Students from an Ipswich school are hoping to sign off their academic careers in style with victory at the Lord’s Taverners National Table Cricket Finals on Friday.

Thomas Wolsey School are heading to the Home of Cricket bidding to lift the prestigious trophy after booking their place at the showpiece in an East Anglia qualifier in Newmarket.

Thousands of youngsters from across the country have been chasing down a place at Lord’s to win through to the Lord’s Taverners National Table Cricket Finals Day – with ten schools now confirmed for the competition at the home of cricket on 9 June.

Following months of county competitions, nearly 70 schools and over 500 young people with a disability competed in the charity’s table cricket regional finals across the country throughout April with the final 10 teams now eagerly awaiting the opportunity to become the 2023 national table cricket champions.

Teacher Kristy Hodgson hopes her players can mark the end of their time at the school in the perfect manner with victory in the capital.

She said: “They haven’t really stopped talking about it. The parents have been quite excited about it too, we have quite a few coming down.

"We won every game at Newmarket, and they now think they have got to do the same thing. I am just telling them to do their best and enjoy it, but they have confidence.

“They are our Year 11 leavers, they know this is their last chance to play. It’s a lovely end of year, end of school time event, most of them have been with us since they were three or four years old.

“It’s a big thing that they are leaving and it’s lovely that they can do it together.”

The ten regional finals, where young people with disabilities from across 34 counties and Scotland showcased their table cricket skills and teamwork, included competitions at historic venues such as Edgbaston, Old Trafford and Headingley.

Being able to play competitive cricket at such stadiums provides young people with a disability a potential once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their teams at stadiums embedded in the history of the sport.

This past year has seen over 6,500 young people playing the game, benefitting from immeasurable personal development opportunities through table cricket. Participants learn leadership, communication and endless amounts of key skills whilst travelling to new places and creating friendships with other players.

Much of the Lord’s Taverners work in cricket for young people with disabilities is made possible thanks to funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and awarded by the Postcode Active Trust, in addition to support from the ECB and Sport England.

The trip to Lord’s is the second part of a bumper schedule for Thomas Wolsey, who are also competing in a boccia tournament in London the day before.

The team will then stay overnight in the capital before travelling onwards to the Home of Cricket, where they will compete against nine other schools from across the country.

Hodgson hailed the transformative impact of sport that is accessible to all on her students.

“It’s such an inclusive sport, such a good sport, and it’s so close to the actual sport of cricket,” she added. “For my guys, it’s opened their eyes to what they can achieve.

“They spend their whole time thinking they can’t do these things, they see their siblings come home from competitions, they have got all their medals and lots of special schools don’t even come to these events. 

“They came back [after the regionals] and were absolutely beaming, everyone came and clapped them. 

“When we went last time, Lord’s felt so inclusive. It wasn’t you are an inspiration because you are disabled, it was just ‘be you’.”

The Lord’s Taverners impacts the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality. The charity works across the UK and beyond to provide inclusive and impactful cricket programmes, empowering young people with disabilities and from disadvantaged communities – visit www.lordstaverners.org