July 11, 2024 08:22am
In a triumph for both sportsmanship and leadership, Brixham College has recently been awarded the Devon Cricket Foundation’s ‘Secondary School of the Term.’
This award follows a leadership day, an initiative by Devon Cricket, funded by Chance to Shine, aimed to cultivate leadership skills among students through cricket.
Year 10 students at Brixham College volunteered to participate in the leadership programme, which provided them with the opportunity to receive young leaders training. They then applied these skills by helping to organise and run a cricket festival, held at Brixham College.
The Devon Cricket Foundation praised the students for their keen grasp of leadership principles and their exceptional creativity in adapting cricket activities to meet varying needs and abilities.
Ann-Marie Presswell, Development Officer at the Devon Cricket Foundation said:
“During the delivery of the Leadership element, the pupils involved showed a keen understanding of the skills and attributes needed for leadership, which they displayed well.
“The pupils were extremely inventive when producing new variations of the game. I have since used some of those variations in my own cricket delivery!”
During the delivery of the activities on the day, it was evident that the students understood the STEP principle—Space, Task, Equipment, and People—and were able to adapt and change the games to suit children with diverse needs.
The Devon Cricket Foundation commended Brixham College for its students’ ingenuity and adaptability, which ensured a positive experience for all primary school pupils attending the festival. The foundation noted that the primary school pupils had a positive experience of cricket, thanks to the efforts of the Brixham students.
Olivia, a Year 10 student, shared her experience:
"I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to deliver cricket to younger children. This will help me in the future to transfer my skills into lessons and my future career."
Another student, Esme, reflected on the program's impact:
"Throughout the leadership programme I have been able to improve my own leadership skills as well as helping younger children develop their skills and find a new enjoyment. I will carry these skills and opportunities with me as I hope to develop and progress through education and become a PE teacher. I hope to be involved in more leadership opportunities in the future."
Lara Jayne, a PE teacher at Brixham College, expressed her pride in the students, saying:
"Delivering a completely new sport to a group of younger children from the local community can be an incredibly daunting task. Our young leaders took this challenge in their stride and displayed how their sporting skills and competency can be transferred into the cricket training day.
“Our students worked hard to make their sessions creative and engaging for the young people they were delivering to, and did so with pride, confidence, and enjoyment. I am extremely proud of our leaders for overcoming their nerves to contribute to what was a fantastic opportunity for members of our community and to crate core experiences for the young people involved that I hope they will carry with them."
