The two 11-a-side grass pitches, used by the school’s 650 pupils and local grassroots teams at the weekend, have gone from being rated "poor" in 2023 to one now rated "good" and the other "advanced", providing high-quality, reliable playing surfaces for PE lessons and community sport.

For Daniel Douglas, PE teacher at Hurworth for 11 years, the need for change was impossible to ignore.

"When I first started, they paid an external contractor to come in and do 12 cuts a year and the lines got burned in once a year," he said. "It really wasn't conducive to good PE or football or anything really."

The condition of the pitches was not only frustrating, it was directly impacting performance. One match, in particular, proved to be the catalyst.

"I distinctly remember playing the County Cup semi-final at home. The goalkeeper goes out to pick it up, it's rolling and it bounces over his shoulder and goes in like almost comedy style, and we end up losing the County Cup semi-final 3-2. At that point I knew I need to do something about this."

With a background in sports turf maintenance, Daniel knew the issues could be fixed but only with the right investment and a long-term plan. He approached the school with a proposal.

"I proposed to the school that we could apply for funding for a tractor and other pieces of machinery that would really improve the surfaces not just for PE lessons and teams but also the local community."

Daniel’s proactive approach stood out immediately, as Joe Dredge, Facilities, Marketing & Communications Officer at Durham FA, explains:

"Dan has been an exemplar as someone on the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund."

Working closely with Durham FA, the school engaged with the Grounds Management Association (GMA) to access funding, training and expert advice. Hurworth School was awarded the Football Foundation’s Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund, enabling significant investment over a 10-year period.

"Hurworth School was awarded the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund of £10,660 with a project cost of £16,000 to improve their pitches over the 10-year period," Joe said.

"Already Dan is getting the most out of his grant."

Alongside the funding from the Football Foundation, Hurworth School has benefitted from technical guidance and a structured maintenance programme suggested by the GMA, including goalmouth repairs, decompaction, deep slitting, surface grooming, overseeding and fertilising.

"Being sustainable and accessing the machinery grants ensures that the school is in safe hands with someone that is not just knowledgeable, but also enthusiastic and proactive," said Daniel.

With machinery on site and GMA training completed, Daniel was able to take full ownership of the pitches. And now, pitch maintenance has become a personal hobby.

"I live 2 minutes away so whenever I can on a weekend or if I've got a free lesson or a lunchtime, I jump on the tractor for an hour, I come back, I teach a lesson, I go back at lunchtime. I work it round as best as I can really."

"There's nothing more therapeutic than putting some nice stripes in the pitch. I do it for the love of doing it."

Ongoing support from Durham FA and the GMA ensured the work was reinforced by best practice.

"Chris Hunter from the GMA has been fantastic. Between Durham FA and the GMA, they've been great and they've been really helpful and really informative," Daniel said.

Chris Hunter, Regional Pitch Advisor (Football – North East) at the GMA, added: "Dan has been a pleasure to work with. He took feedback on board from the outset, engaged fully with CPD opportunities, attended events and was always keen to learn. The results we’re seeing now are a direct reflection of his dedication and the effort he’s put into developing his knowledge."

The results have been transformative. All pupils now use the pitches throughout the year across a wide range of sports, and Hurworth Juniors, the local village team, also benefit from the improved surfaces.

"The kids have been so appreciative. They've gone from being desperate to be drawn away in cup games so that we can play on a decent surface to really wanting to play at home and really being proud of it."

The improvements have strengthened the school’s role at the heart of the local community.

"I live in the village myself where I teach so I know a lot of the kids, I know a lot of the families, so it's really nice to have a facility that they want to be proud of and want to be involved in rather than the mud bath pitches that we were on before."

Daniel’s ambition now goes beyond Hurworth School. As part of a multi-academy trust, he is already working to apply the same approach at a larger sister site with 10 grass pitches and a full-size 3G pitch.

For Durham FA, the project exemplifies what’s possible when people and projects are supported with the right expertise.

"He conducts his own Pitch Power Assessments, submits his claims on time and frequently attends CPD workshops whilst balancing teaching as a full-time job," Joe added.

For Daniel, the success comes down to trust and support from the school.

"I would really like to thank my Head of PE and my Head Teacher. They've been incredibly supportive and backed the project at every stage, they've really embraced and helped with the improvements."