Express & Star

School looking ahead for pitch to be community hub after 10-year wait

A school is hoping its long-awaiting new sports pitch will become a community hub.

Published
Director of the football academy Andrew Dickinson and director of sports, Andrew Guppy pose on the new 3G pitch

Lordswood Girls School and Sixth Form Centre in Bearwood has officially opened its new 3G pitch, the culmination of nearly a decade of planning and installing.

Headteacher Jane Götschel said the work on the 116 metre by 70 metre pitch had begun back in 2011 when the school was consulted by Birmingham City Council.

She said: "The first conversation about the pitch came after the closure of another facility in the area and the requirement they had to re-instate a training facility in the area.

"They approached us and asked if we would be happy to have it built on our land, but a change of council meant the planning permission changed and we weren't able to go ahead with it.

"Eventually, the new council came in, had to resubmit for planning and we eventually got the permission to plan and begin construction, so it's been a long road."

The facility was due to open in September, but all plans were postponed due to new lockdown restrictions, and the school has only been able to plan ahead in the last few weeks.

It is already been used by West Bromwich Albion Foundation and Aston Villa Youth, which both use it for training and matches.

Mrs Götschel said the facility was being used by both the girls and boys schools at Lordswood and said the school wanted to open up to the community to use it.

She said: "I've love it to be used by local clubs and while it is on a shared use agreement between the two schools, it is open to communities out of school hours.

"We've got a massive site, but the fields had always been unusable due to poor drainage, so we now have a fantastic resource for all sports to use.

"We have a sports academy here, which has had international athletes from our graduates, and I want it to be something the whole community can use."

To find out more about the facility and to make a booking, send an email to n.coggins@lordswoodtrust.co.uk

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.