Rugby for schools

More than 200 pupils from secondary schools across East Sussex took part in a ‘Rugby 4 Peace’ festival run by the University of Brighton at its Falmer campus.

The event was the culmination of a three-day international training programme with teachers, coaches and students from the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, The Gambia, South Korea and the USA taking part.

Rugby 4 Peace is based on the university’s Football 4 Peace International, the university’s award-winning project promoting peaceful co-existence in troubled communities. It has been operating in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, The Gambia and South Korea since 2001.

It uses sport as a tool to develop an awareness and understanding of trust, respect, responsibility, equity, inclusion and neutrality and its importance within society.

Coaches at the Falmer festival applied the Rugby 4 Peace curriculum during practical training and self-refereeing games sessions.

Dr Gary Stidder, co-founder of Football 4 Peace, said: “This was a fantastic celebration of how sport and education can influence young people in a positive way.

“With the university hosting two Rugby World Cup teams, in Eastbourne and Brighton, there is a real interest in the game locally amongst young people and we wanted to use this enthusiasm to promote important values in society that the game itself actively nurtures.”