Nine year old Jaden Webster is a true all-rounder – both on and off the cricket field.

The St. Cyprian’s Primary School student got a great back to school gift last week when he received the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket 15th Anniversary Grant, in recognition of his sporting and academic excellence.

Scotiabank created the USD $500 grant this year as part of its activities marking the 15th anniversary of its sponsorship of the Kiddy Cricket program. Grants were awarded to top performers from around the region who excelled in the Kiddy Cricket Festivals and also had good academic grades.

Webster, who had previously been awarded the title of Best Fielder during the 2014 Kiddy Cricket Festival, was chosen from among the top three festival performers. He collected his prize as well as a backpack of back-to-school supplies from Scotiabank’s head office in Barbados.

Scotiabank marketing Manager Amanda Lynch-Foster said the Bank was pleased to add an extra reward to the Kiddy Cricket program this year in honour of the special anniversary and noted that “there has always been an academic aspect to Kiddy Cricket.”

“Over the last 15 years, nearly a million Caribbean children received their first formal cricket training through Kiddy Cricket. However, there has always been an academic aspect where we use the skills and techniques of cricket to teach academic concepts, going all the way back to our ‘Clarence Goes to School’ teaching manuals. This 15th anniversary grant underlines how important it is for children to balance academics and sports,” said Lynch-Foster.