CRICKET star Luke Sugg attended a celebration of sport, community and faith to mark the opening of brand new sports facilities at Saint Bede’s Catholic Middle School last week.
Former student Luke, who was named England Disability Cricketer of the Year in 2015, joined Worcestershire County Council chairman Tony Miller to mark the occasion and cut the ceremonial ribbon on a commemorative plaque at the new sports hall.
Coun Miller gave a speech to staff, visitors and students and a performance from a choir of school children and a blessing of the new sports hall and prayers followed,
Coun Miller said: “I think it’s fantastic that we can all work together and create such a great facility for the children in our community to benefit from.”
The 1.3 million sports facility in Holloway Lane is a multi-usage area and the children demonstrated the variety of sports they will now be able to enjoy with games of basketball, table tennis and badminton.
Luke, who explained that he had discovered his talent for cricket quite by chance while at school said he believes facilities such as this are vital: “Sports are a huge part of school life and with the right facilities, anyone can discover the joy of taking part or finding a talent they didn’t know they had.
“I always loved football, but when me and a friend went to an after-school session that turned out to be cricket, I realised I had quite a knack for it.
“Without opportunities at school, so many people could miss out, and I think the students are really lucky to have facilities like this to enjoy.
“It’s always worth trying out new sports – with a bit of determination, and a lot of hard work, you never know where it could lead.”
School principal, Lloyd Roberts added: “The children are really at the heart of what we do here.
“We really want to push for excellence here at St Bede’s in both sport and drama.”
He also said that the school would be applying for a change in planning permission so that the building could be used by the whole community- not just pupils at the school.
Funding for the hall came from Worcestershire County Council, who identified the school as the most in need in the area and, with the approval of the Education Funding Agency, the money was allocated to St Bede’s for the hall and Woodfield Academy for an all weather pitch.
The scheme also saw the improvement of drainage and quality of St Bede’s playing field.
