Arthur Mellows Village College
Arthur Mellows Village College is a secondary school in Glinton in the local authority of Peterborough. The school is an academy with a specialism in technology. Olympic gymnast Louis Smith and Luke Steele are amongst the famous alumni. The school is named after a former mayor of Peterborough. From 1948 until the 1970s, the Arthur Mellows Memorial Trust hosted lectures at the college and provided education grants in subjects of personal interest to the late Colonel.[1] It 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 1970s and 1980s the school was ahead of its time in terms of community links that are an obligation of all schools today. Arthur Mellows offered evening classes and a meeting area for several community groups/clubs and also once had a public library on site. As such the school used to refer to the headteacher using the title "Warden". More recently this was changed for the more recognisable term "Head of College". Originally opened to serve the rural community, green is a prominent colour on the uniform.[2]
| Arthur Mellows Village College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
| |
Helpston Road Glinton Peterborough , Cambridgeshire , PE6 7JX England | |
| Coordinates | 52.63693°N 0.30246°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Local authority | Peterborough |
| Specialist | Technology |
| Department for Education URN | 110875 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Age | 11 to 18 |
| Colour(s) | green, white and black |
| Website | http://www.arthurmellows.peterborough.sch.uk |
Urban legend
The college is named after its founder Arthur Holditch Mellows (1892 or 1896-1948), a British army captain from the Hunts Cyclist Battalion[3] 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.[4][5] In the interwar years he became a solicitor, and from 1935-37 as Mayor of Peterborough he oversaw the construction of the town's first swimming pool, Peterborough Lido.[6][7] From 1943 onwards he headed the national education committee and owned a black Chrysler Windsor, an unusual sight in wartime Britain.[8] Colonel Mellows was returning from a shoot on 16 October 1948, when his car was struck by a train at Conington, Huntingdonshire.[9][10] According to a local myth, the level crossing is haunted by the ghosts of Colonel Mellows and his Labrador retriever.[11][12][13][14]