After welcoming guests to the new Sports Centre, Headmaster Jonathan Anderson shared his thoughts on the new facilities and thanked those involved in bringing the project to life...

'I am incredibly proud to officially open the final phase of the College’s new Sports Centre development – a wonderful space that includes a state-of-the-art fitness suite, digitally enabled classrooms, a completely re-imagined sports hall, an indoor climbing wall, generous changing rooms, and more.

This project has been a huge team effort. I would like to thank my predecessor Robert Robinson and the Board of Governors for having the vision to imagine this magnificent facility, and our in-house project team for having the drive and determination to make it a reality. In particular I would like to mention Vice Principal Will Keown for his leadership, Stephen Woodrow and his team, the Bursar Karl Wilson and Head of PE Gareth Fry, who have collectively made thousands of decisions over the last 3 years.

Thanks also to our expert partners - Todd’s Architects, Drees and Sommer (formerly Johnston Houston), Mascott Construction, Simpson & Crawford Consulting and BW Murray for ensuring that the build was designed and completed to an exceedingly high standard.

As you can imagine, facilities like this do not come cheap, and at a cost of just under £6m we looked towards our Campbell Community for support. Through former Development Director Cathy Law, our donors rallied to provide the funds which were central to enabling the completion of this project. Many of our donors are here today, including the sponsors of our Supporters’ Wall, and I would like to extend a very personal and sincere thank you to you all.  

Today is also about re-dedicating the CMH Gibson Hall and we are honoured to have Mike with us. We are proud that his long and illustrious rugby career started at Campbell College, and went on to include the University of Cambridge, Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians. Before you leave today, I would encourage you to take a tour with one of the volunteer guides behind me, where you can take in the sporting honours boards which pay tribute to the College’s extraordinary sporting heritage – including of course, Mike’s contribution. My thanks to the Old Campbellian Society which researched and donated the boards.

We are a community campus and excited about the multi-use of this facility. I am delighted to see local clubs and Governing bodies for Cricket, Football, Hockey, Volleyball and Rugby represented today among others and we look forward to building on these strong relationships in the years to come, across all College facilities. 

Thanks to all our parent volunteers without whom sport would not be possible on the scale that we deliver. Thanks to those who came before us including the legend of Mr John McKinney. Thanks to our Governors who give so much of their time to make this College what it is and work tirelessly to keep us moving forward.'

Please see a selection of photos from this fantastic occasion below and explore the Hub for further articles on the presentation of Mike Gibson's Lions Cap and the opening of the Supporters' Wall.