Educational Establishments
“There’s real pressure on us to deliver the goods and showcase how good our
surfaces are. If Real Madrid are impressed it will be a real feather in our cap”
Matt wrapped up against the snow and cold of March this year
long list of candidates,” says Matt. “Liam already worked at the school in catering, but he made it clear to me that he wanted to break into groundsmanship. He kept on at me for an interview and a chance to work with us, so when the apprentice position became available he was an obvious choice.”
What’s in the shed?
Toro Reelmaster 5400 D Major rotary mower
95hp Massey Ferguson tractor Dennis wicket mower 24" Dennis wicket mower 32" Honda rotary mower x 2 John Deere X49 tractor Kubota G18 compact tractor Kubota G21 compact tractor Kubota B2230 tractor Sisis Rotorake 600 Sisis Quadraplay Sisis Autobrush Poweroll roller 2.5 tonne
“I look for enthusiasm, passion and a willingness to muck-in,” adds Matt. “Sometimes, young guys approach the trade with misconceptions about what they’ll be doing. The reality for apprentices today is long hours, antisocial starts and getting your hands dirty doing the jobs that no-one else wants to do, but we all have to at some point. Liam showed he was well up to the task.”
The Ardingly groundstaff are bolstered by Sarah Carew, the only female member of the team, who handles mainly gardening duties, but is taking on more groundsmanship work, much to Matt’s pleasure as he is keen to see her match the more senior members of the team with work across the whole site and on the sports pitches. Increasingly, the demands on the team
extend beyond the school calendar as the appeal of the college’s sports facilities grow, both within the UK and among some of the world's premier sports teams - an expanding and lucrative industry for Ardingly and many rival independent schools. “The college runs many half-term
project for sports, music, English and so forth, and there’s always high demand among foreign schools especially,” he explains. “Match Point tennis summer school use our facilities in the summer and at Easter, and is one of several important annual bookings, so we have to ensure the facilities meet the same high standards that we deliver for school
98 PC JUNE/JULY 2013 fixtures.”
This year is a special one for the college, as Real Madrid youth team will be swapping the Bernabéu for the rolling Sussex countryside as they set up at Ardingly for their pre-season training preparations. Last year, Ardingly welcomed Arsenal FC youth to the village, but Real promises to be an even bigger draw. “There’s real pressure on us to deliver the goods and showcase how good our surfaces are,” stresses Matt. “If they’re impressed, it will be a real feather in our cap and could mark the beginning of a lasting relationship between the club and the college.”
The days of downtime in the summer months are a thing of the past for staff working at UK private schools and, with the growing demand on those in the public sector to be more business minded, it’s a trend that could soon overlap into the public sphere. One of the Woodard Trust’s other schools - the Sir Robert Woodard Academy - also in Lancing, is hoping that by raising the quality of their pitches they might also forge links with professional sports clubs like Brighton & Hove Albion. Such a shift would require the state sector to seriously ramp up its investment in sports maintenance, though.
Spring appears to finally be upon us [as I write this on a sunny May day morning] and, with it, comes a sense of optimism for Matt, and others like him in rural Sussex, that at last they can catch up with the work that was delayed because of the atrocious weather earlier on, readying the college for a packed summer term and for the arrival of some pretty prestigious summer guests, who they’ll be eager to impress.
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