Schools

Riddle of drainage problems solved at last

Since 2018 Ibstock Place School’s sports field suffered from standing water during winter, and it was only after investigation work from AMS Contracting that the extent of the issue was revealed.

As the only grass area for sports at the school, it is a vital space for sports. During the year two football pitches transition to rugby pitches and then to athletics, keeping the area in constant use.

Ibstock Groundsman, Louis Macklin, joined the private school in August 2020, and inherited the drainage problem, but after a brief examination he called in AMS to explore further.

“When I joined I didn’t actually believe them when they told me about the issue,” explained Louis.

“I came in and got a verti-drain, reseeded and had everything looking nice and everyone was amazed with how it looked. And then the winter months came and I was thinking, ‘now I understand’.

“In the winter months it would rain a little bit and we’d have standing water for about a month if it was dry after that. It just wasn’t draining and the pitches were overused, so the grass was ripping out and there were big mud sludges.

“The investigation work was a really valuable part of the process and meant that we could be confident in the plan that was put in place.

“Originally I was going around digging holes and I put two and two together, because the sports staff kept saying it’s ever since the irrigation went in. So I dug near the irrigation and I straight away found a pipe beside a drain run that had been severed through.

“AMS came in and we got some cameras and dug some more holes and it seemed like every drain run that was near an irrigation line was severed.

“The pitches were originally constructed in 2016 and in 2018 an irrigation company came in to install irrigation.

“I think because there were no plans to show where the original drainage was done. So, when they dug their trenches for the pipelines they cut through some of the drainage runs.

“The outlet was going through a wooded area that was also overgrown, and that was always flooding and water was sitting on top of the field because it had nowhere to go.”

AMS surveyed the land, and used GPS to plot the field and wooded area to formulate a plan.

With the original outlet pipe going into the neighbouring golf club’s trench, an attenuation basin had to be built to accommodate the additional water and the irrigation pipes moved to go in between the drainage runs.

With the project completed, Louis says the field is ‘draining like a dream’, while giving him time to raise the quality.

“It gives me time to get the standards of the actual field and playing quality up higher. We are a private school and they have always preferred for other schools not to come here because of the condition of the field and pitches.

“Slowly but surely, we’re getting into a position where they will want to host games here.” n www.amscontracting.co.uk

ISEKI joins school’s team

An ISEKI compact tractor is proving to be an ‘extra member of staff’ for the grounds team at Bloxham School according to Head Groundsman Paul White.

Located in the heart of the beautiful Oxfordshire village of Bloxham, Bloxham School is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18.

On a single-site campus the school boasts state-of-the-art facilities for academic work, technology, arts, and sport – which is where Paul comes in. Bloxham has a superb sporting programme offering a wide range of sports and Paul and his grounds team work hard to prepare these surfaces to the highest standard.

To achieve this, Paul is somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to grounds maintenance equipment.

“As soon as machinery becomes outdated and not fit for purpose it absolutely needs replacing,” he said.

“Specifically, we wanted a tractor to cover all the implements we have in our workforce, and to be able to use them safely and correctly on different surfaces.

“The reason we bought into ISEKI was because we have used their machines regularly in the past and they have always been reliable.”

After a demonstration arranged by ISEKI dealer Turney Groundcare & Garden Machinery, Paul decided to purchase the ISEKI TG6495 – a 47 hp compact tractor with the innovative IQ dual-clutch 24-speed transmission.

Other benefits of the TG6495 include: • 1580 kg lift capacity at the ball ends and 1400 kg lift capacity @24″ behind • Category 2 cab with air-conditioning, heating, and a good view • Front loader joystick, up-stop PTO, linkage up in reverse and draft control all supplied as standard • Equipped with an electro-hydraulic power take-off shaft that saves the attachment and the engine while providing operator comfort

“We all been really impressed with the tractor,” said Paul.

“The lifting of the PTO has been a massive benefit and the automatic clutch shut off is good for when we are turning on the sports fields.

“The weight and the size of it is much better on our fields for compaction. It has good traction for the wheels, the allround visibility of the tractor is very much improved compared to our last tractor, and general use is a lot easier for the operator.

“It has performed exceptionally well in all weather conditions. Through the winter it has been fantastic with our vertidrainer and in summer it has helped with a number of different implements.

“Also, the IQ transmission makes it easier for our operators to use and change gear when there are implements on the back.

“We like to think of this tractor as an extra member of staff - it does everything we ask of it.” n www.iseki.co.uk