Students of today cheered the generosity of a pupil from the past as a new state-of-the-art all-weather pitch was unveiled at Solihull School.
More than 100 people attended as the Clovelly Pitch was officially opened in honour of celebrated old boy E. Gordon Wilcox, who studied at the school almost 100 years ago.
Mr Wilcox attended Solihull School between 1921 and 1927, going on to become a vice-chairman of the governors, a founder member of the Old Silhillians Hockey Club and president of the Old Silhillians.
He also left a lasting legacy, as headmaster David EJJ Lloyd explained: “The considerable commitment to the school by Mr Wilcox lives on today in the form of the Wilcox Trust and Clovelly Trust, which has funded this new artificial pitch.
“His generosity has allowed us to resurface the existing Wilcox Pitch and create a brand-new facility, the Clovelly Pitch.”
Fittingly, the guest of honour at the grand opening was Simon Wilcox, trustee of both trusts and nephew of the school’s illustrious benefactor. He was handed the privilege of cutting the ribbon to officially declare the brand-new Clovelly Pitch open for action.
The new pitches were quickly christened with the First XI boys’ hockey team beating an Alumni XI 1-0, while the girls’ XI narrowly lost 2-1 to an Alumni XI. A reception, including hot food and drinks, was held in the Alan Lee Pavilion afterwards.
