THE grounds staff at a Colwyn Bay school have been shortlisted for a prestigious national award.

Rydal Penrhos school has been shortlisted in the Independent School Grounds Team category at the Institute of Groundsmanship Awards, which will take place in Birmingham later this year.

The shortlisting marks a significant achievement for head groundsman Tony Owen and his dedicated team.

Despite overseeing only a small team, Tony has implemented a strategic ground development plan around Rydal Penrhos’ 42-acre site over the last year. The facilities have been used by high-profile organisations such as Marylebone Cricket Club and Cricket Wales for their regional development programmes.

Much of the hard work went into constructing a new five-bay outdoor cricket net area that was opened by legendary former teacher Mike Leach earlier this summer.

In addition to the sporting fields, Tony and his team have worked tirelessly to enhance the overall condition of the site, which has seen the implementation of new flowerbeds.

Sally Ann Harding, senior school head, said: “This nomination is fabulous news and one that Tony and his team can be enormously proud of.