Gave the school a hand (5)
I believe the answer is:
dealt
'gave' is the definition.
(dealing is a kind of giving)
'school a hand' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'hand' could be 'l' (abbreviation for left, as in the left-hand side) and 'l' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'det' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dealt that I've seen before include "Delta (anag.)" , "Dispensed (cards)" , "Handed out (cards)" , "Doled out" , "Distributed playing cards" .)