RFU Ace League (Boys)

The RFU ACE League is England Rugby's premier under-18 schools and colleges competition, sitting at the heart of the professional game's development pathway. Established in 2004 as the AASE League and rebranded in 2019, ACE (Academy, Colleges and Education) brings together the country's leading state schools and sixth-form colleges, with every PREM Rugby academy represented alongside the RFU's Yorkshire Academy. For many of England's future professionals, this is where it starts: recent graduates populate Premiership squads and England age-grade sides in numbers no other schools competition can match.

The league runs across two stages. The autumn opens with regionalised pools split across two tiers, north and south, with promotion and relegation operating between the tiers during the season itself. From November the competition reshapes into mixed national pools determined by first-stage performance, and the highest-ranked side in the top pool is crowned ACE League champion, with final standings seeding the following season. The roll of honour is dominated by Hartpury College's seventeen titles, though recent seasons have seen the crown change hands, with Gordon's School and Beechen Cliff among the new names on the trophy.