Sussex Schools Rugby League
One of our goals at Brighton & Hove Rugby League is to build a vibrant Rugby League community. With our partners Sport Brighton (the sports arm of the University of Brighton) and Brighton & Hove Council School Games Organisers, we’re building a Sussex Schools Rugby League programme to increase participation in our fantastic sport.
2024 Season
Development Days
Our Development Days are all about learning the skills – both for students and for teachers! They’re led by our coaches, supported by players from Newman College, who were runners-up in the RFL National Colleges Cup in 22/23. Players learn the core skills and play some friendly matches.
Sussex Schools RL InspiredBy 9s
The Sussex 9s Championship is an entry point to competitive Rugby League. Smaller squads and simplified rules means it’s accessible for teams who are relatively new to the sport. The Sussex 9s Championship is played over one afternoon and the top teams may be invited to take place in the South of England 9s Championship.
Dates
Thursday 25th April – Boys Development Day (open to Y7 and/or Y8 players)
Tuesday 30th April – Girls Development Day (open to Y7 and/or Y8 players)
Tuesday 7th May – Y7 Boys Sussex 9s
Tuesday 14th May – Y7 Girls Sussex 9s
Thursday 16th May – Y8 Boys Sussex 9s
Tuesday 21st May – Y8 Girls Sussex 9s
The tournaments will likely start around 2pm and finish around 5pm, depending on number of entrants. Both tournaments will take place at Brighton University. The development days will be 2:30pm – 4pm at Cardinal Newman.
The winner of each tournament may be invited to take part in the RFL South of England 9s Tournament on Tuesday 25th June (Y7 Boys & Girls) and Thursday 27th June (Y8 Boys & Girls). If the winning team cannot make it, the second-placed team will be invited etc. There may also be additional teams invited based on space available at the South of England.
Squad Sizes:
Maximum of 15 players per squad
Boys Tournament will be played 9-a-side
Girls Tournament will be played 9-a-side where possible, but minimum of 6-a-side in each game
Team that don’t have a full squad can combine with other schools if needed. Please note that if you don’t have a full squad, you can still play in the Tournament but you may be ineligible for the South of England 9s.
There is no charge for any of these activities.
2022/23 Academic Year in Numbers
520
Number of players involved in 2022/23
30
Number of schools involved in 2022/23
225
Number of female players involved in 2022/23
Secondary Schools
The 2023/24 Academic Year saw us host our first ever Secondary Schools tournaments, with teams taking part from Y7-Y9 for both Boys & Girls.
2023 Sussex 9s Championship Winners
Y7 Boys: Cardinal Newman
Y7 Girls: St Oscar Romero
What our Schools Programme looks like
The 2022/23 Academic Year was our biggest yet for Schools Rugby League with over 500 players from 30 schools playing Rugby League for the first time.
This year, we’re going even bigger.
A Pathway for Every School
Just as every player is unique, we recognise that every school has different outcomes they’re looking for. We’ve got three pathway levels to allow each school to enjoy Rugby League at their own level.
Our “Equally Important” policy
As a club, Brighton & Hove Rugby League believes that Women’s RL is Equally Important as Men’s RL. All of our Schools work is built with this in mind – so all competition offers are available for both boys and girls teams.
Development Days – Summer Term
Our Development Days are all about learning the skills – both for students and for teachers! They’re led by our coaches, supported by players from Newman College, who were runners-up in the RFL National Colleges Cup in 22/23. Players learn the core skills and play some friendly matches.
Sussex InspiredBy 9s Championship – Summer Term
The Sussex 9s Championship is an entry point to competitive Rugby League. Smaller squads and simplified rules means it’s accessible for teams who are relatively new to the sport. The Sussex 9s Championship is played over one day and the winners may be invited to take place in the South of England 9s Championship.
Champion Schools – Winter Term (local & regional boys)/Easter Term (regional girls and national boys & girls)
The RFL Champion Schools programme is the National Schools competition. It is 13-a-side and on a full pitch. The finals are held at a variety of cool venues – with Y7 boys playing at Wembley before the Challenge Cup and Y8-10 playing before the Super League’s Magic Weekend.
Schools that want to enter must progress through several rounds to reach the National knockout stages. Currently Sussex has one qualifier team to the London & South East regional tournament, out of which two teams (one at Y11) progress to the National Knockout Rounds.
In 2023/24, Sussex School Cardinal Newman reached the London & South East Y9 Boys final and the National Knockout rounds, and St Oscaro Romero qualified for the Y8 Girls National Festival and Cardinal Newman the Y10 Girls National Festival.
Representative Opportunity
Following the Schools season, we are looking to build a short Representative season, which will include a block of training sessions followed by a fixture between the best players across all schools and other nominated players.
School Membership Frequently Asked Questions
Both! Our general competition focus is for Primary Schools to play Tag Rugby League and Secondary Schools to play Tackle Rugby League, but both sets of resources are available to all schools so that schools have the freedom to choose what they teach.
What is the cost of membership?
Membership is FREE for schools in 2024.
Do we have to take part in the competitions?
No – all schools are free to just use the resources to deliver their own PE lessons or extra-curricular clubs. With that said, there are three tiers of competition, which includes non-competitive Development Days which may support learning.
Can a school outside of Sussex sign up?
Yes, schools outside of Sussex can sign up to access the free resources and invitations to Sussex-based competitions and CPD events (as long as they’re willing to travel of course) but schools outside of Sussex will unfortunately not be eligible for the Prize Draw or for Sussex Schools RL coaching in their schools.
What is the Prize Draw?
Schools that sign up before 28th February 2024 will be entered into a draw to receive a Rugby League equipment pack and a free coaching session at their school. There will be on Primary School winner and one Secondary School winner.
Primary School Equipment Pack: 8x Size 4 Rugby League Balls + Bag, 1x set of 20 Rugby League Tag Belts & 40 Tags (2 colours of Tags)
Secondary School Equipment Pack: 8x Size 4 Rugby League Balls + Bag
Is there any other support you can offer?
Our resources are limited, however Brighton & Hove Rugby League are looking to support a small number of targeted schools within the city who don’t normally have the chance to access Rugby (both League & Union) opportunities, especially where schools are in areas of deprivation. If this sounds like your school and you’re interested, please email philward@brightonhoverl.com to discuss further.
Primary Schools
Festivals
We run festivals every summer term in Brighton & Hove.
These festivals are organised through the School Games Organiser and 12-16 teams are invited for an Introduction to Rugby League.
Sports Leaders from local secondary schools deliver a variety of enjoyable skill-based activities, before playing in mini round robin fixtures against other schools in their group.
These events fall on the “Development Festival” stage of the School Games framework and so no results are recorded and there is no overall winner. For many students, this is their first ever exposure to any kind of rugby.
