A selection of students from Welling School, Kemnal Technology College, Orchards and Halley Academies got the chance of a lifetime to get creative and design a rugby kit for their schools for generations to come – all at the home of England rugby.

Pupils from the southeast London schools attended a special workshop at Twickenham on October 3 to craft a design for kits that will be worn by their fellow students.

England internationals Ellis Genge and Abbie Scott also lent a hand to the pupils, who received tips and ideas from design experts.

The day was part of the CBRE All Schools programme, aimed at promoting rugby values to increase the amount of rugby in Britain’s schools, with the target of 750 state institutions by the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

The designs were signed off and will now be produced into kits for the schools to wear in matches going forward.

The schools are four of 70 taking part in a series of these October workshops, and Chris Chalaye – member of the pastoral team at Kemnal Technology – explained that the day had already provided inspiration for his students.

“One of them has already said today ‘do you think we could start a Y10 rugby team' – we don’t have one in the earlier years and as of next year, we’re going co-ed, so we’ve having girls in the school for the first time and they were talking earlier that there might be a girls rugby team in year 7 so the kit needs to be good for them, too,” he said.

“All four of them have never been to Twickenham and some of them have played in rugby teams before and done training but to be here, to see it and to go out on the pitch has been incredible for them.”

The CBRE All Schools programme was launched in 2012 with the hope of channelling rugby’s core values into a positive legacy for one million schoolchildren.

The design workshop was staged by Canterbury, who will unveil the finished kits for the schools at Twickenham on March 9, after England’s clash against Italy in the 2019 Six Nations.

And England international Genge believes the chance for students to create a tangible legacy for years to come will peak a sustained interest in the sport.

“I really enjoyed it. I went to a state school, and we didn’t really get many opportunities for things like this, so I just like being involved to be honest,” said the Leicester Tigers prop.

“It’s important to get exposed to rugby early on, and I just think it’s a good opportunity for the kids to make their own kits and have a bit of fun.”

England Women international Scott added: “It’s great to be involved and see these kids’ imaginations run wild.

“The All Schools project is great because kids can design their own shirt and from speaking to a few of the kids, they’re hoping it will get a few people at the schools interested and playing and thinking ‘that’s a nice kit, I’d like to wear that kit and I’d like to play rugby’.

“It’s about growing participation in rugby and it’s a great project.”

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 to find out more.