Talking cricket with Karl Brotherhood, Head Groundsman at Solihull School
Report by Laurence Gale MSc
Brotherhood of Solihull...
O
ne of the Midland’s oldest independent schools, Solihull School, is celebrating its 450th
birthday this year. Founded as a free grammar school to teach the sons of Solihull residents English, Latin and Greek free of charge, it began life in a room that once stood by St Alphege Church in Solihull town centre. The school moved to, what is now, Malvern House in the late 16th Century, before moving to its present 50-acre site at Warwick Road in 1882. Its fine academic reputation attracted
the likes of the great 18th century poets Richard Jago and William Shenstone as pupils. Poet, essayist and literary critic, Samuel Johnson, often referred to as Dr Johnson, was also impressed enough to apply for a headship - but was turned down as unsuitable! Well-known former pupils include the BBC newsreader Michael Buerk, Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond and Radio 5 Live presenter and host of Radio 2’s Drive Time show, Simon Mayo.
46
In 1946, it became an Independent School, breaking its links with Warwickshire County Council. The school has gradually expanded in numbers and buildings. However, the most spectacular developments have taken place in the past twenty-five years with the opening of a new sports hall and pavilion, theatre and outside pursuits centre, as well as new classrooms, a rebuilt junior school and a new music school.
In June 2003 the Governors decided that the School would become fully coeducational (in 2005), taking girls as well as boys into the junior school and at 11+.
Solihull School has a reputation for sporting prowess, with many pupils representing their county. Sport is high on the curriculum with cricket, rugby, football, hockey and athletics proving to be the most popular. The school grounds are in constant demand and are probably one of the busiest areas of the school. The school employs a small team of groundstaff under the supervision of the
Head Groundsman, Karl Brotherhood, who came to the school five years ago. He has four staff to help him prepare and maintain the grounds - Deputy Head Groundsman, Mark Bailey; Assistant Groundsmen, Ian Ross and David Dresser, and gardener, Paul Groom. Karl previously worked as Assistant
Groundsman at the Edgbaston County Ground, home of Warwickshire CCC, for 23 years, under the guidance of four different Head Groundsmen - Bernard Flack, Rob Franklin, Andy Atkinson and most recently Steve Rouse. He has applied his considerable knowledge to producing wickets that are well presented and consistent in colour. There are four established cricket
squares. The first has nine wickets; the second ten plus two artificial wickets; the third has eight plus one artificial and the fourth, known as Hampton Lane cricket square, has four wickets plus one artificial. There are approximately seventy scheduled games per season, not including house matches and cup
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132