EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS


Poppies and wildfl owers next to netball court 2


(because of lockdown), the work has made a massive diff erence to the areas that have been completed. During a very wet winter last year, we had to cancel a handful of games, so it will be interesting to see how we get on after all the remedial work, once sport gets back to a full timetable. When we are on top of the drainage, I am sure we will then move on to looking at an irrigation system. Mark Allen, Amenity Specialist from Agrovista Amenity Ltd, will regularly take soil samples and the root growth is generally healthy. In conjunction with Matt Gresty from Limagrain UK, they have compiled an annual programme - entirely based around individual areas’ performance and exactly what is required. We buy one-hundred and thirty bags of seed per year and overseed all areas with what Mark calls a ‘special Bromsgrove mix’ … it is a good job we have a


great working relationship.


We do not tend to use many fertilisers on any of the fi elds, cricket squares being the exception. Most of the cuttings go back in and I am a great believer that ‘if it looks healthy, it’s doing okay’. Recently, Complete Weed Control (Steve Lovridge) applied a tank-mix fertiliser and selective herbicide, which we aim to carry out twice a year to give it a boost. We also will apply a slow release fertiliser onto the fi rst team rugby pitch and surfaces where the drainage work was completed in the Autumn. We don’t suff er too badly from disease so we’re lucky in that respect.


The school take sport very seriously, which means a lot of use for all the grass and artifi cial surfaces. There are also cricket festivals to contend with throughout the summer, which means it is a full year-round schedule. The school has priority over all


pitches and courts, but they are also hired out to the local community; particularly the use of the three astro pitches. Both the groundstaff and gardeners all have specifi c areas they work in, but they are all profi cient across each department. I think it helps encourage pride in their areas and is easy to manage.


Over the past couple of years, projects included the installation of grass cricket nets, which should have been used for the fi rst time this Easter, but were not due to the pandemic so we are looking forward to those coming into play. Currently, one of the buildings projects is due to be fi nished, so we are busy designing the area around it to landscape.


On the ecology front, we have done so many projects over the last seven years; including the improvement of many of the gardens, tree work, installation of beehives


It has been hard to plan for the coming year as nobody is sure what is around the corner. I hope that things will get back to some sort of normality soon


98


PC October/November 2020


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