A KENDAL secondary school has received nearly a quarter of a million pounds in funding which it will invest in a state-of-the-art all-weather playing surface and other facilities.

The Queen Katherine School has secured more than £225,000 from various places, including National Hockey, Sport England, and local businesses James Cropper and Clarks.

The money will be used to completely replace the existing all-weather pitch and bring it up to the latest standards for high-level competitions.

Work is due to begin in in early 2018 and is expected to be completed by September 2018. The pitch will allow hockey, football, rugby and many other sports to be played year-round whatever the weather and whatever the time with new floodlights being part of the refurbishment.

“PE is an integral part of the education our students receive at QKS," said Paul Staniforth, head of PE and 6th form. "This significant investment in our fantastic facilities will allow us to continue to provide every student with a wide range of outstanding curricular and extra-curricular opportunities. I hope this will enable us to move on to even greater levels of sporting success.”

Headteacher Jon Hayes added: “On the back of our highly successful GCSE and A level results this summer which once again place us well above other schools nationally and locally, this investment in our sports facilities is another massive success story for QKS.

"A huge thank you to all of those who have helped with the funding and we look forward to opening this new facility in time for our new Year 7 intake in September 2018."

In addition to the new pitch, there are also plans to extend the PE changing facilities and the dining provision for Year 7 students – both of which have been made possible as part of the co-location of Sandgate School’s Key Stage Three provision onto the QKS site.

If you wish to use the school's facilities, call QKS on 01539743900. If you would like a tour of the school as a prospective parent, contact Mrs Holliday at laura.holliday@queenkatherine.org