England world cup winners visit Bristol school

Pupils in years 7-10 at Kings Oak Academy received a visit from two World Cup winners recently.

The visit was part of a special event organised by England Rugby, with the support of staff from the Bristol office of property firm CBRE.

Sarah Hunter MBE, part of England Women’s victorious 2014 World Cup campaign, and Phil Vickery MBE, member of England’s World Cup winning squad in 2003, took part in a Q&A session with local pupils and then took to the playing field to join a skills session and touch rugby games.

The event was organised to mark the successes achieved by Kings Oak Academy and its partnered Rugby Club Kingswood RFC since enrolling on England Rugby’s All Schools programme, of which CBRE is Principal Partner, three years ago.

All Schools aims to increase the number of secondary state schools in England playing rugby union and has made a real impact at Kings Oak Academy, which was one of the first 100 schools to join the programme in 2012.

Rugby is now an integral part of the school’s curriculum and a permanent fixture on the PE programme.

Sarah Hunter comments: “It’s been great to come to Kings Oak Academy and join in with some skills, drills and touch rugby.

“The enthusiasm the students have shown for rugby is fantastic and while the school has only been playing the sport for three years, it’s already embedded in the curriculum and there are some great links to Kingswood RFC.”

Launched in September 2012 by England Rugby in partnership with the Rugby Football Foundation, All Schools is one of seven areas identified by England Rugby to deliver the greatest participation legacy for the game in the lead up to the 2015 World Cup and beyond.

The aim is to have 400 schools enrolled nationwide by September’s World Cup and 750 schools by 2019.