One of the country’s most celebrated sportsmen returned to his old school in Manchester today to officially open The Manchester Grammar School’s (MGS) new sports hall.
Michael Atherton OBE, an Old Boy of the School who went on to become England cricket captain and is now a decorated journalist, unveiled the new, state-of-the art hall and was joined by pupils, teachers and alumni of the School.
The previous sports hall was damaged during severe weather in 2014 and in its place, a two-storey facility has been built which includes four cricket nets, an indoor hockey pitch, basketball court, five-a-side football pitch, volleyball court and six badminton courts.U pstairs there is a large multi-use space, which will be used by the Junior School for meetings and assemblies and also for hosting functions and fixtures both by the School itself and local clubs.
During the ceremony, the Lord Lieutenant of Manchester also officially unveiled a new memorial in front of the hall celebrating the School’s founder Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter. The monument was designed and erected by the ‘Life for a Life’ Memorial Forests charity, one of the many charities the School supports. During his time at The Manchester Grammar School between 1979 to 1986, Michael Atherton OBE captained the School’s cricket team, scoring almost 3,500 runs and taking 170 wickets. He went on to captain the England cricket team, taking over the captaincy aged just 25. After retiring, he became a highly respected sports journalist and broadcaster, writing for The Times and working for Sky Sports. In March 2010 he won Sports Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards.Speaking about the new sports hall,
Michael said: “Sport has always played a fundamental role in MGS life and this has been reflected by the number of talented sporting figures the School has produced across such a wide range of disciplines. This facility will provide an excellent venue for MGS to host other schools, for pupils to hone their skills and to one day to go on to represent their School, county or even country.
“I very much enjoyed my time at MGS and I’m proud to have been asked to come back and officially open the sports hall which will be used by the School for generations to come.”
Dr Martin Boulton, High Master at The Manchester Grammar School, said: “It is an absolute privilege to have Michael Atherton OBE here today. Michael is an Old Mancunian who has now enjoyed extremely successful careers as both an England cricketer and now at journalist and broadcaster and we are delighted he has returned to open this fantastic new sports hall.
“Michael is also an active supporter of the School and we are extremely grateful for his help with our Bursary Fund which will help bright boys, irrespective of their background or financial circumstances, benefit from an education here at MGS.”The new sports hall has state-of-the-art facilities, which will strengthen and enhance our reputation for providing boys, like Michael Atherton, the opportunity to develop their sporting skills and pursue careers on the national stage.”I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Ecclesiastical, our insurance company, for their help and support throughout this project and enabling us to build this fantastic new venue.
Norman Armstrong-Kersh MBE, founder and chief executive of ‘Life for a Life’ Memorial Forests, added: “It is a pleasure and a great honour to not only be associated with the School but also be able to participate in such a meaningful way in the quincentenary celebrations. The monument has been designed, built and constructed by the charity in partnership with Marshalls Natural Stone Division. It is hoped this beautiful stone monument will participate in generating additional charitable funds over the years and bring much benefit to those less fortunate than ourselves. Long may it do so.”
Faith Parish, Education Director said: “As soon as we learnt of the devastation to the sports hall following the storm on 12 February 2014, we were quickly on-site with Crawfords, our loss adjusters, to assess the damage, make safe the building and then discuss with the school the options open to them. “It was obvious that the sports hall, although less than 20 years old,would have to be demolished and rebuilt. From the outset, we have worked closely with the school and our contractors to ensure that the new building meets modern-day needs and has facilities to serve the school for many years to come.
“Demolishing, and then building a new sports hall around a busy,functioning school is never easy, but as an insurer with over 40 years’ experience in the education sector, we are very used to accommodating this requirement, and this project was no different.”
A dinner organised by the School and attended by 1,000 guests will take place this evening at The Point at Lancashire County Cricket Club’s Old Trafford venue as part of the quincentenary celebrations.
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