Hwb and WRU ‘Club of the Future Challenge’ Competition 2023 to 2024
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The vision is to inspire the youth of Wales to be innovative contributors to their communities by embracing our nation’s culture and history, passion for Welsh rugby and creativity using Minecraft Education. This is facilitated via the WRU Club of the Future Challenge competition. A competition that will give learners across Wales the chance to design and build their own virtual club of the future within Minecraft Education. Moreover, a competition that will enrich the delivery of the Curriculum for Wales!
Learners will be introduced to various aspects of rugby and rugby club life via a Minecraft Education recreation of the Principality Stadium. Learner’s travel through the virtual Principality Stadium, exploring key areas and spaces within the building. Along the way, learners meet and interact with NPCs (Non-Player Characters) who will reveal information about that area. It’s at this point, that learners and educators have the opportunity to access further information, including facts, figures and visual materials such as behind the scenes imagery and videos from the WRU on various aspects of Welsh rugby life. This will allow for the exploration of rugby life through different lenses and provide the opportunity to link to a range of Areas of Learning and Experience.
Information gathered from the virtual stadium tour and the subsequent tasks delivered in the classroom are geared up to challenge what each learner’s ‘Club of the Future’ might contain from inclusion and diversity, team training regimes and player nutritional requirements, even the fan experience.
The overall challenge has six stages:
- Explorer and Investigate (via the Principality Stadium Minecraft world)
- Research
- Planning
- Building
- Information Sharing
- Creation of a video walkthrough of the learners build
Learners will be encouraged to consider their local community, research and explore the needs of their local area to then start to develop a plan for a ‘Club of the Future’ for their locality. From the plan, a build will be undertaken in Minecraft Education. This will culminate in a screen recording and voiceover walkthrough of their ‘Club of the Future’. This will provide learners with an opportunity to explain the various nuances of their ‘Club of the Future’ beyond the physical build in the Minecraft world.
Through the ‘Explorer and Investigate’ stage educators have the option to focus their learners in on a wide range of activities, such as the investigation of nutrition and healthy eating from both the perspective of a rugby player and a non-sports person. Learners will be encouraged to design a nutritious menu for a day’s meals, consider the various social occasions when food plays an important role. All linking to the Health and Well Being, Humanities Area of Learning and Experience.
Other curriculum areas include Language Literacy and Communication. Learners will consider how Newspapers have had a big influence on rugby becoming a vital ingredient in the life blood of the Welsh nation. Learners could turn their hand to writing a newspaper article or even role play a video interview.
Educators should interpret and apply the use of the wide range of supporting resources accordingly to the relevant age groups in terms of breadth and depth of application. In addition, educators are encouraged to be innovative in applying the project to the most applicable Area of Learning and Experience to offer the most rewarding and engaging experience for their own learners.
Competition closing date: 22 March 2024 at 23:00
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The competition structure has been designed for Progression Step(s) in related entry levels and a ALN entry level:
- Progression Step 1 and 2
- Progression Step 3
- Progression Step 4 and 5
- ALN
There are three stages to the competition:
- Local round (individual schools) - Submission deadline: Friday 22 March 2024
- Regional semi-final - 1 from each of the entry levels for each consortium/region will be notified by Friday 17 May 2024
- National final - Thursday 13 June 2024 Principality Stadium
Local round – Phase One
Each school who registers to enter the competition should run their own ‘in-school’ competition for their learners. Certificates of participation are available for schools to award to their learners.
Certificates are available in the WRU Club of the Future Team/Resources Channel/Files/Additional Resources Appendix
Each school will need to judge and choose a submission for each entry level(s) they cover (for example, a primary school could submit two entries - one for Progression Step 1 and 2 and one for Progression Step 3. A secondary school could submit one entry for Progression 4 and 5. A school who covers all three age ranges could submit three entries.)
See Marking Rubric in the WRU Club of the Future Team/Resources Channel/Files
Group submissions of approx. four learners are encouraged. However, there is a maximum group size limit of ten learners per submission. Solo submissions will also be accepted.
These entries would go into the Regional round.
Regional semi-final – Phase Two
The entries from the Local round will be judged by the Regional Consortium Digital Leads and Hwb to represent the Region in each entry level for submission to the National final.
Selection will be based on the Marking Rubric. Links to the Digital Competence Framework and Curriculum for Wales amplified by the educator in the submission will also be considered.
National final – Phase Three
All the Regional winning entries will be invited to attend a special reception at the Principality Stadium to receive their Regional awards.
Each Regional winner will showcase their entry at the event, where representatives from the WRU and Hwb will choose a National winner for each entry level. National awards will also be presented on the day.
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Step one: Register and join the WRU Club of the Future Team
Register to access the Microsoft Team for the WRU Club of the Future Challenge competition.
NB: You will need to use your Hwb email address to be added to the WRU Club of the Future Challenge Team.
All communication, teacher questions and sharing of related resources will be via the
WRU Club of the Future Challenge Teams community.
When you enter the WRU Club of the Future Challenge Team, you will be in the General Channel.
The conversation area of the General Channel will have information directing you to the relevant Channels.
NB: Blue announcements are in Welsh. Green announcements are in English.
The Announcement Channel is there to promote the competition and keep you updated with supporting activities and events throughout the competition period.
Step two: Access and review the resources to support the competition
Navigate to the Resources Channel where you will find a full suite of resources are available to support you and your learners, as you participate in building your ‘Club of the Future’.
Take your time to review all the various resources that have been developed to support you and your learners:
Overview of the competition
This document provides an overview of the challenge for both the educator and the learner. It then highlights the Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE) that have the potential to be explored through a variety of lenses. Together they will contribute to realising the four purposes of the curriculum.
There are opportunities to reinforce and practice a wide range of cross-curricular skills. Furthermore, it will enable learners demonstrate and grow their ability in: Creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving, personal effectiveness and planning and organising.
Challenge ‘Scheme of work’
This outlines each of the six stages of the challenge and defines the Learning Objectives and lesson elements. This is a ‘helicopter view’ of what will be covered throughout the six stages of the challenge.
Detailed lesson support
More detailed lesson support is provided in these documents, with a range of activities and ideas of how they could be approached. All with flexibility allowing educators to interpret the support documentation and apply accordingly to the relevant age groups in terms of breadth and depth of application. In addition, educators are encouraged to be innovative in applying the project to the most applicable Area of Learning and Experience to offer the most rewarding and engaging experience for their own learners and locality.
PowerPoint lesson introductions
Where applicable, a PowerPoint slideshow has been provided to help introduce stages of the challenge or certain concepts – please feel free to adjust accordingly to suit your requirements.
These PowerPoints are also available as videos, you could use these as an introduction in a Flipped Classroom scenario.
Principality Stadium Starter World in Minecraft Education
This is the starting point of the challenge, a recreation of the Principality Stadium in Minecraft Education. Learners will walk through the Minecraft world of the Principality Stadium, where they will interact with various NPCs to gain knowledge and understanding of the world of rugby.
Each NPC will represent a Welsh rugby player who will act as a guide for the learners and link out to information on various aspects of rugby life. This will allow for a wide-ranging exploration of rugby through different lenses with full curriculum links.
Important – Terms of Use
Principality Stadium Minecraft World is the property of the WRU. The WRU have licensed the use of the Principality Stadium Minecraft World to Hwb. Anyone with a Hwb account can access and use the Principality Stadium Minecraft World within their education setting.
You may not sell access to the Principality Stadium Minecraft World or allow access to any of the Principality Stadium Minecraft World to any third-party. You may not transfer to a third party, either temporarily or permanently, any rights to access or use the Principality Stadium Minecraft World.
Please accept and honour these Terms of Use.
Marking criterion rubric
A clear marking criterion rubric has been provided for each of the ‘Progression Step’ age ranges. Each of which has descriptions of: Emerging, Developing, and Advancing progression across the four strands of: Communication, Creating digital content, Understanding and interpretation of the local area, and Links to Areas of Learning and Experience.
Using a rubric has many benefits and can help in a number of ways, including allowing learners to see a rubric, or an extract of it, before they start. This way they know what their end point goal is. It can also help you as an educator facilitate formative feedback and provide clear direction for your learners.
Learner participation certificates
A template certificate of participation has been provided for you to award to your learners for taking part in the WRU Club of the Future Challenge.
Supporting Videos Channel
In this Channel are separate video recordings to support each Stage of the competition from both a primary perspective and a secondary perspective. Created by teachers for teachers!
Question and Answer Channel
Once you get going with the challenge you or learners may have questions. There is a dedicated channel just to facilitate this.
Step three: Submit your schools’ finalist for each entry level
Once you have run your own ‘in-school’ competition and chosen your schools winning entry/entries you will need to complete the submission form and share a video walkthrough link by Friday 22 March 2024 to move forward to the Regional round.
You will find the Submission Form located in the Submissions Channel.
You will need to navigate to the ‘Submission’ tab on the top right-hand side of the screen. This will open a submission form for you to complete. The form will require some detailed information form you on the submission:
- Names of the learners who created the build (maximum group size is 10 learners)
- A link to an online folder that contains the video walkthrough for the submission
- A link to an online folder that contains the Minecraft world file
- A link to an online folder that contains any planning documentation files have been saved
- Provide a brief indication of research undertaken to inform the Minecraft build (educators’ narrative)
- Indicate the links to AoLEs that have been made in submission (educators’ narrative)
- Completion of score against the Marking Criterion Rubric (educators’ narrative)
Remember: The Submission Form is available in Welsh and English. Please use the drop-down menu in the right-hand corner to change the language.
The Regional winners will be notified by Friday 17 May 2024.
All the Regional winning entries will be invited to attend a special reception on Thursday 13 June 2024 at the Principality Stadium to receive their Regional awards.
Each Regional winner will showcase their entry at the event, where representatives from the WRU and Hwb will choose a National winner for each category. National awards will also be presented on the day.
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Use this simple tick list to keep you on track with your Steps to Success (pdf).
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Areas of Learning and Experience
This project will provide a variety of lenses through which opportunities can be developed to support a wide range of curriculum links to Areas of Learning and Experience. A holistic approach to learning is encouraged throughout and below are some suggested curriculum links, together they will contribute to realising the four purposes of the curriculum:
Expressive Arts:
- Creating combines skills and knowledge, drawing on the senses, inspiration and imagination
There are opportunities to develop discipline specific areas, these include but are not limited to:
- Art - form in 2D and 3D representation, architectural design, interactive design, mixed media, video.
- Film and digital media – narrative, video, production design
Health and Well-being:
- Developing physical health and well-being has lifelong benefits
- Our decision-making impacts on the quality of our lives and the lives of others
- How we engage with social influences shapes who we are and affects our health and well-being
Humanities:
- Enquiry, exploration and investigation inspire curiosity about the world, its past, present and future
- Events and human experiences are complex, and are perceived, interpreted and represented in different ways
- Our natural world is diverse and dynamic, influenced by processes and human actions
- Informed, self-aware citizens engage with the challenges and opportunities that face humanity and are able to take considered and ethical action.
Language, Literacy and Communication:
- Understanding languages is key to understanding the world around us
- Expressing ourselves through languages is key to communication
Mathematics and Numeracy:
- The number system is used to represent and compare relationships between numbers and quantities
- Geometry focuses on relationships involving shape, space and position, and measurement focuses on quantifying phenomena in the physical world
- Statistics represent data, probability models chance, and both support informed inferences and decisions
Science and Technology:
- Being curious and searching for answers is essential to understanding and predicting phenomena
- Design thinking and engineering offer technical and creative ways to meet society’s needs and wants
- Computation is the foundation for our digital world
Cross-curricular Skills & Integral Skills
Literacy:
- Listening - Listening for meaning, Developing vocabulary, Listening to understand, Listening as part of collaborative talk
- Reading - Understanding, response and analysis
- Speaking - Clarity and vocabulary, Collaborative talk, Questioning
- Writing - Vocabulary, Spelling, Grammar, Connectives and Syntax, Punctuation, Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Proofreading, editing and improving
Numeracy:
- Calculation
- Measurement
- Shape and space
- Position
- Angle, Geometry
- Collecting data
- Representing data
- Interpreting data
Digital Competence:
There are opportunities to develop various elements form the following strands:
- Interacting and collaborating
- Producing
- Data and computational thinking
Integral Skills
The project will also enable learners to demonstrate and grow their ability in the following essential facets of personal development, all highly valued by employers:
- Creativity and innovation
- Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Personal effectiveness
- Planning and organising