We are lucky to be part of a sporting community with strong leaders, great teammates and good friends. We believe that through togetherness we can do great things.
Our love for rugby union first brought us together, but the desire to do good through our shared values is what drives Atlas forward. It transcends the game.
We value integrity; openness and striving to do things the right way. This drives our pursuit of collaborators and projects that are true and transparent, and helps guide the children we work with to learn to make good decisions in life.
We value hard work; discipline, never settling, and teamwork. We work hard and lead by example, so that given the right conditions, children see that they can work hard for themselves.
We value respect; for others and for people’s differences. But above all, for the young people we help.
Children should not stop playing sport in run up to exams as it has no impact on results, study suggests. The Telegraph. Read more
We know that exercise boosts memory and thinking skills. But now, researchers have shown for the first time that physical activity can increase the size of children’s brains and improve academic performance. Read more
The original research that underpinned the All Schools' Programme in England concluded that "The data we collected shows a positive correlation between playing rugby and GCSE results. Therefore, the more young people play rugby, the better they do at school. For this reason, the provision of rugby in schools should be improved, as it will have benefits far beyond those traditionally assumed to be a consequence of sport, such as health and fitness. Read more
The attached overview of the contribution of Sport to Sustainable Development Goals.The global reach, unmatched popularity and value-based foundation of sport, as well as its particular association with youth, make it a versatile means of implementing many of the SDGs. Rugby has particular benefits due to its tough nature, and the strong values. Rugby provides a useful vehicle to train a number of important social and life skills and to address important risk factors for crime and violence ... Read more
Not all sports programmes deliver benefits. The intensity of engagement matters. More intense, structured and supported programmes such as Atlas's Schools and Grassroots projects offer more benefit than unstructured or unsupervised programmes. Rugby includes the ability to control emotions and show empathy for others. This leads to stronger networks of relationships, that economists call social capital. Read more
An opinion piece from a Health and Fitness Journal, rather than an empirical study, but a valid list of benefits nonetheless. Read more