With just four staff to assist him KEITH EXTON,KEITH EXTON,


Head Groundsman at Oakham School, has his work cut out


Maintaining OAKHAM


WHAT a year! We had a cold wet spring, with the cricket starting earlier than ever. April 8th was the first scheduled fixture and, with success in the rugby at various levels, meant that that season seemed to go on for ever. Our hockey fixtures went on up to two days before the Easter break, so the outfields and two of our cricket squares had to have divots filled by hand each day, on an on going basis, 3 weeks before the end of term. We used a 50/50 mix impregnated with DLF’s pro 79 on the outfields, with Binders Ongar loam and MM 50 from Advanta on the 16 strips that hockey is actually played over. As fast as we filled them up the little sods would hack a new crop out! We have had more home fixtures in all of the winter sports; we now only get 3 weeks at Easter to turn everything round to the summer timetables. A new director of sport decreed that he wanted 99% of pupils playing some form of sport, whether it was competitive or recreational. Credit to him, he has achieved just that.


Let’s have a look at his achievement


from the grounds department point of view.


Instead of the varying age groups only


having A and B sides, we now have C and D and, in some cases, an E side thrown in for good measure! New buildings and a second astro area have taken the equivalent of 3 full sized rugby pitches (8 acres) away from the 48 acres of sports turf we once had. With 1080 pupils, the square metreage of sports turf available is at saturation point under normal school management practices. We are working nearly as long in the autumn and spring months as we do in the summer.


I have been lucky - no, not lucky; I have had to work hard convincing various Bursars, Headmasters, Trustees (as they come and go over the years) that quality does not come cheaply. Support was poor in the early years but, as the playing surfaces dramatically improved, so did their attitude to the grounds department.


Over the 13 years I have been at Oakham I have been able to build up a selection of machinery that enables us to cope with the demands of keeping relative high standards considering the short periods of time allotted to undertake renovation work due to the extensive timetable.


I have had it said to me many times in


the past - having such quality machinery, anybody could do my job. I usually respond by stating, knowing when and how to use them makes the difference. Like most I have to battle long and


hard to maintain budget levels. Machinery may well cost a small fortune to purchase but, given the amount of work they have to do, they are invaluable. They don’t last for ever, but some people find this difficult to comprehend (sounding familiar to you all). To achieve and maintain quality surfaces we need quality machinery. Modern, reliable and well maintained. Either that or 100 blokes to replace it all. Let’s see - 100 blokes at a minimum of £12,000 a year = £1,200,000; Jesus, the bursar has done me again on this years budget submissions! Looking at it from that angle, I should get a substantial pay increase for the money I am saving them. Yeah right! There is still much to do to get the


grounds up to the standards I want, but if my futuristic plans are given support there is no reason why we should not go from strength to strength.


Enough gripes, lets be positive. The cricket season has gone well. I was


“A new director of sport decreed that he wanted 99% of pupils playing some form of sport, whether it was competitive or recreational. Credit to him, he has achieved just that”


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