Matthew Humberstone Church of England School, also known as the Matthew Humberstone School, Matthew Humberstone C of E School, Matthew Humberstone Comprehensive School, MHS and Matty, was a secondary school in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, with a Church of England tradition. It existed between 1973 until it was closed due to amalgamation in 2010.
The school was established as a comprehensive school in September 1973, later becoming a specialist Business and Enterprise College (BEC). It was the only Church of England secondary school in North East Lincolnshire, formed through the amalgamation of Beacon Hill Secondary School and Humberston(e) Foundation School.
The school remained in this form until September 2010, when it transformed into Saint Andrew's College (a joint church school), based at the Matthew Humberstone Upper site on Chatsworth Place. (St Andrew's College became the Holy Family Catholic Academy in September 2013, before closing in July 2017 and reopening as Beacon Academy, sponsored by the Wellspring Academy Trust.)
The Clee Grammar School buildings on Clee Road, which were occupied until closure in 2008 by Matthew Humberstone School, remained empty until 2017, when the process of transforming them into a primary school began. Demolition of blocks built in the 1950s and remodelling of the remainder created the Bursar Primary Academy, replacing the Bursar Primary School.
History Matthew Humberston The original school was founded in 1823 by Matthew Humberston, born in Homerton, London in 1649, reputed to be a foundling. He became a London customs officer and becoming very wealthy, bought up land in Humberston. There he rebuilt the church and occupied a manor house where he died on a visit from London in 1709. In his will he left £1,000 to rebuild the church steeple and a gift of £500 to establish a Free Grammar School and almshouses, allowing £44 per year for the vicar to also act as headmaster of the school. Much legal wrangling followed of the will provisions and the £500 grew through investments to £24,867. This was used to build a school next to the vicarage at a cost of £700. It was opened in October 1823 with 105 boys on the list. Over 100 years had elapsed since the death of Matthew Humberstone.
The last headmaster of the old school was appointed in 1876. He was Dr John Morgan, vicar of Humberstone. The Charity Commissioners ordered the closure of the school and its transfer to a new site in Clee Road. The old school closed in 1878 and the sum of £13,022 was available for the building of the new school. It was ruled that future headmasters should not hold any benefice having "the care of souls".
Clee Grammar School When it opened on Clee Road on 25 September 1882 it was an all-boys grammar school with only 15 students, which rose to 67, and known as the Clee Foundation School (although the area after which it was named was actually mostly in Grimsby). The Clee Grammar School for Boys (also known as the Clee Humberstone Foundation School and Old Clee Grammar School) was on the south side of Clee Road (then the A18, now the A46) in Old Clee, opposite Clee Crescent.A Summary History of the School compiled by D. C. Hopkinson, O.B.E. with acknowledgement to the work of Arthur E. Kirkby, BA
The school has also been referred to as simply the Matthew Humberstone Foundation School.
The first headmaster of the new school was Arthur Abbot, who resigned in 1900. He was followed by Edwin Lovegrove was headmaster until 1906, when he became head of Stamford School. T.R. Turnbull, who had been an assistant master at the school since 1894, was promoted to the headmastership.
In 1909, under Turnbull, the school buildings were considerably extended, enabling pupil numbers to rise to 212. Fees were increased in 1922 to £3 per term for boys under 12, with an additional 10 shillings for older boys. In 1923 Turnbull died and was succeeded by Stanley. F. Thomas, DSO, who gained for the school a reputation of strict discipline and high standards.
In the 1930s major extensions were again carried out, completed in June 1937, which included a large assembly hall and a science wing, allowing the school to accommodate 300 pupils; this number rose to 370 by 1953.
In 1951 the status of the school changed from "Aided School" to a school wholly controlled by Lindsey County Council. On the retirement of Thomas in 1953, C. Shaw was appointed headmaster.
In 1956 Ernest Kirman, chairman of the governors, provided funds towards the cost of the further buildings, including a swimming pool, new gymnasium and dining room. These new extensions were opened by the Bishop of Lincoln on 25 September 1958.The Humberstonian 1958 edition, page 5
A "new block" was constructed to provide more teaching space in the early 1960s. The grammar school had fairly good reputation, and in 1964 almost 10% of the sixth form gained places at Oxford or Cambridge universities.
List of headmasters Source:The Humberstonian Autumn 1953 edition – notes by Mr. E. A. KIRKBY 1823 – 49 Rev. Joseph GEDGE, MA 1849 – 50 Rev. George Edwin PATTENDEN, MA, BN, LLD 1851 – 76 Rev. Charles WILDBORE 1876 – 78 Rev. John MORGAN, LLD, DCL 1882 – 1900 Mr Arthur ABBOTT, MA 1900 – 1906 Mr Edwin William LOVEGROVE, MA, MRIA, FSA 1906 – 1923 Mr Thomas Robert TURNBULL, BA, BSc (Royal University of Ireland) 1923 – 1953 Lt.-Col. Stanley F. THOMAS, DSO, BA 1953 – 1973 Mr Colin SHAW, MA (Cantab) (Last Head of Humberstone Foundation School) (Died 1988) 1973 – 1989 Mr Bernard BEACROFT BA (Head of Matthew Humberstone School)
Several references to life at the school under Colin SHAW as headmaster can be found in the book entitled 'Beyond the Final Whistle' by John Boyers, the chaplain of Manchester United FC., who was a geography master at the school.Beyond the Final Whistle: A Life of Football and Faith (Hodder Christian books)
by John Boyers
Magazine, school song and badge The school magazine of the grammar school was called The Humberstonian. There was a school song ("Some men boast of their ancient lineage, Humberstone none had he...") and the school's original Coat of Arms:- Argent three bars and in chief as many rondels ermines, boasted a Latin tag, "Fax mentis honestae gloria" (Glory is the beacon of a noble spirit).
The school song was written by Mr. (Nag) W. Hubert Collins, M.A. a master at the school from the early 1920s.Grimsby Telegraph, Tuesday 11 December 2012 – attributed to Mr D. Rushby of North Kelsey The music was written by Mr. Thomas Robert Turnbull, B.A., B.Sc. (Royal University of Ireland), headmaster 1906 to 1923. The score was published by Novello & Company.
Clee Grammar School uniform
The following account relates to a new eleven-year-old's entrance to the school in 1953 and the instructions received by his parents:-
"Grammar School meant a new uniform and apparently lots of new rules. The letter dated June 1953 received from S. F. Thomas, headmaster, School House, Clee, enclosed several forms. These included an application form, a form of agreement, a dinner and milk form, and a health certificate form. Most had to be returned as soon as possible but the health certificate ‘should be brought by the boy on the first morning of term, which begins on Tuesday, 8 September, at 9.30am". The letter continued: "Your boy should be in possession of the following articles of clothing, all of which, with the exception of the boots and shoes, are supplied by the School Outfitters’ and there followed details of three local suppliers of school uniforms. The list included, school cap and tie, two football jerseys (one white and the other black-and-white striped), football shorts (black), football boots, gym singlet, gym shoes, towel, light slippers for wear in school (optional), school blazer, grey flannel trousers and white cricket shirt (compulsory). As all boys are required to change either into gym shoes or into light slippers on entering the School each day, these must be brought on the first morning of term.’ Other instructions in the letter required the marking of all clothing with the boy’s name, and that the boy should be provided with a copy of the Bible (Revised Version) and of Hymns Ancient and Modern."A Policeman's Tale, by Patrick McNeill, , Published 21 January 2010
The official school outfitters referred to in the headmaster's letter were Messrs. Atkinson Ltd of Old Market Place, Grimsby, Mr A. Burton, Sea View Street, Cleethorpes, or Messrs. G. Wilson & Son, High Street, Cleethorpes Letter dated June 1953 signed by S. F. Thomas, Headmaster to parents of new boys The cap and blazer were black. The cap and blazer were decorated with the school badge and the blazer edges were outlined with black and white piping. The tie was black with white diagonal stripes. During the 1950s, most eleven-year-olds were outfitted with short grey trousers and continued to wear these until the second or third form when outgrown shorts were replaced by 'longs'.
Other information Highlights of the academic year were Sports Day, Founder's day and Speech Day. Competition was encouraged in the school and pupils were members of one of the four houses: Bolingbroke, Burleigh, Humberstone and Newton. Points were accumulated throughout the year for sporting and academic achievements, but lost through lateness and poor work, so that at the end of the year one house could claim to be Cock House!
Speech Day was held at a variety of venues such as the Theatre Royal, the ABC Cinema, the Empire Theatre and sometimes the school hall, with notable personalities presenting the prizes.
On Founders Day the school would attend a memorial service at Old Clee Parish church, an ancient building being the oldest in Grimsby dating back to Saxon times. This church, Holy Trinity and St Mary, served for many centuries as the parish church for the farming village of Clee and the fishing hamlets known as the Thorpes of Clee.
A service of remembrance was regularly held in the school hall on the date nearest 11 November. The headmaster would read a list of old boys who fell in the two world wars. At the back of the school hall two bronze memorial plaques recorded their names. (These plaques are now in Cleethorpes Town Hall).
Further east along Clee Road (the boundary at that point between Grimsby and Cleethorpes) was Cleethorpes Girls' Grammar School, later the site of the Lower School of The Lindsey School. However this school too is closed and has become a care home.
At the boys' grammar school, in the 1940s and 1950s, a chemistry teacher for seven years was Dr Albert Lammington Bettison, who had been a wartime atomic scientist. He drowned when walking and was cut off by the tide, aged 37 in October 1953, and his body was found by Cleethorpes police on the beach at North Cotes.
There were several other notable science teachers at the grammar school in the 50s and 60s, Joseph Gregory (Chemistry) and Brian Leatherbarrow (Biology) and "Dutch" Jones (physics).
Genesis played at the grammar school on 19 December 1970.
There was an old boys association – The Old Humberstonians Association – but this is no longer in existence. However a group of old boys organise an annual dinner for alumni at which the school song, "Gaudeamus Igitur", and "the Lincolnshire Poacher" are usually sung with great enthusiasm.
The Kirman Trust bears the name of Ernest Kirman Esq., M.B.E., J.P., who was chairman of the governors from 1939 until his death in 1964. Mr. Kirman was an old boy of the school and while a governor was responsible for a number of benefactions – the swimming pool, the scout hut, a hard tennis court and sixth form rooms in the garden of School House.The Humberstonian 1965