From designing their own playing shirt to walking out at Twickenham during England’s Six Nations next year, students at Ark Putney Academy are learning that rugby is so much more than a game.

Launched in 2012, the CBRE All Schools programme has been developed by the RFU to increase the amount of rugby in schools, encourage new players to join local clubs and create a positive legacy through the sport and its core values.

One element is the running of bespoke kit design workshops, delivered by official partner Canterbury and run in conjunction with the RFU for every school in the programme.

Not only do pupils get the chance to design their own rugby shirt but they are also invited to attend England’s Six Nations match with Wales at Twickenham on February 10.

Ark Putney Academy is one of 100 new schools taking part in the workshops in September and October, and four lucky students headed to Twickenham on October 5 to get to grips with their initial shirt designs.

The workshops, which build team spirit and boost creative innovation, see pupils given unique freedom and opportunity to design their school’s shirt, which could be worn by their school’s rugby team for many years to come.

Ark Putney Academy’s workshop took place in a room overlooking the Twickenham pitch, with pupils even getting the chance to sit in the royal box.

School sports coordinator Daniel Sheehan said: “It was an amazing day, the opportunity for the students to have a day out of school to do something as productive as that was amazing.

“One of them even went on to say they would talk to their kids about the event in the future because it was so amazing.

“Some of them have never been to a stadium before in their lives, so to have their first stadium visit at Twickenham was brilliant.

“They used the ideas based around our school motto, our image and again they all put it together with their ideas.

“They learnt how to work in a team and independence because they had to have their own ideas and bring it together at the end.”

The event formed part of the CBRE All Schools programme that aims to take rugby into 750 state secondary schools by 2019.

Steve Grainger, RFU Rugby Development Director, commented: “CBRE All Schools aims is to give as many young people as possible the chance to enjoy all that rugby has to offer.

“Designing their own school kit is an integral part of the programme and helps students understand more about the history, heritage and core values of our great game.

“The kit design workshops, thanks to great support from Canterbury, help the schools understand the pride associated with the shirt and I am sure that these new school teams will feel the same pride for their own shirt as our teams feel when they put on the England shirt.”

CBRE All Schools supported by Canterbury is one of the RFU’s key legacy programmes, set up to increase the number of state secondary schools playing rugby union in England. Visit www.englandrugby.com/allschools