Our Case Studies

Developing young people through an apprenticeship scheme

White Rose Rugby were one of the first organisations to confirm their involvement in the Coach Core Leeds apprenticeship programme having previously worked with Yorkshire Sport Foundation on other project. They have completely immersed themselves in developing young people through the apprenticeship scheme and have been nothing but open minded and willing to learn during every part of the process.

It is vital that the apprentices that are part of this project have the required support from the organisation that they are placed with. Phil, Dave and the rest of the team fully understand what it takes to nurture and mentor young people and go the extra mile. They provide the right environment for young people to learn and develop themselves and have proven that they can produced excellent young coaches.

White Rose Rugby and Yorkshire Sport Foundation have an extremely strong working relationship and this has only strengthened through this piece of work. They are always professional, reliable and approachable and have a great team that are always wanting and willing to get involved in new ideas.

Yorkshire Sport Foundation are looking forward to continuing work with White Rose Rugby, in particular seeing them return as part of the next Coach Core Leeds Apprenticeship programme.

Lauren Havercroft

The children (and teachers!!) are really sad that the coaching sessions have now come to an end. They have LOVED each session and both Ben and Tom have been amazing. The progression of skills for each session has been really evident and it’s been wonderful to see some of the children thriving. All of the sessions have been fun and engaging.

We have one boy who now wants to play thanks to Ben’s coaching. In the classroom, he is one of the lower ability children but he has shown a real talent for rugby so this is something that will really help his self-esteem and confidence.

Thank you so much and I hope that we can discuss having you in again next year!

Despite what a lot of people might think rugby is a fun game. For me as a teacher it is the most rewarding aspect of my professional life. You can instil so much to students through the game. It is a game that can be played on so many levels and enjoyed by many different types of students. Without rugby my teaching life and my personal life would not be as fulfilled as it is now.

Brighouse High has been fortunate enough to be part of the all schools rugby programme for the last three years. This programme has supported the school in providing training for staff to develop their skills and knowledge of the game so that rugby is now a regular fixed part of key stage 3 and 4 PE curriculum for boys and girls. The WRSRS festivals and fixtures provide the school with an excellent opportunity to compete on a regular basis and allows our pupils the opportunity to build their confidence and Rugby skills. Many of our pupils have not experienced the game other than in school and we have found that through our involvement in the All schools programme and been part of the WRSRS more and more are continuing to play outside of school at our local Rugby Clubs. The pupils of Brighouse have gained a better understanding not just of the game but also of the core values and it is these core values that have allowed the pupils to develop and thrive not only as performers but as young adults.

Rugby union is a wonderful component to have in your curriculum and extra curricular programme as it really brings to life morals and values which are essential for all young people to have. The discipline and respect displayed in their rugby lives can be replicated in their everyday lives making them positive role models for their peers and being fine upstanding citizens in their local communities.

Playing rugby allows our pupils to develop their sporting skills, as well as key life skills such as confidence and self belief, and the feeling of being part of team. Pupils enjoy being challenged, and take pride in both the game, and in representing their school. The White Rose Festival has allowed our teams to take part in regular competitions, against a range of teams. They are well organised and give pupils the best experience of Yorkshire rugby.

‘Thank you for everything you have done over the 10 weeks. The students have loved it (whatever the weather!) and I’m sure they will miss it this week.’

‘Thank you for everything you’ve done with the students, they’ve absolutely loved every minute of it and they’ve got loads out of it in a time where this sort of thing could have been very difficult to do. They have benefitted massively from it and we hope we can work with you again to provide more opportunities for development!’

The students said that they really enjoyed working with you and your coaches. They learnt a lot about rugby and enjoyed playing all the games. They felt much more confident about playing the game after you’d been and would really like to play more if at all possible.

‘White Rose Rugby delivered a 6 week rugby union session for our Bridge Builder students. All students within this group have additional needs and the majority have Education Health Care Plans in place.  The White Rose coaches were excellent from the very first session, quickly establishing the needs of the group and adapting accordingly. Rugby ability level within the group at the start was low, with the majority having never participated before. As the weeks progressed the change in ability was clear to see, this is testament to the coaching undertaken. Cohesion within the group was enhanced from week 1 to week 6 this cohesion was also notable within the classroom post the end of the sessions. Overall the sessions were very well received and enjoyed by all who participated.’