Haileybury - A rewarding career change
In 2002, Eamonn left the Suffolk club to take on the role of Deputy Head Groundsman at Haileybury, an independent co-educational boarding and day school in Hertfordshire. Eamonn was quickly promoted to Head Groundsman in 2004, and became Grounds & Gardens Manager in 2010.
It was in 1806 that the Honourable East India Company commissioned William E Wilkins (later the designer of the National Gallery, Downing College, Cambridge, and much of the University of London) to plan the buildings for its new training college for civil servants for India.

It was one of the country's most distinguished centres of scholarship and teaching and the training ground for generations of those destined to govern British India.
Four years after its closure in 1858, Haileybury opened its gates once again, this time as a public school. In 1874, a Haileybury housemaster was appointed the first headmaster of the United Services College at Westward Ho!, which later moved to Windsor and became the Imperial Service College.
In 1942, Haileybury and the Imperial Services College combined to become Haileybury and Imperial Service College; now simply known as Haileybury, such is its esteem in education circles.

There are 250 acres of formal and informal gardens, sports pitches and associated areas, with the remaining 250 acres being woodland.
"As you can imagine, the department has a wide and varied range of staff, including specialists in tree work, grounds, horticulture and pest control. Where possible, staff with certain skill sets, knowledge or experience are involved in any relevant procedures relating to that particular skill. On the occasion of inclement weather, in particular periods of heavy snow, it is an 'all hands to the pump' approach to ensure the campus remains open. The department has its own gritting policy."

"All staff are compliant with current legislation," continues Eamonn. "Our department holds regular 'tool box sessions' relating to relevant issues, for example working on slopes and banks, hand arm vibration and such like."
"Ongoing training is a key part of the department. Where relevant, all staff have the opportunity for training and I also ensure that they all have current and updated certification for their own qualified skill set."

Haileybury employs an "efficient and helpful" Health & Safety Manager, Fiona Russell.
As with all top public schools, presentation ranks highly - first impressions count. "After pitch safety, it is a very close second on the list," confirms Eamonn. "In the formal areas, it is all about aesthetics as Haileybury, quite rightly, requires a high standard of presentation. Soil samples are taken in January on all sports pitches and some of the higher profile amenity grass areas to ensure that remains the case."
The pitches are highly regarded, so much so that they are regularly used by Tottenham Hotspur and also Hertfordshire rugby in conjunction with Saracens. They are occasionally used by other professional football clubs and local clubs. Several local community football clubs, with ages varying from 13-16 years old, as well as Old Haileyburians cricket and football teams play at Haileybury.

With so much extracurricular activity, plus the constraints of an educational establishment, what end of season renovations can Eamonn and the team undertake?
"It's certainly not as easy to fit in as, say, a standalone sports club. It is further complicated by outside lets during the term breaks. Somehow, with a lot of hard work by the team, all the grass pitches and some formal areas are overseeded during the Easter break (not leaving much of a window; three weeks generally) prior to the pupils' return."
"The 1st team rugby pitch is scarified in early July (3-4 passes), overseeded with DLF Premier Pitch grass seed and topdressed with 40-60 tonnes of 70/30 rootzone. Depending on need, sports sand is applied to the 1st team pitch over the Christmas break period."

"The College has a long and celebrated history," continues Eamonn, "of which we are all very proud. In terms of the pitches, they have been used for sports since the early 19th Century. Over the years, the College has played all the major public schools on its pitches, including Harrow, Tonbridge, Uppingham and Wellington and, to this day, retains a prestigious fixture list."
"The soil is London clay which requires plenty of aeration, both shallow and deep; the timing of which is crucial. We use a Toro ProCore SR70 (using a wide variety of tines and sizes) and a McConnell deep slitter, followed by sand topdressing, when appropriate."
"We do have drainage of various forms on some pitches, in particular the 1st team rugby pitch and1st/2nd team cricket outfield, plus mobile cricket covers for the 1st team cricket square but, in an ideal world, more drainage, additional covers and irrigation would be top of my wish list. More realistically, another John Deere 4720 tractor and a couple of utility vehicles would also be useful. Oh, and more sunshine and blue sky days!"

"Logistically, it will be difficult, especially as Tottenham Hotspur's summer camps are still taking place. It will be a challenge, but one that I am up for. I love a challenge."
Eamonn is responsible for the department's budgets, which are agreed via an annual financial meeting with the Bursar. Additional meetings with the Bursar are held throughout the year, as required.
All machinery is purchased outright from local dealers, most notably George Brown Groundscare, Oliver Landpower Ltd and RT Machinery. "We aim to stay loyal to these suppliers, where possible. We've built up good relationships with Steve Lee, James Boyle and Richard Taylor at the respective dealerships. This ensures that we not only get 'best price' on new equipment, but also that we are well looked after when it comes to spares and repairs."

Machinery is hired in for scarification for end of season cricket renovations and a side arms flail is required for some areas of the site. AT Bone are the contractors of choice for the sports pitches and BW Services are used for any landscaping works.
In addition to the natural turf surfaces, there are two full size sand filled pitches and eight macadam tennis courts.
These are maintained in-house with regular brushing of the surfaces. The sand filled pitches receive a quarterly 'powersweep' courtesy of Technical Surfaces. Annual pitch inspections take place and rejuvenation is carried out, when required.
"Construction of the second full sized all-weather surface resulted in the loss of one of the existing rugby pitches. So, in conjunction with this build and to restore/increase the number of grass pitches, a new grass area was created from a horse paddock. This will accommodate two rugby pitches which, in the summer, becomes a fifth cricket square and outfield. All topsoil removed from the new artificial pitch construction was utilised on the new grass pitch area."

"The last couple of years has seen an increase in worm and chafer grub activity, which I put down to the generally milder weather. We try to control the worms with a suppressant and use a target specific chemical for the chafer grubs."
"Regular cultural practices greatly reduce pest and weed outbreaks. If and when required, we apply systemic weed control and apply a total weedkiller to all hard standing areas. But we are ever mindful of environment issues here; it is crucial to keep our ecosystems healthy and vibrant."
"Where possible, we do things in environmentally friendly way - the whole department is sustainability and environmentally focused. We have purchased several pieces of kit - chainsaws, blowers, strimmers, hedgecutters and mowers - that are battery operated to help reduce our carbon footprint. We have instigated a compost tea fertiliser programme, which has greatly reduced the amount of inorganic product being applied needlessly to the soil."

"We keep aware of all industry developments and best practice in terms of environment and sustainability."
"It is our intention to construct a wildflower meadow in one of our dormant fields in the near future," Eamonn confirms.
"As I stated earlier, working at Haileybury has been the highlight of my career so far. It has opened up so many opportunities to learn new procedures and techniques. And it also gave me the opportunity to be involved in a pitch project in Almaty, Kazakhstan as an advisor/consultant."

"The Kazakhstan Rugby Union were hearing good reports about our first team pitch in the UK and, with the kind permission of the Bursar, I was invited, on several occasions, to travel over to Almaty to assist and consult on the improvement, care and maintenance of their pitch."
"So, within two hours of landing at Almaty airport, following a seven hour flight, I found myself deep in discussion with the president of the Kazakhstan Rugby Union - a meeting that (mainly due to translation) lasted three hours!"
"Consulting on the project was a fantastic opportunity and something that, although providing lots of logistical difficulties, was a rewarding, yet challenging experience. But that's another story for another time!"
Tractors
John Deere 4720
Kioti CK22
Kioti DK45
Kubota L3250
Kubota L4200
Ford 1920
Ford 4600
Ride-on Mowers
Toro 3100D Sidewinder triple
Toro 6500 Reelmaster fairway
John Deere 2653B triple mower

Kubota GR1600
Suire tractor mounted finishing deck
Trimax Procut tractor mounted rotary
Sportster 3 gang trailed cylinder unit
Pedestrian Mowers
Dennis FT510 cassette system
Dennis G610
Allett Tournament
Etesia PBE
Etesia LK
Scag SW236A
Hayter Hayterette
Miscellaneous
Amazone GHL150
Autoguide cricket roller
Greentek maxi brush
Jensen woodchipper
Impact Glider line markers x 3
Charterhouse easy spread topdresser
Kilworth rotovator
Kilworth Fertiliser spreader
Kubota mini-digger
Paslode nail gun
Pellenc battery operated system incudes hedgecutter, strimmer and blower attachments
Scotts Fertiliser spreader x 2
SISIS Twinplay
SISIS Flexicomb
SISIS Overseeder
SISIS Trailed sweeper
Stihl Backpack strimmers x 3
Stihl Hedgecutters x 4 (includes 1 battery option)
Kaaz strimmers x 2
Sealy arc welder
Snowex tractor mounted grit spreader
Front loader bucket for Kubota L3250
Front loader bucket for Kioti CK22, also snow plough attachement
Variety of weird and wonderful hand tools for landscaping and fencing