Our Vision for Sport

The school’s PE Centre and indoor sporting facilities are undergoing a significant transformation and improvement to create a state-of-the-art complex that will allow all of our pupils to enjoy and participate in a variety of sports, whilst simultaneously enabling the most talented and ambitious pupils to train and compete at the highest level.

Setting

Winchester College’s Southern Campus is located between the playing fields on Kingsgate Park and Norman Road. It was the focus of the school’s indoor sports facilities, and included the Physical Education Centre (PE Centre), swimming pool, rifle range and squash courts. It was also home to the Works Department, and the Design & Technology Department. 

Driving the Modernisation

The decision to modernise the Southern Campus was driven by the age of the old facilities. The PE Centre was over 50 years old. In the 1960s when the PE Centre was built, Winchester College was home to 550 boys, with a handful of sports on offer. Today the school has up to 700 pupils and offers a diverse range of nearly 30 sports. The school also opens its doors to the local community with a wide variety of members, clubs and societies enjoying the facilities. Increased activity had placed an insurmountable demand on an ageing PE Centre which also presented long-term maintenance difficulties. The redevelopment of the site to create a state-of-the-art Sports Centre will allow pupils to enjoy and participate in a variety of sports and provide much improved facilities for the community.

The Redevelopment Plan

In order to replace the old PE Centre with modern buildings on a similar footprint, the school is moving parts of the Works Department in to a new Support Services Building. As part of the redevelopment, access and car parking will be relocated and accessed via Norman Road. Alongside approval for the new Sports Centre, planning permission was also granted for an extension to the school’s Design and Technology Centre (known as “Mill”), the relocation of the school’s Medical Centre and a new domestic residence on Kingsgate Road. 

Timeframe

Kier was appointed as our contractor in May 2019, and structured the development to take place in two main phases:

  • Phase 1 began in June 2019 and included the construction of the site entrance on Norman Road. This will be used primarily by contractors until the completion of the project, when it will act as the main entrance to the new Sports Centre. Phase 1 also included the construction of the new Support Services Building, as well as separate temporary sports facilities on Kingsgate Park. The Support Services Building includes the laundry and works department. The temporary sports facilities on Kingsgate Park opened in December 2019 and the move into the new Support Services Building was complete by February 2021.

  • Phase 2 began in December 2019 with the demolition of the old PE Centre. Phase 2 involves the construction of the brand new Sports Centre.

 Community Use

Members of the public, clubs and other organisations will be able to use the new facilities when they open. You can find out more and register your interest via the Wykeham Sports Club link below.

Related Stories