VLE

Sport for all at BJS

Thanks to the generous support from Godalming Town Council, the superb fundraising activities of the school PTA and a generous anonymous donation, we have now raised £170,000 towards our new multi-use games area (MUGA) that has been built on our school field.

This new facility will have a positive impact on the school's sports offer and the children's physical activity levels in the following ways:

More all year round sporting and physical activities
Space for your children to be happy and healthy
Make break times even safer
Maintain our sporting excellence

This letter issued to stakeholders on 18th January 2023 provides more details from early on in the project.

Why do we need a MUGA?

We are so fortunate at Busbridge CofE Junior School to have a beautiful rural site which incorporates a large field. We have achieved an excellent level of sports provision and participation but unfortunately, the quality of our outdoor space is holding us back from developing it further.

The field where we do most of our sports suffers from poor drainage and erosion, and we now find ourselves having to restrict usage to enable it to recover, and this in turn unfortunately limits the amount of physical activity the children can participate in. The field has not been able to recover even with the two recent periods of school closure.

The school now ranks within the top 10 of Surrey Primary schools in terms of both sporting achievement and sporting representation but our school field is really hampering our ability to maintain the level of sport and physical activity which the children enjoy.

There is a desperate need to improve the facilities and maximise the space available to the children, and the installation of a MUGA would provide a reliable, flat, all weather, all season sports surface which all children will be able to enjoy.

What is a MUGA?

A multi use games area is a sports surface which is suitable for multiple different activities in all weather conditions. They usually have different sets of sports line markings to accommodate a wide variety of sports.

A MUGA would not only enable us to maintain our current high levels of participation and performance in sport but would also allow the children to take part in a broader range of sports and activities. Importantly, the investment will benefit not just "the sporty", but all children at Busbridge Junior School, by raising aspirations and enabling talent to be nurtured and developed.

Physical exercise boosts learning performance

The idea that healthy children learn better is empirically supported and well accepted. Physical activity reportedly improves brain function. Studies have shown for example, that intensive exercise boosts the performance of teenagers in English, maths and science. There is a growing body of research that evidences how PE and sport can also have a positive impact on behaviour and increase the sense of connection young people feel with their school.

About the fundraising

We really hope that you can see the benefits of this investment and that you are willing to support us. We are also exploring other avenues of funding, for example grants and match funding, but given the significant costs of installing and maintaining a MUGA, we would be incredibly grateful for any support the local community can afford us.

You may ask why Surrey County Council or the Church cannot fund such a facility. As BJS is a CofE church school, the CofE Diocese rather than Surrey CC is responsible for maintaining and improving the school estate. Every year, we bid for funding along with all other C of E schools, for projects that meet the Diocese priority criteria. At the moment, these include fixing roofs, replacing boilers and toilets and safeguarding issues such as fencing. Projects such as installing a MUGA and improving the playground are very unlikely to be funded when there are so many improvements and repairs required to the existing school buildings.

We really do hope you will consider donating to this cause, either with a one-off contribution or regular instalments. To put the costs into context, a donation of £120 would fund a square metre of MUGA, which equates to £10/month for a year.

We would greatly appreciate any contribution you can make so that we can provide the children with the sports and recreation space that they all deserve.

For more information about the MUGA please read our FAQs page