Junior Duke Award Ambassador

Former Swindon and Under 21's England football star, Rhys Evans is a former pupil of Ruskin Junior School. Rhys played his first ever game of football whilst attending Ruskin! He distinctly remembers wearing an awful mustard coloured Goalkeeper Jersey!

After leaving Ruskin, he attended Kingsdown Secondary School until the end of Year 9, at which point Rhys left to take up a Scholarship at the FA National School. Rhys went through a national selection process over a 6-month period to gain selection. One of only 16 boys for his school year in the Country to achieve the scholarship, where he saw out his last two school years and completed his GCSEs alongside a full-time training and match schedule. From there, Rhys started his apprenticeship at Chelsea, he had signed with them since the age of 12. Rhys continued to represent England Youth from under 16’s through the Under 21’s, representing his country over 50 times. In 2003, Rhys moved back to his hometown club of Swindon making 127 appearances over the next 3 seasons. He continued to play over the next decade at various professional clubs before retiring in 2014.

Since retiring from football, Rhys moved into the Motor Industry, starting with Porsche at their Tewkesbury site in July 2014. In late 2017, he moved to Porsche Bournemouth spending 5.5 years there. Rhys has enjoyed success in his new career taking many of his disciplines from professional sport. In April 2023, Rhys started an exciting new role with Rolls Royce Sunningdale.

At the end of each academic year, Rhys will attend our special Garden Party lunch to join the celebrations for the children who complete the Platinum Junior Duke Award. He will present all of the well-deserving children with their certificates and spend time speaking to them about the things they have learned and most enjoyed during the Award.