We hope to raise £60K to be able to Astro-turf our school fields to use as a Multi-Sport Facility. We at St Mary's are an eco-friendly school, using as many outdoor facilities as possible. We currently have our own Forest school, Peace Garden and even a Secret Garden which we try and plant vegetables and some colourful plants. Unfortunately, our school fields let us down, as the fields are regularly water-logged and can only be used two months of the year. We hope to raise enough money to Astro-turf our school fields to open up more opportunities for the children at St Mary's and have a more enjoyable experience at the school. We really want to do this to give our children the opportunity to play more sport and a greater variety of sport. We plan to use the pitch to play football, hockey, basketball, tag rugby, gaelic football, archery and many more sports. We want to set up competitions with local schools and open the pitch up to use at weekends for the local community.

What we'll deliver:

• Install astro-turf pitch
• Install double barrier fencing to perimeter
• Divider netting and netting to roof
• excavate land and improve drainage

Why it's a great idea:

I believe this would be a great investment because it will allow children to have a more enjoyable experience at St Mary's and have wider facilities available to enjoy during their break time, PE and even Extra-Curricular Activities. This will have a great impact as we are a growing school and we need more space. We are a larger than average primary school with around 380 pupils last year aged between 3-11. We are based in Levenshulme ward of Manchester, an urban area which suffers from a number of social issues and deprivation and as such we play an important role in providing extra-curricular support to the community. We see our outdoor learning as a priority to children's physical and mental wellbeing. Obesity levels in the area are an ongoing concern. 11.7% of reception aged children are obese with this number rising to 24.8% by year 6. This is significantly worse than average according to Public Health England. We need this facility!!

Steps to get it done:

• appoint contractor
• Caging of the surrounding facilities
• Secure the funding needed
• Agree project delivery plan
• Apply for planning permission
• laying the astro-turf
• level the playing fields
• netting dividers.

By having the Astro-turf this will save a lot of school funds trying to maintain the school fields and be able to spend more money on children's education in and out of the school including Forest School, Gardening Clubs etc. We are a catholic school and we celebrate the uniqueness of every individual and we understand that sport is a great way of breaking down barriers and keeping children active. We want to link what we do in school to local clubs and organisations so when the children leave here they have sporting interests. We are proud of the achievements and the successes we have had just recently in sport. We are the current Boys CityWide football champions, we have a fantastic gaelic football setup and we want to involve children of a younger age in this. We came third in the City in the last tag rugby competition and we compete at a high level in hockey, girls football and athletics...all this has been achieved but we want more success and the MUGA will give us what we need.