When Bede Academy opened offering rugby as the main sport for boys - and no football - doubters questioned whether it would work. Sarah French finds, however, that the school has scored, not just with its students but also local clubs that are benefiting from its young talent and soon sixth formers from across the region
IT MAY be in the same town as famous club Blyth Spartans and just 13 miles from St James's Park, but there was never any question of boys kicking a round ball in PE lessons at Bede Academy.
Rugby union was to be its principal game for boys when it opened in 2009, despite the sceptics who said youngsters would not be interested.
Seven years on, it remains the case that many boys never encounter rugby until they get to Bede North, the secondary school of the 3-19 academy, despite the town also having a successful rugby club. Football remains the dominant religion.
Bede encountered the same scepticism as other schools in the Emmanuel Schools Foundation (ESF) - Emmanuel College, in Gateshead, and The King's Academy, in Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough, both favouring rugby despite being in areas dominated by football.
Only Trinity Academy, at Thorne, was welcomed for its emphasis on the oval ball, being located next to a rugby union club.
However, whether it's the camaraderie, the competition or the chance to spend 80 minutes running at each other, by Year 8 many Bede boys are hooked, appreciating how, whatever their build or ability, skills or speed, there can be a place for them in rugby.
Principal Gwyneth Evans explains: "We see rugby as a more inclusive, universal game that all boys can enjoy. It recognises that boys develop at different stages and has the flexibility to allow them to change positions if necessary as they grow.
"It also teaches them how to appreciate the different skills and abilities within the team, the discipline of training and practice, and the understanding of strategy and the appreciation of complex rules, all of which can support their learning across many other subjects. Building character is at the heart of what we do and rugby certainly supports that."
As rugby has grown at Bede - every year group has its own competitive squad with at least one fifth of all boys playing matches on a regular basis - clubs have begun the take notice.
Leading the charge is Tom Marshall, a 6ft 2ins 16-year-old number eight, who is already in the Newcastle Falcons Academy. Two more boys, Luke Giles, 15, and Ryan Hull, 14, are also putting in eye-catching displays.
Although Tom started playing with Blyth Rugby Club, Bede offering rugby was an influence in his choice of secondary school.
"I probably would have gone somewhere else if it wasn't for the academy offering rugby," he explains. Tom has gone on to captain academy and county teams and also the Emmanuel Schools Lions, a squad comprising the best players from the four sister schools.
Luke had never played until he started at Bede. "I played sport in Year 5 and 6 but I didn't know anything about rugby until I came here. We did it in PE and I went home that night and told my mam I wanted to play it. She wasn't too sure, but she's OK with it now."
The flanker plays for the county and has had trials with the Falcons and Scottish Exiles, thanks to having a grandmother with Scottish roots.
Ryan began playing with Blyth at the age of eight, but other boys, like 16-year-old Adrian Wray, were introduced to rugby at Bede and have now taken their love for it to club and county level.
Jordan Thompson, 18, was in a similar position before he started playing at the end of Year 8 and went on to play prop for the county for four years, now plays senior rugby with Northern at Gosforth and hopes to continue to play at university after completing his A levels in maths, physics and further maths this summer.
"I didn't know anything about the sport before school but it seemed friendly and I felt free enough to go and see what it was like. I went to a training session and then joined Blyth because some friends were there. I really enjoyed it and carried on playing for five years. For me, it's the competition that I really enjoy," says Jordan.
Jay Robinson, 17, was introduced to the game very early by his dad, a coach at Blyth, and now considers it a hobby to carry on alongside studying for A levels in French, history and English literature, planning his future as a lawyer and learning his duties next year as Bede head boy.
Richard Harland, who has played for club and county and has been an academy team captain, is convinced rugby supports academic learning. "Once I started playing rugby I applied myself a lot more in lessons. It teaches you focus and discipline," said the 16-year-old, who achieved six As and three Bs in his GCSEs last year.
Boys play rugby at Bede up to the winter half term or until Christmas if they are in the top sets.
Other winter sports on offer include basketball, volleyball, fitness, trampolining, indoor rowing and cross country, while summer is given over to athletics, cricket and tennis.
Head of rugby at Bede Andrew Sutherland says: "The boys have a lot of opportunities to play football outside school, and many do. It's good for them to play different sports.
"Not doing football in the academy certainly doesn't put people off from coming here; the most important thing is the academic side and we do that very well."
Fifteen-a-side matches continue until February, then the focus shifts to sevens until Easter. "Our strengths are speed and skills rather than size, especially when compared with those schools in the county with big forwards. We tend to be more successful at sevens for that reason," adds Mr Sutherland.
Always seeking opportunities for fixtures, the academy is aiming to host its own sevens tournament in March. Even more ambitious are its plans to establish a Rugby Academy for sixth form students where, as well as taking part in an extremely competitive fixture list, students will benefit from weekly training sessions, a personalised gym programme and an international rugby tour. All members of the academy will be given the opportunity to complete a number of RFU qualifications, such as Level 1 Referee, Rugby Ready and Scrum Factory.
Bede students also play for house honours, representing one of its three houses in an annual competition, and a different year group squad can be found training every day after school. Sixth formers have an extra training slot on a Wednesday afternoon.
Rugby has developed sufficiently for the ESF Lions to compete against - and usually beat - teams from some of the best rugby-playing independent schools in Scotland on an annual tour.
By the time the academy had been open for three years, Bede's Year 9 squad reached the County Cup final against Royal Grammar School, and academy teams regularly play in county and national tournaments.
Aspiring to the level of the independent schools means playing them, and last year they competed against some of the nation's best at a tournament at Ampleforth College, in North Yorkshire.
"It was great to play against the best teams and it turned out to be quite a level playing field at U15s, which was really encouraging for us. As far as the main regional schools go we are as strong as most, but if you want to develop you've got to play the better sides," says Mr Sutherland.
It's a view the boys share. "It shows us where our weaknesses are and where we need to improve," says Luke.
"It's a lot more enjoyable when you are playing good sides; higher competition makes you play the game better," adds Richard.
Tom says: "If you go to RGS and get beaten by a couple of tries it's maybe a better feeling than beating a lesser school by loads of tries."
Learning and development is a the heart of the coaching ethos.
Mr Sutherland, who played seniors for Northern, Morpeth and Blyth, explains: "I'm much happier if we come away from a match having lost but knowing that everyone has developed their game in some way. How they play is more important than the result.
"For me it's about getting as many boys playing and enjoying the game as we can. If they want to push on and play at a higher level, that's brilliant.
"We'd love to get a few through to county and even professional clubs every year and we certainly have got the potential now for more people to go to that level."
* Anyone interested in finding out more about the Rugby Academy at Bede should contact the admissions team on 01670 545111.