New £600,000 all-weather sports pitch is fast taking shape at a Harborough school

A new state of the art £600,000 all-weather sports pitch is fast taking shape at a Market Harborough secondary school.

Teams should be competing against each other on the well-equipped floodlit “gamechanger” at Robert Smyth Academy by the end of the year after workers have made a lightning start.

And Market Harborough Hockey Club is now gearing up to make the high-spec new base its new home in 2021.

Delighted Dan Cleary, the principal at the 1,000-student Burnmill Road school, said: “We are really excited about our new all weather pitch.

“We are working closely with Sport England and this project is going to be an absolute gamechanger for kids in Market Harborough and beyond as well as for the entire community.”

He added: “The scheme will also include fully upgraded netball and tennis courts.

“This facility will be the best in class locally and totally unrivalled in Market Harborough.

“Our goal is simple - we will become a centre of excellence for the whole of the East Midlands.

“We are due to complete the work in January 2021.

“We have taken these pictures after only two days of work with all the old courts removed so we have made a tremendous start and really are getting a move on.

“We need to stay positive in the face of the coronavirus and keep forging ahead as we are here well into the future.”

Dan said that England Hockey, Market Harborough Hockey, Harborough District Council and local MP Neil O’Brien had all got behind the successful school’s dynamic sporting blueprint.

“Over the years we have produced so many kids who are carving out professional careers in elite sports like football, hockey, cricket, rugby, netball, martial arts and others.

“This new all-weather pitch will give our students the experience they deserve and the chance to let their gifts and talents blossom and flourish.

“And it’s certainly not the end of our ambitions stretching ahead down the line,” said the dad-of-two.

“This is just another decisive milestone on the path to turning Robert Smyth into a genuine centre of excellence – both sportingly and academically.”