Shrewsbury School Opens New Pure Padel Centre

Shrewsbury School is delighted to announce the official opening of the Shrewsbury School Pure Padel Centre, adding a floodlit three-court facility for one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, to its impressive array of sports facilities.

This new facility further strengthens Shrewsbury School’s commitment to sporting breadth, participation and excellence.

Shrewsbury’s sporting culture is rooted in its ethos of ‘Serious Fun’, combining high participation with a lifelong love of sport, health and wellbeing. Across the School’s expansive riverside site, pupils benefit from 68 dedicated sports facilities, field 124 sports teams, and compete in more than 400 inter-house matches each year, creating a vibrant culture of participation, teamwork and competition at all levels.

The Shrewsbury School Pure Padel Centre complements the Billy Ward Golf Studio, opened in 2025, this indoor golf facility has already proved popular with pupils pursuing recreational and competitive golf throughout the year, as well as providing an excellent learning and teaching space for individual, PGA professional golf coaching.

Headmaster of Shrewsbury School Leo Winkley said:

“On behalf of the whole School community, I would like to thank and recognise the generosity and leadership of the family who made an anonymous gift to wholly fund this facility.

“As we approach our 475th anniversary, we celebrate the vibrant health of the Salopian community and our proud sporting heritage, from our role in the early development of cross-country running and association football to the remarkable achievements we see across our school today.

“The Shrewsbury School Pure Padel Centre reflects our determination to keep broadening opportunities for pupils through exciting, modern sports that support whole person development through participation and Serious Fun. We also look forward to sharing this excellent facility with the local and wider community.”

Shrewsbury School’s Chairman of the Governing Body and Shrewsbury School Foundation, James Pitt said:

“The opening of the Shrewsbury School Pure Padel Centre, a floodlit three-court facility, is the most recent example of the success of Campaign 2020–2030, our ten-year global advancement strategy, which seeks to strengthen the School’s provisions, expand opportunities for pupils and ensure that the School continues to flourish in the decades ahead.

“Strategic infrastructure projects which bring about new provisions such as this demonstrate how the leadership of philanthropy, vision and community spirit can come together to enhance opportunities for our pupils while ensuring that the School continues to evolve and thrive for generations to come.

“We are deeply grateful to the family whose generosity has made this exciting addition possible, in the year that Campaign 2020 - 2030 has secured £20m in pursuit of the continued excellence and advancement of Shrewsbury School.”

The courts will be used primarily by pupils as part of the School’s sport and co-curricular programme. Opportunities to provide access to local, regional, national and international partners, community members and guests are also planned in due course.