Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens 2025

St Hugh’s were delighted to be recipients of the ‘The Fair Play Award’ at the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens 2025 following an epic three day trip to compete in the the U13 Boys Preparatory Festival and the U11 Mixed Festival. Being recognised at the smallest school in attendance with every Year 6 and Year 8 boy representing the school was rather humbling, as it was to hear that we were one of only two schools at the event to play girls in the U11 festival for the first time in history. 

It is hard to put into words what an experience this was for our touring squad of twenty one pupils who travelled south to compete at this prestigious and historical event. As the world's largest school rugby tournament, there were 3,808 rugby matches across the five days with over 1000 schools in attendance. 

A tour of the Allianz Stadium at Twickenham was an inspiring start for our players where they heard about the history of this iconic ground, the home of England Rugby. From sitting in the changing rooms to running out the tunnel into a stadium which has a capacity of 82,000, the pupils took stock and relished the moment.

Our teams played with real tenacity and should be very proud of their performance in such a high level competition. Our U13 team finished 3rd in their group - a huge achievement given every player in the year group represented the team. Our U11’s faced some large schools but battled hard and were delighted to win their final game.

Our pupils conducted themselves in an impeccable manner and were extremely well supported by a crew of supporting parents including those following progress from afar. A huge congratulations must go to each and every player for their contribution. It was a delight to accompany such a fantastic group of young people and a privilege to watch them play with such tenacity. They played not for themselves, but for one another and it was a tremendous finish for many of them who I hope leave St Hugh’s with the fondest of memories and a desire to continue their rugby journey as they move on to pastures new. 

My thanks go to the staff team of Mr Short, Miss Pratley and Mr Luffman who made this trip one of a lifetime. Were we ‘Ready for Rosslyn’? I think so. 

Mrs Felton