SecureCloud+, a leading provider of Secure Defence Collaboration services to the UK Defence and National Security communities, successfully held its annual Girls’ Festival of Rugby event on Sunday 6 October, at RAF Halton. The festival hosted over 1,200 players, featuring 60 teams from 30 clubs.

SecureCloud+ held its inaugural festival in March 2017, hosting 400 players and 7 clubs. Since then, the event has more than tripled in size. While the festival encourages enhanced community spirit and exercise for young girls, it also seeks to inspire and empower the next generation of young women through sport.

Alongside the rugby, SecureCloud+, in collaboration with several key partners – including MBDA, Telent and RAF Air Cadets – created an on-site STEM Village. This section of the festival featured cutting-edge technology and offered hands-on experiences designed to spark the curiosity of young minds.

Within the STEM Village, attendees had the opportunity to explore innovations, diving into the latest advancements and engaging with a number of industry leaders, passionate about science and technology.

Peter Williamson, CEO of SecureCloud said: “Grassroots sports have a unique ability to bring people together and create a strong sense of community between players, friends, and families out of nothing. Watching the Girls’ Festival of Rugby grow over the years has created a huge amount of pride for us all at SecureCloud+ while knowing that we are contributing to an environment that allows girls to play competitive sports, exercise and grow both as individuals and within teams.

“As part of that growth, we are committed to showing everyone in attendance just how important, fulfilling, and exciting a career in STEM or the military can be. It has been wonderful to see such an incredible response from players who visited our STEM Village and see just how captivated they were with the technologies on display. None of this could have been achieved without the incredible support from our partners, who have helped turn our vision into a reality.”

As part of the organisation’s commitment to fostering a sense of community and support, SecureCloud+ has given all proceeds from the Girls’ Festival of Rugby to Scotty’s Little Soldiers. The charity provides essential support to children and young people who have lost a parent in the Armed Forces. 2024’s festival raised £3,500 toward Scotty’s Little Soldiers, which will help support young people from military backgrounds across the UK.

Andy Sloan, Head of Fundraising and Marketing at Scotty’s Little Soldiers, said: “We’re so grateful for all the support from this festival. We’ve seen how it has grown, and the joy it brings. Our aim at Scotty’s Little Soldiers is to help bereaved children smile, and you can feel the positive energy here.”

“The funds raised today will help to power our Smiles, Support and Strides programme, giving those young people the chance to smile again, providing development opportunities and emotional support. Thank you very much to everyone who has donated and got involved.”

To donate to Scotty’s Little Soldiers, visit: https://www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpP63BhDYARIsAOQkATZZyZiilxhYjbqh_FFUU3s7S00QDgtWrf5_2dMl3P6jC_clmJofd98aAuTGEALw_wcB