PRIMARY NEWS
Henley Green Primary School installs synthetic turf pitch for year-round sport
programme while also offering local teams and residents access to a top-quality facility outside school hours. Offering the facilities outside of school hours will also provide the school with additional revenue streams.
Synthetic turf has become the go-to for projects of this kind for good reason. Pitches can sustain intensive, year-round use without compromising on playing quality or safety, without worrying about the effects of overplay, waterlogging or seasonal downtime.
For a school and community sharing a single facility, this is incredibly important. It means PE lessons, lunchtime activities, after-school clubs, evening community use and weekend matches can all take place on the same surface with a greatly reduced risk of deterioration, and without the maintenance costs that come with managing a natural grass pitch.
The installation at Henley Green Primary School was delivered by Notts Sport in partnership with Groundwork and Leisure, the specialist sports surfaces contractor, and aligns with the work of Sky Blues in the Community, the official charity of Coventry City Football Club.
A new synthetic turf project in Coventry, West Midlands has equipped Henley Green Primary School with a high-quality pitch, providing year-round access to sport for both pupils and the surrounding community.
The new playing surface addresses a long-standing issue in one of Coventry’s more deprived areas, where the lack of a reliable all-weather playing surface has previously hindered play opportunities.
The new synthetic turf pitch provides a safe, durable surface designed for football, multi-skills sessions and athletics, supporting the school’s PE
Stefan Diderich, Director General/CEO of EMEA Synthetic Turf Council (ESTC), said: “In areas where access to sport has historically been limited, facilities like this one at Henley Green Primary School can have an impact that goes far beyond PE lessons. They support healthier, more active communities, give young people somewhere meaningful to spend their time and create opportunities for grassroots clubs and local programmes to thrive.”
The pitch is now in use, with the official opening marked by a celebratory event attended by students, staff, parents, local dignitaries and community members, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony and demonstration match by the school’s football team.
Primary pupils rebuild Roman Leicester in Minecraft and VR
Loughborough Grammar School recently welcomed pupils from across the region to take part in an outreach competition combining ancient history with cutting-edge technology, as part of its ongoing commitment to making Classics accessible to all.
The ‘Rebuilding Ratae’ competition invited Year 4 and Year 5 pupils to recreate buildings from Roman Leicester (Ratae Corieltauvorum) using Minecraft, working from real archaeological evidence provided by archaeologist, Tim Higgins, from University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), in what is the 20th anniversary of the excavations. Entries from participating primary schools were combined into a single digital ‘world’, reconstructing an entire district of the ancient city in the first digital reconstruction of this site at that stage ever. Following a highly competitive judging process, pupils from Fairfield Prep School, Sacred Heart Catholic Voluntary Academy and Old Dalby Church of England Primary School were invited to Loughborough Grammar School on 11 June to see their creations brought to life.
During the visit, pupils had the opportunity to: • Explore their builds in Virtual Reality (VR), enhanced with authentic Roman-themed textures using a Minecraft modification
• Hear from Tim Higgins, the archaeologist leading excavations at the site being reconstructed
• Construct floorplans of the site to scale using plastic construction bricks
• See how digital tools such as gaming, 3D modelling and VR are transforming the study of the ancient world
The competition was led by Classics teacher at Loughborough Grammar School, Mr Philip Harper, whose nationally recognised work in Digital Classics uses tools such as Minecraft, virtual reality and 3D printing to immerse pupils in the ancient world. This approach allows pupils not only to study history, but to build, test and experience it, developing a deeper understanding of scale, structure and evidence-based interpretation. Philip said: “By combining historical scholarship with digital innovation, the competition challenges outdated perceptions of Classics as a purely traditional subject. Instead, it highlights its role in developing analytical thinking, creativity and cultural understanding - skills that are essential in modern society.”
The three schools selected for inclusion in the final map received a commemorative trophy featuring a 3D-printed model of the Minecraft world, incorporating their designs.
July/August 2026
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