A pitch fit for the finest sportsmen and women, capable of staging a large number of events at the highest level.

You might be forgiven for thinking that this statement refers to how the playing surface at Wembley Stadium should be, but staff and students at a Tees Valley College are hoping that in a few months’ time, their sports fields will be the envy of the national stadium.

Redcar & Cleveland College is investing a considerable sum of money in constructing new sports pitches alongside its new £26m campus on Corporation Road, following the demolition of its previous home on the site.

Students studying sports and fitness courses at the college will be able to use the pitches for a variety of outdoor sports including football, rugby and hockey.

As landscaping work on the pitches is completed, the college’s football team kicked off the growth by sowing the first seeds of the football pitches they will soon be playing on.

Captain of the college football team Gary Sharples, who is studying a BTEC National Diploma in Sport said:

“The new pitches will be a real benefit to the college and will be a massive improvement on what we are used to playing on.

“By having top quality facilities outside as well as inside it will mean that, as students, we can achieve so much more in our studies and extra curricular activities as well.

Gary Groom, Principal of Redcar & Cleveland College said:

“These new facilities will be amongst the best in the area and will give all of our students the opportunity to remain fit and health during their time with us.

“We have worked closely with Sports England to ensure that the pitches will provide a top class playing surface and with over 100 students currently studying sports and fitness courses at the college the new facilities will allow us to expand our offer to them and new students who start at the college this coming September.

Further images to accompany this story can be found here.