Educational Establishments
An architectural wonder
“If I can prove that what we're doing is improving things, that gives us a strong hand when arguing our case financially”
James and Shawn on the refurbished tennis courts
comprises twenty-two strips, with ten on the second, whilst another four squares meet senior demand, with the seventh square at Lancing Prep school in Hove. In addition, the College has two artificial 3G surfaces (hockey and tennis) and six grass tennis courts. Football also remains the focus for winter sport, with eight pitches in total, in varying sizes according to age range specifications outlined by the FA. The significant improvements in pitch
quality, plus the addition of a second artificial surface, has strengthened the college’s links with Brighton & Hove Albion, who are in the throes of constructing a state of the art academy training site, literally just on the south side of the A27, a stone’s throw from the College.
“Brighton’s first team has trained here for a while, but we’re looking to step this up next season,” says James. “Standards will need to remain high for this to be a reality, and there’s also the potential to install a Fibresand pitch at some stage.” Forging solid links with the sports department better arms James to bid for the materials he needs. Chris Crowe, Director or Sport, has been a useful ally, particularly when applying for capital bids, James stresses. “I meet with Chris at least once a week to discuss any issues and we’ll often join forces to put forward spends where there’s crossover.” The approach has proved successful
Lancing College viewed from the air 92 PC JUNE/JULY 2013
twice recently: First, for the purchase of new hockey goals, scoreboard and netball hoops and, second, for the renovation of the College’s six grass tennis courts, which were ineffective for use without ploughing in money to reduce thatch. “We koroed the top 1.5”, laser levelled, then seeded with a Barenbrug Bar Extreme ryegrass mix,” James explains. “The students are playing on them for the first time this season and the surfaces are looking good. Next year, we’ll see the real benefits of the work though, they’ll be excellent.” James has taken on board many of the issues he faced in his previous posts and has strived to avoid repeating them at
Lancing, which perhaps accounts for his rigorous approach to works and when specifying materials. “Where possible, we look to source those products where good research and data have been conducted and collected. We’re guided by the relevant industry standards when choosing the right products. The data’s there, we should all be using it. Bar Extreme is a great brand at the top end of ratings, so it’s no surprise we use it.” Documenting evidence has also become a key facet of James’s work, learning once more from his experiences at LVS. “We undertook some pretty significant work there but no photos were taken or documentation made,” he says. “It’s par for the course now that we document all works, to not only help us learn for the future but also as proof of what we’re doing and why. Photographic evidence can’t be disputed, so if I can prove that what we’re doing is improving things, that gives us a strong hand when arguing our case financially.” The team’s schedule may be a punishing one, but the team is fortunate that the South Downs location is blessed with fertile, free-draining soil. The heavy nature of Downs soil is complemented by the chalk rich composition, so James needs little in the way of chemicals to keep the pitches looking top notch. When we met, James hoped that this summer would not bring another drought, though, as the Environment Agency’s latest ruling means Lancing and other public schools and colleges will only be allowed one hour of irrigation a day.
A hosepipe ban would spell worse news, allowing no watering at all, a situation that doesn’t bear thinking about, James fears. Where fertiliser is used, James puts the
organic approach to the forefront of his strategy. “We’ve trialed Primo Maxx with excellent results,” he says. “Our first application (Autumn 2011) was a huge success because we had no rain after application.” “The following spring we applied a slow release fertiliser and then the Primo
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