Educational Establishments
Appropriate clothing “ 106 I PC JUNE/JULY 2014
The Junior School
In addition, we have Luton Town Youth Academy, Grassroots Soccer, Goalkeeping FX and Sports Extra (a Freddie Flintoff cricket academy) all using the sportsfield
By dint of alphabetical order, Grounds Manager, Alastair Ogilvie, appears top of an impressive list of staff on the school’s website (along with all other groundstaff) which includes everyone from cleaners and servery assistants to department heads and, of course, Richard. No distinction of perceived importance is made.
Alastair has been at St Chris for over seven years and states that it was his father-in-law Colin Robinson, Course Manager at Kings Lynn Golf Club, ‘getting him into golf’ that encouraged his career in groundsmanship, although he always wanted a career working outdoors. To balance things up, he also quotes his father Mike, who sadly passed away late last year, as being an inspiration to him.
He manages a team of three; sixty-three year old Jeff Worcester, who has been at the school for almost forty-three years; James McGrenery (29 and three year’s service) and Alex Ash (24 and two and a half years). Together, and with occasional help of two staff from other departments, they manage a site consisting of thirty-eight acres, which includes nine acres of sportsfields. The remainder is made up of the Senior School, Junior School, Early Years Centre and boarding houses. These include amenity lawns and gardens, ornamental gardens, allotment areas, compost areas, tree
spinneys, artificial surfaces, paddocks, wildlife areas, bee hives, wormeries and orchards.
“Each groundstaff member has their own area which they check on a daily basis - Senior School, Junior School and Early Years Centre - but then each person works on the whole site, depending on the job and skill required,” explains Alastair.
He goes on to say that constant training and education is important. “Being in the education environment, health and safety is a massive part of everyday work. Two of my team have completed their NVQ Level 2 in Horticulture and Sportsturf and we are now looking for them to start their Level 3.” Situated in a fairly low lying area, flooding and surface water is an issue, both for the school and local residents. “We have big issues with surface water, as it takes so long to penetrate and drain. The soil type is predominantly clay,” confirms Alastair. “There are a lot of techniques I would like to perform, but cost prevents me from carrying them out, so it’s pretty much slitting and basic aeration, when conditions and the weather are right. We’ve also done a lot of work to keep the field drains clear, and have
recently installed a further 110 metres of drainage, which should help alleviate the problems. The drainage system we have though is pretty basic.”
Presentation is a key consideration for Alastair. “It’s the highest priority for our department. The presentation of the school is very important; the lawns, sports pitches, the road ways, flower beds - all have to be of a very high standard. It’s part of the overall selling of the school.”
“In addition, we have Luton Town Youth Academy, Grassroots Soccer, Goalkeeping FX and Sports Extra (a Freddie Flintoff cricket academy) all using the sportsfield, plus local football and rugby clubs using the artificial and sports hall, so presentation is paramount.”
Alastair explains how the various aspects of the grounds are maintained; “For the football and rugby pitches, we aerate and slit at least once a month; more, if possible. Cutting is carried out using the Ransomes Mk10 Sportscutters behind our Kubota L245, maintaining a height of 20mm.” “For weedkilling, I have contract sprayers do the whole field once a year and I spot treat if needed. We fertilise the pitches with
The St Chris grounds team l-r: James McGrenery, Jeff Worcester, Alastair Ogilvie and Alex Ash
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 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156