RUGBY players in the St Andrew's family of schools will have their sporting careers mapped out all the way from primary school to junior college.

The St Andrew's Village rugby through-train programme will ensure continuity for students at St Andrew's Junior and Secondary schools as well as St Andrew's Junior College.

The three schools moved into the new 20-hectare St Andrew's Village campus in Potong Pasir this year.

The programme, launched earlier this year, is the first of its kind for local sports.

It aims to raise the level of rugby at St Andrew's and keep talented players within the fraternity.

Close to 300 students have signed up for the pioneer batch of through-train athletes.

The options available to them include the Under-11, U-13, U-14, U-17 and U-19 competitions, as well as representation at the national level if selected.

Students in the programme will also benefit from having accredited coaches track their progress throughout their years at St Andrew's.

Mentors from senior classes will be assigned to help younger students progress in the sport and create a sense of belonging and team-bonding.

Gene Tong, the programme's assistant head coach, felt that students will now have a clearer understanding of the options available to them in schools rugby.

He said: 'There are no academic requirements, except for those required to gain admission into the schools.

'We will select students based on basic criteria such as hand-eye coordination and psycho-motor skills.

'Once in the programme, they will have a very clear idea of what options they will have in terms of playing for the school.'

Tong, who coaches the Saints' family of schools, said that rugby students would also be given priority in terms of direct school admission (DSA) to the junior college.

'We will definitely look to them first under the DSA, as they would have much more experience as players.'

He also hoped the new scheme would help the Saints retain their top rugby talents.

In the past few years, they have lost about two to four players from each team of 15 to other rugby-playing rivals such as Raffles Institution and Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) .

The programme will likely get off to a bright start as the Saints already have a successful legacy.

This year, they took four of the five titles contested at school level, winning the U-11 and U-13, and A and B divisions.

The number of places in the programme has not been fixed. That will depend on the students' interest.

The Saints are also keen to extend the programme to other sports in future.

SAS principal Belinda Charles told The Straits Times that the programme would serve as a model of 'learning on many levels'.

'The coaches will work with the students all through their careers, and the younger and older players get to mix together in training.