In May 2022, a small primary school in inner city Birmingham broke a world record at one of the most iconic cricket stadiums in the world. After months of planning from a standing start, the attempt to break the world record for the largest cricket training session was a cause for celebration and a reward for the hard work by staff at the school and the Warwickshire Cricket Board. Over 650 children participated in the session overall, as 430 pupils aged 4-11 from Kings Rise Academy were joined by pupils from other schools which form part of the Elliot Foundation.
Whilst the headlines have all been around the breaking of a world record, the story behind the world record attempt, and where it has taken the school since then, is a fascinating one. It’s a story of history, identity, ambition, creativity – and, of course, cricket!
Kings Rise Academy Vice Principal Gary Byrne takes up the story behind the world record attempt and how pupils and staff have engaged with cricket for the first time, bringing the game into many different aspects of school life. Cricket is the common theme through which the school has addressed physical and mental wellbeing, looking after the environment, and the creative arts.
“There has been a school on this site for 92 years and we are very proud of our heritage. The area we are situated in – Kingstanding – doesn’t have the best of reputations. At Kings Rise, we want the children to be positive and to give them opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have. I went to school around here myself and understand the importance of making sure the children around here feel they can be seen. I came up with the idea of breaking a world record when we were discussing how we could make the children feel the world had noticed them – so they would feel positive and confident, with good self-esteem.
Initially, we weren’t really sure what sort of record we wanted to break. We have many historical records from our 92 year history, and I remembered seeing photographs of pupils in the 1940s or 50s wearing cricket whites. Clearly the school used to have a tradition of cricket, but that had fallen away over the years. We thought it would be good to rediscover and celebrate that aspect of our history, in the same way we commemorate in our playground the memory of Mr Fineron, our school PE teacher from 1939 who was sadly killed in the Second World War. As a result of seeing the old cricket photos, we felt cricket was in our DNA and that it would be good to get back to it.
I discussed the idea of a cricket world record with our PE coordinators at the time, Ben Pedley and Ryan Thompson. We were inspired by the exciting prospect that our tiny little primary school could go and get a world record. Ben and Ryan spent a year organising the record attempt, with some incredible support from the Warwickshire Cricket Board and Chance to Shine. Danny Maskell, WCB Schools Manager, worked tirelessly to bring our teachers and pupils up to speed from a standing start, as none of us knew much about cricket at all.”
Gary describes how Chance to Shine coaches came into school once a week for a term before the world record attempt and worked with each class and its teaching staff. They were able to train the teachers, so the teachers knew how to continue developing the children’s cricket skills outside Chance to Shine sessions. The Chance to Shine teachers’ platform was used extensively to gain new knowledge and techniques to incorporate into the PE curriculum and beyond. In recognition of the hard work Ben and Ryan put into the record attempt, the official record is attributed to “Ben Pedley, Ryan Thompson and Kings Rise Academy.”
“It was very important to us,” continues Gary, “that there was a legacy to the world record attempt.” A very tangible legacy is the transformation of a previously disused area behind the school into an impressive environmental area. In addition to a large vegetable plot and storytelling circle, there is a community area themed around cricket. This area has been named the Willow Terrace and pride of place is a 22 foot long cricket themed outdoor table. The table itself is covered with artificial grass and hosts a giant set of stumps at each end. The seats have been covered with recycled bats, each bearing a positive message from the departing 2022 Year 6 pupils. Next to the table is a performance area, decorated with more cricket bats – and ducks (carrying on the cricketing theme somewhat creatively!). Around the whole area are inspiring photos of Kings Rise pupils at the world record attempt.
The garden area was funded with a grant from several funders, including Severn Trent, whilst the Willow Terrace received funding from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Festival. Gary Byrne is delighted with the transformation and the opportunities it will provide not just for pupils but also the wider community, with plans to open up the area to parent and community groups at the weekend.
“This outdoor area gets used every day and we have adapted our curriculum to bring parts of it outdoors so the children can learn in this inspiring environment. We have already had performances from some of our school rock bands on the Willow Terrace, whilst parents sat and watched from the cricket table. Our table artists and builders Jemima Graham and Sam Hopkins have done a tremendous job, as have our pupils with their decoration and inspiring messages.”
Gary is also passionate about the role played by Chance to Shine in the transformation of the school. “The training from Chance to Shine was critical to the success of the world record attempt. Chance to Shine enabled us to transition from a crazy idea into something that has become embedded in our school life and has enabled us to reach out into our community in a very positive way. We’re not stopping here! We have plans for a Kings Rise Film Festival soon and will include cricket in that too.”
All the children at Kings Rise talk as enthusiastically as Gary about going to Edgbaston for the world record attempt. Whether talking individually or in assembly, they mention Edgbaston with familiarity and fondness. The world record has brought them closer to cricket, to their local cricket stadium and ultimately closer together as a school community. Burhan, aged 8, when asked about the best part of the world record attempt, answers without hesitation, “Doing it together and taking part”.
