EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS Felsted School
Howzat for a job title?
To provide sporting excellence over a number of years takes certain skills and qualities. Often these qualities need to be present not only in the athletes but the coaches and everyone who contributes to the nurturing of them. At Felsted School, Essex, teamwork has become a tradition and it is at its most prevalent in the Grounds Department, run by Nick Lockhart. Blair Ferguson reports
W
hen you drive through the small village of Felsted towards the vast school campus, the visible part is the sports fields. On this
rare cold January morning, the frost had almost finished lifting and the perfect green surface led the eye to the stunning Manor House at the front of the school. Ready and waiting to give a tour of the 90-acre site was Cricket Professional and Head of Grounds and Gardens, Nick Lockhart. With pleasantries exchanged, a quick first question was needed, an explanation for a slightly unusual job title. “The combined role has always been part of my job,” Nick explained. “I coach boys and girls during the academic year ages 13- 18 and run a team as well. I’m not completely sure how the combined job role came about. I have managed to acquire various coaching certificates in cricket, hockey and rugby and graduated a two year course in Sportsturf Management so, for me, the two jobs went hand in hand. There was a job offer at King’s Bruton which I took, and I was there for eight years before coming here to work with Jason Gallian, who is Felsted’s Director of Cricket.”
Nick is now into his twenty-third year at the school, but he has some competition when it comes to time in service to Felsted. Head Gardener, Nick Day, has been a part of the set-up for forty-three years and Deputy Head, Kevin Cresswell, for forty years. Clearly, this is a place that attracts and
keeps staff for a long time. After a brief chat to Nick and meeting his grounds team, Kevin, Simon Little, Brian Turner and Michael
88 PC February/March 2019
Morreale and gardens team Nick, Steve McCarthy, Harry Prior and Jamie Robinson, it becomes clear why.
They are a group who take great pride in their work and, as a result, regularly produce something for them all to be proud of. From the outside, there appears to be a dynamic of respect and trust in place that encourages staff to improve through training and education, whilst those with decades of experience, like Head Gardener Nick Day, are allowed to carry out their own vision. “Nick and I work closely together, but he runs the gardens department on a day to day basis,” Nick explained. “We have regular meetings about what’s needed and what’s coming up, like an open day for instance, but he and his team do a very good job and take great pride in their work and are a good team.”
“Developing the staff is something that we consider annually. We get magazines like Pitchcare and The Groundsman. We visit Saltex, and there are also training days we can attend which are normally informative and thought-provoking which all helps.” “We have Harry, who is our gardens apprentice, and Michael, who are both doing their Level 3 in Sports Turf Management at college, and they are trying to improve their understanding of their respective roles.”
“Getting young people into the industry is an interesting one because it depends on what your priorities are. If you want to earn lots of money, then you don’t go into groundsmanship and probably don’t go into education. If you’re looking for job satisfaction and reward, then this takes
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