The inaugural World Schools Festival launched in April 2018 with 10 of the best rugby playing schools in South Africa join 10 teams from all 4 corners of the globe arrived at the wonderful Paarl Boys’ High School venue, as the first ever host, in their 150th Anniversary year.

The 2018 WSF was a huge success and immediately caught the imagination of schools rugby fans all over the world.

The 2019 edition staged in South Africa and saw the WSF move across to the SA springbok factory, Paul Roos Gynamsium in Stellenbosch. The event continued the success and interest where the inaugural edition left of with viewership rising to 1.39 million views.

In 2020 the WSF was ready to move to Pretoria, and be staged at Affies as part of their 100th Anniversary, but covid pandemic saw the Festival cancelled.

After a 2 year break the WSF returned in 2022 with a new date, new location and a brand new format will take the Festival to a new level and hopefully excite followers of schools rugby around the world. Hamilton Boys’ High School from New Zealand triumphed in the new Champions Cup competition. Viewership rose to over 25 million views.

2023 saw the introduction of girls 7s for the 1st time, and more than 475 players participate will see the expansion with more rugby categories being added, as for the first time a Girls competition. New Zealand retained the Champions Cup, with Westlake Boys’ High School overcoming St. Michael’s College from Ireland in the Final. Once again, the viewership smashed all records with 49 million views and over 3.5million engagements during the week.

In 2024 WSF will expand further with more sports – get in touch for more details.