Cricket to replace rounders at girls’ schools
Headmistress says popular game is a ‘leisure activity’ and wants pupils to play elite sports instead
ROUNDERS is being replaced by cricket at girls’ schools because the game is seen as more of a “leisure activity” than a sport, a leading headmistress has said.
While rounders is popular, it is not regarded as an “elite” sport because there is no trajectory for pupils once they leave, according to Carol Chandler-thompson, headmistress at Blackheath High School in south London.
“You can’t really represent your country in rounders in quite the way you can at cricket. Where does it lead?” she said. “Rounders is a popular sport, a fun game everyone can play. But it is more of a leisure activity than a sport in which there is a pathway that girls can really excel at, and be an elite player.”
The Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), a group of 24 leading independent schools, is now promoting cricket, football, rowing and dance as alternatives to the some of the more longestablished “feminine” sports.
Ms Chandler-thompson, who chairs the GDST sports committee, said: “As well as the more traditional female sports like netball and hockey, we thought we would diversify the curriculum.
“The emphasis is on introducing and training staff to deliver sports like cricket and football, which girls are really enthusiastic about.”
She said that most schools would want to have a balance between elite sports and a “fun activity” such as rounders.
In 2015, the Department for Education (DFE) removed rounders from the list of activities on which pupils can be judged in their GCSE sports exam.
At the time, the game’s official body, Rounders England, said it was “deeply disappointed” by the decision, which it claimed discriminated against girls.
Ms Chandler-thompson said that breaking down gender stereotypes in sport was a “big element” of the new strategy and that employing female coaches was crucial to encouraging girls to become enthused about cricket.
“The power of having female coaches helps to break down barriers and dispel myths about what a cricketer looks like. It is important to understand what appeals to the girls.
“My belief is there is a sport for everyone out there. It is a case of giving the girls the opportunity to discover that.”
The GDST has been in talks with the England Cricket Board about how to encourage more girls to play the sport.
The group has also struck up a partnership with Lydia Greenway, a former England cricket player, who will coach a GDST elite team to play against the MCC in April.
Among the GDST schools are South Hampstead High School in north London, which counts Helena Bonham Carter among its alumnae, and Oxford High School, attended by Emma Bridgewater, the pottery entrepreneur, and Dame Maggie Smith.
The GDST was set up in 1872 to provide affordable day-school education for girls. Originally called the Girls’ Public Day School Trust, the first school opened in Chelsea, west London in 1873.
Over two decades, dozens more schools were established around the country. It is now the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each year.