What, where, when and how? 

The old gym in the north-east corner of the sports centre will be converted into a classroom.  At the same time, the current classroom, next to the viewing gallery on the opposite side, will be extended and become the upper floor of the new fitness suite.  

This new first-floor space will be used primarily for cardiovascular exercise machines, with treadmills, cross-trainers, rowing machines and bikes.   It will be enclosed by a stunning glass wall with the school’s coat of arms and, on one side, a list of the donors who have made the new gym possible. 

Downstairs is where gym users will focus on strength and conditioning. That larger ground-floor room will be equipped with several different machines and types of free weights, as well as CV machines for people unable to access the top floor.  (Artist’s impression).

Everyone can benefit from our new fitness suite. One or two sessions a week can lower the risk of serious diseases, enhance mental health and improve sleep quality. Among older adults strength work directly combats age-related muscle and bone loss. And among younger people playing competitive sport, it can improve performance in a match against our rivals!   

To ensure that all members of our community can enjoy the new facility, it has to be modernised and enlarged.  The Ian Knapp Fitness Suite will be more than twice the size of the existing gym and will have a range of outstanding new equipment for different types of gym-user, a significantly enhanced system for managing security, light levels and air quality, state-of-the art flooring, water stations and more.  

The Ian Knapp Fitness Suite

The importance of philanthropy at Kimbolton School 

Funding the project