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Summer Job Overview 2026 ☀️
Summer is always a busy season for school and outdoor-space transformations and Summer 2026 has been no exception! With schools, academies and community spaces making the most of the holidays, we’ve been busy turning tired outdoor areas into colourful, practical and exciting spaces ready for the new school year.
From brand-new sports pitches and playground markings to adventurous trim trails, artificial grass and in-ground trampolines, this summer has delivered a fantastic mix of projects.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights.
Sports Grass & Multi-Use Games Areas⚽
Sports spaces have been a big part of this summer’s work, with several projects focused on creating hard-wearing areas that can be enjoyed throughout the year.
At Cromwell Junior and Infants School in Birmingham, artificial sports grass was installed with football and netball markings, alongside baseworks designed to help prevent flooding and sinking. The result is a sports surface built to be used 365 days a year.
Nightingale Community Academy in London also received a major sports upgrade, featuring 4G Ultimate Sports Grass with football lines, a 10mm shockpad underlay, bespoke school-logo detailing and blue Multi-Play sports grass around the pitch. The project was completed with 3m-high sports rebound mesh fencing and four freestanding football goals.
Meanwhile, Bishop Wordsworth’s School saw an existing artificial grass sports area removed and its base reworked before new Multi-Play Sports Grass and white court dividing lines were installed.
And at St Stephen’s C of E Primary School in London, an existing MUGA was transformed with a combination of green and blue Multi-Play Grass, incorporating football, basketball and netball markings, plus surrounding luxury artificial grass, shockpad underlay and replacement timber kick boards.
It’s safe to say that the summer sporting calendar has been busy!
Playground Markings: Learning Through Play 🏃
Who says learning has to happen inside?
A number of schools opted for colourful thermoplastic playground markings this summer, adding games, activities and zones that encourage children to get active while having fun.
Holly Lodge Primary Academy, existing thermoplastic markings were refreshed with a green zigzag line, a 30m x 15m netball court with dividing lines and a school logo.
Parkway Primary School in Erith went for a playful combination of a Friendship Zone, “How do you feel today?” markings, a Fun Fitness Trail and Aspiration Hopscotch.
At The Ferns Primary Academy, the markings included a large chessboard, a single-lane running track around the playground and another 1–100 Snakes and Ladders game.
At Moorhouse Academy in Milnrow, Rochdale, the playground received a whole collection of activities, including:
1–100 Snakes and Ladders
Three-way Hopscotch
A 1–25 target
Bunny Long Jump
A bespoke Fun Fitness Trail
White lines creating activity zones
From fitness trails to educational playground games, these projects show how a simple tarmac surface can become a much more exciting place to play.
Artificial Grass Transformations🌱
Artificial grass has featured heavily across this summer’s projects, with installations ranging from simple surface upgrades to themed play environments.
Grafton Primary School in Dagenham combined luxury artificial grass with an exciting river theme, an Explorer Extended Single Deck Unit and a Mobile Tunnel. The school gave the finished project a five-star review, praising the communication, flexibility, professionalism and punctuality of the installation.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Excellent Service. Very happy with the service from start to finish. Communication was excellent throughout, and they were very flexible in accommodating the dates requested by the school. The installation was completed professionally, efficiently, and on time as agreed. Overall, we are extremely pleased with the service, installation, communication, and punctuality. Highly recommended!”
by Grafton Primary School
At Icknield School in Andover, luxury artificial grass was installed alongside a roadway and river theme, complemented by timber bow-top fencing.
Grimsdyke School in Harrow had its existing mulch base and timber edging removed before new artificial grass surfacing and baseworks were installed, including shockpad safety surfacing around appropriate existing play equipment.
There were also artificial grass upgrades at St Stephen’s Centre in London, Coombes Community Centre, and Lostock Hall Primary School in Stockport.
At Lostock Hall, the project was particularly extensive, involving the removal of existing artificial grass, wetpour and metal trim-trail items before installing new luxury artificial grass, MultiPlay Sports Grass, a 25mm shockpad around the Pyramid Climber and additional baseworks where required.
Play Areas Packed With Adventure🛝
For some projects, the goal was all about creating spaces that encourage climbing, balancing, exploring and imaginative play.
Claremont Fan Court received a brand-new trim trail featuring a Monkey Ladder, Trapeze Traverse, Twirling Traverse, Step Up Logs and Stepping Logs. The project also included a bespoke sleeper sandpit and luxury artificial grass with shockpad protection beneath areas where children could experience a critical fall height.
Over at Rose Hill School in Tunbridge Wells, existing Monkey Bars were removed and replaced with a Clamber Stack Mezzo, complete with steel feet and green ropes. The installation also comes with a 10-year timber guarantee.
And at Mottram St Andrew Primary Academy, a smaller project demonstrated that you don’t need a huge installation to make a difference. An existing Clatter Bridge was removed ready for a new Zig Zag Balance Beam.
Small job? Maybe. Small impact? Definitely not!
🏀 Courts, Canopies & Creative Spaces
Not every summer project fitted neatly into one category.
At Clun Memorial Hall and Playing Fields in Shropshire, new court markings were created for tennis, pickleball and basketball, bringing multiple sports together in one versatile space.
Great Walstead School in West Sussex combined a bespoke polycarbonate canopy with themed artificial grass in green, blue and pink, creating a bright and distinctive outdoor environment.
🤸 Something a Little Different
One eye-catching project of the summer came from Minerva May School in Horley. The installation was completed in two stages. First came two in-ground trampolines with purple artificial grass and a 35mm shockpad. Stage two added green and blue artificial grass along with tarmac surfacing to an existing playground.
It’s a great example of how different surfaces, colours and play equipment can be combined to create something genuinely distinctive.
🌞 Summer 2026: A Season of Transformation
Looking back across the summer projects, one thing really stands out: there’s no single recipe for a great outdoor space.
Some schools needed robust sports pitches. Others wanted colourful playground markings. Some opted for artificial grass, adventurous trim trails or creative themed areas, while others made smaller changes that could have a big impact on how children use their outdoor space.
Whether it’s a giant game of Snakes and Ladders, a new multi-sport pitch, a balance trail or somewhere to simply run, jump and explore, the aim is the same - creating outdoor spaces that are practical, exciting and built to be enjoyed.
And with so many transformations completed during the summer holidays, we can’t wait to see these spaces filled with children again when the new school year gets underway.
Here’s to another summer of getting outdoors, getting active and getting creative!
