Multi-sports centre at Priory School officially renamed Tom Prince Sports Centre following £250k revamp

Following a collaboration between Priory School and Portsmouth City Council, a city tennis centre has undergone a revamp to form a multi-sport facility. The sports hall, which was built in 1983, now has space for six badminton courts, two netball courts, two tennis courts, and four cricket nets.

The much needed £250,000 refurbishment within the hall at Priory School has gone down a treat within the community - and the school has marked the change by renaming the centre.

Now known as the Tom Prince Sports Centre, the hall has been renamed after Tom Prince, a former student at Priory School, who died in 2004 from bone cancer, osteosarcoma.

To celebrate the renaming of the centre, an official ceremony and open day was held at the facility on October 26. The event welcomed friends and family of Tom for an intimate unveiling of a plaque in his memory. The doors were then opened to the community so people could experience the new facilities on offer.

Tom died the day before his 16th birthday and after his death, Tom’s family created the Tom Prince Cancer Trust which raised more than a £1m to go to research of osteosarcoma. Fundraising activities included concerts, walks, bike rides and one of the trust’s biggest events of the year Blue Day - which was supported by The News - where people dressed in blue and held blue-themed activities.

Tom's parents, Adele and Clinton Prince, said: "It's wonderful to see Priory's new sports centre, where a variety of different sports can be accessed, not only for pupils but also for the wider community. So many people will be able to benefit from this facility, which is a big plus for the city.

"Priory has always been entwined with the local community, and the sports centre can only strengthen that partnership. As a family, we are very pleased and honoured that the sports centre is to be named in Tom's memory."

£50,000 of the investment in the indoor sports facilities came from Portsmouth City Council, who saw the potential of creating a multi-sport indoor space that could be used outside school hours to benefit the wider community.

Stewart Vaughan, Headteacher at Priory School, said: "It is wonderful when you can work in partnership to achieve something that you cannot achieve on your own. We are now able to offer a wonderful sports facility for our children and our local community because of this partnership with Portsmouth City Council.”

For more information about the new centre and how to book the hall out for sports activities, click here.