Our Year 8 girls and boys had the most amazing time playing cricket and netball and making new friends in South Africa. It was the first time that our U13 girls’ cricket team joined the tour.
Westbourne House School cricket coach and tour team leader, Kevin Smith, said: “This was our school’s eleventh tour, but our first opportunity to take the girls' team having introduced cricket as the main summer sport for our girls over the last two summers. I believe our U13 girls’ team is the first girls’ team to have this opportunity. Our three cricket teams all played boys’ teams in South Africa as girls’ cricket is not as developed as it is here and girls who are keen do play with the boys. In terms of UK schools, we are indeed pioneers in this field and we played six games of cricket, two netball matches and a game of football.
After landing in Johannesburg, there was an amazing view, a wonderful school full of friendly faces and further adventure around every corner.
"I'll never forget coming out of the plane and the wave of heat and smells of Africa.”
Anoushka
A huge thank you to tour leader Mr Smith and the South Africa touring team for making the trip with the children and ensuring that everyone had an incredible time.
A huge thank you to our sponsors Southdowns Private GP Services, The Sir John Ritblat Foundation, Southcoast Group, Rountree Tryon Galleries and Hard Yards for their support
What the children thought of the South Africa trip 2022
“I really loved our cricket tour to South Africa. My favourite bit was going on the safari where we saw rhinos, giraffes, elephants, lions and cheetahs.
Also I really loved visiting the amazing stadiums, playing so much cricket and staying with the families. I’ll never forget the thunderstorm in the Drakensburg mountains it was more than torrential and we got soaked running to the dining hall. It was the most amazing trip ever!” Rory
I really loved visiting the amazing stadiums, playing so much cricket and staying with the families.
Rory
“The trip to South Africa was amazing and I totally recommend it. My best bit was the safari and seeing all the animals. The most memorable was visiting the township school and being marched in and I will never forget the incredible water park!” Izzy
“My favourite part of the South Africa tour was in the afternoon of my second day. My host took us to a safari park where we saw loads of AMAZING animals. We even got to pet a cheetah and watch a lion being fed. Overall I just really enjoyed spending time with my year group, chatting with them in the evenings and making the most of our time at Westbourne. For me, this is what I feel I will never forget.” Zara
“Meeting the township kids and playing football was the highlight and something I will never forget. The best tour, so many incredible memories made with my mates and never dreamed I would stroke a cheetah.”
Tommy
“It was the best trip of my life. I will never forget how amazing the safari was and my absolute favourite part was the water park because I could run around with my friends and the slides were incredible. South Africa was beautiful and I loved the sounds of all the birds and animals.” Ludo
“My favourite part of the South Africa cricket tour was the safari as I saw lots of wild animals that I’ve never seen before, like lions, cheetahs, elephants, hyena, rhino, hippo and the list goes on. It was also a really nice time to come together with everyone and I loved staying in hotels and sharing rooms with different friends every night. The hosts were really nice and supportive and were very welcoming to us, making sure that we had everything we needed for the night. I’ve made lots of memories and strengthened my friendships with everyone and I want to thank the teachers for putting the trip together and giving me such a lovely time.” Alexis
“Thank you for the great trip to South Africa. I will always remember playing under flood lights and having a snake around my neck. The best bit was the water park and going down the one of the biggest slides in South Africa . I have great memories of being with my friends on the trip.” Joe
“I loved my two weeks in South Africa. For me, highlights were the slides at the water park and the wildlife. I was especially pleased to see baby hippos and black rhino. I also spotted a tarantula at the game park on the way to supper.” Patrick
“Thank you so much for this incredible experience, I will never forget it! I really enjoyed the safari, Wow it was cool! it was especially exciting to see the rhino - but the elephants, giraffes and cheetahs were awesome too! Our visit to the township was extraordinary - one I will always remember - and I had a really great time with the host families. They were so kind and friendly and welcoming…. especially after long cricket matches!!!! This was a spectacular cricket tour, more amazing than I could have ever imagined it to be… Thank you to all involved for making it so.” Felix
Our visit to the township was extraordinary - one I will always remember - and I had a really great time with the host families.
Felix
“Thank you so much, this trip will stay in my memory for ever, I especially enjoyed the cricket matches with Mr Barker as our coach as he was so encouraging… I loved seeing the animals on safari - we were so lucky… cheetahs, rhino, elephants, giraffes….!!! It was spectacular - wow the safari lodge was a huge treat. The visit to the township was a really new experience, and I will remember it for a long time…...I enjoyed staying with the host families…. they were so kind and generous and took us on an amazing trip to visit cheetahs. A superb tour! Thank you to all who took us and organised us and gathered us !!!!!” Walter
“South Africa was amazing I especially loved seeing all the animals, petting the cheetah and holding the python. The penny-drop ride at the water park was awesome and I loved staying with all the host families especially with the boy who scored a Century against us!” Arthur
“My brother Fergus went on the last school cricket tour 3 years ago. He had told me so much about what we would do and after 3 years I went on the tour myself. I was a little nervous of the flight and being away from home, but once we got on the coach I didn’t have time to be homesick or worry about our sheep and cows at home. Once we got going the adventure continued day after day, we stayed in some great houses with really lovely families and had some amazing meat braai’s. We played games with our hosts’ kids and hunted tree spiders in their gardens after supper. It felt a million miles from being at home and it was great fun. I played six games of cricket with my friends and we played against some strong fast bowlers and talented batsmen.
“In our off time we travelled around in buses and did some amazing things like cutting up sharks, holding slippery long snakes and meeting local children in a township school. They gave us a wonderful welcome, escorting our bus down the street and playing football with us. It really made us think and it was nice to give them gifts from home. We saw the statue of Nelson Mandela and Zulus doing tribal dances. We had so much fun in the water park doing the big steep slide and rafting. The whole trip was incredible and we did so much in just 2 weeks.
“It all went so quickly and now I am back home, it is great to talk to Fergus about it all and comparing our experiences. It was all amazing, and, I’m already missing all of the meat and beef sausages. Thank you teachers and the school, for a truly amazing trip.” Arthur
My best memories, which I will never forget, were seeing hippos swimming around us on a boat trip, and going on safari, where we saw elephants at the watering holes, got close to a pride of lions, lots of majestic giraffes and saw some magnificent black rhinos.
Arthur
“South Africa was such an incredible trip! I loved going to the township school because the children were so friendly and treated us like royalty as they marched us in! It was amazing to be able to experience the Safari seeing all of the awesome animals. I also loved our trip to the water park. Thank you to all the teachers who looked after us all so well.” Alice
“It was a once in a life time experience and jam packed with fun.” Greta Schwarz
“My favourite part of the South Africa Tour was the safari. We saw so many animals, from some beautiful tall giraffes to small funny warthogs! Another highlight was the water park! There were so many fun slides and I loved the Marine Life too. The township visit was extremely eye opening and made me realise how lucky I am. Another part of the tour which was great was having so much independence. It was really fun to meet other children from the schools and to play some cricket and netball against them. I loved the South Africa Tour so much- thank you so much for the teachers that made me feel not homesick and so happy to be there.” Mary
The township visit was extremely eye opening and made me realise how lucky I am.
Mary
“The tour was amazing. I loved every moment of it and spending time with my friends was great! Every day there was something exciting. On the second day we went to a game reserve with our hosts. There we saw hyena, lions and cheetah! It was so cool because we got to stroke the cheetahs, which is an incredible once in a lifetime opportunity! The other highlight for me was the day at the water park. I had such a fun day. I think the whole trip was amazing!” Bianca
Anoushka’s Top Trip Hits
“Best bit: loved everything. The smells, the sounds. The Waterpark, ice skating with 1st host family. The safari was unbelievable - seeing the animals in their natural habitat.
Favourite memory: sharing a house with a few friends - it felt so fun and homely. Loved being with host children and hearing about how they live. Playing pool games.
Thing you’ll never forget: coming out of the plane and the wave of heat and smells of Afric
