At Hilldene Primary School in Romford, Essex, current England cricketer James Foster and World Cup football winner, Sir Geoff Hurst, today launched an inventive new scheme intended to provide a major boost to school sport.

In a move aimed at improving the provision of sport in schools and making children more active at school, thereby helping to counter the unprecedented rise in child obesity, innovative playground markings were unveiled which will not only encourage boys and girls to play more sport in their breaks but, importantly, to help teachers better deliver PE lessons to their pupils.

Making the long overdue step from old-fashioned chalk marks on playground walls, these new brightly-coloured, multi-faceted, markings will allow matches and training for a variety of sports - including cricket, football, netball and hockey - so a wide-range of sporting tastes can be catered for.

Numbered targets will also help with numeracy skills while the layout of the targets within the playground will facilitate more organised practice sessions.

Playground Markings Photo © ECB

It is hoped these imaginative markings, devised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) but implemented by Highway Safety Systems, will be replicated by schools throughout the country. Cost-effective, the markings are priced at between £2,000 and £20,000, depending on the option chosen.

Bruce Cruse, ECB Facilities Manager and, said, "Playground markings are a cheap and cost-effective way of stimulating interest in sport amongst school children, aiding the teaching of sport, and improving kids' health.

"With large amounts of government money being made available for improving school sports facilities, the ECB wanted to ensure that cricket was included in plans for spending it. This is why we have come up with a high-quality, cheap but innovative concept which will not only benefit cricket but many other sports besides.

"Young kids have always relied on painted stumps on brick walls to play their cricket but we are taking the concept a step further. The ECB is charged with developing the game `from playground to Test Arena' and this is the proof of where we start!"

The ECB and Highway Safety Systems aim to encourage Local Education Authorities and Head Teachers throughout the country to adopt the markings in this bid to encourage greater activity in school break-time and better use of existing school outdoor spaces.

In-service training is offered by the ECB, free-of-charge, to teachers at schools which implement the playground markings.

© ECB 2002