Here's a turn up for the books - Aussies coming to England to learn a thing or two about rugby league.

They may have re-established themselves as the kings of the game following their Tri-Nations success and have long been streets ahead of us, despite what the vanquished Great Britain hierarchy may say.

But it appears Australia aren't know-it-alls, after all.

Representatives from NRL outfit Penrith Panthers visited the Bulls last week to pick up some tips on the club's education scheme Stampede, part of the national project Playing for Success.

Sharron Bright has run the initiative, which is also co-funded by Bradford Education and the Department of Education For Schools, for the last three years.

The bright and colourful classroom facility, packed with computers and IT equipment, is located high up in the heavens above Grattan Stadium in a corner overlooking the Odsal pitch.

There, Sharron delivers an after-schools provision that provides extra mathematics and English but it's all delivered through ITC.

It has been a huge success among the schools of Bradford - St Matthew's CE Primary, Buttershaw Enterprise College, All Saints Primary and Bradford Cathedral Community College are just some of the eight currently attending - and it proved a hit with the Australian visitors.

"It was a fact-finding trip for them," Sharron said.

"They already have a centre over there but most NRL clubs don't and Penrith are trying to get support for it to be rolled out to others.

"They want support from the government and they wanted to see how we do things both at Bradford and nationally.

"They were really impressed with it the way the kids worked here and the atmosphere we create - really relaxed - and the way the children enjoy what they're doing.

"They will take that approach and structure back and use it in their own sessions back in Australia."

Panthers development foundation manager Richard Booth, along with Penrith development and community manager Peter Mullholland - the former Paris St Germain coach - were the duo dispatched from Sydney and they got a first-hand view of how the centre works.

Sharron continued: "The Playing for Success project is run at about 120 different sporting venues across the UK but here at l Continued on facing page the Stampede Centre the Bulls really personalise it for us.

"Each school comes for two hour sessions with primarys between 3.30pm and 5.30pm and the secondary schools 5.30pm until 7.30pm.

"We send out a Bulls bus to go to school, pick them up and bring them in and each child effectively gets an extra 20 hours teaching while the whole scheme is finished with a big celebration where the players come in and they all do a presentation.

"We've had Paul Deacon balloon modelling, Ian Henderson actually did some teaching practice - he planned and took sessions for his own college work - and we get the kids measuring how tall Lesley Vainikolo is, Shontayne Hape talking about healthy diets and stuff like that.

"The players often come in and feel a bit daunted about what's going to happen - I know Terry Newton was scared witless by the kids! - but they all get stuck in and it's good to see these big, international rugby players sat down wearing balloons!

"It breaks down barriers. It's a different kind of learning environment and the kids realise they can learn all the time.

"We run our sessions like a rugby match and by the end the kids are patting the players all on the back, calling them by their first names and knowing they are just ordinary people. It's a really good relationship."

Sharron, 33, sees more than 300 kids a year come through the doors at The Stampede Centre, thriving in the extra-curricular activities there and she has worked with over 1,000 in her time at the club.

"It's my dream job," she said.

"I'm a lifelong Bradford fan and to combine that with teaching, it really is my ideal occupation."

One of the many initiatives she has run included the World's Biggest Haka earlier this summer when more than 2,000 kids took to the Odsal pitch to perform the Kiwi tribal dance with New Zealanders Joe Vagana, Hape and Vainikolo.

Now it seems the project has captured the imagination of the Aussies as well.