BRADFORD Grammar School is investing £4 million into its sports facilities in the hope its current and future students can follow in the footsteps of its sporting alumni.
The redevelopment work at the school, based in Manningham, will include major upgrades of its cricket, netball and hockey facilities.
It is hoped the new facilities will help the school to continue to produce world-class sportspeople.
It counts leading triathlon brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, Olympic swimming gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse, and England rugby union player Charlie Hodgson among its former students, and has a number of up and coming sportspeople across various disciplines currently at the school.
The work will begin this summer, creating eight new outdoor cricket lanes with various artificial surfaces to fine tune both bowling and batting technique, one and a half hockey pitches to facilitate the school’s growing hockey provision and two new outdoor netball and tennis courts.
A new large sports barn structure comprising of four netball and five tennis courts to provide all-day use all year is also being built, and the student changing facilities are being upgraded, with the configuration of the existing sports hall also being changed as part of the work.
As well as new facilities, the school is also taking on several new staff members as part of the redevelopment. The new staff have a wealth of experience, from ex-professionals and internationals, to athletes who have represented Great Britain.
Dr Simon Hinchliffe, headmaster at Bradford Grammar, said: “This is an exciting time in the history of our school.
“Sport is central to the offering at Bradford Grammar and our new redevelopment will provide the perfect environment for our enhanced sports curriculum which caters for all our young people.
“We’ve been successful in recruiting a number of staff to our enlarged sports department with specialist expertise in their fields to help deliver the school’s sporting vision.
“This investment will cement Bradford Grammar School’s reputation as the Sunday Times Leading Northern Independent School of the Year 2018.”
Oliver Rogers, director of sport at Bradford Grammar, said: “We’re keen to nurture the interests and abilities of every child who takes part in sport at school as well as those who are keen to excel and pursue careers in it.
“Our new sports team will support the vision we have and, as is the tradition in independent schools, a wide cross section of academic staff will continue to contribute to Bradford Grammar School sport.”
The redevelopment works at the school are expected to be completed by February 2019.
Existing facilities include a 25 metre swimming pool, strength and fitness suite, gymnastics and dance gym, extensive sports fields, squash and tennis courts, netball courts, and an all-weather pitch, with the school’s rowing team making use of the River Aire in Saltaire.
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