The Grammar School at Leeds tennis & netball facility

Sports covered

Rubb has designed, manufactured, and installed The Grammar School at Leeds’ (GSAL) new 2400m² covered sports facility.

The 38m span x 60m long BVC structure—which has the backing of Sport England and England Netball—contains four tennis courts and three netball courts to be enjoyed by both the GSAL students and the community.

Players enter through a ‘porch’ added to the left wall of the building, which is comprised of a 1.5m span x 15m long BVR extension to the main facility. This goes to show the customisability on offer when designing a bespoke Rubb building tailored to the client’s exact requirements.

The flooring is expertly finished with durable Medite Smart Ply 18mm T&G, Tarkolay Isolation Membrane, and 6.5mm Tarkett Multisport in midnight blue and framed with a black border. The four tennis courts are cleanly marked in yellow on top of the three sets of white netball court markings, maximising the usable space.

The structures are clad with a high-quality, PVC impregnated polyester fabric; grey to the walls, white to the roof. This translucent white roof allows natural daylight to illuminate the playing area, supported by 500 lux lighting when needed.

The cladding is complete with two signs featuring GSAL’s emblem and motto—Be Inspired. One above the porch, 9.4m x 2.85m; one to the front gable, 2.7m x 3.15m.

Tracey Neville MBE cuts the ribbon at grand opening

To celebrate the opening of its new sports building, GSAL invited Tracey Neville, former netball international and head coach of England, to officially open the facility and break it in with over 100 pupils from across Leeds. GSAL’s U15 and U16 netball teams received a training session from Tracey, who then oversaw a skills workshop for pupils from eight local primary schools.

She was joined by Bob Bowman QPM, CEO of Leeds Rhinos Foundation—the official charity of Leeds Rhinos rugby and netball. Bob had this to say: “The partnership between GSAL and Leeds Rhinos coupled with this excellent facility will provide opportunities for the Superleague franchise to integrate themselves with the wider community. The facility will also help showcase the sport of netball in Leeds and the wider region.”

Lorcan O’Brien, Whole School Director of Sport at GSAL, added: “I am delighted that Tracey Neville joined us to open this great new sports facility at GSAL, and it was fantastic to see girls and boys from local primary pupils having fun and enjoying this great sport. The dome certainly lays a firm foundation to grow our partnerships with the local sports community and in the wider community of Leeds.”

GSAL have made this new sports facility available for hire by the local community during evenings, weekends, and school holidays. More information can be found at www.gsal.org.uk.

The facility will also help showcase the sport of netball in Leeds and the wider region.

CEO, Leeds Rhinos Foundation Bob Bowman QPM

The dome certainly lays a firm foundation to grow our partnerships with the local sports community and in the wider community of Leeds.

Whole School Director of Sport, GSAL Lorcan O’Brien