By uniting education and rugby, this programme has made a real impact on young people’s lives

Deutsche Bank and London Scottish Football Club are pleased to announce the successful completion of the Game Changers programme, an eight-week initiative that began in January with the aim to unite education and rugby to make a real impact on young people's lives.

Game Changers is a community-focused youth development programme, aimed to encourage 13 and 14 year old students most at risk of exclusion from school. It is a unique initiative among other sports-based education programmes in that it focuses strongly on classroom-based learning sessions such as personal wellbeing, conflict resolution and career management, with afternoon rugby coaching as an additional module.

Specialist teachers delivered the education programme to 25 young people, with members of the London Scottish first team and coaching staff working alongside the Club's community development officers to deliver the rugby coaching aspect of the programme.

Deutsche Bank volunteers donated their time to assist the coaches with all aspects of the rugby and education programme, including Deutsche Bank employee and former England captain Pat Sanderson, who gave the students a scrummaging masterclass alongside former London Scottish player and Argentina international Alfredo Lalanne.

Deutsche Bank UK CEO and member of the Group Executive Committee, Colin Grassie said: “The Game Changers partnership focuses on young people most in need to develop skills, build confidence and encourage ambitions. We are delighted to see that the programme has facilitated a clear development in the students’ behaviour and interaction. Encouraging young people to believe in the values of hard work, discipline, self-esteem and the development of natural talent is a key focus within Corporate Citizenship at Deutsche Bank. We strongly believe that by combining sports and education we can help young people to take the next step in life.”