Pupils in year 9 & 10 from each of the schools were introduced to ‘cage-rugby’, as they had the chance to test themselves in front of some of their Dragons’ heroes.
Newport Gwent Dragons TACKLE project coordinator, Matt Williams, said: “it is great to see so many young people enjoying playing rugby for the first time. Some of these youngsters may have never played sport before, let alone rugby, so to see them learning new skills and having fun at the same time is a huge positive”.
By taking part in the TACKLE project, the pupils who find it difficult to engage in mainstream education, have the chance to develop essential life skills such as team work, communication and resilience. The project itself harnesses the power of sport, and rugby’s core values, to boost the confidence and future aspirations of the pupils taking part. Alongside the physical element of the programme, the project also focuses on education to ensure the youngsters are equipped with employability skills that will help them enormously in the future.
Post project delivery, the pupils will be supported through a mentoring scheme to ensure the skills learnt throughout the 10 weeks, and their renewed enthusiasm is harnessed and put into practice within the school environment and in the wider community.
A huge thankyou to all the staff at each of the four schools, BT Sport Supporters Club, as well as Careers Wales, Communities First and Newport Live for all their help in getting the TACKLE project off to a positive start. Also to James Benjamin, Lloyd Lewis, Angus O’Brien and Ashton Hewitt for attending the first week of TACKLE to inspire the pupils and to add value to the project.
