For the last 13 months Reigate Rugby Club have been living their community values, delivering rugby sessions in 7 different schools in the local area with support from a small army of dedicated volunteers and Surrey University coaches.

These free sessions have seen children from Year 1 all the way up to Year 10 be given an introduction to the sport, delivering as part of the school’s PE curriculum as well as promoting the club. Over 250 sessions have been delivered, with 1,200 boys and 1,251 girls being given the opportunity to get into rugby.

The 7 schools currently involved in the programme are:
Primary:

• Epsom Downs Primary School
• Salfords Primary School
• Sandcross Primary School
• Whyteleafe Primary School
• Secondary:
• Carrington School
• Reigate School
• St Bede's

Sandcross Primary School have fed back that “partnering with Reigate Rugby Club has been a great success. Each week our pupils are not only learning great technique and skills with the support of expert coaches, but also building resilience and collaboration all within the game of rugby. The coaches have been nothing but professional and warm to the children, building confidence and most importantly a sense of fun.”

From the schools programme we’ve seen an interest in pupils want to participate in rugby beyond the classroom environment, with the club recently hosting a well-attended taster day, a second of which takes place this Sunday (16th March) at our Colley Lane Clubhouse.

Always a welcoming club, these sessions are aimed towards continuing the sessions from schools, as well as give parents and carers to the chance to ask the coaches any questions they may have where they may be new to rugby themselves and see how well run the sessions are.

Mike Hanlon – who’s heading up the schools programme – is looking to keep building the momentum, working with the schools to arrange match days at the club to fully inspire the youngsters, facilitating more sessions and opportunities such as the recent session for our U13s and U16s, when 3 current Harlequins Women and England U20s players delivered a very well received and engaging session.

“This really is such a vital piece of work that we’re doing as a club” Club President John Mckee has said, “we identified that participation in rugby was slowing down and this is largely due to confidence in the delivery, in building connections with our local schools and working with teachers we’re hoping to show how accessible it is and see more young people get on board, supporting the sport to thrive in the long term.”

If you’re looking for more information, especially as a newcomer to the sport please complete our Google Form for more information, or email info@reigaterugby.com. We’re also happy to discuss working with new local schools, suitable contacts should reach out via the email above and hopefully we can build our network ever further.