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Spring 2008
A
consultation exhibition has been arranged for local people on
Thursday 3rd April:
An
information letter has also been delivered to local residents
and other interested parties.
January 2008
Progress on developing the new sports hall is accelerating. Our
bid to the Football Foundation for additional funding to enhance the
sports hall and to provide an 'all weather pitch' is coming
together. Planning is well advanced. We have a working floor plan
for the building which will contain a larger than usual hall
sufficient to allow Futsal to be played competitively. Futsal
is a fairly new skills orientated indoor type of football. It is
played around the world and it is seen as a great way to develop
football skills in younger players. The hall will still accommodate
all the other sporting activities that one might expect. In addition
there will be four changing rooms, a dance hall and a PE
classroom. There will be a separate community entrance leading to a
lobby with a viewing area for the main hall.
Displays for students are now being set up in school, as we feel we
have something concrete to share. We will also be consulting with
neighbours and anyone else interested in learning more, in the next
couple of months. We remain very optimistic, but the whole project
does still depend upon securing additional funding and, of course,
planning permission.
Architect's design of the new sports hall and all weather pitch.
January 2008
October 2007
Although the Local Authority (LA) has granted funds for a new sports
hall, we are also working to secure separate funding for an
artificial turf pitch (ATP). The Governing Body has supported a bid
for funds to the Football Foundation, a registered charity that
supports and promotes the development of football at all levels
throughout the country.
In order to be eligible for sponsorship, the proposal has to
consider the sports hall and ATP as a single entity. In practice
this means that a new sports hall and an ATP would have to be built
concurrently as one project. This means the process of seeking
sponsorship will inevitably delay the start of construction but if
the result is an enhanced facility, the delay will have been
worthwhile!
A Governor's Sports Development Steering Group has been established
to oversee a number of things. These include the preparation of a
Football Development Plan. This is a precursor to an application to
the Football Foundation for financial support and will be followed
by a formal bid for grant funding. A design brief for the sports
hall is being drawn up with the LA architect and work is on-going
with the LA Property Services Department on issues such as
drawing up a planning application, which is another requirement for
the bid to the Football Foundation.
By March of next year it is hoped to have planning permission and a
bid ready to go to the Football Foundation. A response to this could
take up to six months so the final scope of the project is unlikely
to be known until September 2008. This does not preclude other
planning but it is unlikely that building will start until January
2009 with completion by the end of 2009. Be assured, however, that
lots of work is happening in the background during this exciting
phase of the school's development.
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