BEAUCHAMP’S HIGH SCHOOL

MP Mark Francois officially opened the new Football Foundation all-weather 3G pitch on Friday 28th September at Beauchamp’s High School.

A new Artificial Football Pitch facility was made possible thanks to investment of £370,000 from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which is delivered by the Football Foundation. Essex Council also made an investment of £50,000 from the 2012 Olympic Legacy Funding which enabled Beauchamp’s High School to build their 3rd Generation Synthetic sports pitch.

McArdle Sport Tec were delighted to work in partnership with TigerTurf on this successful Football Association project, installing the innovative Artificial Grass Pitch (AGP) which replaced an old hardstanding court area and part of an uneven school playing field.

Matt Harper, Beauchamp’s High School Headteacher, quoted:

“The opening of the 3G AGP pitch is an exciting and unique opportunity for both Beauchamp’s High School and the local community in general and we are thrilled to be at the heart of it. Grassroots sport plays such a pivotal role in local communities, creating opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds and we look forward to our role at the heart of this.”

The new facilities are expected to attract nearly 2,000 new players, increasing overall local participation by 956%. The School’s grassroots partners, Wickford Town Youth FC and Essex Royals FC, have a combined 62 clubs and teams & will all benefit from the increased access to pitch playing hours due to the implementation of floodlighting, allowing continued usage throughout the evenings.

Beauchamp’s developed a new Football Academy for sixth form students, which is being directed by Danny Greaves, son of Spurs and England legend Jimmy Greaves; Danny is a former player and coach at Southend United FC.

Since 2000, the Football Foundation Funding Partners’ investment have provided 379 grants worth £16m towards grassroots sports projects worth over £30m across the whole of Essex.