An Interview with...Paul Curran

Gardener, Sherborne Prep, Sherborne School and Sherborne International

Year on year, season by season, the grounds of Sherborne Prep look immaculate. They are admired at matches and sports days and the children love to run and play on them. However, the work that goes into keeping the grounds at perfection all year round is endless and our grounds staff are the unsung heroes of our beautiful spaces.

Paul Curran joined SPS as Assistant Groundsman in January 2007 after studying Countryside and Environmental Management at Kingston Maurward College. Passionate about learning, Paul later studied for an NVQ2 in Horticulture and Sports Turf and later completed the Institute of Groundsmanship level 2.

Paul enjoys the wide variety in his work each day. He takes pride in maintaining the sports and athletics pitches and especially enjoys preparing Lower Paddock for Sports Day. Often unnoticed perhaps is the weeks of preparation for the one day of celebration but Paul’s sense of pride is clear when he describes the feeling of the whole school community gathering in a remarkably visually aesthetic place.

Keeping track of the events and matches that are coming up and the specific preparation for them is managed by a ticket system as part of the wider Sherborne School grounds team but the ‘everyday jobs’ don’t stop! The extensive regular jobs range from watering hanging baskets and window boxes, to cutting the lawns and pitches, pruning, weeding (and more weeding!), marking sports pitches, setting up marquees for events, planting flower beds, trimming hedges and much more.

Having to work around daily sports lessons and being at the mercy of the weather can make things tricky for the grounds team however there is a tangible sense of humour and fun that exudes from the grounds staff. Ever cheery and smiley, they tend to be seen in a bunch, tackling tasks as a team and certainly, enjoying the range of vehicles essential for different jobs!

There are long days and hard graft but as the seasons change so do the challenges. Whether the inclement weather of the Michaelmas and Lent Terms or the longer days in the Trinity Term requiring significant cricket pitch maintenance, Jack Robins (Head Gardener), Paul and the team have a great rapport.

Paul is also a firefighter for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue – a commitment that means he could be called to respond to emergency calls at any time. Committing to around 130 hours a week on duty, Paul has to be able to respond to the fire station within 5 minutes and is grateful to the Sherborne Group for their continued support of his commitment to the fire service.

Clearly someone who goes beyond, Paul assisted the NHS and the South Western Ambulance Service during the pandemic by volunteering to join paramedics on front-line ambulances and after receiving additional training from the NHS, he was soon seen driving ambulances all over the South West! Incredibly unassuming however, Paul draws note of the admiration he has for the paramedics and emergency care assistants that do this job day in and day out.

Paul’s best quick and easy gardening tip? ‘Use soluble fertiliser in your hanging baskets and potted plants to make them better than the neighbours!’

Zoe Sheffield written for The Sherborne Times