In 1950,
Woodhall Spa Urban District proposed the idea of a school in
Woodhall Spa. Approval for the new school was granted by the Lindsey Education Committee in July 1951, with an estimated cost of £63,659. The school was designed by architect Denis Clarke Hall (son of
Edna Clarke Hall) of the architectural practice
Denis Clarke Hall,
Scorer & Bright. Construction was carried out by J.T. Barber & Son of
Boston, with structural steel-work provided by Robert Stevenson of
Norwich. Named after the former Gartree
wapentake, the school was built on a 12-acre site with six classrooms and a two-form entry system, designed as the initial phase of a larger development. The final cost was approximately £70,000. With a capacity for 320 students, the school accommodated 260 students from areas including
Mareham-le-Fen,
Revesby,
Tumby Woodside,
Wildmore, and Woodhall Spa. It opened in April 1954. The official opening ceremony took place on 7 October 1954, attended by Lincolnshire MP
Harry Crookshank (Minister of Health from 1951 - 1952). Other attendees included Lt-Col Sir
Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (Chairman of the Lindsey County Council), and Frederick Birkbeck (Director of Education for Lindsey). The school’s first headmaster was Mr. D. Parkin. In July 1955,
Douglas Valder Duff spoke at the school's prize day. The following year, Sir
John Maitland, the local
Conservative MP and former
Royal Navy Commander, addressed students during speech day, noting that
secondary modern schools were in an experimental phase but noted the progress made at Gartree. In 1970, additional buildings were constructed to accommodate 150 more students in response to the expansion of
RAF Coningsby as a key fighter station. The new facilities included a hall, two art and crafts rooms, a metalwork room, a technical drawing room, two house craft rooms, and three science laboratories, along with upgraded dining facilities, costing £100,904. In July 1973, Sir
Lawrence Byford, Chief Constable of
Lincolnshire Police (1973–1977), spoke at the prize day. ==Governance==