BSN - an international school for children aged 3-18 – have been located in The Hague, in the heart of the Netherlands, for over 90 years. Their mission, in their own words, is to prepare young people with the knowledge, skills and characteristics they need to become successful global citizens who can make an impact and help to build a better world. 

 

Students at BSN have opportunities to compete locally, nationally and internationally in a range of sports. They also have the chance to participate in a full recreational programme and inter-house competitions. 

 

The R66T Academy will begin its partnership with the BSN in the 2023/24 Academic Year - offering students, initially in Years 5 to 8, the chance to participate in the Academy. Students will be offered sessions once a week in the winter with the aim of establishing a competitive team that can play friendly matches against local clubs such as Voorburg Cricket Club, Royal The Hague Cricket Club, HBS Craeyenhout and Quick within The Hague.  

 

Alongside the main R66T Academy, there will also be a clinic in the Spring of 2024, which will be led by Dutch international coaches and players. Students on the R66T Academy trajectory will be able to go into Junior Schools within the BSN and local High Schools to develop cricket, lead sessions and develop their thinking and leadership skills. 

 

The ultimate aim, in addition to improving participation, is to compete as a school in R66T Academy competitions in the UK and Spain, but also look at a long-haul cricket tour in the summer of 2025. 

 

Speaking about the partnership with the R66T Academy, Tom Archer, Head of Co Curricular Sports and Teacher of PE at the BSN, said: "We are delighted to become a R66T Academy Partnership School and work with one of the leading cricketers in the world to provide our students the chance to access opportunities to play cricket as well as developing the students leadership skills. 

 

"The R66T Academy will be pivotal in providing a focal point for the cricket offering at the BSN going forward and the innovative methods that we can use due to the equipment available to us will add value to the cricket sessions that we already offer. We hope that the R66T Academy will provide a platform for students to play club cricket in The Netherlands, alongside developing their cricketing skills within the programme and some of the associated skills such as leadership, commitment, discipline and teamwork." 

 

Meanwhile, Chris Millard, R66T Academy Managing Director, added: "We are absolutely thrilled that The British School in The Netherlands have become a Partnership School. The school do a brilliant job to provide its pupils with a variety of sporting opportunities and it is great to extend our brand to the Netherlands to help achieve our mission of becoming the go-to cricket development company globally." 

 

 

The British School in The Netherlands have several partnerships with local sports clubs in and around The Hague. One of their partners is Voorburg Cricket Club, which is the closest club to the BSN. The school have recently developed a relationship with the club in order to provide more access to all of their students. The club have been running a 'Friday Family Cricket' evening every Friday, which has seen over 45 children - mainly BSN students - competing against each other in a friendly atmosphere. Many of those students (and parents) have become members and are now playing competitively in VCC’s U9s teams and above. 

 

"The facilities that VCC offer are world class with one of the few grass wickets and a fantastic indoor centre," said Mr Archer. "On top of this, the coaches that take the teams include Dutch National Team Coaches and full Dutch internationals - a number of whom played in the recent successful World Cup Qualifying campaign that included wins over the West Indies and Scotland. As a result, the students have access to world class coaches through VCC. We look forward to hosting visiting clubs and schools there in the future.