JOHN COLET SCHOOL 3G PITCH

John Colet School 3G Pitch - Looking to the future of football in Wendover

Following a competitive and lengthy bidding process John Colet School obtained a major grant from the Football Foundation to construct an all-weather, floodlit 3G football pitch on the school grounds. Part of the project is the promotion of football in the community to increase the number of participants from diverse groups including girls, senior and disabled football. In addition to working with Beds and Bucks FA the school has two local partners - Wendover Junior FC and Aston Clinton Colts FC, both of which have many students who attend John Colet. A Football Development Officer was appointed in August to drive the development programme and enable many community groups to benefit from this excellent facility that will create a sporting heritage for the future.

Therefore it was disappointing to read the negative perspective of the male senior team, Wendover FC, published in the recent edition of Wendover News, particularly when the school has made every effort to involve the club throughout the process including meetings on site with representatives of WFC, attending online committee meetings and frequent exchanges of emails to ensure that the club, which preferred not to be involved directly in the project, was kept informed of progress. This included a meeting at the school to agree the location of a new full-size grass pitch prior even to the submission of the planning application and the outcome of the bidding process. At £13.50 per hour for a team of 13 (11 plus 2 subs) the cost of a weekly 2.5 hour match is £2.60 each, which does not seem excessive.

John Colet School will continue to work in partnership with local organisations and wishes all local sports teams every success.

Patrick Harty Headteacher John Colet School