The Ferrers School, part of Meridian Trust, celebrated the official opening of its new state-of-the-art 3G sports pitch on Monday 28th September.
Designed for use by students and the wider Higham Ferrers community, the new facility will help increase access to sporting and fitness opportunities in the area.
The project was made possible after the secondary school successfully secured funding from the Football Foundation to transform its existing pitch. The works included the installation of a brand-new 3G pitch, upgraded floodlighting to enable matches and training sessions to take place safely during the evening, and a dedicated changing facility for match officials.
Construction began in June and was completed in September, delivering a high-quality facility that will support the school and its wider community for years to come.
Jason Thurnham, the Hub Site Manager at The Ferrers School, worked on the development of the 3G pitch. He said: “Thank you to the football foundation for all their hard work in making this happen, and S&C Slatter for overseeing the project.
“This project has been one of the most significant and rewarding I have worked on, and I am excited to see the pitch enjoyed by both students and local clubs.”
Local football clubs and coaches were invited to the official opening event, along with Clare Raku, Principal of the School, and Matt Yuill, the school’s Director of Sport.
Matt said: “I want to say a big thank you to everyone involved in making this new facility possible, particularly Jason Thurnham and Simon Pateman, Site Manager, for all their hard work throughout the process.
“It is fantastic to see a space that will hugely benefit our students, and their reaction says it all. They have been incredibly excited to get out on the pitch, describing it as an amazing and fantastic facility and saying how much they are looking forward to getting their boots on and playing.”
Clare Raku added: “We are absolutely delighted to see our new 3G pitch officially open. It will make a real difference to the opportunities we can offer our students, both through lessons and extracurricular sport. The excitement from our students has been wonderful to see, and we are incredibly proud to have a high-quality facility that they can enjoy for years to come.”
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