Heath Farm School relished being part of a special occasion at Lord’s at the National Table Cricket Finals Day.

The school in Charing battled through regional rounds to take on 11 other schools at the Home of Cricket and, while they didn’t take home the trophy, they made memories for life, playing at an iconic sports venue.

And PE lead Evie Foster revealed how their pupils have been massively looking forward to the day.

She said: “It’s an amazing event and the students have all been really excited. It’s all they’ve been asking about since they got through to the final.

“They’ve been amazed by all the facilities and how much it has been hyped up, and it’s just been a really lovely experience for them.

“The whole school community is really proud of them for getting here.”

Table cricket is a fully inclusive, adapted version of the game aimed at young people living with a wide range of learning and physical disabilities played on a table tennis table.

Teams of six compete to avoid fielders and hit specific scoring zones while the ball is bowled using a ramp. The Lord’s Taverners run their national competition each year, with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schools from across the country taking part.

Foster, who has been with the school for two years, also expressed the importance of having inclusive events such as the National Table Cricket Finals Day for students to aim for.

“Events like this are incredibly important, especially for our students,” she added.

“They really struggle with their confidence so events like this, where they know all the other schools are in the same position as they are, that really helps them thrive.

“We’re really lucky to have this opportunity, it’s our first time here and to get here is a huge achievement.”

For the first time in the competition's history, National Finals Day took place as part of Disability Cricket Day, the biggest ever one-off showcase of disability cricket hosted by the MCC, ECB and Lord’s Taverners which saw all formats of disability cricket on display from grassroots to elite level.

The day was brought to a close by the first-ever international disability cricket fixture on the main ground at Lord’s - the third of a seven-match Vitality international T20 mixed disability series between England and India.

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 for details.