In February 2015, 23 students from the Brighton and Portslade Aldridge Community Academies travelled to Cape Town, South Africa, for the Aldridge Cricket Academy’s inaugural Tour.

This was a unique venture by the two schools as tours of this magnitude tend to be the province of independent schools. However, Sir Rod Aldridge, Chair of the Aldridge Cricket Academy Fundraising Committee, believes in creating life opportunities for young people: “At Aldridge, we believe that everybody deserves a chance to be the best they can be, no matter where they start in life. That’s why we provide educational opportunities to give young people the best start.”

For many of the squad, it was their first trip abroad, and for all it was an incredible opportunity to learn a little about another country’s culture whilst pushing their sporting boundaries, and discovering how to unite as a team. Which happily also resulted in six wins out of eight matches

During their eight-day stay, the young players also visited key local landmarks, such as Robben Island and Table Mountain, and spent an afternoon helping coach children at the Fisantekrall Township.

Tour Captain Dale Hunt said: “I am truly proud of the effort and determination shown by all my players. They were respectful, honest, hard-working and proud to be a part of the Aldridge Cricket Academy.”

In the future the Aldridge Cricket Academy will be based at the new state-of-the-art Pavilion and four lane indoor Cricket School that is being built at the Brighton Aldridge Community Academy. It is believed that this facility will be the first of its kind in any state school in the UK.