Saltire Energy Rugby Schools Week: Growing the game at Selkirk High School

Can you tell us a bit more about the School of Rugby programme and how Selkirk High School supports it?

The Selkirk High School girls School of Rugby (SoR) programme runs weekly, the pupils get one period a week on a Wednesday during class time on a rotational basis. Each week, the pupils are granted time out of lessons on a four-week rotational basis.

This is supported by class teachers and senior management by allowing them time out of class to further develop their knowledge and skills of rugby. All staff are aware of the benefits this programme brings to the pupils attending as they are developing much more than just their rugby skills and knowledge. The staff at the school are also very supportive, allowing pupils time out of school to attend local tournaments. So far, we have hosted a local T1 tournament, which was extremely successful. Each session is different, as rugby is new to a lot of the pupils.

To begin with, this was an opportunity to explore their interest in rugby by developing their basic skills and understanding of the game. More recently, we have been working hard on developing the girls’ T1 knowledge. The numbers weekly are great, we often have over 20 girls attending, with numbers as high as 29 on some weeks.

How has the programme grown and developed over the last year? 

This programme has grown hugely, with a real interest in girls’ rugby across S1-3. The numbers have increased a lot within the last year and it is evident the girls are really enjoying their time playing this sport. Every week, I have numerous girls asking if SoR is on and they are really pushing for it, even when the weather is poor. It has been so great to see the enjoyment the girls are getting out of this programme. The goal at the moment is to continue to increase interest and build numbers are much as possible, attend T1 festivals, and promote enjoyment in this sport.

Moving forward, when pupils become more confident with the game, the aim is to build their confidence with contact rugby, which a lot have been asking for already, which is great. We will then look to build upon developing a team that can eventually go on to play in contact tournaments, have their own kit, and identity.

What support do you receive for this?

Our Girls SoR comes under our framework for the Rugby Development Officer and receives SoR funding at an intermediate level through Scottish Rugby. SoR is the heartbeat of Selkirk High School Rugby and is an amazing way to be able to attract new players to the game in both contact and T1 Formats across both boys and girls. We are hopeful that with funding from Scottish Rugby at the end of the season our girls team can start to invest in some boots and some kit where we can start to build a really strong community within girls rugby and also start to look to progress the girls that are keen onto some contact rugby on the grass.

Tell us more about the girls – what changes have you noticed since they started playing T1?

It has been excellent to see how the girls have developed since joining girls SoR here at Selkirk High. They are extremely keen and attend with a positive attitude weekly. It has been great to see their confidence develop within the game and T1 has been a great steppingstone for them to increase their understanding of the game with structure and enjoyment. This format has taken out the “fear factor” of rugby and allowed girls to play the sport with confidence.

The numbers have increased hugely due to word of mouth, the pupils are often telling their friends to join and we are still now, getting new faces every so often. It’s great to see how much this is being enjoyed by such a big number in a small school. Some of the pupils that attend are not engaging in other school sport, meaning it is a real range of experience and it is an opportunity for all. It has been great to see some pupils who aren’t the most confident in mixed gender environments, thrive in girls school of rugby.

⁠How important is representation for these girls looking to take up the sport?

It is very important for the new girls entering the high school to see an exisiting programme and a large numbers of girls already competing as it will hopefully give them to confidence to give girls SoR a go and be part of a community and enjoy playing new people whilst also getting better rugby at the same time. It’s also important that the girls that are part of SOR also know that they can play in a format that is comfortable for them whether that be T1 or start to give contact a go.

Lastly, what does Saltire Energy Rugby Schools Week look like at Selkirk High School? ⁠

During Saltire Energy Rugby Schools Week we love to celebrate all the great work in our community through our club and school social channels where we tend to give out prizes during the week to players on various categories to celebrate their commitment to rugby within Selkirk.