Participants from Falcons Community’s Schools Connections programme took part in the guard of honour and walk-out with the players last Friday when Newcastle Falcons hosted Leicester Tigers, enjoying a truly memorable experience.

Since January Falcons Community has been delivering rugby sessions in local schools across the North East through the Schools Connections programme, which is supported by recruitment specialist, AK Teaching.

Community development officers have been attending local schools to introduce rugby to students who may have never picked up a rugby ball before.

The programme aims to provide an opportunity for students to learn about rugby, improve their skills and develop a passion for the game. The hope is that this will lead to students transitioning into grassroots clubs or sustained involvement in the game.

Through these sessions, students have been able to engage in a variety of drills and activities. Community development officers have been working closely with teachers and staff at these schools to ensure that the programme is educational, fun and engaging for the students.

Oliver Dynan, Year 6 teacher at James Knott C of E Primary School, said: “During the coaching of rugby, Dan from Falcons Community has been able to quickly build a rapport with the Year 6 pupils and has engaged them throughout the sessions he has delivered. The children enjoy the different warm-up activities, and their rugby skills are developing.”

Kallie Smith assistant branch manager at AK Teaching, said: “When AK Teaching confirmed the collaborative partnership with the Newcastle Rugby Foundation in January, we wanted to help extend the reach and accessibility of Rugby in some of our partnership schools. The feedback from some of our clients is that participants are more engaged during the school day, with some even joining their local rugby team as a result. This shows we are offering something beneficial to schools across the region.

“We are proud to have committed to such a fantastic programme. The mascots and guard of honour for Good Friday’s game were made up of participants from schools who have accessed this initiative – another fantastic example of the positive impact rugby is having in schools.”

With AK Teaching’s support, students can discover a new sport and develop new skills that will serve them well.

To learn more about the school’s connection programme and how you can get involved don’t hesitate to get in touch with kallie.smith@akteaching.co.uk and gavin.beasley@newcastle-falcons.co.uk .