T1 Rugby

What is T1 Rugby?

T1 Rugby is a non-contact version of rugby suitable for all ages, but more specifically promoted to children in UKS2 and secondary schools. The format helps develop better rugby understanding in a way that tag rugby does not and helps bridge the gap between rugby in schools and club rugby.

Please see more about T1 Rugby in this introductory video:

The aims are to introduce T1 rugby into at least 18 state schools per year (both primary and secondary) in the Reading and Henley area, including a minimum of 4 festivals for primary schools and at least 1 festival for secondary schools. We would like to also deliver 3 CPD’s throughout the year both for primary and secondary school clusters.

What We Offer

Fully-funded T1 taster sessions
Extended T1 delivery as part of curriculum support
Lunch clubs and after-school clubs
Staff CPD with PE staff in secondary schools and whole-school staff in primary schools
T1 MegaFest tournaments against other schools
T1 Rugby resources for participating schools, including session plans and T1 Rugby kit packs
Signposting to local rugby clubs for children to continue their rugby journey

Schools We Work With

We are currently working with a number of schools in the Reading/Henley area including: .

Battle Primary
The Heights Primary
Caversham Park Primary
Kidmore End Primary
Badgemore Primary
Peppard Primary
River Academy
Calcot Junior School
Trinity Primary

Feedback From Our Festivals

Very friendly and well organized. The children all had a lot of fun”

“A good variety of T1 activities for the children to try. All children were really encouraged. Good number of coaches”

“It was very well organized and the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves.”

Our T1 Management Team

Our T1 Rugby Programme is fostered, promoted and developed by Ed Houghton and Annette Bevan who both hold ERCA (England Rugby Coaching Awards).

Ed Houghton is our T1 Rugby Lead and Schools Programme Manager for Reading. Ed currently plays at a high level with Henley RFC and is one of our PE and Rugby coaching specialists delivering programmes across the county in a variety of primary and secondary school settings. He is responsible for organising our inclusive rugby festivals ensuring all children enjoy the experience through engaging and effective adapted games, quality safeguarding practice, and of course loads of fun! Ed’s passion is also about developing our team of coaches and delivering CPD workshops to school staff as part of their training and development.

Annette Bevan is our Chief Operations Officer. Annette has many years of experience playing, coaching and developing the game of rugby for boys, girls and adults. She plays the game at a high level with over 100 first team caps for her club, Reading Abbey RFC. Annette recently featured in a BBC Berkshire article promoting the game of rugby for Mums. Annette is responsible for co-ordinating our T1 Rugby coaching schedule for our dedicated team of coaches.

For more information on the content of the T1 rugby programme please contact Ed Houghton at Ed@performance-sports.org.uk.

To book your school/club onto our T1 Rugby programme please contact Annette Bevan at annette@performance-sports.org.uk.