sports


Oxford Academy opens new 3G pitch


officially opened by players from Oxford United FC recently. The new pitch was made possible by a


S


grant from the Premier League and the FA Facilities Fund, which is delivered by the Football Foundation. The grant has enabled the Oxford


Academy to replace an existing grass pitch with a state-of-the-art third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP). The school’s new playing surface is a welcome addition to the existing facilities, which also include three grass pitches, and is expected to boost football participation by 266% across all ages. The 3G AGP will not only benefit the


school’s pupils, who will get to take advantage of the pitch during PE lessons, but also its other users which include: partner clubs Greater Leys FC and


TUDENTS at the Oxford Academy were pleased to see their brand new floodlit all-weather pitch


Florence Park FC; Oxford Blackbirds FC; Horsporth YFC; Union Street FC; Littlemore RFC and local primary schools. The pitch will also serve as a key venue


for the Oxfordshire Girls Centre of Excellence, run by Oxford United FC. As a result, female football participation at the site will rise by 462%. Additionally, the Oxford United Youth Community Sports Trust will use the new facility to run community outreach programmes, including Walking Football sessions. Thanks to the involvement of local


disability charity Yellow Submarines, in partnership with the Mabel Pritchard SEN School, the pitch will also be used to provide disability football sessions, with the aim of establishing a team within one of the Academy’s partner clubs. The Oxford Academy worked alongside


the Oxfordshire FA and the Football Foundation to compile a five-year


Football Development Plan, which is a vision of how sport will be played on site with an emphasis on increasing participation. With the new playing surface being a


key FA Skills delivery venue, as well as Florence Park FC’s sessions for four-11- year-olds, football participation at the site in those aged 14 and under is expected to increase by 221%. McArdle Sport Tec worked in partnership


with TigerTurf to install the pitch, which took approximately 14 weeks. During the installation, 5,000 tonnes of stone was imported, six floodlight columns were erected and 7,420 sqm of TigerTurf Atomic Pro 60 artificial turf was laid.


www.mcardlesport.co.uk www.tigerturf.com/uk/contact


Hampshire special secondary school gets basketball court


and refurbishment. The main works were completed in


A


August by W Stirland, a privately-owned construction company near Chichester. They involved the conversion and extension of the existing Victorian school building at Linden Education Centre in Aldershot, creating teaching accommodation for 92 secondary age pupils who are unable to attend main stream school because of emotional or behavioural reasons Farnham-based PRO Fencing, the


fencing division of WL West & Sons, installed the basketball court using 3m- high Duo8 steel fencing from Zaun, with matching 1.2m-high spectator railings to one side. Duo8 forms a robust play area that is highly durable, low maintenance and ‘graffiti-proof’; rubber inserts between panels and posts keep ‘rattle’ during play to a minimum. Linden Education Centre caters for students aged 11–16 whose behavioural


BASKETBALL court at a Hampshire special school is up and running after a £4.4m project of remodelling


problems have resulted in them being permanently excluded from a mainstream school, or who are in danger of being excluded. The aim is to re-integrate students aged 11–14 into a mainstream school. Older students, especially those


in Year 11, invariably complete their education at the centre before moving on to further education.


www.zaun.co.uk educationdab.co.uk 43


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