MEMORIAL LECTURE: Education in Society". Education England. The Arthur Mellows Memorial Trust. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
9. Howard, Jason (2014). "Arthur Mellows Village College". Ofsted. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
10. "Arthur Mellows Village College". BBC News. 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2022.

External links

• Arthur Mellows Village College