Championship Tie Up for Gresham's

Published on isbi School News dated Thursday 24th of February 2011

Rugby at Gresham's, Holt looks set for a major boost following a tie up with Premiership champions, Leicester Tigers. The independent school has been identified by the club as a centre for rugby excellence, thanks, at least in part, to the three Old Greshamians who currently play for the team - Ben Youngs, also England Scrum-half , Tom Youngs and Ben Pienaar. The agreement means that pupils from Gresham's, and their coaches, will spend time training at Leicester and players and coaches from the club will visit the School. It is hoped than Ben Youngs will be among the first to return and kick off the training sessions and will be among the Leicester players attending the School's annual Rugby Dinner in May.

David Bailey, Head of Rugby said, 'This link offers enormous potential for the development of rugby at Gresham's and we're thrilled to be working with such a great club.' A spokesman for Leicester Tigers added that they were very happy to be working with Gresham's.

Six Gresham's pupils are currently part of the Tigers' Academy Programme and twelve more are part of the Elite Player Development Group run by the team.

The School has also been identified as an RFU Centre for Rugby Excellence and will be hosting a number of courses and events over the coming year.