Fundraising Campaign
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STS is raising £30,000 to support repairs to Sandwich Sports and Leisure Centre to enhance community and school use.
In April we made the difficult decision that we would no longer be able to use the Sandwich Sports and Leisure Centre for our PE provision as the owners, the Sandwich Sports and Leisure Centre Trust, unfortunately did not have the means to fix the Sports Hall floor, which had become unsafe to the extent that we were no longer insured to use it. Since then we have been working hard to resolve this situation.
On 28 May, ownership of the building was signed over to us, which means that we will now be able to use parts of the building again for PE – but the Sports Hall itself will remain out of bounds for PE purposes until the floor is fixed. Now that we have ownership and responsibility for the building, we will do everything that we can to replace the floor as soon as possible. We hope this can be done in time for September.
We are also in negotiation with Freedom Leisure to engage their services so that, in partnership with them, we can ensure:
- the Sandwich Sports and Leisure Centre re-opens to the public as soon as possible;
- the building continues to provide a service for the local community;
- we bring the building back up to a condition that is fit for purpose for both the school and the public.
There are going to be some substantial costs involved – currently the building has about £250,000 worth of issues that need to be addressed. The school is willing to invest a significant amount of money to provide the students with good resources for their PE curriculum and Freedom Leisure is similarly determined to make the Sandwich Sports and Leisure Centre a going concern. However, the school has limited resources and Freedom Leisure is a not-for-profit company that, like many other businesses, has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
We are, therefore, asking for your help. If every member of our school community were able to spare £10, that would bring in over £15,000 towards the cause. If residents of Sandwich and other parts of the local community helped too, who knows how much we could raise? Every penny would help to ensure that this valuable community asset is preserved for the good of everyone. If you are willing and able to help, please visit our Just Giving page and encourage others to do the same:
Visit justgiving.comYou could also help by taking out membership at the Sandwich Sports and Leisure Centre and, of course, getting fit at the same time. Or, if you have any sporting teams or clubs that are looking for a venue to exercise in, please consider using the Centre at very reasonable rates. Information on how to do this can be found here:
Thank you for any help that you can give. We are determined to ensure that Sandwich Sports and Leisure Centre stays at the heart of both the school and the local community and, with your help, I am confident that we can do it.
With best wishes
Tracey Savage, Headteacher