At the heart of St Catherine Catholic Primary School values, is the belief that working together will enable everyone to become successful learners. So it is vital to ensure that the right learning environment stimulates the pupils from the beginning. When the early years and year one outdoor areas needed to be updated to accommodate […]
At the heart of St Catherine Catholic Primary School values, is the belief that working together will enable everyone to
become successful learners. So it is vital to ensure that the right learning environment stimulates the pupils from the beginning.
When the early years and year one outdoor areas needed to be updated to accommodate the growing needs of the pupils, the team at St Catherine’s turned to dbdplay for help.
The goal was to design a secure outdoor play area for children that was exciting and protected them from the weather. The existing playground surfaces were made up of a variety of tarmac and block paving, which did not provide the children with any sort of protection from falls & injury. The school specified that the replacement surface had to be as durable as the existing surface whilst offering the children a safe surface to play on all year round.
To ensure that the surface incorporated within the design would work with the other elements of the design, dbdplay
call upon Playrite, with whom they have a well established relationship to identify which surface would be the right
solution for this project.
After review the initial design of the area Playrite’s Matchplay 2 was decided upon as the most suitable surface. Matchplay 2 has undergone comparative player/surface interaction tests to compare with tarmacadam surfaces. Both surfaces were tested to determine their level of player/surface interaction capability in relation to falls & injury risk.
Matchplay 2 was found to have higher levels of shock absorption, slip resistance, impact attenuation and rotation
resistance compared to Tarmac, making artificial grass an ideal choice for educational environments.
Matchplay 2 also benefits from a low sand content allowing for playtime to be conducted all year round and all weather conditions, as well as being available in a wide range of bright and vibrant colours, elevating a standard play area into a stimulating play environment.
Dan Brown, Playground Design Manager for dbdplay, commented “With Playrite’s Matchplay 2 we have delivered a
vibrant surface that offers impact absorbing protection while improving the overall experience for the children.
We would highly recommend using high quality surface for future projects.”
