Behind the Scenes at Bancroft’s: Grounds and Maintenance

When the final bell rings for the summer holidays and the corridors begin to quieten, there is still plenty happening across the school for our Grounds and Maintenance teams to ensure Bancroft’s is ready for when pupils return.

This summer a number of works have taken place across the school, including improvements to our sports fields, gardens, classrooms as well as larger projects.

For the first Behind the Scenes at Bancroft’s feature of the academic year, we wanted to introduce some of the staff who help look after our buildings, grounds and facilities, and find out a little more about what their roles involve.

Looking after our Grounds

The Grounds team is responsible for the upkeep of the school site throughout the year, which involves the main fields, sports pitches, the Quad, gardens and our of site sporting ground, West Grove.

One of the main projects this summer has been the renovation of the outfields at both the main school and West Grove. This has involved scarifying, aerating, seeding and top dressing the fields to improve their quality and performance. They have also restarted the allotment in the Head’s Garden and installed a new fence, hedge, planters and benches by the fields.

There has also been a new addition to the Grounds team. Beata Sheridan has recently joined as a gardener and will oversee the allotment, helping to give pupils opportunities to get involved with gardening and caring for the environment.

Interim Grounds Manager Jamie joined Bancroft’s in 2021 and now oversees the Grounds team, working alongside Freddie and Jack, as well as our gardeners Martin and Beata.

His role is varied, with each day beginning by making sure the team is working safely and knows what needs to be achieved, followed by a walk around the grounds to check for any risks or hazards. There is also plenty of preparation needed for the school’s busy sporting calendar.

“I work alongside Grounds team members Freddie and Jack T to prepare pitches and facilities for fixtures taking place that day or in the following weeks.”

For Jamie, looking after the school grounds is about more than simply making sure the site looks its best.

“We feel the school should match the high standards it achieves inside the classroom with the way it looks outside the classroom.”

A major part of the team’s role is also making sure pupils can safely enjoy the outdoor spaces, whether they are taking part in lessons, playing in fixtures or simply spending time outside at lunchtime.

The weather is one of the biggest challenges the team faces, with changing seasons affecting what work can be carried out and when. This summer, the lack of rainfall has made managing the sports fields and wider grounds particularly demanding.

For Freddie, who joined Bancroft’s a year ago, the opportunity to work outdoors and see the results of his work around the school is a big part of what he enjoys about the role.

He is currently completing a Level 2 Sports Turf Maintenance apprenticeship at Hadlow College, combining practical experience at Bancroft’s with his studies.

“I decided to do the apprenticeship because I’ve always enjoyed working outdoors and being hands-on. I also like seeing the results of my work around school, especially on the school’s field and Quad.”

Working alongside Jamie, who has helped him develop many of the skills he now uses in his role, including using the school tractor, he describes the team as “funny, hardworking and supportive.” He adds, “all three of us get on really well together and are always willing to help each other out.”

Looking ahead, Freddie hopes to continue working in the Grounds department once he completes his apprenticeship.

Keeping Everything Running

Alongside the Grounds team, our Maintenance team make sure the school is safe, well maintained and ready for pupils, staff and visitors entering it.

The summer is their busiest period, providing a chance to carry out larger projects while the school is quieter. Some of their work this year has included decorating offices and classrooms, installing a new boiler and fitting a custom-made dishwasher in the kitchens.

Facilities and Operations Manager Luke Worral joined Bancroft’s in June 2025.

Before joining the school, he ran his own garden and property maintenance company before moving into a site management role at a local primary school. Reflecting on his time at Bancroft’s so far, Luke says, “Alongside my team, I feel we’ve made significant changes and improvements to many areas of the school.”

The team deals with daily maintenance requests while also managing events, activities, looking after the buildings and services, and working with contractors and professional services. As Luke explains, “Communication is key in the role to liaise with contractors and stakeholders to complete tasks to a high standard.”

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His first summer at Bancroft’s has certainly been a busy one, but there have been opportunities to enjoy school life too. One of Luke’s highlights so far has been the annual Summer Festival.

“I enjoyed the summer festival that’s held at the school each year and organising this event was very rewarding when everyone was enjoying the music and activities.”

Working alongside Luke is Facilities and Operations Administrator Lauren, who joined Bancroft’s in 2023. Lauren originally worked as PA to SLT in the Head’s Office, where she had the opportunity to learn more about how the school operates.

“I’m also very much a hands-on person and I really enjoy the variety coming into this new role, as no two days are ever quite the same!”

But for Lauren, it is the people she works alongside that she loves. “I’m so fortunate to work with such hardworking and passionate people.”

She adds:

“Everyone brings their own skills and personality to the department.”

And there is plenty of laughter along the way too. When asked about a funny moment since joining the department, Lauren’s answer was desk karaoke one Friday afternoon.

“I’m not sure what happened that Friday but we all started singing random tunes, one person started and we all ended up joining in!”

The good news is that no one in the Music Department had to witness it: “Thankfully, we work in Operations and not the Music Department!”

Also part of the Maintenance team is Bradley, who has been at Bancroft’s for over three years. Before joining the school, he worked at the University of London in Russell Square.

As a Maintenance Technician, his work can involve door guards that start beeping, doors that begin to squeak or clocks that have stopped working, reminding us that it is often the little things that need attention to keep the school running smoothly. “The team is responsible for daily maintenance, repairs and upgrades,” he mentions.

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A Team Effort

Although the roles across Grounds and Maintenance are varied, there is a common thread running through all of them: teamwork.

Each job they complete contributes to making Bancroft’s a safe, welcoming and well-cared-for place to learn and work.

Thank you to Jamie, Freddie, Luke, Lauren and Bradley for speaking with us, and to everyone across both teams for all their work over the summer break and throughout the school year.