Upokongaro School has been granted $18,000 by New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) towards an upgrade of its concrete netball courts to a multi-sport turf, including shock pads.
Spokesperson Yvonne Leitch-Heggie commented, “On behalf of the Board, students and parents, I would like to thank NZCT for their support. We believe that the needs of our children and their learning is paramount and for the school to provide a safe and stimulating learning environment for our students, which excites and challenges them to reach their full potential. The court upgrade will encourage further sport involvement at school for both students and the community. We will now have the ability to host other schools around Wanganui in sports like hockey and netball, including junior teams, due to the rubber matting underlay which improves safety.
“Key outcomes are for this facility is to allow us to engage our School Cluster made up of six schools when hosting sports activities, encourage participation in physical activity and sports for our students, develop our students’ co-ordination, reflexes, general health and well-being, building self-confidence and social skills, and increasing opportunities in the community.”
Founded over 150 years ago, the co-ed campus is located on the Whanganui River and has 135 students (73% Māori).