Educational Establishments


Aerial view of St Lawrence College “ 58 I PC JUNE/JULY 2018


I am very much into the old-fashioned methods of using sight, smell and feel. The new “toys” on the market are great and have their place; however I do not over rely on them


land, with the School also owning the adjoining farm land. We are currently in the middle of an extensive ‘Sports Ground Development Plan’ which will see all the sporting facilities move to the northern side of the railway line. This development has already commenced in my first year with the construction of the high‐tech water based hockey pitch, followed by the in‐house construction of the new Railway Cricket Ground which adds to the two other Senior School squares and one further square in the Junior School ‐ totalling twenty‐one wickets.


We have three senior grass rugby pitches, one junior grass rugby pitch, plus a sand based hockey pitch which becomes twelve tennis courts in the summer, a further nine hard standing tennis courts, nine netball courts and four astro cricket bays.


The rugby pitches become two cricket outfields in the summer and also two grass


athletics tracks. The new development is looking at new rugby pitch construction and getting away from multi‐use playing surfaces. Each sport will have its own designated playing surface, with a new sports pavilion being the last piece in the jigsaw.


Exciting times ahead and a major attraction for me when joining the team back in 2016 and seeing the site fulfil its full potential. To facilitate these works, sections of the farm will be taken back in stages.


Does the facility suffer from any regular natural occurrences such as flooding, high winds, excessive snowfall/frosts etc.?


The main sports ground to the north lies on high ground and is exposed to the elements. This has both positive and negative effects.


Positive: very low occurrence of dew, reducing disease pressures. No shade aspects to deal with so perfect location for a water based pitch.


Negative: high evaporation rates, so rapid loss of plant moisture; the pupils don’t like the cold. It will naturally influence the ball flight in winter be it hockey, cricket, rounders or rugby.


How do you cope with these?


Regular monitoring of the soil moisture levels and just general visual inspections, as well as feel and any obviously signs of footprinting signifying wilt of the plant. I am very much into the old‐fashioned methods of using sight, smell and feel. The new “toys” on the market are great and have their place; however I do not over rely on them.


Are there any issues with shade and air flow?


Loyal companion Ellie with most of the grounds team ‐ only Joe Hoyle is missing


We have over 400 hundred trees on the site and have just introduced a tree management rotational plan. This has involved tagging all the trees with specie name, height, overall health grading and any works required. This is then mapped and the site broken into zones. It will take time to


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