THE public gym at Farnborough School will be closed down when the institution gains Academy status next term, leading to the loss of four jobs.
Farnborough School Sports Hall Gym opened in 2009 after Nottingham City Council won over £850,000 of funding from The Big Lottery to build the four court sports facility and fitness suite in Clifton.
But the gym is reportedly losing £30,000 a year and when Farnborough School becomes part of The Trent Academies Group – the trust which will take charge of both Farnborough School and Rushcliffe School in September – it is going to cut its ties with the business.
A City Council document given to The Post revealed the closure, saying: "The sports hall currently runs at a loss, so it is not possible for the Trust to take it on."
Phil Crompton, executive head of The Trent Academies Group confirmed the closure.
He said: "The gym is losing £30,000 a year and as a result the Trust cannot legally take responsibility for it.
"The school will continue to honour the agreements, still hire it out to groups and make sure the community can use it. But we can't by law look after a loss making business."
Nick Lee, head of school access and learning at Nottingham City Council, said: "The Farnborough sports hall needs to be viable. It needs to generate enough income to cover its running costs.
"Currently too few people are using the gym facility but the Council will continue to work closely with the staff at Farnborough to explore all the options."
Farnborough School itself has received a raft of government funding in recent years, with the school celebrating the opening of a new £17 million building by local sporting hero and Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead two weeks ago.
A 32-year-old member of the gym from Clifton, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "All the staff are friendly and helpful and the gym itself is immaculate with top notch equipment.
"The reason it is closing is due to the council not allowing funds for advertising so nobody knew it existed.
"There is nothing on Clifton estate that is any good and they want to get rid of something that people love."
