Pupils from Turing House School enjoyed a day to remember at Twickenham on Saturday as they paraded as flagbearers on the pitch ahead of England’s NatWest 6 Nations clash with Wales.
The opportunity was afforded to the Teddington school thanks to its involvement in the CBRE All Schools programme this season.
Launched in 2012, the initiative has been developed by the RFU to increase the amount of rugby played in schools, encourage new players to join local clubs and create a positive legacy through the sport and its core values.
Last autumn representatives from the RFU’s official partner Canterbury conducted kit-design workshops around the country, one of which was attended by Turing House School.
The bespoke kit designed by the pupils will be delivered to the school in the coming weeks for the teams to play in for the rest of the season and years to come.
Stepping out onto the hallowed turf of Rugby HQ with a packed Twickenham crowd watching on, Alex Young, 13 from Turing House School said it was a day he will not forget in a hurry.
“I like rugby because I can take out all my stress of school work in the contact, and being with my friends as well, and so it’s nice,” he said.
“It was surprising, it just felt weird but so enjoyable being out on the field. It will be really big, because most of my family are quite big on rugby.
“I like Owen Farrell, how he can kick it that high. I started playing rugby about two years ago and now I really want to progress.”
Turing House School were one of 80 to make the trip to south west London having been a part of the CBRE All Schools programme this season.
The initiative aims to take rugby into 750 state secondary schools by 2019 and ahead of the match pupils were treated to a lunch and photoshoot with England internationals Ellis Genge and Harriet Millar-Mills, as well as being given new Canterbury kit to wear as flagbearers.
Ahead of Saturday’s 12-6 win for England, Genge gave a talk to the visiting schools about what rugby has done for their life and how the sport’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship can apply to many real-life situations – not just on the rugby field.
“When I was younger we didn’t go too far but some of these schools have travelled from all over the country to come down here, so it’s a great day all round,” said Genge.
“It’s great to see all of the young rugby players from around the country coming together as one.
“Some of these kids would never have had the chance to come to Twickenham so it’s a wonderful opportunity in that respect and they all seemed to make the most of it.”
CBRE All Schools supported by Canterbury is one of the RFU’s key legacy programmes, set up to increase the number of state secondary schools playing rugby union in England. Visit www.englandrugby.com/allschools to find out more
