Teenagers in Horncastle school's rugby team enjoy educational tour

The three-day tour was undertaken by teenagers, aged 14 to 16, who make up the years ten and 11 side at Banovallum School.

As part of the trip, they visited the sports facilities at Northumbria University and enjoyed a training session taken by the university’s first-team coach.

They learned all about sports scholarships and university life at a special seminar and talk, and took part in team-building activities.

And not only did they play in a rugby fixture themselves, against a side from Morpeth RFC, they also watched Newcastle Falcons take on Montpellier in a European Challenge Cup match, with the French outfit coming out on top, 26-7.

Matt Young, head of humanities at Banovallum, said: “The aim of the trip was to broaden the horizons of pupils, especially those who may not have previously considered going to university when they leave school.

"It also gave them the opportunity to experience something different in terms of living away for a couple of nights as part of a team, and visiting a major UK city.”

For the tour, the team were presented with a new kit, kindly funded by the Friends of Banovallum School (FoBS) organisation. This is a group of parents and other adults who work tirelessly to raise money for school equipment and trips that enrich the experiences of pupils.

The Boston Road school is part of the Horncastle Education Trust, whose chief executive officer, Sandra James, said: “Well done and thank you to the FoBS, which is such a great asset to the school.

"This was such an amazing opportunity for our students to gain an insight into their chosen sport at a professsional level, while exploring what university can offer as the next step in their educational journey.”

"I look forward to hearing all about our team’s performance against Morpeth. Go Team Banovallum!”

The Friends group is always on the lookout for new members. They could be a past pupil, parent of a child at Banovallum or a member of the local community within Horncastle.

Anyone who is interested in joining should call the school office on 01507 522232 or email [email protected]