Cricket participation “through the roof” at St George’s

Published in The Edinburgh Reporter, by Bill Lothian, October 13, 2025


St George’s School reports that cricket is now their fastest growing sport, with 150 girls taking part in its cricket clubs.

The news comes at the end of a week-long programme of sports, workshops and talks as part of the nationwide Women and Girls in Sport Week while the women’s world cup, currently taking place in the sub-continent, has given added profile to the bat and ball game.

The Sport Week is an annual event across Scotland to inspire young women and girls to participate in physical activity and sports.

St George’s has also reported that 67% of its pupils choose to take part in extra sports activities and play for clubs at a competitive level in addition to the PE sessions on the school’s curriculum. This is in marked contrast to the national level which sees many young girls drop out of sport in their school years.

During the recent cricket season St George’s had 31 competitive fixtures. tournaments and festivals from P5 up to S6.

While many are content to play for fun St George’s are also nurturing talented players such as Diya Shukla and Adwita Choudhury, both 14, who have been selected for the Scotland under-15 squad. Diya has also been selected for the Scotland under-17’s who are preparing for a world cup in 2026. 

Christine Fourie, director of sport at St George’s, said: “Cricket is the fastest growing sport for girls at St George’s and numbers went through the roof this season. It is a great sport…which is very important to us in terms of encouraging girls to develop a love for being physically active from a young age.

“Our programme starts in P1 where we have mini cricket bats and big cricket balls (and) we now have multiple age groups fileding teams.”

Head teacher Carol Chandler-Thompson added: “Only 12 per cent of Scottish girls meet activity standards by age 15 due to the national gender play gap which starts as early as age five when girls are pushed to the side lines in the playground in co-educational environments.

“Inactivity has a proven negative impact on mental health.

“The benefits of physical education for mental wellbeing are manifold.”