Rochdale school children learn about town’s unique Fijian connection

Over 700 primary school children have been learning about the unique link between Rochdale and Fiji thanks to the Rochdale Hornets Sporting Foundation.

The project has been part of the Foundation’s ‘Bula Rochdale!’ initiative, which has also included a tag rugby tournament, lessons on traditional Fijian music and a trip to last year’s England versus Fiji World Cup warm-up game at Salford’s AJ Bell Stadium.

Funded by a Lottery Heritage grant and run in partnership with schools programme Literacy Kicks - which enhances children’s reading and writing skills through sports reporting lessons - the programme saw pupils learn how a host of Fijian players joined Hornets throughout the 1960s and settled in the town with their families.

Led by trailblazing duo Joe Levula and Orisi Dawai, it laid the path for Rochdale to host what is believed to be the largest ex-pat community of Fijians in the UK outside of London.

Pupils then wrote their own newspaper articles on the fascinating story, and how it has lasted through to current times, with Hornets and other rugby clubs in the town still regularly fielding players of Fijian descent.

The project also saw members of the Ratu family - with Mike Ratu one of the original Rochdale Fijians having signed for Hornets in 1965 - join children in class to offer insights into their family story.

Emon and Mike Ratu junior - the sons of Mike - were joined by Michael, who became the third generation of the family to play for Hornets when he was part of their 2016 promotion-winning squad.

 

 

Rochdale Hornets Sporting Foundation director Chris Tomlinson says the project has been an overwhelming success. He explained: “It has been absolutely fantastic to see primary school children learning all about this completely unique sporting story that links together Rochdale and Fiji.

“To have members of the Ratu family in class with them at several schools added an extra dimension to the project.

“There have been some fantastic newspaper reports produced by the pupils, and hopefully they have been able to tell their families all about this very special relationship between two places on opposite sides of the world.”

Among the schools who took part was St Luke’s in Heywood, whose headteacher Kim Farrall said: “The Bula Rochdale and Literacy Kicks project gave the children a fantastic opportunity to work with a sports journalist Gareth Walker who had worked with the Daily Mirror for 20 years.

“The children found out about the history and fascinating link between Rochdale and Fiji through rugby and were inspired to write fabulous news reports based on this. The children produced high quality pieces of writing and thoroughly enjoyed the session.”

Whittaker Moss in Rochdale also had their Year 5 and 6 classes take the lessons and were among the schools joined in class by the Ratu family.

Year 5 teacher David Furnival said: “The children were highly engaged during the session and it certainly gave them a purpose for writing. They enjoyed being able to ask the players the history of the Fijian rugby link to Rochdale, and as the teacher, I also found it fascinating.”

The ‘Bula Rochdale!’ project will run until the summer with further initiatives in the town planned.