City Academy Norwich has issued an invitation to local clubs and the wider community: come and use our exciting new sports facilities.

A state-of-the-art sports centre has been included in the Earlham Road school's �21m new-build project.

And the plan is for the centre to become a base for city sports clubs and an affordable facility for the community outside of school hours.

The centre - which will open to the public in July a month after students move on to their new campus - will have a four badminton court sports hall, a gym, two activity studios for dance, martial arts and fitness classes, a fenced, outdoor floodlit area for tennis and netball and a field for football pitches.

It is understood that negotiations are taking place with a former top Olympian to officially open the facility.

Jon Osborne, the school's community sports manager, said: 'This is exciting news for the city. If the council were opening a major new sports centre it would be seen as a really big deal.

'As a school, we don't want to lock up at 3.30pm. We want the academy to be part of the local community, teaching pupils during the day and increasing the opportunities they are having in the evening and at weekends without having to travel far.'

He said they wanted to work with the area's best-run local sports clubs to offer a range of sporting opportunities for young people from other schools as well as City Academy.

The hope was that clubs using the facilities as their new base would get a knock-on benefit of expanding membership.

'We are in the process of making contact with a broad range of clubs and want them to come in and offer their expertise,' he said.

Mr Osborne stressed that they would be reaching out to adults as well as young people to use the new facilities.

'The best way to support young people to get active is to get their parents active,' he said.

'We want the range of sports to provide opportunity for everyone; if football does not appeal, then may be dance will.

'If mum or dad bring their children in for football, perhaps they will want to use the gym or take an aerobics class.'

He said making sport affordable for everyone was a key aim and shown by the pricing of their present community gym which would be moving into the new centre. Fees - which would remain the same - were just �20 a month or �3 a session with no contract and free induction.

Clubs interested in making the new centre their base are asked to contact Mr Osborne on 01603-452628 or email lettings@cityacademynorwich.org