It’s always nice to be thanked isn’t it? Well, this week Queen Elizabeth’s School ‘s very own Mr Tearle has been thanked on a Grand National scale! The PE department at QE is very proud to announce that Mr Tearle, or Tearley as he is also affectionately known, has received a very special award directly from England Rugby.

Mr Tearle was nominated within the South West of England as a potential winner of the ‘Real Rugby Heroes Award’. A special thanks must go to Community England Rugby Coach, Wayne Reed for the nomination as Mr Tearle was chosen as the South West England Winner, against a tough field of other likeminded heroes!

The award acknowledges Mr Tearle’s dedication to both School and Club Rugby with a particular reference to his work within Girl’s Rugby. Six years ago, there were no Girls Rugby Teams at QE. We now field three strong teams at various age groups, with the standard of Rugby being played attracting National recognition. In 2015, the Under 15 Girls went on to win the South West England Finals and qualified for the National Finals at Twickenham under Mr Tearle’s reign.

Not only are Mr Tearle’s Rugby achievements appreciated at School level, but also within the local Community. He has created an invaluable link with Crediton RFC through Wayne Reed and Shane Bayley as coaches. As a PE department, we feel incredibly lucky to have such a strong link with a club that boasts such excellence in being recognised as a ‘Community Club Winner’ on a national scale. Crediton RFC is a very special place and we hope that working so closely with them can only cultivate more excellence in our community. As a player for twenty years, Mr Tearle still steps out of retirement on a regular basis and inspires other staff within the PE department to do the same. That’s what he does. He inspires people. With a complete disregard for personal finances, Mr Tearle has been known to donate Dominoes Pizzas to winning teams at the school. It is random acts of kindness like this that earn Mr Tearle the tag of being somewhat of a ‘legend’ at School.

Come rain or shine, after school Rugby Club at School never gets cancelled. Mr Tearle is always there. Under his direction, working with other Teachers at the school and coaches from Crediton RFC, the next generation of National Standard players continue to be churned out from QE Rugby. In fact, you cannot turn on the television nowadays without seeing an Ex QE student representing at National level. Jack Yeandle, Sam Hill, Harry Strong and Marcus Street to name but a few. QE does special things with talented Rugby players it would seem.

To accept his award, Mr Tearle was invited to England Rugby Hospitality at the Twickenham stadium on Wednesday 29th March. He was treated as a VIP for the day to watch The National Schools Finals. Sat just behind the royal box, Mr Tearle was then invited to go pitchside to be awarded his certificate by the president of the England Rugby Schools Union. If only there were more Mr Tearles? Imagine what would happen to Rugby across the country! For now, QE and Crediton can wallow in pride and recognition of this true Real Rugby Hero. Mr Tearle, we salute you.

Colin Skinner – Learning Area Team Leader for Physical Education at Queen Elizabeth’s School.