Smallest schools fight it out for rugby trophy

More than 100 children from the county’s smallest schools will be competing in a unique tag-rugby competition at Kings Caple Primary School on 20th June.

The tournament has been organised by Kings Caple Primary School and the county competition manager under the banner of FASST (Friendly Association of Small School Teams).  All schools who have 80 pupils or less are members of this organisation and the aim is to encourage more of their pupils to participate in competitive sports.

These schools struggle to get to events because of the rural nature of their base and struggle to get an age-specific team together because of the size and nature of the school.  Getting a team together in a small school where age groups are mixed is challenging and results in a team made up of mixed ages.  The larger schools have teams made up predominantly of 10 and 11 year olds, so have a competitive advantage.

Organiser, Clare Jones, PE teacher at Kings Caple primary school said: “We were taking children to competitions and losing because they couldn’t compete with the bigger schools.  This was very disheartening for them and consequently their enthusiasm dwindled.

“Now that we have our own league, they have a much better chance of achieving success because they are competing on a level playing field.  The children also benefit from meeting other children living in similar rural areas to themselves.”

The tag ruby tournament will see 14 teams competing from 9 schools, and there are rules in place to make sure teams are equally matched.  For example, all teams will be mixed but must have a minimum of 4 girls and a maximum of three year six pupils (aged 10-11).

This is the first tournament to be run by FASST and there are plans to hold one every term covering a range of sports, including indoor athletics in the winter.

Peter Reed, competition manager, said:  “Usually only children aged 10-11 tend to compete in school sports, which makes getting a team together in schools with small numbers difficult.  We are working hard to widen children’s experiences and encourage more active involvement in sports.  FASST is a great way of getting some of the existing opportunities out into the rural communities so that all children have equal access to competitive sport.”