SB 4150 Web

Case Study
Get sporty!
Witham Hall is a 250 pupil strong boarding and day Prep School for children 4-13
years old in Witham-on-the-Hill, near Stamford, Lincolnshire, that has recently
added to its attractions by the regeneration of its sports hall into an impressive
new Sports Centre.
The new Sports Centre at Witham Hall
(www.withamhall.com) was formally
opened by Great Britain Olympian
Crista Cullen MBE. Ahead of cutting the
ribbon, the gold medal winning hockey
player paid tribute to all concerned with the
new facilities, which she said “would
undoubtedly serve to inspire and encourage
generations of young athletes, whatever their
sporting interest and ability.” She encouraged
all users to “fully embrace and enjoy
everything that such an outstanding
development can provide” suggesting that
“few stand-alone Prep Schools across the
country could have access to such facilities.”
The original Sports Hall building was
decommissioned last summer, when
construction of the new Sports Centre began.
At 20,000 square feet, the new main hall offers
pupils a host of indoor sporting opportunities
for both curriculum PE and Games, while
separately providing a sprung floor Dance and
Gymnastics Studio, an AV Room for guest
lectures, a full cardio and resistance Fitness
Centre, as well a suite of new changing,
showering, catering and staff facilities.
A roof-top viewing terrace overlooks the
outdoor tennis and netball courts allowing
spectators to enjoy watching sports as well as
taking in the school’s fine parkland setting at
the same time.
In highlighting the outstanding support and
ambition of the Governing Body in making the
project possible, Headmaster Mr Charles
Welch said “Alongside an increasingly
outstanding reputation locally and regionally,
we have the ambition to make Witham Hall
one of the leading Prep Schools in the country.
“The work undertaken in recent years to
extend academic facilities in the Prep Building
and the Pre-Prep Building, to provide state-ofthe-art
new Science labs, to redevelop Art,
Drama and Music, and to provide a Forest
School, all now receive a further boost with
this magnificent new facility.”
The Headmaster also indicated that space
liberated elsewhere on the campus will allow
for the installing of two new IT Suites with
added Design & Technology provision,
alongside the extension of pupil dining and
common room provision.
Mr Welch also highlighted how the school
“has always been pleased in how other
local schools (including various local
primary schools, as well as special needs
institutions), local clubs and charitable
community groups had been able to use
the old facility, and is now really looking
forwards to being able to welcome these
groups back to a modern and superbly
equipped centre.”
The Chair of Governors, Jeremy Sharman,
congratulated the School Bursar, Luke
Graham, who had acted as project
manager for the multi-million pound build.
“Together with Thomas Wilson Architects
(www.thomaswilsonarchitects.co.uk), Mr
Graham had brought to fruition the
school’s original vision to achieve a large
facility that did not lour over its
surrounding, nor fight against the aesthetic
of the wider estate or the main Queen
Anne revival main hall,” he said.
Witham Hall
new Sports
Centre