Lunch times can be hectic at Casuarina Street Primary School with students vying for a spot on the one basketball court used for a multitude of sports.
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The school received the Newcombe Medal for Most Outstanding School award at the Australian Tennis Awards last year in November, placing it in the top three tennis schools across Australia.
Up against stellar schools with far better facilities, physical education teacher Rodney Gregg was surprised a school with no tennis courts could win such an award.
Today, Casuarina Street Primary School was presented with a $10,000 ANZ Community Grants cheque.
The funding is enough to transform an underutilised and shaded part of the school into semi-permanent tennis courts - everything down to the nets can be packed away and stored safely.
"At the moment we use the basketball court for all of our sports: tennis, netball, kickball, all of them, and sometimes we have more than one sport going on at once," Mr Gregg said.
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Work will commence soon on what will be a dedicated area for eight tennis courts.
The school is part of the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots program, designed to help every child jump in and start playing tennis.
The program uses smaller courts with modified equipment, including lighter racquets, lower nets and low compression balls that don't bounce too high.
PE teacher, Mr Gregg, is on a mission to make sure all of the students at the school have their own equipment to take their tennis to the next level.
"It is a great fundamental motor program where students can learn hand-eye coordination and technique," Mr Gregg said.
"It is about creating pathways for the students right from transition.
"There may be one student who goes on to represent Australia, but they are never going to get there if they don't get the opportunity now."
The school is about half way to the point they want to be at, having been part of the Hot Shots program for six years now.
Last year Grand Slam champion Todd Woodbridge visited Casuarina Street Primary School to encourage students to pick up a racquet and learn tennis.
Each student in transition was given a new racquet, and they are expected to use it throughout their primary school years.
And with funding for the new courts, the students will have many more opportunities to get out and play.
The school also received merchandise, 120 new balls, 10 nets and about 50 racquets.
