Denton high school awarded more than £700,000 for new football pitch

A high school in Denton is celebrating after winning a grant for a new artificial football pitch.

The Football Foundation has awarded more than £700,000 to St Thomas More RC College to install the 3G surface, which local teams and community groups will be able to book.

The full-size 11-a-side pitch will have perimeter fencing, hard standing, floodlights, and changing and storage facilities.

“The school staff have been working hard behind the scenes for many years to secure outstanding sporting facilities on the school site,” says headteacher Huw Brophy. “We are all so pleased that the dream of having access to a superb all-weather 3G facility has finally come true.

“We are looking forward to construction starting and I know the students will be so excited to watch the build progress. It will be a great moment when the students can first start to use the new pitch and when it can be used by local community groups.

“The school would like to say thank you to the Football Foundation and its partners.”

The Football Foundation is a charity run by the Premier League, The FA and the Government, and has invested more than £1 billion in improving grassroots facilities since its formation in 2000.

The new pitch will replace part of the current playing fields that often become waterlogged between autumn and spring, while floodlights will enable evening matches and training sessions throughout the year.

Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation says, “Good quality playing facilities have a transformative impact on physical and mental health and play an important role in bringing people together and strengthening local communities

“This grant award to St Thomas More RC College and Tameside Local Authority towards developing this Football 3G Pitch is fantastic news for the local community and will help give more people access to a great place to play.”

Tameside Council has contributed a further £120,000 to the scheme, with the school adding £80,000.