Thornhill Primary School have won the Ashes Partner Schools Project, with their film about the origin of the Ashes urn, set to be shown on the Replay Screen at Glamorgan Cricket's headquarters during the Test Match and in front of a full house at The SSE SWALEC.
The Project has involved pupils from primary and secondary schools throughout the country preparing a variety of material which celebrates the rich history of the Ashes and the involvement of Glamorgan players in the iconic Test series between England and Australia.
For example, pupils at St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School prepared a movie about their favourites moments from Ashes history, with their pupils re-creating these moments, including the last wicket stand between Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar in the 2009 Ashes Test at Cardiff, in the playground of their school in Colwyn Bay.
The judging panel placed the work from St.Joseph's in third place in the competition with the runners-up being the entry produced by pupils from Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Ystalyfera who prepared a bilingual film looking at what playing cricket means for boys and girls at the school in the Swansea Valleys, and the importance to Wales of hosting an Ashes Test Match.
The winning entry from Thornhill Primary School saw a group of pupils create a silent film re-enacting events from the early 1880s, especially the romance between Ivo Bligh and Florence Morphy which led to the creation of the Ashes urn. Liz Berry, their Deputy Headteacher said Children from our Year Five drama club worked with a talented team of staff to produce a film about the myth surrounding the origin of the urn. They were inspired to produce the film following a visit to Glamorgan's headquarters in the Spring and a presentation in the CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket.
It's been such an exciting project, through which we hope the girls and boys will develop a lasting passion for cricket. To actually win the competition is a tremendous honour for Thornhill Primary School, and we are thrilled that so many people will be able to share in the children's efforts during the Ashes Test when the film is shown on the Big Screen at the SSE SWALEC.
Our youngsters are already very excited by the fact that they will be forming the Guards of Honour and playing on the outfield during the lunch interval on the third day of the Test. Being the winners of the competition is the icing on the cake, and they will all be very proud when they see their film on the Big Screen, and all in front of a full house at the greatest cricket match in the world!
Pupils from all of the participating schools will be present at the Test Match and will be taking part in the opening ceremony, besides forming Guards of .Honour and playing on the outfield during the intervals as the next generation of cricket enthusiasts and players get an opportunity to share in the pride and excitement of the Ashes Test being staged in Wales once again. The winning entries in the Project will shortly be appearing on a special page on the Glamorgan Cricket website.
If you would like further information about Glamorgan's package of exciting opportunities for school groups, or to have a behind-the-scenes tour of The SSE SWALEC on a non-match day, please contact Andrew Hignell on 02920 419383, or send an email to
museum@glamorgancricket.co.uk
You can see Thornhill's winning entry by clicking above.