Solihull School honours rugby-loving benefactor - The Solihull Observer

Solihull School honours rugby-loving benefactor

Solihull Editorial 20th Feb, 2017   0

SOLIHULL School has officially renamed its first XV pitch in honour of the rugby-loving benefactor whose legacy will also help to provide more than a dozen assisted places at the school.

Claude Coton, who attended Solihull School from 1931 until 1938, passed away in 2009, aged 88. He was a distinguished past captain and president of the Old Silhillians Association Rugby Club and continued playing the game until he was 55.

His donation to the school, which was ensured by wife Dora, has seen Solihull able to construct a perimeter fence around the pitch and install a new electronic scoreboard, as well as being able to provide financial support for senior school students whose parents may not be able to afford full fees, as part of its assisted places scheme.

More than 70 people attended the official opening of the Coton Pitch, with Solihull School Headmaster David Lloyd and Peter Thomas, a close friend of Claude’s, paying tribute to the former landscape gardener.




Mr Thomas said: “Claude was a marvellous man. He was a 19-stone hooker who was strong as an ox and a real ‘classic’ rugby player. At the same time, he was very gentle and could find the beauty in a rose. I loved him to bits and am very happy to see Solihull School honour his name in this way.”

Mr Lloyd added: “The school is extremely grateful to Mr and Mrs Coton for their generous donation and we are delighted to officially unveil the Coton Pitch. We have some talented and dedicated rugby teams at the school which I’m sure Claude would have approved of.”


Solihull School’s first XV went on to win the inaugural match on the newly-named pitch by beating Loughborough first team 33-15, before lunch was served for guests in the Alan Lee Pavilion.

Email [email protected] for more information about assisted places at Solihull School.

 

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