Few schools in the UK can claim to have over 22 different sports pitches located within their grounds. However, for Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate in York, their sporting facilities rival many of the country’s leading premiership clubs.

Opened in 1912, the Independent boarding school’s sporting curriculum is one of the most expansive in the country, with tennis, basketball, handball, hockey, rugby, football and cricket just a few of the sports on offer.

Home to 1500 students from over 66 different countries on a 200 acre campus. Continuous capital investment over the years has transformed the site, and the last 6 years has seen over £20 million dedicated solely to improving the 34 acres of outdoor training facilities alone.

Joining Queen Ethelburga’s in the autumn of 2016, Grounds Manager, Ben Grigor, and his three-man team, represent the school’s new grounds department and they have a determination for the sporting grounds to be some of the best in the UK. Having worked for iconic venues including the RICOH Arena, Kassam Stadium and the Ibrox Stadium, Ben relishes the challenge of maintaining such varying and high profile sporting facilities.

With £20 million invested in new pitches alone, the team’s daily maintenance requires high power machinery as they have natural grass, synthetic, water-based and traditional sand-based pitches to contend with.

“Having maintained groundcare for renowned sporting events including the Commonwealth Games and the Euros in 2012, I know that the quality and condition of the Queen Ethelburga’s pitches really are second to none,” said Ben. “When visitors come and see the sheer expanse of the site and its condition, they can’t believe that the sporting facilities belong to a school, and this is an expectation that we strive to maintain.”

It was the school’s commitment to their sporting vision that forged the partnership between Ben and leading local groundcare dealer, Russells of Hull. The dealership is at the forefront of providing first class machinery and aftersales support across the region and it was this unrivalled service that made the partnership between themselves and the school so strong.

The Collegiate purchased nine Kubota machines from Russell’s, including Kubota’s leading RTVX900 utility vehicle, two L4240 compact tractors, four W831R-PRO pedestrian walk-behind mowers, two G23 ride-on mowers along with two Kubota trailers.

“When we were resourcing new groundcare machines, it was paramount that we chose vehicles that facilitated the consistent maintenance of 22 pitches, day in – day out. When I joined the Collegiate in September, they already had some older Kubota machines that had done not hundreds, but thousands of hours of work and they’re still going strong. So, when it came to maintaining the new pitches, I knew that Kubota was up to the task.

“The RTVX900 is extremely useful when navigating both staff and equipment around site, especially for light towing jobs when both of the L4240 tractors are in use. With such a significant investment into both the pitches and sporting facilities, it is essential that we ensure that the machines work as economically as possible and meet the site’s varying requirements.”

It was Kubota’s compatibility with a wide range of implements and machines across the range that made the manufacturer such a clear choice. The two G23 ride-on mowers are at the forefront of the pitches daily maintenance, providing clean and consistent cutting every day, while also being a useful tool during winter for cleaning up leaves and debris after professional and school matches. Supporting the G23’s are two manual L4240 compact tractors which provide easy operation for the team when completing spraying, top dressing and aeration work.

“The Collegiate’s recent investment into its facilities, staff and machinery already reflects their continued commitment to making the sporting ground one of the best in the country. Big changes are set for the year ahead and it’s up to us and our machines to ensure that the pitches are kept to the highest possible standards.”

For more information on Kubota and its extensive range of solutions for the groundcare sectors, or to find your local dealer, visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

Ian Card is Head of Grounds and Security at Ardingly College, an independent, mixed school set in a beautiful 230-acre campus in the West Sussex countryside. In 2014, having previously worked at the college under another Head Groundsman, Ian returned to Ardingly, bringing with him his 20 years of agronomy experience. He now leads a skilled team of nine, maintaining the grounds, gardens and sports pitches.

Football is the dominant winter sport played at Ardingly College, unlike many private schools that traditionally play rugby as the first choice game. Still, the oval ball has its place alongside football, cricket, hockey, athletics and tennis (to name a few), with Ian’s team maintaining twelve grass pitches, three squares and two all-weather artificial turf pitches.

As is expected for a fee-paying school, the standards of all facilities must be maintained to an exemplary level and Ardingly College more than fulfils this remit. The pitches are pounded seven days a week by the school’s 400+ students, and in the past have been used as training centres for England U21s, England Ladies, Crawley Town FC plus Bunbury’s Cricket matches. Therefore, the amount of use and the high quality playing surfaces expected of the grounds certainly keep Ian and his team on their toes.

The finishing touch and stand out feature of any sports pitch is the white line presentation. This school year saw Ardingly become a customer for Bristol-based sports paint supplier, Pitchmark. With a growing portfolio of independent schools across the UK, Pitchmark’s user-friendly Eco System appealed to Ian and his staff, as he explained: “I like the marking machine. It’s very simple and easy to operate and has a nice user-friendly feel to it.”

Ian continued: “Customer service is crucial in any of my purchasing. Pitchmark’s assistance before and after I became a customer has been excellent. One of their reps, Olly (Boys), comes to see me and the team, and we chat through how the paint and machine are performing and my general feedback. It’s something that was being overlooked with a previous supplier – good, friendly customer service.”

Pitchmark have been supplying Ardingly College with their ready-to-use paint Ecoline+ for nine months so far and this is having a positive effect on work efficiency. “The no mixing is very convenient. My guys don’t have to spend down-time mixing and getting messy. The product quality and finish is consistent as it’s the same every time you mark. It allows us to spend more time on other tasks to raise the standards further.”

“Sometimes, the paint can be too good,” he said, jokingly. “We swap some football fields to rugby every January and I could still see the old lines weeks after.” Well, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks to Ian for his time.

Pitchmark can be contacted on 01454 776666, sales@pitchmark.com or www.pitchmarkltd.com