Pitch perfect for Rawtenstall school

Reporter: Viva PR
Date online: 13 July 2010

Sport at a Rawtenstall secondary school enters a new era with the arrival of its new state-of-the-art multi use sports area.

Alder Grange Community & Technology School’s new sports pitch is made using the latest Third Generation synthetic surface and will enable students to take part in a wider range of sports all year round.

The pitch is Football Association (FA) approved so it means Alder Grange will be able to play Inter-Schools cup matches at home rather than on neutral territory.

The new ‘3G’ pitch – favoured by the UK’s leading sports clubs – uses the newest available technology in artificial grass, and mimics the performance and characteristics of natural grass as closely as possible.

David Hampson, Head of School at Alder Grange, said: “We are delighted with our new sports pitch – it’s a fantastic facility­ which brings great opportunities for our students to develop their sporting skills.

“We have had great use out of our current All Weather Pitch over the years, but the 3G pitch is more durable and is designed to suit all weather so students can enjoy exercise throughout the year. It is also built with a safer surface so there is less risk of injury.”

The pitch is being constructed by Thornton Sports, the UK’s leading manufacturer of artificial grass sport surfaces. A group of students from the school were given an insight into how their new pitch will look when they were invited to visit the firm, based in Altham, for the afternoon to watch it being made.

“It was great to see the level of interest amongst the students during the visit,” added David. “This a very exciting time for the school, with the developments of the Sixth Form well under way.”

Alder Grange’s state-of-the art Sixth Form facility is set to open at the end of the year. It will cater for 300 students and will include: science laboratories; a media studio and performance space; an industry standard catering kitchen; nursery and creche facilities for child development students, plus ICT and library facilities.