Pupils from a school in Dover enjoyed a day to remember as they travelled to Lord’s to compete at the Lord’s Taverners National Table Cricket Finals Day.

Elms School were one of 10 teams who fought their way through regional competitions to win a place at Finals Day, held inside the Nursery Pavilion at the Home of Cricket.

Schools competing were from across the country, with Lord’s Taverners president and Tunbridge Wells-born cricket legend David Gower and England and Surrey bowler Reece Topley in attendance.

For assistant head teacher Emily Mount, it proved incredibly special to bring the children to Lord’s.

She said: “I don’t think the kids realised how amazing it was going to be until they got here and saw the stadium - they were quite shocked by how big it is and where they were playing.

“It’s such an iconic venue. I think it’s amazing the kids have got to experience it and see where professional sport is actually played. It’s been quite inspiring for them, really.

“Table cricket has given them a sense of teamwork. Our children in our team have never been part of a team, they’ve never represented the school before, so it’s really brought them closer together and given them confidence that they can be part of a team and succeed.

“Some of our children are really quiet, they don’t like competing or doing their PE lessons.

“But now, we’ve got children who are really competitive and they want to compete with other children and join in.”

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

Jack Adams, 12, was part of the Elms School’s team at Lord’s.

He said: “I really love everything about table cricket. Just coming in general has been so special.

“We just wanted to have fun and we’ve made it all the way here, which is really good for us.”

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