The PLK Buddy Rugby Programme forms part of our Special Schools Programme, generously sponsored by Ageas. Buddy Rugby refers to the initiative of pairing a mainstream PLK primary school (in this case, Grandmont Primary School) with a PLK Special School (Anita L.L. Chan (Centenary) School). Both schools practice tag rugby separately and then come together every few weeks for a joint training session where they practice the skills they have been learning together. Each student is paired up with a ‘buddy’ from the other school who then work together to tackle a variety of rugby challenges and activities.

By encouraging mainstream school students to gain experience interacting with students with special needs, the Buddy Rugby programme inspires inclusivity, whilst allowing students from special needs schools to practice both their communication and social skills.

Last month, Friday 13^th, we hosted a Fun Day at King’s Park marking the third time the ‘buddies’ have joined together. The day involved a morning of rugby activities, joined by 15 of our elite professional players and staff, whilst students’ parents onlooked to see how rugby can be used to bring people together. This was then followed by a buffet lunch and a visit from Santa. In the afternoon we were joined by HKRU Directors Kim Lam and Fred Au as the students played a friendly rugby competition with many of the parents joining in.

Thanks for all who support this programme, and we look forward to nurturing and developing it over the coming years.