Tadcaster Community & School Athletics Track

Aim: To restore the school runnning track for use by students and local running & community groups.

Who are we?

Tadcaster Grammar School is a fabulous secondary school set in 60 acres of grounds just outside the brewery town of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire.  With a rich history of superb education and supporting young people since 1557, initially as a selective Grammar School until becoming one of the first state comprehensive schools in the country after 1945. Relocating from the town to the present site one and a half miles to the west of Tadcaster, in 1960 and becoming a fully comprehensive school (for ages 11 to 18) eight years later.  

We are very fortunate to have over 60 acres of school grounds and proud of the many sporting and extra-curricular opportunities we offer all students with a variety of sports pitches and courts as well as astro-turf areas and wooded areas for orienteering.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Unfortunately recent storms inflicted severe damage to our athletics track which has resulted in students and our wider community being unable to use this superb facility.  Our students have asked us regularly when we can bring the athletics track back into use.  We have looked into so many ways of achieving this, but education funding has restrictions and budgets have continued to be stretched.  Therefore, we cannot carry out the necessary work without raising additional funds.  

We are looking to raise funds for the full refurbishment of our athletics track which will bring far reaching benefits for the whole community.

As Tadcaster Grammar School is committed to being an integral part of our local community, once completed the track will be immediately used by our fellow Trust schools and our project partners Tadcaster Harriers.  It will also be available for other local clubs and is the only running track for over 10 miles.  The addition of good lighting and changing facilities, we enable it to be offered as a safe space for a variety of other organisations or groups to enjoy athletic activities, particularly women, children and vulnerable groups.  We are proud that this will bring people of all ages and abilities together, and promote a culture of health and wellness across our local area.  

How we’ll spend the money raised

The refurbishment specification along with aluminium edging has been selected to ensure the end result provides a good, long-lasting quality track.  We have committed to including external lighting fixtures so that organisations and clubs can continue taking advantage of the facilities in the darker months and feel safe whilst doing so.  

If we meet - or even exceed - our target we would be delighted to be able to look at providing safe and secure changing facilities close to the track for all to use.

The cost for the complete project is just over £68,050.  This is broken down into:

• preparation, refurbishment and completion of the track:  £50,970 
• 1 large changing facility with individual cubicles - frosted glass windows and lights - £12,230 
• external outside lighting units with heavy duty battery packs - £4,850 

Our students and staff are excited to take part in a variety of fundraising activities to help raise money towards the project, and Tadcaster Harriers are also working hard to help us.  It really is a community effort.

Community impact

The benefits of this important project are far reaching - well beyond our school, its students and staff.  Working alongside Tadcaster Harriers, we have a collective ambition to provide a community resource to help and encourage so many people enjoy hobbies and promote health, well-being and sporting excellence.  

Tadcaster Grammar School is committed to being part of our local community and promises to offer a safe space for youth organisations/groups, especially girls and women, to enjoy athletic activities and create a community hub, bringing people of all ages together, building social links and promoting a culture of health and wellness.  

Once finished, this fantastic facility will be available to our fellow Trust schools, as well as various groups or clubs from the local area to host fun activity and sports events/competitions, including running clubs, fitness classes, school or youth organisation sports activities and competitions as well as senior walking groups, sports training and team building for businesses and organisations.  

Our athletics track will be so much more than a fitness facility for school - as part of the wider facilities already available to our community (local football, swimming and gym clubs are welcomed regularly) it will become a tool for encouraging and strengthening community spirit, public health, youth empowerment and inclusion for all ages both male and female.  (The closest alternative athletics tracks are either York or Carnegie School of Sport in Leeds.)

How you can play your part

These simple things can help us reach our stretched target and make this project a reality:

1. Make a pledge:  Please don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word:  Please share the details of our project on your social media pages and tell as many people as possible - the more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Fundraise for us:  If you would like to run your own fundraiser in support of our project – maybe a sponsored activity – please use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know.  Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 18th August 2025 at 11:55pm