We were delighted to have been contacted recently by Mr Mike Abbotts regarding a book that he and some fellow ex rugby players had written charting the founding and history of Shipston Rugby Club.
It was really interesting to learn that what is now a thriving, 600 member strong rugby club originated as a team of Shipston High School leavers (“Old Boys”) who got together with the then Headteacher and P.E. master of the school to form the first team during the 1962-63 season.
We took the opportunity of inviting Mr Abbotts to come into school to meet some of our current rugby students, which he did on Wednesday 30th March along with one of his contemporaries, Mr Baylis and the current Chairman of Shipston Rugby Club, Mr Powell. The group of students (all of whom are currently members of Shipston RFC) enjoyed a brief explanation of how the club started, some of its highlights (including Shipston playing at Twickenham) and memories from back in the day. It was a source of great pride that the Club had been developed totally from nothing, having to use a local farmer’s field to play their fixtures, to the vibrant and busy club that exists today, all due to efforts by many volunteers over the years. Our young people clearly have a great loyalty and affection for the Club which can only increase in years to come. We are very grateful to Mr Abbotts for his donation of a copy of the book for our school Library.
As a school, going forward we are very excited about building further links with the Club which will hopefully in the future build stronger links between the school, the Club and the local community.
