Michaelmas Term Time Tasks of The Grounds Team at RGS Worcester

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Michaelmas Term Time Tasks of The Grounds Team at RGS Worcester is a blog by Head of Grounds Sean Lloyd who talks us through his teams tasks on the school grounds leading up to Christmas.

The Team

Rgs Worcester is the 5^th oldest school in the United Kingdom and the 6^th oldest in the world, founded around 685.

My Team here at Rgs Worcester family of schools maintains the grounds and gardens which cover a total area of 96 acres for 4 schools over 7 sites. This amounts to 29 winter sports surfaces and 9 cricket squares plus amenity areas and Forest schools. An average Autumn /winter school week we will host nearly 50 sporting fixtures across 4 sports. Rugby, Football, Hockey and Netball {600 per term}.  20 of these will be on grass pitches {240 per term}. 

The team totalling 6 plus 1 Gardener attempt to produce the highest standard surfaces and surrounds possible for each fixture and school event. Along with the fixtures is the standard school day comprising around 4 hours of sporting activities with sports of that term.

The team and I attempt to complete all maintenance tasks in house, with only High-Level tree works {Adrian Callow Tree Surgery} and machinery servicing and repairs {R D Sports} contracted out. I am very lucky to have had great backing by the school in purchasing the equipment required to undertake tasks like cricket renovation, winter sports renovations, aeration, seeding etc {again R D Sports have been fantastic in sourcing the machines}. 

I believe in us undertaking these tasks whilst not only saving large amounts of money for the school against contractual costs, it’s also vital for the training/development of the team. We also take on Landscaping and hard landscaping projects around the sites.

Meeting the Challenge

Over the years we’ve been lucky enough to have many successes along the way; hosting teams like the Scottish rugby union, Worcestershire County cricket club at 1^st class, a class, 2^nd class and academy fixtures levels, with that link with Worcestershire CCC has also seen us host Sri Lanka, England a, India, Papua New Guinea and Nambiar. 

Rgs Flagge Meadow is also a landing site for the Royal flight and the school with its Royal Charter has had several Royal visitors.

As those who work within the school environment will testify, life is never dull and work varies, constantly working within blocks of time, whether that be an hour, day, week, month or term, the year and years go by very quickly.

With that speed of time passing it is always vital that I’m looking and preparing days, weeks and years ahead. Insuring items like machinery is updated regularly and keeping with the new innovations such as gps machinery etc, keeping it in the best and safest condition which should also see us get the best possible value for money in both purchase and resale returns.

Having the equipment well serviced and repaired Richard at R D Sports has been invaluable in this and his engineering background has seen many advances in the quality of the fleet and machinery.

Having the materials and supplies in stock and ready to use, I have already ordered the spring renovation materials {Peter Holmstrom/Richard Ding and the team at Agrivista have been great to work alongside}.

MICHAELMAS TERM

This term is historically the Rugby term here at Rgs Worcester, also one of the main marketing terms of the year, during this period we host 6 Rgs Open days.

The term started with the completion of summer projects! hard surfacing of the new carpark at Rgs Flagge Meadow and the replacement of the 2g sports carpet at Rgs Grange {Verde Recreo}

The dry summer left me with a visual, playability and financial headache across the 16 Rugby pitches?? were in the budget can I find the money for seeding and renovating the surfaces which are unbudgeted? and what level of renovations do we undertake whilst hosting fixtures and sporting activities? 

Luckily September did see the weather break and with warm wet conditions perfect for our needs {“phew”} We had a great uptake from our seed of choice from Barenberg.

The Open Day/weeks are 6 weeks of high presentation performance across the sites whilst still hosting all the sporting events, with each school hosting an open day or week, plus a 6^th form open and sport open days. The whole team worked tirelessly over these weeks but a mention for the Garden team for their excellent works. 

Each fixture we host is treated as a small open day and an opportunity to show off the grounds to other schools and parents.

Another smaller event we like to cater for this term is Remembrance Day where the schools and the CCF cadets’ parade and commemorate the fallen.

Monthly Tasks

General maintenance of all the sites and sporting facilities continued throughout the term, with growth still being quite fast regular mowing is essential, during the autumn winter months I prefer to mow the cricket squares with pedestrian roller rotary mowers making sure blades are sharp, this gives nice presentation cut and lifts, vacuums the grasses and collects any debris. 

A monthly spray of turf hardeners, conditioners and disease and worm prevention is also undertaken plus a fertiliser, I differ from many here a little?  Some years ago I started to use temperature release-controlled release fertilisers 4-5 months ago. We have all had to find ways of relieving disease pressures with the ever-changing chemical restriction.

The changes to the weather patterns, the control release only release when disease pressure is higher in the warm temps and helps to combat some of the fungal infections that may occur. Brushing of the squares completes the program of works.

We use a soluble fertiliser across the winter pitches during school holiday periods, for budgetary, speed and visual presentation purposes but we do get great results from them, these are mown, slit and quadraplyed regularly. We are currently in the process of vertiquaking the surfaces.

Aeration

Aeration of the squares and surfaces is also essential. Some 21 years ago I started Verti draining cricket squares which we undertake 2-3 times per autumn/winter if conditions allow gradually increasing depth.

A aeration process I really like and if budgets allow recommend is the deep drill aeration {Ecosolve we used } this really puts the cricket square in a great position heading into the winter, we are able to undertake this late October early November as our renovation are August to allow the square to consolidate and recover before the Rugby starts and the occasional collection of rugby balls etc. 

The process allows us to quickly get back on the squares after rain and if conditions don’t allow for further aeration we can at least relax having deep drilled (below image).

Weekly maintenance of the 4 x 2g sand dressed synthetic pitches and 2 x water-based pitches involves removal of debris, brushing, over marking and inspection and use of the irrigation systems.

 As I mentioned earlier one aim is to always try where budgets allow to keep up with latest innovations, I know across the country there are schools and grounds persons struggling with the recent upheaval within the school industries you know who and why.

Game Changer

We were lucky enough to lease a GPS marker for the last 3 years, but this year we have been able to purchase our own, we chose the RM11 which is an incredible machine with the ability to mow also amongst other operations. The time saving aspects of the initial marking is outstanding at high pressure times of the year like change of sports, which is also school holiday periods when of course is the ideal time for staff annual leave! and Having 21 winter surfaces to change usually in a 2-week period and the 2 week change in the spring where 4  Athletic tracks and summer markings are required was quite a challenge before.

The machine’s flexibility has allowed an ease of markings on the new synthetic surface at Rgs Grange. I estimated at the outset that around 300 staff hours would be saved over the year on initial marking alone, the team also can complete other duties whilst the marker is in operation. The mowing facility allows us to mow areas which lay very wet through the winter months and school lawns during exam season when noise restrictions are in place.

Breathing Space

Christmas break is always one of the busiest times! changing Rugby pitches into 21 Football pitches Rugby post down, football post up nets on, markings etc ready for the Lent term. On top of this we trenched, ducted and positioned an electric cable for a future 26 project.

We are also very lucky the management of the school gives the teams the period between Christmas and the New year off, but this doesn’t leave too many days for the pitch changes.

It was nice to take my team out for what is now an annual event and treat them and a few guests to a Christmas, all you can eat breakfast! {and some of my team can eat }.   Many thanks to my Team

Hoping everyone has a Great 26

Sean Lloyd