SPORTING SUCCESS FOR STANWAY STUDENT
Over the Easter holidays Ben, a Year 11 student, was picked to represent the Northampton Saints U16
Squad in two rugby festivals. Representing Northampton Saints is a huge achievement for any young
player. It has been Ben’s hard work, perseverance and drive to constantly improve and better himself that
has allowed him these fantastic opportunities.
Both festivals saw Ben step up his game to play alongside and against England internationals in his age
group. The Silhillian festival was against Saracens and London Irish and Northampton Saints won both
games and the tournament.
The Wellington festival is a week-long rugby programme for around 420 players from fourteen regional
academies around the country. Ben got the opportunity to play against Gloucester, Bristol, Sale and
Saracens Rugby Academies. He also enjoyed seminars put on by the RFU on psychology, nutrition, antidoping and social media to prepare for life as a professional player.
England Head Coach, Eddie Jones, visited the Q&A session, whilst the likes of Simon Amor and Wayne
Barnes also spoke about alternative routes into the game. Ben has recently accepted a place at St Josephs in Ipswich on a rugby scholarship from September to continue his rugby and gain a BTEC qualification in Sports and Exercise Science. From all of us at The Stanway School, we wish Ben the very best of luck in the future with both his rugby and his studies.