5 Years of The Boarding School!

Way back in 2019 our youth club was not busy. Our regular group had aged out and moved on and we were struggling to find the next generation. It seemed like the traditional idea of a youth centre had gotten a bit lost amongst all the tailored activities now on offer.

When our youth project started in 2005, there was nothing for young people to do in the area. There were no clubs, no after school activities, and young people were left to their own devices... which caused a bit of friction with the community at large. So a brave group of volunteers stepped forward and created Staple Hill Methodist Youth Project (SHMYP for short). It was based in the Methodist Church, they had kindly offered us an office space, and a spare room 2 floors up. From there we ran youth club evenings in the church hall, art sessions in that room 2 floors up and headed out into the our local area to engage young people on the street.

Fast forward to 2017 and we managed to negotiate the old primary school building on Page Road as a proper youth centre for Staple Hill. By this time our offer had grown to 2 nights of general interest youth club stuff, a popular music workshop making rap beats twice weekly, and some outreach. But the world had also changed, it had become more on demand, and there were now lots of different activities for young people to engage with in Staple Hill based on interest: Dance, art, music, sports you name it!

The problem was it all came at a cost, these activities don't come cheap! So we were the low cost/free service for young people, providing general activities, information, support and guidance - but struggling to connect with young people that now had all these things on demand.

Then came covid-19. We were tasked with heading out to where young people were breaching the 'no public gathering' rules. It just so happened that these hot spots were skateparks. Skateparks have always been a very youth friendly space, and no surprise that they became little areas of safety when so much was up in the air. Skateboarding had also exploded over covid, with the main barrier being time to learn now in abundance. We would perform welfare checks, making sure things were ok at home, offer advice on how to be a bit safer, protect each other from spreading etc and conversations quickly turned to "when this is all over, we need somewhere to skate that's dry, warm in winter, somewhere safe." - The Boarding School idea was born.

We worked with those groups of young people to plan, design and fundraise for how an indoor park might look in our hall. In April 2021 we held our first session! Still outdoors due to rules, young people got to build some of the ramps we'd bought and skate them as a little taster. In May we opened proper. Sessions had to be spread out to allow for cleaning, and we had to keep the numbers of young people low, but slowly as restrictions lifted we could do more and more. By October we were open two nights a week, with three sessions on a Monday for Girls Only, youngers and olders.

Hit this slideshow to see some highlights from the last 5 years!

In 2023 we added Sunday openings, a residential road trip, day trips, and supported comps and jams at other skateparks. In 2023 the adult women's session started on Sundays and in 2024 we began the Lets Get Lit project lighting up council skateparks through the winter (it will return for 2026!). The staff team has grown and we've been so thankful for all their input and influence in the way we do things. A massive thanks to all the young people that have come through and given skateboarding a go. Some have got the bug and now skate everyday looking for their career in skateboarding, while others have just enjoyed making friends and had fun trying new things.

Since the start of the Boarding School project we've delivered 1081 sessions of skateboarding!

Engaged 714 young people who've attended 13'588 times!

We've gone on 4 residentials, 12 trips, and supported 11 comps and jams!

Here's to Five more amazing years!