Devon and Cornwall Police joined Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service for a five-hour tag rugby festival in Redruth on Thursday, July 16, bringing more than 80 Year 6 pupils together at Redruth Rugby Club. The event was aimed at children preparing to move into Year 7, with the services using sport to open conversations about safer choices.
Lou Brown said the day gave officers a chance to engage with youngsters and share information that would help them make safe and informed decisions as they moved into the next stage of their lives. She added that connecting with young people early was key to encouraging positive choices that could stop them becoming involved in crime or antisocial behaviour now or in the future.
Redruth Rugby Club
The festival brought pupils from eight primary schools across the area into one place for the day. It was organised jointly by Devon & Cornwall Police and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, and Brown said it was “fantastic to see everyone having such a great time.” She also thanked the local businesses and partners who donated food and drink and helped make the day possible.
Firefighter Dave Moyle said crews from Red Watch and on-call teams at Tolvaddon Community Fire Station supported the event. He said the day showed Cornwall’s emergency services working together to provide a fun-filled rugby festival and vital safety advice before the summer holidays.
Lou Brown and Dave Moyle
Moyle said the initiative was also designed to deliver social interaction, physical activity, teamwork, camaraderie and to break down barriers between young people and emergency services. That combination of sport and outreach meant the festival was doing two jobs at once: giving pupils a day on the pitch while using the same setting to speak about behaviour, independence and the choices they face as they move on from Year 6.
Which eight primary schools took part was not listed, leaving the event’s reach defined by the number of pupils and the shared age group rather than by school-by-school names.
