The school faced the challenges with a large school field that was not usable for 9 months of the year, cancelled sport activities and PE lessons limited to the only playground they have.

Once we had completed the study it was proposed to have the MUGA location close to the existing school playground for easy access to the MUGA and also ensure the existing sport marking on the field were not impacted by a new build. We also design the MUGA so the spoils from the dig out could be bunded and landscaped on site. This would therefore reduce the transportation of wagons in and out of the site and also reduce the cost for muck away.

We suggested the school did a consultation with the staff and children to suggest the design including markings and colour scheme. The school wanted to maintain a multi-purpose area that the whole school would benefit from, this would include a general play space as well as specific line markings for running, netball, hockey and football.

Having recently completed a similar MUGA construction in London we shared the design which showed them an area 50m x 30m and would incorporate all of the activities.

Part of our design service offers CAD designs to illustrate to the client how the MUGA will look visually, well as preparing all design that are required for planning permission.

The selection of the surface was important for the school given the project value and size. With 15 years of installations of our sand dressed synthetic turf (Astro turf) the surface was perfect for what the school needed in terms of ball bounce, slip resistance, impaction and longevity.

They had considered one of our Polymeric surfaces but with the large space they opted for the high wearing artificial grass product with more suitable slip resistance qualities for athletics, hockey and netball.

The 24mm sand dressed surface 2nd generation artificial grass also comes in a variety of colour which our in-house installation team combined to inlay the line markings and rust running track. The markings are not paint but cut into the surface by hand and then glue and taped.

As part of the design the MUGA court surfacing is design to allow the athletics around the outside of the netball court which itself can be used for a variety of activities.

Given the MUGA is to be used in a Primary school environment the construction of the sub base was a dynamic stone (rather than macadam surfacing) macadam offers greater tolerance levels than dynamic but with experience and grading machinery the dynamic base is a good option in terms of cost savings and will not affect the performance of level of play.

Following 18 months in the design and planning stage we eventually had planning permission to start the build. The MUGA installation commenced in February 2024 and completed withing 6 weeks, on schedule.

Example: Cross section build profile:

As part of the planning requirement the MUGA would require a Twin Bar fencing system suitable to Sport England standards.

The major consideration for school and sports club is the fencing which requires both the combination of strength and safety with the option of colour finishes. Its composition is a weld mesh panel comprising of 6mm vertical wires sandwiched between two 8mm horizontal wires (8/6/8). The designed to withstand impact and retain integrity. Having a flat profile and durability, twin bar makes an excellent choice for a ball-stop perimeter. 

Synthetic Turf Management offer all-surround fencing packages that can be tailored in a variety of heights and colours to suit customer specification. For Bader Primary school we chose the 3m high Twin Bar fencing with 1 single leaf gate and 1 double 3m wide gate which would allow access from the playground to the MUGA at playtime.

They chose the popular green steelwork which is galvanised and polyester powder-coated; this coating gives the fencing a long-last protection against weathering and ball impacts. 

The finished product with the path entrance way with a synthetic turf logo mat install looked amazing. 

The school and children are amazed with the completed project and are using the surface all year around not matter the weather. The PE department is delivering lessons that allow all children to enjoy the outdoor space in a safe, colourful and structured environment.