The Minister of Education, Daryll Matthew, who is currently on an overseas
mission, has been using every opportunity to secure benefits for the further
development of Antigua and Barbuda.
Minister Matthew is in the United Kingdom, and he has participated in a series
of meetings organised by the High Commission with various educational and
sporting institutions. “The engagements sought to advance opportunities for
Antigua and Barbuda following the under-19 cricket team’s inaugural summer
tour of the UK. The sporting institutions visited, were directly involved in the
cricket team’s tour and expressed interest in developing a deeper relationship
with Antigua and Barbuda,” according to a media release from the mission.
Minister Matthew, accompanied by High Commissioner Karen-Mae Hill, met
with two of the United Kingdom’s most outstanding educational and sporting
institutions. At the Harrow School, meetings were held with Johnny Marsden,
Mathematics Master and Master in Charge of Cricket, and Natalya Silcott,
Mathematics Master and Awards Registrar. The Harrow School has proposed
two funded placements for young Antiguan and Barbudan cricketers to spend a
term at the school from April to June 2024.
“The selected cricketers (one aged 13 and the other aged 14) will be immersed
in academic studies while training and playing cricket with the Harrow School
Cricket Club. Harrow is one of the UK’s most prestigious schools renowned for
its first-class sports programmes and academic rigour. It has educated several
Nobel prize laureates including Sir Winston Churchill. The selection process
will be led by Senator Shenella Govia and supported by the Harrow School,”
the release stated.
The second meeting was held with Director of Sport Richard Wheater and
Senior Performance Programme Manager at Loughborough University.
Loughborough University is ranked in the top 10 of UK universities. It is
recognised as the best university in the UK for sports. Minister Matthew
explored opportunities for elite athletes from Antigua and Barbuda to secure
scholarships to the University. He also discussed the possibility of
developing bespoke training programmes initially for football and cricket
coaches employed by the Ministry of Sport to further develop their technical
capacity. The meeting also discussed a planned cricket tour to Antigua and
Barbuda in March 2024 of a Loughborough University cricket team. The
Antigua and Barbuda under 19 team spent a week at the University in August
and played their first fixture against a Loughborough University XI.
Meetings were also held with Hertfordshire County Cricket Club (HCCC) and
the ACE Programme.
In a shift away from sports, the Minister met with the founders of Caribbean
Elective, Sergio Fedee and Harry Spear. Caribbean Elective is a non-profit
organisation that provides UK college and university students with UK
government-funded internship opportunities around the world. Since its launch
in 2016, over 3000 UK students have travelled to St. Lucia, where they
participated in several programmes on the island including working in the local
hospitals and with the Legal Aid Department. Antigua and Barbuda will be the
second and newest Caribbean country added to the Caribbean Elective
programme. The first students will visit the island in February 2024.
