Olympic-sized swimming pool to be built in Oundle

Oundle School has appointed Graham Construction as principal contractor for its new sports centre.

The sports centre will also house an eight-court sports hall offering retractable seating, a fitness suite with 70 stations and dedicated dance and multipurpose studios.

Dual use has been factored into the development to ensure year-round community and sports club access to the new facilities.

Dom Toriati, bursar at Oundle School, said: “Graham Construction clearly demonstrated their experience and capability in the delivery of state-of-the-art sports facilities within schools and universities and this was a hugely important factor in our decision to select them as our contractor for the centre-piece of the school’s sports masterplan.”

“The safety of our pupils and staff and minimal disruption to the school’s day-to-day life during the build was of paramount importance and Graham Construction have shown that they can provide the customer care we need as well as the best in new facilities.”

The current sports centre will be retained as the home of sports science and dedicated school sports.

While the centre is being built, the current 43.5m-long pool will remain in use.

The centre is due to be built by the academic year 2019-20.

It is part of a masterplan that includes a new athletics track, eight additional tennis courts, two new Astroturf pitches and six additional netball courts.

John Maguire, regional business development director for Graham Construction’s Birmingham office, said: “Sport is an enormous part of school life at Oundle and this new centre will offer pupils and the local community modern facilities for a wide range of sports and activities, replacing the current 1970s building.

“For us, this is a highly-rewarding project to be working on and we look forward to collaborating with the wider team on delivering these new and enhanced facilities for the pupils’ use and enjoyment.”