Scottish Rugby has chosen Merchant Taylors’ School as the North West hub for its Scotland Qualified Pathway Programme.

The UK-wide programme aims to identify and develop young players who live outside Scotland but are eligible to play for its national teams because they, their parents or grandparents were born north of the border.

From Sunday 24 September, boys and girls aged between 14 and 17 can take part in training and assessment sessions led by SRU coaches, with a selected group of players going on to take part in further training camps and play in a regional game series in January. Each session will be at Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School on Liverpool Road in Crosby.

Coaches from grassroots rugby clubs and other schools are invited to nominate eligible young players from their teams to take part in the programme, while players can also apply directly with support from their parents or guardians.

Rob Brierley, SQ Pathway Manager at Scottish Rugby, said: “We are delighted to be forming a link with Merchant Taylors’, a school with an excellent rugby union pedigree. The support received from staff and the use of facilities will enable us to provide high-quality coaching and opportunities for Scottish qualified players from across the North West of England.

Jonny Matthews (Glasgow Warriors and Scotland)

“Scotland has benefited at age group level and beyond from the region’s talent, with players such as Jonny Matthews (Glasgow Warriors and Scotland – pictured left), who was originally from Liverpool, and we look forward to unearthing many more new talents through the programme.

“We are also looking forward to working the Merchant Taylors’ rugby department, sharing best practice and coaching ideas with staff so that all students will benefit from our new partnership.”

Sam Cooke, head of sport at Merchant Taylors’, said: “Rugby has always been a key feature of life at Merchant Taylors’ and it remains so to this day. Our new relationship with Scottish Rugby will not only offer new opportunities for eligible players to pursue a potential international pathway with Scotland, but it will also bring fresh perspectives and experience to our own rugby coaching.

“We have a number of pupils who have already signed up to the sessions and I would encourage boys and girls from all local clubs and schools to engage with the programme if they think they qualify and would relish an exciting new challenge.”

Interested players should contact Scottish rugby by email at: [email protected]

The development of our new pavilion at Hall Road is now well advanced and we are excited to be entering the final phases of the project.

As you can see from the latest photographs, the structure is now complete and internal works are underway.

All doors and windows have now been glazed and it is possible to get a glimpse of the view that visitors will enjoy from our cafe area.

Further work to decorate and furnish internal spaces is progressing at pace, while contractors will also be working to finalise external spaces such as the car park and entrance pathways.

Old Crosbeian Laurie Sephton has been added to our Sports Wall of Fame after he was selected for the England Walking Football Squad.

Laurie, 47, was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s Disease when he was aged 38. In recent years, he has played as a defender at Northern Lights PD FC, based in Bootle, helping them to win the first Sport Parkinson’s Try-Athlon in 2021.  He also organised and played in a special England v Wales walking football match which has hosted at our Ian Robinson Sports Centre.

Laurie said: “I was delighted to make the England squad and it is a brilliant initiative. I was skipping around the office like a kid when I heard the news. I’ve already been to Singapore where we won an invitational tournament and future plans are being drawn up across the globe where we can make a positive impact on the local Parkinson’s population.

“Parkinson’s is an extremely frustrating condition but when I start playing football it takes me straight back to being a lad. As soon as I step out on the pitch it is like my brain forgets I have the disease. I instantly stop shaking and stumbling when I play football. What’s incredible is that I turn into a footballer – I turn into Laurie – again.

“Other players with Parkinson’s arrive at a game in their wheelchairs or walking with the help of a stick and, just like me, they are transformed too. I don’t know whether it’s your brain overriding the disease or some sort of muscle memory kicking in, but it is an amazing feeling.”

The national governing body, the Walking Football Association (WFA), was launched in December 2016 and helps people with physical or mental impairments to take part in sport. The game is a 6-a-side format, below head height with no running or contact. Walking Football for Parkinson’s is a recent add on.

Laurie, a financial controller at Princes Group, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after he began getting tremors in his hands. He said: “I had worked in many areas for Princes in Mauritius and Liverpool and had a young family and big plans for the future. Parkinson’s had other ideas. My symptoms got to the point where I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do before. In many meetings I had to sit on my left hand or trap it painfully under the desk to combat tremors.

“Princes has been great and have made adjustments so I can continue doing my job. Work is so important to me as it gives me a sense of worth and I feel like I can be open with my struggles and everyone is so supportive and flexible.”

Laurie has been a football fan since he was a young boy. His father, George Sephton, has been the match announcer at Anfield for Liverpool Football Club for more than 50 years and his grandfather trialled for the club in the 1920s.

We are very proud of Laurie’s achievements and we are thrilled to see his shirt added to the wall.

The development of our new sports pavilion at Hall Road continues apace.

As you can see from the latest photographs, construction of the external structure is now approaching completion and work is well underway to create the various internal spaces, such as changing rooms, toilets and cafe area.

We are excited about the positive impact this new pavilion will have on the sporting experience of our pupils, parents and visitors.

We wish the very best of luck to former pupil Ella Sansbury, who is releasing her debut single Apologise on Friday 14 July.

A singer-songwriter, Ella writes from a very personal and emotional place and her debut release was written about the breakdown of a very close friendship.

She joined forces with Liverpool-based producer and songwriter DSM in his studio, where they wrote and produced the song, and she has huge ambitions and plans for the song.

Ella said: “With this being my first release I am so excited, I cannot wait for everyone to enjoy this as much as I’ve enjoyed making it!

“I also really want to say a big thank you to Merchant Taylors’ for their support.”

Apologise can be found on Spotify, Amzaon Music and other platforms and you can follow Ella on Instagram @ellasandsofficial.

Merchant Taylors’ enjoyed a haul of team and individual honours among our girls and boys at this year’s Sefton Schools Athletics Championship.

Our girls’ teams from Years 9 and 10 were overall winners in their age group categories, while our Year 7 and 8 girls’ teams both claimed a highly creditable fourth place.

Stand out performances among the boys included Ralph Sinclair, who won the 100m in an excellent time that was just 0.3 seconds outside the school record, while fellow Year 8 pupils Jordan Scott and William Delamere were victorious in the 200m and 1500m races, respectively.

Among the girls, Elisa Jashari-Boyle took double gold in the Year 7 shot and discus and there was success for three Year 9 pupils, with Dakota Backhouse winning the high jump competition, Scarlett Adderley taking gold in the hurdles and Maddie Clark coming first in the shot.

Several Year 10 girls and boys were also victorious in their respective categories. In the girls’ competition, Claudia Flanagan crossed the line first in the 300m and Serenne Crosbie recorded the top score in high jump. Tom and Harry Cosgrove were boys’ triple and long jump champions, while Joe Wake took gold in the 800m and Swithin Samarawadika won the 1500m.

It was an excellent performance from all of our athletes, who can be proud of their talent, hard work and determination to drive themselves and each other on to succeed.