Jay Rod opens new 3G pitches at Blessed Trinity

Burnley-born Jay visited the new £400,000 facilities, which are open to both the pupils and the community, and was impressed.

“I went to Barden High School and we did have Astroturf but it was nothing like this,” said the striker, who now plays for Wrexham. I remember it was rock hard while this is soft and is a brilliant facility both for the school and those who use it outside of school hours.

“Being here and seeing it used by both boys and girls in lessons and at breaks and lunch-times is encouraging to see.

“I enjoy coming into schools and hope I can inspire pupils and share my experiences. It’s good when they are Burnley fans too and we can talk all things Burnley FC.”

Headteacher Deborah Williams said: “Our new 3G pitches have been seven years in the making and it’s amazing to see them being used by our pupils and the community. It’s great Jay Rodriguez gave his time to come and officially open the facility – it certainly created a buzz around school!”

Year 10 pupil Sam Rushton, who is also a referee, said: “I have watched the old 3G pitches being ripped up and the new ones being developed. It’s a really good facility, there are no flaws and the new nets are great.”

Pupils had a Q&A with Jay, asking him all things Burnley, including his favourite goals, favourite opponents and best player to play with and against as well as getting items signed.

Finance Manager Mark Magee has overseen the project. He said: “It’s brilliant Jay came to officially open our new facility and to see how impressed he was with it, and our pupils and community get to make use of this every day.

“Our old Astroturf was nearly 20-years-old, there were constant issues with the old surface and we had complaints we about the quality of the facility from clubs who used it from the letting side.

“It’s something I wanted to change but obviously as a school it’s about costs as we had to pay for it – but we knew how important it was for our pupils and the local community.

“We got approval from everyone concerned and we had a tight time frame to rip it up and refit a top-of-the-range 3G facility between October and December last year.

“Thankfully it worked out perfectly and we now have three five-a-side pitches; two seven-a-side pitches; one nine-a-side pitch and an 11-a-side pitch.

“We have also added some new goal posts, kick back boards and there is new LED lighting which is superb for when the facility is used at night.

“Everyone who uses it in school is full of praise for it, it means we can play games at home here instead of elsewhere and pupils are keen to use it, not only in PE lessons, but at break and lunch-times too in all weathers. We want the best facilities for our pupils and we can now proudly say our pupils have this.

“This encourages physical activity, which boosts mental health and it enhances our curriculum too.

“At night and weekends, it’s used by local clubs all year around and the feedback has been superb. It develops a link between the school and the community, which is important to us as a school.”