Rushanara Ali MP visits CSC’s Stepney League

Our Stepney Primary Schools League takes place on the first Friday of each month at Stepney Park Primary School. Each school sends in a team of six children who take part in an individual tournament, with medals awarded for the highest scores. At the end of the season, we add up each school’s score to work out who takes home the winner’s trophy, currently residing with our reigning champions, Thomas Buxton Primary School.

In March we were delighted to welcome a new school to the event: Bangabandhu Primary School from Bethnal Green. They joined six other schools - St Peter’s London Docks, John Scurr, Stepney Park, English Martyrs, Thomas Buxton, and Cayley - for an afternoon of chess. We were also very pleased to be joined by Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney, who had heard about our league and wanted to see it in action. Rushanara watched the children play their final round and then spoke to the players about her support for CSC which stretches back to the early years of the charity. She then stayed on for the prize-giving, handing out medals for the best individual performances, including to pupils from her own old primary school!

The race for the 2025 title remains very close with several teams still in contention. Can Thomas Buxton become the first team to retain the trophy? Only time will tell.