Ansell’s Exa Floodlight Brings High-Quality, Energy-Efficient Pitch Lighting to Archbishop Blanch C of E High School, Liverpool

The Brief

Archbishop Blanch C of E High School in Liverpool is home to a first-rate 3G sports facility — a pitch used throughout the school day for PE and sports practice, and hired out to the local community during evenings and weekends. It is a resource the school is rightly proud of, and one they were determined to make the most of.

The existing floodlights had been in place for eleven years. They were older-style fittings — inefficient in terms of energy consumption, and lacking the focus and clarity the school needed to truly maximise use of the pitch, particularly during the darker winter months. With the facility serving both the school and the wider community, the case for upgrading to a modern, high-performance solution was clear.

Headteacher Mrs Claire Madeloso explained the thinking behind the project: “We wanted to have some really high quality lighting to complement the facilities that we’ve got in school and to make sure that we could maximise the use of the pitch during the day and of course in the evenings, especially in the winter.”

Alongside performance and efficiency, the school had one further consideration. With the pitch situated close to neighbouring properties, it was important that any new scheme delivered excellent coverage across the playing surface without unwanted light spill affecting the surrounding community.

Working with Ansell’s Lighting Design Team

From the outset, the school worked closely with Ansell’s lighting design team to find the right solution — a process Mrs Madeloso described as particularly valuable.

“We worked really closely with Ansell’s lighting design team throughout the process, which was really reassuring. They took the time to understand exactly what we needed for the pitch and helped us find the right product for our situation.”

A key part of that process was the production of detailed 3D renders modelling the light distribution across the pitch, allowing the school to visualise coverage and spill before any product was installed. For Archbishop Blanch, this was especially important given their concerns about the impact on nearby residents.

“One of the things that was particularly impressive was that they produced 3D renders showing the light spill from the floodlights across the pitch, so we could actually see visually how the coverage would work and where the light would and wouldn’t reach. That gave us a lot of confidence. Being able to see that modelled out in advance meant we could make sure we were getting good, even coverage across the pitch whilst minimising any spillage towards neighbouring properties.”

The Solution

The Exa Floodlight was selected as the replacement for the school’s ageing halogen fittings, and it addresses each element of the brief with precision.

The Exa’s high-output LED performance delivers a level of clarity and focus that the previous floodlights simply could not match — producing bright, even illumination across the 3G surface that gives players and coaches a genuinely improved environment in which to work. Its coastal marine grade aluminium alloy construction and high-quality anti-corrosion powder coating ensure the luminaire is built to withstand the demands of an exposed outdoor installation over the long term.

Energy efficiency was a central consideration for the school, and the move from ageing halogen technology to the Exa represents a significant step forward in that regard. Mrs Madeloso was clear on the importance of this: “We wanted something that would be more energy efficient and would hopefully save us some money on bills whilst not compromising on the quality of what we had in place. We would definitely encourage other people to think about being more energy efficient and sustainable where possible. The Exa floodlight is much clearer and much more focused.”

The installation has also been set up to allow different segments of the pitch to be lit independently — a practical and energy-conscious arrangement that reflects how the facility is actually used. “The pitch can be hired out in segments and the way the floodlights have been set up will allow us to just light up different segments of the pitch, so that we can be more energy efficient rather than lighting up the whole pitch when that’s not necessary.”

The Result

The completed installation at Archbishop Blanch C of E High School gives the school a sports facility that can now be used with confidence at any time of year and any hour of the day. The Exa floodlights deliver focused, high-quality light across the pitch, minimise spill towards neighbouring properties, and offer meaningful energy savings over the previous halogen system.

With winter approaching, Mrs Madeloso is optimistic about what the upgrade will mean in practice: “We hope that the new lighting will be much more focused, that we’ll be able to use the lighting for more hours of the day and potentially more lettings of an evening as well, because we’ve got better quality lighting for the community to use.”

The project at Archbishop Blanch demonstrates the value of approaching a sports lighting upgrade as a considered, collaborative process — one where the right product, backed by proper design support, delivers results that benefit the school, its students, and the wider community it serves.