THE May Day Bank Holiday weekend saw Highworth Town FC reaching a new high point in its 112-year history.

But the club's considerable list of successes over these years - that include their run of league championships in the Swindon and District League, the winning of the Wiltshire FA's Senior Cup on some four occasions, plus a redoubtable list of other honours - pale into insignificance compared with those of the final weekend of the 2004-5 season.

Highworth's avowed policy of developing the game amongst the youth of the town achieved its first success as a result of this policy when, on May Day Monday, the U8s squad, coached and managed by Carl Brooks, were successful in winning the FA's Youth Development Tourna-ment, held at Butlin's Holiday Camp, Bognor Regis.

In an event that included teams from London and Birmingham, Highworth stayed unbeaten in the tournament.

In this connection, Highworth continued with their policy of community involvement as the players were accompanied to Bognor Regis by their parents who were able to enjoy their share of the success.

Whilst the tournament was in process, Highworth Town were about to take on Wootton Bassett Town at the Gerrard Buxton Sports Ground with the prospect of winning the GLS Hellenic League Premier Division Championship.

Duly, the team did the business with a 3-0 victory which subsequently saw them crowned as league champions, and hence the presentation of the impressive Championship Shield to the club's joint captains, Ross Adams and Jon Reeves.

Just a few years earlier, in the 1999-2000 season, Highworth had challenged for the championship and, in fact, at the new year it was looking odds-on for them.

However, a post-Christmas loss of form resulted in their finishing as somewhat distant runners-up to the eventual champions, Banbury United.

More usually, the winning of a championship means the promotion of the successful team to the next league in the Football Asso-ciation's pyramid of leagues.

Sadly, there is no way in which Highworth Town can take advantage of this provision.

The reason is, that despite the many improvements which the club has made to The Elms, its facilities fail to measure up to the requirements of the Southern League which requires a completely self-enclosed ground.

Ground provision for Highworth Town has been something of a problem with the club living a somewhat nomadic existence for something over 30 years following its formation.

A regular home, albeit without any changing rooms, became a reality in the late 1920s when Highworth Cricket Club made a gift of a large portion of the cricket ground to the Parish Council - on the condition that it be used as a recreation ground in perpetuity with the cricket club having precedence during the cricket season.

Despite restrictions on the position and size of any football pitch by the position of a cricket square, the venue provided a suitable base for Town to gain continued success in the Swindon & District League.

It was when the club decided to embrace senior football in the Wiltshire Combination that their problems really began.

The Wiltshire FA, in their wisdom, decided that the The Elms pitch was not of a quality sufficient for senior football.

As a direct result, Highworth was again forced into a peripatetic existence. Initially, it played at the Warneford Secondary School and later on at the Parish Council's ill-chosen new playing field at Barra Close.

With no changing or social facilities provided by the Parish Council, the club began its process of self and community help by the building and financing of facilities acceptable to the Wiltshire FA.

It soon became obvious that the recreation ground was basically unsuitable due to pure Oxford clay that lay below Highworth hill.

As a result, the pitch during the football season was at best heavy and during wet weather it became flooded and then cracked up when dry.

To comply with Hellenic League requirements, Town are looking to fund two new stands to seat 150 spectators and provide facilities for the disabled.

The approximate cost of all improvements is around £60,000, of which some 55 percent will be defrayed by a grant from the Football Federation.

Other fund-raising initiatives include the selling of 150 individually named seats for a period of five years at a cost of £25 each which would bring in more than £3,000.