The school is very proud to announce we were recently chosen to be an official partner school of Saracens Rugby Club. This is great news for the school and great news for our rugby players. At the start of the summer term, members of Gunnersbury’s senior squads were invited to a training session of Saracens’ first team at Allianz Park, the new home of the premiership club. Upon arrival, the boys were treated to a tour of the stadium which included the players’ meeting room, the indoor 100m track and of course the brand new £600,000 4G pitch itself. This was followed by an intensive 45 minute training session with James Tirrell, former England 7's player and member of Saracens coaching team. As the boys finished their session, the Saracens squad began theirs and our boys watched in awe of the sheer size and physical fitness of each member of Saracens’ first team squad. The range of skills, abilities, power and speed displayed on the pitch was noted carefully by our boys. A thoroughly enjoyable and profitable day concluded with autographs and photographs taken with several of the Saracens squad, including recently announced Lions members Owen Farrell and Mako Vunipola. Looking ahead to our own 2013-14 season, this exciting new partnership will enable the school to work extensively with Saracens Rugby Academy to further develop our own provision for the sport; throughout the forthcoming school year, our senior rugby players will have a number of opportunities to train with Saracens and to benefit from access to their top class training facilities.