Huish Episcopi Academy

3G pitch resurface

McArdle Sport Tec were selected to re-construct and refurbish an existing Redgra sports pitch into a third-generation football pitch in Somerset.

In September 2015, Yeovil Ladies’ Town FC player, Annie Heatherson, officially opened the new reconstructed 3G sports pitch for Huish Episcopi Academy at the Football Foundation’s official opening ceremony. McArdle Sport Tec were selected to design and build the artificial pitch installation at the neighbouring leisure centre for the Academy. The new all weather pitch became home to two Charter Standard Development Clubs, Aller Park Rangers FC and Somerton Town FC.

The opening ceremony drew quite a crowd and included speeches from Andrew Davis, Huish Episcopi’s Principal, Mike Best, Chair of Somerset District Council, and John Shearing, Vice Chair of Somerset FA.

Annie Heatherson, Yeovil Town Ladies FC, said, “It was a privilege to open this fantastic 3G AGP at Huish Episcopi Academy. It is brilliant to see a development like this close to my club, Yeovil Town FC. It is very important to have facilities like this, not just to get people playing, but also to create well-established home-grown talent. This new 3G pitch resurfacing in Somerset will be used extensively by the pupils, local teams, feeder primary schools and the local community.”

The Principal of Huish Episcopi Academy also added, “We are absolutely delighted to announce the opening of our new artificial grass pitch and would like to thank the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund, along with the South Somerset District Council and the Directors of Huish Episcopi Academy, for investing a significant amount of money into the sporting facilities of our Academy.”

“This investment will not only greatly enhance the facilities for our own students throughout the day but will also continue to build on the great work being done by Huish Leisure, out in our local community, to develop a wide range of sports, particularly football, at grassroots level.”

Amanda Eastwood, Business Development Manager at Huish Episcopi: “As a school we’re very good at sports, so having high-quality facilities is very important to us. We were really in need of a new artificial sports surface, as students would come off the old surface with cut knees and all sorts. The artificial pitch construction was very quick and very impressive. McArdle clearly know what they’re doing, because the work didn’t take long at all. In fact, it was great to see the progress of the installation; it almost feels as if the artificial pitch was built overnight.”