Wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow took time out of an incredibly busy summer of cricket to inspire the school children at Herbert Morrison Primary School in Stockwell on Wednesday 26 June as part of Yorkshire Tea National Cricket Week.

Bairstow took part in an inspiring whole school assembly, talking to the children about the Spirit of Cricket and the values of the game as well talking about who his inspirational role models were and how cricket has him to develop as a person. The assembly culminated in an exciting ‘bat-tap challenge’ as, first, the children and then the staff faced-off against one another and tried to beat Bairstow.

Bairstow then joined a cricket coaching session with coaches from the Surrey Cricket Foundation and 30 children from the Year 6 class. Bairstow wowed the children with his six-hitting power in the playground of the south London school.

Finally, Bairstow took on his toughest challenge yet, delivering a cricket-themed maths lesson to a class of Year 5 children. Bairstow warmed the children up with an active learning, quick fire question round before setting the children a testing coordinates challenge that involved charting the cricketing fielding positions on a grid.

The lesson delivered by Bairstow was one of the free resources for schools that Chance to Shine provide to help teachers to deliver cricket coaching sessions on the playground and cricket-themed lessons for literacy and numeracy in the classroom.

Speaking at the event Bairstow said “I’ve not done maths for a little while so it was always going to be interesting, and it was really good fun. The first class that we did out on the playground there was awesome, really interactive.” 

“We’re here with Yorkshire Tea supporting National Cricket Week. It’s a massive summer for cricket in England. We’ve got the young kids that are trying to learn different skills that they can incorporate within general life.”

Eddie, 10, said: “Today was really fun. It was great to have a famous person come to our school and teach us cricket. It’s amazing that Jonny took time out of his busy schedule to come and visit us.” Classmate Beatrice, 11, added: “I think it was an amazing day and we had lots of fun. It was a great experience to have Jonny Bairstow at our school and I look forward to playing more cricket. I think it’s good that girls play cricket because everyone should have the same opportunities no matter what colour, what race or anything like that.”

Chance to Shine is a national cricket charity that aims to give all children the opportunity to play and learn through cricket. They deliver coaching sessions to 500,000 young people a year, teaching children across the country life skills like teamwork, communication and leadership through the sport.

Into its sixth year, Yorkshire Tea National Cricket week is a celebration of cricket that sees around 1500 schools take part and this year runs from 24 – 28 June. Chance to Shine and Yorkshire Tea work together to inspire thousands of children across the country to take part in cricket-themed activities in the classroom, playground and community hubs across England and Wales.

This summer, donations to Chance to Shine are being matched £ for £ by Charity Patron Adrian Beecroft. Please support today and give at chancetoshine.org/donate