Pitch Perfect

£1.2 million AstroTurf investment increases student and community sports participation at ACS International School Cobham

ACS International School Cobham has invested £1.2 million in an impressive 91.36m x 65.5m all-weather sports surface, suitable for a range of activities including football, rugby and athletics. Replacing its former grass pitch, the new state-of-the-art FIFA-accredited, World Rugby-accredited AstroTurf will ensure that students can compete on the finest pitch surface throughout the changing seasons.

The ACS Cobham pitch also meets FA requirements for competitive games, which means it will be a huge draw for inter-school competition. Not only will ACS enjoy a range of matches as part of the Independent Schools Championships, but the facilties will also attract competition from a number of international and local schools, giving students the chance to hone their skills in a competitive environment.

The sports surface will also enable ACS students to train for prestigious international competitions overseas. Students in Grade 4/5 and 6/7 teams are representing ACS – and England – in football, track and swimming at the World School Games in Dubai in January 2020 and have started training on the pitch. ACS Cobham is one of the few schools that offers football and rugby training to girls from Grade 1 (age 6-7) and the entire student body from Grade 1-12 are looking forward to using the surface for a variety of sports. The addition of the AstroTurf also extends extra-curricular club, leisure and team practice times after classes, over weekends and holidays, and is available for community groups to use.

A set of 18-metre tall telescopic floodlights have been installed so that the pitch can be used until 9pm during autumn and winter seasons, allowing teams to best utilise their free time for training. Barnaby Sandow, Head of School at ACS Cobham says:

ACS Cobham is proud to offer students world-class facilities and this pitch is a wonderful asset to both the school and the local community.

The official launch of the AstroTurf took place at the Power of Four Cup on 29 November, an under-18 varsity football tournament, where ACS Cobham players were competing with their colleagues from ACS Egham, ACS Hillingdon and ACS Doha, who had made the journey to Surrey from Qatar. The Cobham Cougars went on to win the cup. The installation of this multi-use sports surface was part of a wider investment at ACS Cobham, where a fund of £1.1 million has been recently announced for the bursary scheme for the academic year 2020/21.

All bursaries are awarded on a means-tested basis and, dependent on each student’s individual circumstances, range from ten per cent to 100 per cent of the schools’ fees. Interested families and students can find out more about how to apply for an ACS bursary, the school’s international curriculum or attending an open day by visiting www.acs-schools.com.