Work begins on sports hall project

AFTER a brief delay, construction of the new Community Sports Hall at Robertsbridge Community College is now well underway.

Planning approval was granted by East Sussex County Council in March following a delay of a month owing to a full agenda to deal with the Bexhill to Hastings Link Road.

Headteacher Simon Potten said: “It has been a long-standing ambition of the college to develop a sporting facility to meet the needs of the local community and our students and we are delighted that the project is finally coming to fruition. Students here enjoy sport and it is wonderful to think that all in the locality will now have the desired sporting facilities on their doorstep. This is an exciting time for the college and we are rightfully proud of this latest development.”

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Cole Construct moved on to the college site and commenced ground works while the students were away on Easter break.

By the time they returned, services had been laid in, a site compound was established, and a large section of the bank to the playing field was being excavated.

The main steel frame has now been completed and cladding work will start this week.

In a bid to involve students, site manager Colin Calnan has been speaking in assemblies and visits to the site are being arranged during construction downtime.

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Funding for the hall has come from a number sources, notably Sport England, East Sussex County Council and Rother District Council.

Fundraising is underway, being co-ordinated through the College Parent Teacher Association - FoRCC, and the Extended Schools Coordinator with companies, corporations and individuals being invited to contribute.

Students are being actively encouraged to raise funds through their College Council.

The completed sports hall will underpin the developing sporting aspirations and achievements of Robertsbridge Community College students, a number of whom have competed at county, regional and even national level.

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The hall will be open to the community out of college hours.

The completed hall will include four full sized badminton courts marked out across a full basketball court, five a-side football, indoor cricket nets for winter training plus a host of other sporting facilities.

New on-site parking is being developed alongside the building with full access for disabled users.

Bookings are already being taken for the sports hall and interested clubs and societies should contact Tracey Ash at [email protected] for further details.

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* At present the college is full to capacity and the applications for the coming September intake considerably exceeded the places available. Student rates of progress continue to improve; predictions for the forthcoming summer are very encouraging. 
Following a recent re-constitution of the governing body there are currently vacancies for interested parties. In particular the governors are seeking members with experience in the following: HR, finance and post-16 education. However, anyone with a real passion for the education of the young people of our community would be welcome to apply. If you wish to be a part of the fast moving, exciting development of this college, please contact the chair of governors, Sue Fitzgerald on [email protected]