Chesterfield school celebrates reopening of swimming pool after revamp

A Chesterfield school has celebrated the reopening of its swimming pool following major refurbishment work over the summer holidays.
(L-R) Tyrell Samuels, Luca Webster, Ellie Robinson, Macie Nightingale, headteacher Dr Mike Bywaters, Arlo Tye, Callum Styles, Rhiannon Bailey-Evans, Imogen Wall opening the newly refurbished pool at Highfield Hall Primary School(L-R) Tyrell Samuels, Luca Webster, Ellie Robinson, Macie Nightingale, headteacher Dr Mike Bywaters, Arlo Tye, Callum Styles, Rhiannon Bailey-Evans, Imogen Wall opening the newly refurbished pool at Highfield Hall Primary School
(L-R) Tyrell Samuels, Luca Webster, Ellie Robinson, Macie Nightingale, headteacher Dr Mike Bywaters, Arlo Tye, Callum Styles, Rhiannon Bailey-Evans, Imogen Wall opening the newly refurbished pool at Highfield Hall Primary School

Highfield Hall Primary School, in Newbold, is now looking forward to welcoming pupils to take a dip in their fully refurbished pool after it was unveiled yesterday (September 13).

The pool, which was previously surrounded by bare concrete and brick walls, has been renovated with PVC cladding and a new raised walkway to allow easy access from poolside.

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It was revamped by Lincolnshire-based EX3 Facilities Management over the Summer holidays in time for the new school term in September.

The new swimming pool changing rooms at Highfield Hall Primary SchoolThe new swimming pool changing rooms at Highfield Hall Primary School
The new swimming pool changing rooms at Highfield Hall Primary School

Dr Mike Bywaters, headteacher of Highfield Hall Primary School, said, “We’re so lucky to have the pool, but it was beginning to look quite tired and was in need of a lot of work to bring it up to date.

"It was definitely worth it, and it now looks amazing. All the children from taster sessions in Year 1 and then from Year 2 get to swim every other week, and now we can be as proud of the pool as we are of the children!”

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As well as the building work, the school’s swimming teacher, Laura Screen, spent countless hours of her summer break painting the foyer, changing rooms and some of the pool itself to transform the whole building.

The newly refurbished pool at Highfield Hall Primary School in NewboldThe newly refurbished pool at Highfield Hall Primary School in Newbold
The newly refurbished pool at Highfield Hall Primary School in Newbold
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Year 6 pupils Rhiannon Bailey-Evans, Macie Nightingale, Ellie Robinson, Tyrell Samuels, Callum Styles, Arlo Tye, Imogen Wall and Luca Webster all helped with the grand opening on Monday, and were the first pupils to see the new pool.

They said, “It looked nothing like it used to. It was such an improvement. The new platform is so fancy. We can’t wait for our swimming lessons to begin.”

The pool at the Newbold-based school is also used by Chesterfield Swimming Club in the evening, weekends and holidays, and Sammy Seals baby and toddler group on Thursdays and during the holidays, meaning that the whole community will benefit from the upgrade.

Highfield Hall Primary School said that swimming can help instill children with its core values of resilience, and being physically and emotionally healthy, and that 98 per cent of pupils can swim by the end of Year 6.

Highfield Hall Primary School's swimming pool before the revampHighfield Hall Primary School's swimming pool before the revamp
Highfield Hall Primary School's swimming pool before the revamp

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