Local comprehensive, George Abbot School in Guildford, is thrilled to have secured Olympic legacy funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities Fund.
As part of a 12 month fundraising campaign to build a brand new 3G surface all weather sports floodlit training pitch, the £122,500 of National Lottery funding will go a long way to helping the school meet its target of £250,000 needed to complete the project. The pitch will support both the students who miss out on sport due to waterlogged pitches and lack of floodlights, as well as benefitting local clubs, including Guildford Saints Football club, Surrey Spartans Hockey club and a new lacrosse club, who have each struggled to find places for their members to play. It is expected that thousands of local young people will benefit from the addition of this new facility.
The Inspired Facilities fund is part of the £135 million Places People Play legacy programme that is bringing the magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across the country. Every sports facility that receives funding will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark – celebrating the link to the Games.
Sport England’s Chair, Richard Lewis, said: “This National Lottery investment will create a lasting sporting legacy for Surrey. This fund has really hit the mark with sports clubs in Surrey. It shows we’re offering the legacy that people want for their local community. For hundreds of clubs and tens of thousands of people, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were the reason their local sports facilities got better.”
School Executive Headteacher, Mr Danny Moloney, said: “ We are delighted to have secured this investment in sport for our school and the local area. There has always been a strong sporting tradition of sports people coming through the school, including our 2012 competitors, Liam Heath (Bronze, Kayak), Rachel Cawthorn and Abi Edmunds (Kayak) and premiership footballers, Matt Jarvis (West Ham United FC) and Alex McCarthy (Reading FC). This pitch will provide much-needed facilities for our local young people and inspire them to get more involved in sport.”
Anne Milton MP said: “This investment by Sport England into George Abbot School is fantastic news! George Abbot has always been great in terms of sports so this money is a brilliant investment as excellent sport and excellent facilities go hand in hand!”