Case Study:

Matthew Arnold School 3G

Matthew Arnold School 3G

Matthew Arnold School, Staines was recently given a £245,000 grant by the Football Foundation to build a fully flood lit 3G synthetic football pitch in its grounds. The project was completed within 12 weeks from start to finish by the UK's leading sports ground specialists Agripower Contractors. As well as the £245,000 grant, the school had been raising money to reach their £550,000 target.

The school had been working on this project for over three years having taken so long due to the objections from the Environment Agency and English Heritage, meaning that the original plans were changed on a frequent basis.

Due to an 'ancient relic' under the school grounds the site of the pitch had to be moved, the school were not allowed to raise the pitch due to flooding concerns from the Environment Agency. The solution was a positive drainage system. This meant that a lot of the initial digging work had to be hand-dug rather than using excavators and then removed from the site through a busy school.

Roland Davey, Assistant Head Teacher, said:

"The relic is a bit of nuisance. Historically it has been classed as a Roman monument but recent research has shown it could have been made near the bronze-age, but we still had to hand-dig the bases for the flood lights, because the machines may have ruined or damaged the monument."

The artificial surface chosen for this project was a 60mm 3G FIFA 1 Star product. This surface was picked due to the soft natural appearance and high wear characteristics. Mr Davey said

"This is a much needed training facility for the school and it will be used by so many children and groups, boys and girls. Obviously it is good for Matthew Arnold School but also for the surrounding areas as well. It is world class."

The ground will be open to to public for 40 hours a week for coaching, training and football and rugby matches between schools and clubs. Mr Davey said. The pitch was subsequently chosen by Chelsea Football Club as a satellite training venue for their academy structure.

Project details:

Value: £480,000

Duration: 12 Weeks