Secondary School Chess News

[Neill Cooper]

I have started a monthly newsletter about secondary school chess in England.
The first issue (now a few weeks old) can be found on the ECF website here.

It includes a Calendar of Secondary School chess team events:

Wed 27th June ECF 4 board Afternoon event at Wilson’s School http://englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/teams/schools/
3rd - 4th July, U18, U16, U14, U12 UK National Schools Chess Team Championships 2012, Teams of 5 at Brean Sands, Somerset. Contact: Tony Corfe: [email protected]
5th-6th July Yateley Manor National Schools Championship 2011-12 Finals at Uppingham School http://www.sccu.ndo.co.uk/schoolschamps.htm
Fri 14th September Russell Jamboree at Wilson’s School, 5pm to 8pm, school teams of 8 players. Contact Neill Cooper [email protected]
Sun 23rd September ECF 6 board one day event at Eton College http://englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/teams/schools/
13th and 14th October: Millfield International at Millfield School contact Matthew Turner [email protected]
17th-18th Nov J4NCL1 Hinckley Island Hotel contact Mike Truran: [email protected]
Sat 1st Dec Birmingham Schools One day U18 rapidplay at King Edwards School, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Contact Andrew Rogers: [email protected]
19th-20th January 2013 J4NCL2 Hinckley Island Hotel contact Mike Truran: [email protected]
Early February 2013: National Schools Tournament Last Chance Saloons
Saturday 9 March 2013 Birmingham Schools One day Under 14 rapidplay Tournament at Solihull School . Contact Andrew Rogers: [email protected]
6th-7th April 2013. J4NCL3 Daventry Court Hotel contact Mike Truran: [email protected]

[Peter D Williams]

That is a very good idea Neil to have a monthly newletter about secondary school chess.It would be very good if many schools can be emailed it or get to know of this newsletter.It is also very interesting to see news about events that are being held in secondary schools and any efforts to get secondary schools playing against each other is really good. Can local authority's help with your ideas for secondary school chess? I look forward to the next issue.

[Neill Cooper]

I've emailed the newsletter to 150 schools and already got some good responses. Both events I'm running have been more popular than I expected. Local authorities could be very useful in contacting schools who have a chess club but do not do anything else, so I don't know about them.

[Peter D Williams]

I've emailed the newsletter to 150 schools and already got some good responses. Both events I'm running have been more popular than I expected. Local authorities could be very useful in contacting schools who have a chess club but do not do anything else, so I don't know about them.

Excellent work Neil. Have you contacted your own Local Authorthy? you never know there may be able to help in other ways. Contacts made with an LA could be very useful in the long term for English junior chess.

[Neill Cooper]

Contacts made with an LA could be very useful in the long term for English junior chess.

In what ways?

[Peter D Williams]

Hampshire LA send out a newsletter to all its schools and other agencies so I am fairly confident that others will do the same. They also have regular meetings with schools regarding all sorts of things which may be of benefit to the school so if you could get chess included you would reach a wider audience much more quickly. Once you make a contact in the LA they have other contacts that may be helpfull. Contacting the DoE may be another way to progress.

[Neill Cooper]

The June ECF Secondary School Chess newsletter can be found on the ECF website here.

If anyone would like to receive it regularly in future by email just send me a PM or email.

[Neill Cooper]

The ECF Secondary School Chess Newsletter continues to be published monthly. Recent editions, including December 2012, can be found at http://englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/team ... hool-news/

[Neill Cooper]

I've written a short record of what has happened to secondary school chess over the past 40 years. In view of the experience of forumites, I would value people checking for any inaccuracies in it.

[Richard Bates]

Apologies Neill, because it's perhaps not really central to the article, and not to do with chess, but (being very interested in cricket) is it really true that most inter-school secondary school cricket is now based on the 2020 version? If so, has this happened through a "revival" in cricket in state schools, who barely played at all 15 years ago, or is it (also?)a change amongst Independent schools, where the sport has always remained strong? The former perhaps being a case of "better this than nothing", but the latter would be quite concerning for the future.

[Alex Holowczak]

Apologies Neill, because it's perhaps not really central to the article, and not to do with chess, but (being very interested in cricket) is it really true that most inter-school secondary school cricket is now based on the 2020 version? If so, has this happened through a "revival" in cricket in state schools, who barely played at all 15 years ago, or is it (also?)a change amongst Independent schools, where the sport has always remained strong? The former perhaps being a case of "better this than nothing", but the latter would be quite concerning for the future.

When I was at (a non-state) school, cricket matches were played on either Saturday morning, or Wednesday afternoon for the Sixth Form. Other years might have the odd game after school.

Certainly in lower years, the matches were played over 20 or 25 overs, whenever they were played. Matches played after school were usually confined to 20. In later years, they might extend in length, but they'd be played starting at 2pm in the afternoon (or so), rather than after school.

A cricket match on an evening might start at about 4-4:30pm by the time the away team gets there. If the away team wants to get home before 7pm, you've probably only got time for a maximum of 25 overs a side.

[Neill Cooper]

Apologies Neill, because it's perhaps not really central to the article, and not to do with chess, but (being very interested in cricket) is it really true that most inter-school secondary school cricket is now based on the 2020 version? If so, has this happened through a "revival" in cricket in state schools, who barely played at all 15 years ago, or is it (also?)a change amongst Independent schools, where the sport has always remained strong? The former perhaps being a case of "better this than nothing", but the latter would be quite concerning for the future.

When I was at (a non-state) school, cricket matches were played on either Saturday morning, or Wednesday afternoon for the Sixth Form. Other years might have the odd game after school.

Certainly in lower years, the matches were played over 20 or 25 overs, whenever they were played. Matches played after school were usually confined to 20. In later years, they might extend in length, but they'd be played starting at 2pm in the afternoon (or so), rather than after school.

A cricket match on an evening might start at about 4-4:30pm by the time the away team gets there. If the away team wants to get home before 7pm, you've probably only got time for a maximum of 25 overs a side.

I think the same is true for my state grammar school. The first team might play some matches for longer but otherwise matches are over 20 or 25 overs.

[Richard Bates]

Fair enough. Again may be differences around the country. I only ever played timed matches, generally over 4 hours plus, longer for Saturday games.

[Brian Valentine]

I'm sure cricket arrangements around the country do vary, but the two activities run under different models.

In Bedfordshire state school cricket is almost non existent. Loss of playing fields and cost of equipment are big contributors. In the independent sector cricket is still strong and the two Bedford Schhols ( homes of "Monty" in his final school years, and "Alistair" respectively) traditional (occasionally 2 days) cricket continues. There are also 20/20 competitions mixed in.

The state sector has largely been replaced by strong club junior sections. These are supported by funding from ECB and Sport England (etc). The facilities are already available. The last time it was petitioned that the Ashes should be shown on a terrestrial channel, recreational cricket was strongly supportive of the Sky package since it was this that this income source trickling down that supported the juniors.

[Neill Cooper]

The latest (February 2014) Secondary School Chess Newsletter can be downloaded on the ECF website at http://englishchess.org.uk/Juniors/wp-c ... y-2014.pdf.

If you would like to be added to the email circulation list please let me know.