Cricket and the English Education System

[Stapel]

Guys, please help me out!

Introduction: Two weeks ago, I was on tour in East Sussex, where we (my relatively crap cricket team, which has only three players who have held a bat before the age of 30) would play two matches against village teams. Good fun!

Unfortunately, our 2nd match was rained off completely, so we spent the day in the pub, playing pool, darts and poker. It also offered a proper opportunity to have more serious conversations with our hosts. As it appeared, the team represented the village quite well. Half of them were born and raised there, had jobs as plumber, butcher, or welder, and were proud to show some tattoos. The other half were working in London, had a 2nd home in this village, and had their kids at some private boarding school. I hadn't noticed this difference in earlier years and wouldn't have, if not for the rain. As a group, there was no noticable division!

With two of the guys, I discussed the educational system. I'm a teacher myself (over 96 classes, so I'm entitled to an opinion ), so I was very interested. In Netherlands, private schools are a rarity. Expats send their children there, and 17 year old drop-outs can be sent to a private school for a year, to avoid further delay. But that's it

I asked the guys why he spent all this money on very expensive education. Are independent schools that bad? All of them? If so, regarding that 93% (source = wikipedia) of British youth attends independent schools, does the UK have a problem? Yes, yes & yes, he replied.

At home, I did some digging. Cook, Strauss, Trott (in SA), Bell, Pietersen (in SA) & Broad all attended private schools. That's not really representative of British society, is it?

Is cricket posh in England? Do private schools 'produce' better cricketers? What's on?

 

[Howe_zat]

Is cricket posh in England?

Do bears **** in the woods?

 

[Furball]

Guys, please help me out!

Introduction: Two weeks ago, I was on tour in East Sussex, where we (my relatively crap cricket team, which has only three players who have held a bat before the age of 30) would play two matches against village teams. Good fun!

Unfortunately, our 2nd match was rained off completely, so we spent the day in the pub, playing pool, darts and poker. It also offered a proper opportunity to have more serious conversations with our hosts. As it appeared, the team represented the village quite well. Half of them were born and raised there, had jobs as plumber, butcher, or welder, and were proud to show some tattoos. The other half were working in London, had a 2nd home in this village, and had their kids at some private boarding school. I hadn't noticed this difference in earlier years and wouldn't have, if not for the rain. As a group, there was no noticable division!

With two of the guys, I discussed the educational system. I'm a teacher myself (over 96 classes, so I'm entitled to an opinion ), so I was very interested. In Netherlands, private schools are a rarity. Expats send their children there, and 17 year old drop-outs can be sent to a private school for a year, to avoid further delay. But that's it

I asked the guys why he spent all this money on very expensive education. Are independent schools that bad? All of them? If so, regarding that 93% (source = wikipedia) of British youth attends independent schools, does the UK have a problem? Yes, yes & yes, he replied.

At home, I did some digging. Cook, Strauss, Trott (in SA), Bell, Pietersen (in SA) & Broad all attended private schools. That's not really representative of British society, is it?

Is cricket posh in England? Do private schools 'produce' better cricketers? What's on?

I'd say private schools place a lot more emphasis on sport than state schools.

 

[Furball]

Do bears **** in the woods?

It's posher down south that oop north IMO.

 

[Stapel]

It's posher down south that oop north IMO.

I've always thought Andrew Flintoff is solid evidence that cricket is not that posh. But your post shines a different light on it, since Freddie is as northern as they come.

 

[Goughy]

It's posher down south that oop north IMO.

I dont class cricket as a posh sport but then I am a Yorkshireman where it is in the blood and culture. Traditionally, every coal mine, factory, steel and textile mill invested heavily into their cricket teams.

It is also a different game in the south compared to the north. It is a far lower standard in general but possibily a little nicer.

 

[Furball]

I dont class cricket as a posh sport but then I am a Yorkshireman where it is in the blood and culture. Traditionally, every coal mine, factory, steel and textile mill invested heavily into their cricket teams.

It is also a different game in the south compared to the north. It is a far lower standard in general but possibily a little nicer.

I'm wondering if the cultural difference between north and south explains why it seems to be only the north that produces great fast bowlers. Barring Alec Bedser it seems that pretty much every England quick to take 150+ wickets was from Lancashire, Yorkshire or Durham. Wonder if it's a throwback to the gentleman v professionals era?

 

[fredfertang]

My two sons went to a state secondary school in S****horpe where cricket was never spoken of let alone played and to my eternal disappointment neither of them has the slightest interest in the game - also to blame is their step father, but not me, obviously.

 

[weeman27bob]

Whilst I haven't got much to say myself, coming from a private school with a strong focus on cricket, I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has or whatnot.

 

[Goughy]

My two sons went to a state secondary school in S****horpe where cricket was never spoken of let alone played and to my eternal disappointment neither of them has the slightest interest in the game - also to blame is their step father, but not me, obviously.

My school didnt have a cricket team either. However, the club system is so developed that there are thousands of places to learn the game. Of course, the key difference is that a parent or the child has to show an interest rather than the game being brought to them.

Though while S****horpe is in the north, it isnt in a real county so I dont know for sure of the situation there.

 

[Jarquis]

My school doesn't have a cricket team and nor does my town of 9000 people (which is also surrounded by a crap load of villages). It's just not popular where I'm from.
As I've said before I was one of two people from my entire school to play any form of league cricket during my time in Secondary School and I am the only one who still unsuccessfully plays

 

[Howe_zat]

My school (Leics) doesn't have a cricket team, and I hadn't played anything but park cricket with a few mates until I moved back north.

 

[superkingdave]

Played cricket at primary school and club cricket up to U13. Also was in the cricket squad at school until U14, but was always a fringe player, my school was kinda handy at cricket.

 

[Jarquis]

Haha, I didn't know what cricket was until I was 13.

 

[shivfan]

I don't understand this stat you quoted -93% of British youth attended independent schools....

That's 93% of which British youth?

 

[Agent Nationaux]

One huge difference between public schools and state schools here in the UK is in the extra curricular activities that are provided by the public schools. In addition to the regular teaching/studying and general education that is provided by schools, public schools are also specialised in getting their kids into top universities. That is why they focus heavily on extra curricular activities. So that provides the student to take part in any thing that interests them, from playing the piano to playing cricket, tennis, rugby or taking part in business oriented extra curricular activities.

I went to a state school for my compulsory education (GCSE) and then moved into a public school for A-levels. I noticed a big difference between the two schools in terms of the above.

With regards to education, both school types provide excellent teachers (the only difference being that public schools have a smaller teacher to student ratio and have more students that actually bother).

 

[Furball]

My school was Glasgow schools champions at cricket, although I put that down to the fact that 50% of the school roll were kids who were 2nd or 3rd generation Pakistanis. I think our team was majorly, if not exclusively made up of Scots-Asians.

I think people would be suprised at how popular cricket is up here, it's played by all the private schools and off the top of my head I can think of at least 4 cricket clubs in the city - one of whom hosted the first ever football international.

 

[Neil Pickup]

That's backwards. 93% of British children are at state schools.

I've been able to see both sides of the fence in terms of schooling: I grew up at a state primary and then grammar school in Lincolnshire. We did play cricket, but not a dramatic amount at all. At my primary, we played a bit, but I never played a match. At Grammar, we played six or seven games a year, and usually reached the semi-finals of the County Cup, where we promptly lost to QEHS Gainsborough. Lincolnshire doesn't really have any significant private schools, however. Everyone who played was also a club cricketer at some level, and there was very little talk of the role schools played. By the time I left for University, I was one of the highest qualified - if not jointly highest qualified in the school.

I've since been at Uni in Exeter and now live and work in Oxford, where the private school side of life has become much more significant - not least because I teach in one! The County youth squads I work with are usually approximately half/half splits, and I do try to keep that balance. Today's Oxfordshire U10 side went private, state, state, private, state, private, private, state, private, state, private, state. The boys who make it from state schools will always have been playing club cricket from an early age, and almost always have a parent who is insanely keen on the game.

This year, my U11 cricket side at school played 11 time games plus a handful of small-sided tournaments. The finals day of the English Schools' U11 competition consisted of seven private schools and one state school (probably the weakest team there, although they did beat us when we went all South African on them). We put out six senior (U13) XIs and four junior (U11) XIs on a regular basis, often more, and have a staff XI than can regularly call on players with FC experience (and consequently a less talented wicketkeeper with bruised hands). The boys have two time matches (usually 65 overs or thereabouts) a week and two games sessions (an hour each) with up to four extra hours in the nets/practising if they want to use them.

Something that has been frighteningly apparent of late is wicketkeeping: out of the County A/B and District selections of late, as many as half (if not more) have been from my school because of the fact that I can find the time/resources to coach them properly.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I'd guess the majority of English internationals who went to state schools were introduced through club cricket. Swann & Tremlett are boths scions of cricketing families so Graeme and Chris were both entering the family business, as it were.

 

[Neil Pickup]

I'd guess the majority of English internationals who went to state schools were introduced through club cricket. Swann & Tremlett are boths scions of cricketing families so Graeme and Chris were both entering the family business, as it were.

Thinking through the state school boys in that county side...

1 x Dad who's chairman and captain of his village 1st XI
1 x Dad who's the small matter of Head Coach of Oxford UCCE
1 x Dad who's secretary of his village club and coach of the junior section
2 x Twins whose father is the youth coach at their club and part of a line of cricketers
1 x Wicketkeeper who's best mates with the twins

That's usually the story. It does bode well to suggest my hypothetical future children might be useful.