First Class Supply Schools Connections festival
The festival was the culmination of a programme supported by the North East’s fastest-growing independent supply teaching agency.
It has seen the Newcastle Rugby Foundation engage with and provide coaching to over 5,000 children, with the festival seeing many of the children play on the same pitch as some of the best rugby players in the world.
In addition to welcoming those children familiar with what the programme offers, a whole host of new schools and pupils, some with no previous experience of the sport, also got involved to have their first taste.
Playing games in groups of up to five teams, all the participants enjoyed almost an hour’s worth of game time over the course of the morning, with a total of 47 teams entered across years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
As well as providing an opportunity for the children to be active the games also offered the chance for them to forge stronger friendship bonds, with a number of the squads seeing multiple classes from their year group combine to form the teams.
Allowing the children to enjoy the day, the festival was a non-competitive event and encouraged all those present to embrace the sport’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship.
Providing a fitting finale to a programme that has been hailed as a resounding success by those taking part, the First Class Supply festival is one of a number of opportunities that the Newcastle Rugby Foundation has offered to youngsters during season 2018/19, with more set to follow next year.
Lesley Robinson, director, said: “We are delighted that the First Class Supply Festival of Tag Rugby was another incredibly successful event, and enjoyed by so many pupils from our local schools. Thank you to the Falcons and everyone involved in making it such a special day.”
For more information on the Foundation and how to get involved, please email **schools@newcastle-falcons.co.uk** .
