Cricket For All
1st March 22
The cricket programme at Sevenoaks Prep means that, in every year group, the teams are put together not by gender but by ability, interest and enthusiasm. The message that every pupil has an equal opportunity to play in a team is a given.
The benefits of teams mixed with boys and girls are numerous, including friendship building and breaking down stereotypes. Boys and girls have different ranges of skills and personality traits that they can pass onto each other. At Sevenoaks Prep, we believe that involving children in co-ed sports is an opportunity to challenge gender stereotypes and is representative of the multi-gendered world. Many sports advocates believe that even at a grassroots level, mixed training and competition can foster mutual respect; improve both boys’ and girls’ social skills; enhance resilience; and provide experiences that will help them in their broader lives. ( This is why we do it!)
Cricket club runs after school throughout the summer term at Sevenoaks Prep for all pupils. The attendance by girls is as strong as it is by boys. Cricket is introduced in the Pre-Prep through All Stars Cricket to ignite their enthusiasm for the sport in the Summer term. These sessions are fun and fast and involve game-based activities. They are run by our games staff including our Head of Cricket, Dan Creasey. Staff aim to stretch Pre-Prep pupils with Kwik Cricket by introducing it during the summer term of Year 2. In Year 4, we run an introduction to hard ball cricket over a period of 4 weeks for those who want to develop their confidence with (hard ball). From Year 5 upwards, we try our very best to introduce hard ball across all teams however, there are still opportunities for those who need more exposure to hard ball cricket to continue with incrediball. Our aim is that everyone enjoys cricket; so we will support whichever form of cricket they are more comfortable with.
With Family Cricket Day a key event in the school calendar, Sevenoaks Prep values the importance of the game in bringing together our community in a social setting that raises funds for our key charities and encourages everyone to take part in all formats of cricket including the Pupils v Staff match and the Parents v Pupils match. We are also proud supporters of three local cricket clubs: Holmesdale CC, Otford and Shoreham CC and Plaxtol CC.