In September of this year, the University of Gloucestershire will become the first to offer a rugby refereeing scholarship in England. The scholarship will be part of the University’s Sports Science degree course. The venture is the result of collaboration between the University, the RFU and Gloucester and District Referees Society.

Director of Sport at the University of Gloucestershire, Peter Durham, said, “We are delighted to offer this exciting new scholarship, in association and partnership with the RFU and the Gloucester and District Referees Society. It must be placed on record our extreme thanks to Andy Melrose, RFU Rugby Referee Development Officer (South West), Premiership referee Chris White, and Gloucester and District Referees Society officials Clive Annetts and Alan White for their invaluable commitment, advice and guidance in assisting to bring this scholarship to fruition.”
 
Chairman of Gloucester Referees Society, Clive Annetts, said, “The Society was pleased to be able to accept the invitation to take part in this initiative, which presents an invaluable opportunity to promote and reinforce a positive image of refereeing locally and in a wider context. We are grateful to Peter Durham for making this possible.”

Andy Melrose said, “We all see this as an exciting opportunity to promote refereeing in a new way as well as forging closer links with the game in general. I am delighted that the University will be looking at a wide span of applicants - mature students as well as those just out of school/college. The Sports Science degree course will offer a great deal of appropriate knowledge to the students on the refereeing scholarship.”