Origins

Sir John Gleed. M.A.,J.P. was Chairman of the Holland Education Committee and two Spalding schools (boys & girls) were named in his honour.

He was Chairman of The Holland County Council and was knighted by King George VI and the Queen Mother on the 8th June 1939 for his public service.

The school was originally built as a hospital, but never opened as such, instead being partitioned to become two schools (Boys and Girls).
The school was opened on 28 April 1941 as Spalding The Gleed Senior Council School, and comprised boys' and girls Departments which from 1946 were regarded as separate schools under the same management. From October 1946 to 1948 the two schools were known as Spalding Gleed Secondary Modern Schools. From October 1948 to at least 1974 they were again regarded as separate Departments of the school, which was known as Spalding Gleed County Secondary School. The two schools are now managed separately as Spalding Gleed Boys' School (known as Spalding Sir John Gleed Technology School prior to September 1999) and Spalding The Gleed Girls' CAL & Technology College (known as Spalding The Gleed Girls' School prior to September 2001).

The Gleed Boys' School was a school for boys aged 11 to 16, on Halmer Gardens, Spalding, Lincolnshire

Spalding, Lincolnshire

Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....

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The last headteacher was Geoff Cowley, deputy headteachers were Mr Scott and Ms North, there were 40 (approx) teaching staff and a large number of support staff, the current number of pupils is 650. There were 5 forms in each of years 7 to 11.

With modern teaching techniques such as independent learning and pupil led classes the school's exam results continued to improve with an increase each year. A wide variety of subjects were available as well as the 'core subjects' such as Maths, English, Science (Core, Additional & Triple Science) and RE, there is also ICT, Media Studies (GCSE), DT (including Food Technology), PHSE, French, Art, Geography, Drama, History and PE. An EAL department supported students who were improving their skills in the English language.

Governors

Mr Nick Carter (LEA) was the chairman and the other school governors were community governors Mr P Harrison (vice-chair), Mrs Lesley Jackson, Mrs Alice Piper, and Mr E Fragale, staff governors Mrs M Pitcher, Mr J Foot and Mrs N Murphy, parents Ms Hodnett, Mr G L Swallow, Mrs J Jones and Mrs H Mason-Foster and Mr Albert Chapman (LEA).

The governors had applied to become an academy and held a 'Consultation Evening' on Thursday 28 April to discuss their proposal but suffered a major setback when only one parent attended.
The chair of governors and headteacher were repeatedly asked questions about the proposed partners CfBT and the security of staff's jobs, pay and terms and conditions. CfBT only run five academy schools in the UK as of August 2011. The chairman assured those present that answers to all questions would be placed on the school website.
Despite achieving their best ever GCSE and GCE A/S results and having the highest ever number on roll in August 2011, the Tory county coucil decided to close the Gleed Boys' school wef from November 2011 and to reunite the two Gleed schools.
This followed an earlier decion to close a nearby secondary school - St.Guthlac's in Crowland.

Specialist Status

This community school has
d qualified for specialist status and was a humanities college

Humanities College

Humanities Colleges were introduced in 2004 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, humanities. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Humanities...

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Facilities

There was an artificial turf

Artificial turf

Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...

 field, next to the main school field, . The astro turf pitch was managed by the school. The Spalding Hockey Club teams made use of the turf for training. The astro turf was used regularly for PE/games lessons, during these lessons activities such as football, hockey and the popular choice of volleyball during the summer. New changing rooms have been installed near the pitch. On the large playing field there were rugby and cricket pitches as well as a running track and long jump sand pit. The large inside gym was used for activities such as gymnastics and trampolining etc. Recent improvements also include a fitness suite.

Curriculum

Gleed Boys' School offered academic and vocational programmes for boys aged 11 to 16 years.

Key Stage 3 -

• English,
• Mathematics,
• Science,
• Art,
• Geography,
• History,
• Physical Education,
• Religious Education,
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT),
• Design & Technology (D & T) courses (including Food Technology),
• French,
• PHSE (Personal Health and Social Education)

Key stage 4 -


Students are offered a range of GCSE and other courses,

• GCSE English Language,
• GCSE English Literature,
• GCSE Mathematics and Statistics,
• GCSE Science (core, additional and triple),

Student also had a selection of;

• Art,
• BTEC Science
• Drama,
• Geology,
• Geography,
• History,
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT),
• Citizenship,
• Media Studies,
• Modern Languages,
• Music,
• Physical Education,
• Psychology,
• Religious Education,
• Motor Vehicle
• Horticulture
• other vocational studies.

Sixth Form

The school did not have its own sixth form, however at the end of the school field there was a sixth form building, the South Holland post 16 Centre which is managed by Gleed Girls' CAL & Technology College. This mixed centre is open to all students in the South Holland area.
It offers BTEC courses in Business, Retail, Travel and Tourism, Childcare, Health and social care, Performing arts and ICT.

Extra-curricular activities

The Science department organised a wide range of activities including National Science & Engineering Week. The theme was based on 'King John's Jewels' and also involved staff and pupils from the Spalding Parish and Pinchbeck East schools. The dept enters teams in the RSC 'Top of the Bench' competitions and IoP 'Extreme Physics' competitions held at Rugby school. Coach trips included visits to the Leicester based 'UK National Space Centre' and 'The Deep' in Hull.

The PE

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

 department organised a wide range of sports and often hosts inter-school events, such as cross country, football, rugby and cricket. The school also offers archery, wargaming and chess clubs, as well as these the Design Technology department also opens their doors for after school activities to those pupils who decide they would like to practice the skills of DT. The department had also set up an after school 'Science & Technology' club.

The School Council
Gleed Boy's School Council was one of the most successful student councils within the District. Throughout the years the council had seen many new things done to the school including the new summer uniform and the opening of the school shop. The council has also been linked with the SHYC, in which the Gleed Boys' had one member on the council.

Notable alumni

• Geoff Capes
  Geoff Capes
  Geoffrey Lewis Capes is a former athlete, strongman and professional Highland Games competitor...
  
  , former World's Strongest Man
  World's Strongest Man
  The World's Strongest Man is a well recognised event in strength athletics and has been described by a number of highly respected authorities in the sport as the premier event in strongman. Organized by TWI, an IMG Media company, it is broadcast around the end of December each year...
  
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• David Hayden
  David Hayden
  David James Hayden MC is the first Royal Air Force non-commissioned officer to win the Military Cross.-Early life:Hayden was born in Germany and attended the Gleed Boys' School in Spalding, where he grew up...
  
   MC, first member of the RAF Regiment
  RAF Regiment
  The Royal Air Force Regiment is a specialist airfield defence corps founded by Royal Warrant in 1942. After a 32 week trainee gunner course, its members are trained and equipped to prevent a successful enemy attack in the first instance; minimise the damage caused by a successful attack; and...
  
   to get the Military Cross
  Military Cross
  The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
  
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External links

• Government School Finder website to view most recent school profile (2006).
• Gleed Boys' School website
• South Holland Youth Council website