Sixth form rugby scholarships

[TheFlyHalfsMum]

After some advice from you lovely people. My son is in year 10. He’s at a local independent school, and very happy, but he is a very good rugby player and keen on a professional career. (That’s understating it, it’s his life ambition).

He’s started to mention to me that he’d be interested in changing to a school with better rugby training for sixth form, but I really have no idea where to start, so was hoping you lot might have some suggestions!

He’s bright, will likely get all 7-9s for his GCSEs. He’s a good rugby player - his school and club teams are undefeated this season, and he’s the best player in both. He’s open to boarding, and for the right place, we could probably make it work financially- although any reduction in fees would be appreciated…

So, what do you all think?

Where are you based in the U.K.?

My son also plays fly half although definitely not going to make pro . It's hard to comment whether a move would benefit him without knowing the specifics of how much he trains at the moment between school and the club and the level of the club he plays with. He probably would get more sports time if he were at a boarding school with a strong rugby focus BUT not necessarily more than if you combine his current club and school IYSWIM. I have a few friends with children at BS who also train/ play for clubs on Sundays (school happy to facilitate) but not all schools encourage it (or there may just not be a local club close enough).

In terms of specific schools, Millfield (Somerset) seems the obvious choice for v sporty kids- otherwise I have friends with rugby obsessed boys at Sedbergh and Blundells

A quick google search would agree with the above poster sedbergh seems to be the rugby school.

'Despite its size – just 530 pupils in its co-ed senior school – Sedbergh, alma mater of Will Carling and World Cup winner Will Greenwood, is famous for rugby and recently Cameron Redpath and Josh Hodge – both who have sports scholarships – are itching to join their illustrious forebears. A rugby coach spotted Hodge’s natural talent when, aged nine, in his first session of tag rugby at his state primary, the prodigious all-rounder drop-kicked the ball 30 yards with perfect accuracy. During a taster day at Sedbergh’s junior school soon afterwards, he took part in the whole school run, his first competitive race, and finished second out of 120 pupils, beating youngsters of 13.
He received one of Sedbergh’s sports scholarships that gave his family useful help with the school fees and provided Josh with a huge confidence boost. In his mid-teens, he won England age-group honours and turned professional aged 18, first with Newcastle Falcons then moving to high-flying Exeter Chiefs and a call up as apprentice to the England senior squad for the 2020 Six Nations. ‘The scholarship to Sedbergh gave me the biggest chance of my life,’ he reflected. ‘The school was the best place for me to hone my game and get a world-class education at the same time.’

www.schoolhousemagazine.co.uk/education/top-sports-scholarships/

My DH has just retired from professional rugby. He was at ‘normal’ school and moved in yr11 (ge did year 11 twice) to a strong rugby school and then scholarship to uni at 18 with a contract in the premiership. This process was initiated by his coaches at school/county rugby/England rugby youth teams, in a strong rugby area the rugby ‘network’ is your first port of call as they almost act as scouts & see who is capable (this starts really quite young, late teens) - I’d advise talking to his coaches (school or county etc wherever he plays) as they will be able to guide him. If you are in a strong rugby area of the country their opinion will be paramount both in terms of opportunities and also contacts for your son.. if you aren’t in a strong rugby area you do need to be more proactive. I’m assuming at this age if he is capable of pro level he will already be playing county or possibly even under 19s for England so you should start with those contacts for advice. IME of those that succeed into premiership pro teams they are playing normally representative (county, England youth teams) by 16/17 and it’s the rugby network of coaches etc that put the ball into motion, if you’re in a rugby stronghold area. If not you could start by contacting some strong rugby schools and speaking to the director of rugby. They will be able to give you further info and see what you can do. Good luck to your son! Three pieces of advice- head protection, ear protection, teeth protection! Xo

Could he consider Ireland for boarding? Blackrock college is massive Rugby, lots of Irish pros come from there.

Was going to suggest Millfield or Sedburgh

I know a few boys who seem to also be doing very well at Hartpury in Glos

DS1 received a Rugby scholarship, and was also on DPP pathway at a local premiership club academy. After gaining a contract at a Championship rugby club he just literally fell out of love with playing and decided it wasn't the path for him. He had some great experiences though including playing in Aus for 8 months and going to England RFU and Wales RFU selection camps.
He's now a Royal Marine and is contemplating picking up the ball again for the Corps.
Whilst I was disappointed when he said he no longer wanted to play, I can see now how the rugby experience has helped shape who is today and the decisions he has made about his preferred career.

I wish your son well!

This is all very helpful, thank you all!

I’m interested that Sedbergh is mentioned. 24 are helpfully about 70 miles away.

He plays school games on Saturdays, club games on Sundays, and has training with one or the other 2-3 times every week. He got nominated (by both I think) for the DPP at our nearest premiership academy- probably two years ago, but because of Covid, the try-outs are only now, although he had the training sessions in the summer term of year 9. I thought he looked the strongest player on the training (but loads of sessions with all the other boys I didn’t see!) so I hope he has a fair chance of being selected. It may be that if he is, rugby boarding school isn’t necessary for sixth form?

If he doesn’t get selected, he’s really going to want to keep his options open (and there would be no telling him maybe he should look for an alternative path…)

Berkhamsted School. Currently have eight Saracens players and one at Wasps in their first eleven. Third best school in the country for sport.

30 mins from Euston by train and also has a small boarding contingent.

I know two children who seem to be heading for a prospect of making Rugby their career, and with both of them it was their club that made the difference. One went to an indie, but this didn't help when it came to the chance to go for the junior section of one of the major city clubs as the club are attached to the local state school - most of the big clubs now have a relationship with a local state school.
The other went state all the way and was signed to the junior section of a major city club at age 16 and then got a contract with them at 18. I think unless the BS is as committed to him as you are, he might not get the diversity of playing that he is going to need, even if he is at a strong rugby school they won't be playing teams of the calibre that you play at club level, especially when they get to 16 and can play at the junior level of a major club.

Depending on what he is thinking of for A level, Hartbury college might be an option. They have a sports academy, very close with Gloucester who have their training pitch there and a great track record for players going on

That’s interesting @Placido so maybe he’s just on the right course already. We’ll have to see how the DPP selections go and go from there. 🤞🏼

@CMOTDibbler

He doesn’t care what A levels he does at all…he just wants to play rugby🤣🙈

@TheFlyHalfsMum I have heard incredible things about Hartbury too, it is more like Uni feel though so I would only recommend if he is quite mature and organised. The facilities are out of this world!

It's really unfortunate that you have not been able to fully experience the DPP pathway because of Covid. The programme invests such a lot into future players so hopefully he may see this over the coming months. DS was at Worcester although had friends from his club rugby at Leicester and both had impressive programmes. It's such a shame that a great swath of lads won't have had this full opportunity.

I would look at Hartpury. My DD has been there since college and is in her 2nd year of uni. She plays rugby and knows alot of the boys there. They are close with Gloucester rugby and have a really good sports academy. Definitely worth a visit. My DD also boarded there whilst in college as we lived in Wales at the time.

Be aware that there are limits on how many players that joined a school in the sixth form can be in the squad for the schools cup (a measure brought in to prevent schools stacking their teams with imported players, rather than it being mainly those who havebelinged to the school since 11+ or 13+

Another to consider is Dulwich College, mainly a day school, but they do have a good number of boarders for sixth form (about 2/3 of its boarders are that age group)

In case it helps, here's a list of recent winners/runners up in the schools cup. He's be OK at any of those who have featured several times in recent years

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NatWest_Schools_Cup#Past_winners

Really thank you so much for all the replies - they are all very helpful. Lots of food for thought, and clearly I need to do lots of research on this!

It is a real pity the DPP programme has been stalled by Covid, but fingers crossed things should be more normal from here on out…

Bromsgrove?

DN - an academy player - received very attractive offers from Harrow, Wellington and Cranleigh.

I think your first step should be to talk to his current club coaches who should be able to give you a good idea of where he stands in relation to his peers.

To get a scholarship for sixth form he needs to be through DPP and into an academy by early in year 11 and then you are in a strong place to gain a rugby scholarship to a number of boarding schools for sixth form. The bigger/wealthier the school, the better (usually) the scholarship on offer , broadly speaking. Hunt down the schools who chase trophies and have a history of importing talent to win school trophies. Lord knows there’s enough of them out there. No point hankering after a scholarship if schools aren’t routinely buying in talent. 80% of your sons rugby will still be done at school even when they are in an academy whilst they are at school so do your research and pick the right place for your ds. He’s a bright boy so don’t be fobbed off with second rate academics. He looks like he is capable of good results on and off the pitch. Good luck!

I came on to say Whitgift.

Thanks @leftandaright

What’s the best way to identify the best scholarships on offer? Just call round the big schools with a decent rugby offering? His school and club have been supportive in terms of DPP - but have a vested interest in him staying with them for sixth form of course! And so maybe not the best for sixth form advice - although they have mentioned opportunities at 18+ including colleges in the US (which I can’t say I’m keen on, and sounds counter-intuitive!)

If he’s only year 10 now I’d concentrate on getting him into DPP and then onto the academy and then you have a platform to go to schools. For really talented players they will find a space for them at any point. A friend’s son was selected into the academy by summer at the end of year 10 for a premiership club. Not sure how all clubs work but boys in DPP are a dime a dozen, you need to be in the next level academy before any school is going to take a sixth form scholarship application seriously.
Once you’re at that stage, I’m sure plenty of schools will find space not just the prolific rugby schools but even the more average ones. Some will still have academic entry requirements so best to keep that side as sharp as possible. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to develop either hockey and/or cricket so you can offer these schools more.

@TheFlyHalfsMum

That’s interesting *@Placido* so maybe he’s just on the right course already. We’ll have to see how the DPP selections go and go from there. 🤞🏼

If he’s good the DPP pathway will spot him. My son is in a top premiership rugby squad via that and they receive huge amount of coaching and play other premiership squads

I think boarding schools are more geared towards county rugby these days