FINGAL STUDENT TO REPRESENT COMMUNITY SCHOLARSHIP AT KING’S SCHOOL BRUTON
St Vincent’s Castleknock College pupil Ben Thomson, will be swapping Fingal for Taunton in April, having been granted a full scholarship by King’s School Brunton (King’s) to represent its expanding partnership with Fingal cricket in 2023.
King’s is a co-educational boarding and day school for 370 pupils aged 13 to 18 years. It is situated in the historic town of Bruton about an hour from Bath, Bristol, Salisbury, and Taunton, extending to the Leinster Youth Scholar, free education, board, food and sporting package for the Trinity Term starting in April.
King’s benefits from outstanding cricket facilities, and participation throughout the School is very strong across both boys and girls. King’s benefits from four cricket pitches, a two-lane indoor cricket centre and a brand new pavilion opening in March 2023. In the summer, the School will run eight cricket teams, including a team in the U18 Boys National T20 competition, along with 21 fixtures for the 1st X1 over the 90-day placement.
The partnership has been spearheaded by Fingal Cricket Development Manager, Brian O’Rourke, who is pleased to see the expansion with King’s School Bruton in 2023:
“This is another excellent opportunity for young Fingal players to spend time in an intensive academic and sporting educational setting. My thanks go to Mr. Crump and the team at King’s for their generosity in time, spirit, and finance to make this full scholarship a possibility. I know that Ben will represent us well, and through time, will look back on being part of something very special for young Fingal cricketers”.
Such placements continue Cricket Leinster’s commitment to providing opportunities for young Fingal players to grow as people and players while in the council-backed programmes. It is well documented the impact the South African Transition Year programme has had on now international star players like Andrew Balbirnie, Hary Tector and Lorcan Tucker, and it is hoped that this partnership with King’s, will over time, come to match the TY programme’s impact on young cricketers.
Gerard Reardon, Principal Sports Officer for Fingal County Council, was delighted to see yet another remarkable opportunity for a young Fingal cricketer.
“My team and I send our best wishes to Ben for his placement at King's. We also commend the efforts of our CDM Brian O’Rourke and the staff at King's, led by Ben Crump, to come together to make these opportunities possible. Five years ago, no one could have predicted these types of opportunities would be there for our students, in any sport. We hold cricket as a shining example as to what can be achieved coming out of the pandemic”.
Ben Crump, Head of Cricket at King’s School Bruton, was pleased to be expanding the partnership with Fingal, and welcoming Ben in April.
“King’s School Bruton is excited to develop links with young cricket talent in Fingal which we believe to be a great opportunity for both the pupil and the School. We look forward to welcoming Ben into our school community in April, and to ensure he has an unforgettable and positive, life-changing experience like all our pupils do”.
Ben, who plays his cricket for Phoenix CC, was honoured to be selected for such a prestigious scholarship adding “I cannot wait to join my teammates at King’s. Thank you to my parents for allowing me to take up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to Cricket Lerinster for trusting me to represent our Fingal community, and of course, to Mr. Crump, for selecting me to represent his scholarship programme at the School”.
Ben, like all cricketers on placement from Fingal, will be submitting updates from his time on placement, and we encourage all readers to send their best wishes to him for his time at King’s.
To learn more about King’s School Bruton, visit www.kingsbruton.com or, contact registrar@kingsbruton.com
For more information on cricket in Fingal, please contact Brian O’Rourke at brian.orourke@cricketleinster.ie