Brooke Primary School in Norfolk is a school of just 125 pupils, with no green spaces on site and only a small playground. Despite this lack of facilities, the school has embraced cricket and the sport is bringing the children together from across the year groups. 

To overcame the challenge of a lack of facilities, the school has forged a strong partnership with local club, Brooke CC. This approach of working together in partnership has filtered down to the children who regularly play together across the year groups.

Head Teacher David Robinson said, “It’s built up a lot of community spirit in the school. The school team is spread from throughout all of Key Stage 2 but we still got through to the county final! We had about a quarter of the school taking part in cricket sessions on a Friday night. It was absolutely wonderful.”

Robinson sees what the cricket sessions can do for the pupils beyond the cricket pitch: “It builds up their teamwork, their leadership skills, their ability to support one another and not just go for individual success but be aware of other people, their needs and to be able to help them.”

See why Brooke Primary were named Primary School of the Year 2016 at the Chance to Shine Awards:

For Year 6 pupil Jake, the school’s atmosphere influences how they practice in their cricket sessions: “In Brooke School, it’s kind of like a big family. It’s all nice and friendly and happy.” Jake moved schools after being bullied and thinks that the values of cricket helped him to settle in “[At my old school] they were really intense at sport but actually in matches, Brooke does better and sportsmanship really helped me find friends too.”

Year 4 student Betsy says it’s not just about achieving success in matches: “Cricket is lots of fun and everyone can join in. I like supporting people and making sure that they have a fun time as well.”

Robinson believes that the positivity the pupils are learning on the cricket pitch is helping to make the school a more successful place: “It makes a huge difference in the classroom if they feel good about themselves in the first place. The cricketing success we’ve achieved makes a difference to the children’s wellbeing and their motivation.”

The cricketing family at Brooke Primary have forged strong bonds and the sport is helping the children connect with each other.