A new 3G multi-purpose sports pitch has been officially opened at Brynmawr Foundation School by Wales & Dragons rugby star Elliot Dee.
The pitch is the result of an investment of over half a million pounds, thanks to partnership working between the school; Blaenau Gwent Council and Welsh sport agencies.
The new development at Brynmawr means all of Blaenau Gwent’s secondary/all through schools now have access to such provision. The school is overjoyed at the chance to be able to deliver enhanced physical education and sporting opportunities for pupils on site.
As well as being used by the pupils of the school, the pitch will also be available to local junior and senior sports clubs for both training and matches.
The project has been made possible through a partnership between the school; Blaenau Gwent Council, and a £200,000 funding allocation from Sport Wales via The Artificial Surfaces Collaboration Programme, which is made up of the FAW, the WRU and Hockey Association Wales (HAW). The programme usually funds between 10 – 12% of a project, but recognising the real need for this provision agreed to fund a total of £200,000.
Elliot Dee said the pitch was a fantastic facility for the local community which would inspire children and young people to become involved in sport. “I wish I’d one of these when I was younger”, he said.
Headteacher Gerard McNamara says:
“Everyone as the school is absolutely delighted. This is partnership working at its very best and I would like to thank all partners for showing real commitment to this project. The new pitch will transform the way we are able to deliver physical education and well-being activities and sports at our school and will also be an asset for the wider sporting community. We are increasingly creating new ways of welcoming the wider community into our terrific school.”
Noel Mooney, Chief Executive Officer for the Football Association of Wales says:
“Improving facilities across Wales is the FAW’s number one strategic objective and we are grateful that the Pitch Sports Collaboration Group continues to make an impact on our football family across the country with this exciting facility for the young people of Brynmawr.
“The opportunity to work closely with our partners Sport Wales, Welsh Rugby Union and Hockey Wales to deliver better facilities for all communities across Wales is one the FAW is proud to be part and we look forward to collaborating further to deliver a number of impactful projects across all corners of Wales as we strive to make football inclusive and accessible to all.”
Owen Hathway, Sport Wales’ Assistant Director for Insight, Policy and Public Affairs, said:
“At Sport Wales, we love to see schools opening up their sporting facilities beyond the school day so that they can be used by local communities. We know this is our most captive sporting audience and how important it is to make sporting offers as easily accessible as possible. Through our conversations with partners it became clear that a 3G pitch would be a real asset for Brynmawr due to demand in the area, so we were pleased to provide National Lottery funding towards this project.”
Lynn Phillips, Corporate Director for Education at Education at Blaenau Gwent Council says:
“We are delighted to have worked in partnership with Brynmawr Foundation School and other partners to develop this new 3G pitch, which I am in no doubt will be a real asset to both the school and the local clubs and teams who are looking forward to using it.
“This is important for Education as we continue to work to raise standards and give pupils the best opportunities and learning environments that we possibly can. It is also important that we encourage everyone in Blaenau Gwent to lead healthy and active lives, and ensuring there are first class facilities on their doorstep will help with this well-being objective.”
