PLAYING

TOP 100 SCHOOLS
THE MANCHESTER
GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Old Hall Lane
Manchester
M13 0XT
Established 1515
Notable fixtures Shrewsbury, Sedbergh,
MCC
Director of cricket Mike Watkinson
(Lancashire & England)
Teams 1st XI, 2nd XI, U15AB, U14AB,
U13AB, U12AB, plus U11AB, U10AB at
junior school
Facilities An indoor facility with four
nets, three grass squares, six grass
practice pitches and four outdoor
artificial nets, one artificial match pitch
Club/county affiliation Lancashire
Honours: Mike
Atherton has
shone with his
batting, writing and
broadcasting
Brief history Boys are provided with many
chances to represent the school in a
wide range of sports. Academic staff and
specialist coaches have helped develop
the skills of sportsmen since the school
moved from the cramped city-centre
campus to a new site in Fallowfield
during the 1930s
Cricketers of note Mike Atherton
(Lancashire & England), John
Crawley (Lancashire, Hampshire &
England), David Green (Lancashire,
Gloucestershire), Mark Crawley
(Lancashire, Nottinghamshire), Gary
Yates (Lancashire), Mark Chilton
(Lancashire)
Extras MGS was founded to provide
an education of the highest quality
for those who qualified by virtue of
their intelligence, regardless of parental
background. Remaining true to this
objective in modern times, it has raised
over £25m to ensure that more than
200 pupils receive means-tested
bursaries to attend. The commitment
to the widest possible social access
extends to its sporting ethos. In 2014,
more than 1,500 school representative
opportunities across 18 sports were
created, seven pupils going on to
achieve national honours. Former
pupil Herbert Toft went on to play
rugby union for England, and Robert
Crawshaw and Douglas Lowe won
Olympic gold medals in water polo and
athletics respectively. More recently,
Mike Atherton represented England in
115 Tests and 54 ODIs
56 / thecricketer.com