2024 Free

Impact Report 2026

Chance to Shine is a national charity using cricket to improve the lives of children and young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2024-25 — its 20th anniversary year — the charity reached 600,000+ young people across 4,263 primary schools, with 58% of participating schools serving above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals. Programmes are free, aligned to the national PE curriculum, and designed to build confidence, teamwork and resilience alongside physical skills. 51% of participants were girls. The charity recently reached its 8 millionth participant milestone.

Report snapshot
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About

Free six-week primary school cricket programme aligned to national PE curriculum (delivered by qualified coaches in 4,263 schools); Playground Leaders training; Cricket Engagement Days; Street Cricket clubs (free, year-round, indoors, tape-ball format); Chance to Compete secondary school competition (girls' U13 and U15); Street Cricket regional and national finals; teacher training and CPD; pathway links to ECB recreational game and county cricket boards Custom geography from upload: England and Wales

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 600,000+ young people took part in cricket with Chance to Shine in 2024-25; 8 millionth child reached through a Chance to Shine programme in 2026 (20th anniversary year); programmes active in 4,263 primary schools
Key Metric 2 58% of schools receiving the six-week programme had a higher-than-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals; 51% of all participants were girls; 12,336 children received Playground Leaders training across 674 schools
Key Metric 3 98% of teachers agreed sessions were active, safe, inclusive and fun; 94% of children said they had fun; teacher impact scores averaged 8.7/10 for confidence and teamwork, 9.2/10 for enjoyment of sport and physical activity

Key Outcomes

  • 94% of teachers reported their school intends to have cricket in the curriculum next academic year; teachers' confidence to deliver cricket independently rose from 57% at programme start to 97% at end; teachers' ability to signpost children to continue playing rose from 58% to 94%
  • 74% of teachers reported more children playing cricket in PE; 52% reported more children playing in extracurricular clubs; 47% reported more children playing informally at breaktime; 94% agreed the programme increased pupils' interest in playing cricket outside school
  • Only 40% of children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds meet recommended activity levels (Sport England 2024-25) — compared to 54% with no characteristics of inequality; Chance to Shine directly targets the most deprived communities to close this gap

Geography

Other

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
21,212 people engaged with in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
17,708 people played some form of rugby through Foundation programmes
Key Metric 3
More than £9,000 raised through Foundation Day; 9,000+ given back to grassroots rugby clubs
88% of girls in the Girls Tackle Rugby programme reported feeling more confident, per independent research with Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
£3,112,419 raised to deliver projects in 2024/25; total income £2,920,000 and total expenditure £2,850,000 (year ended 31 August 2024)
Key Metric 2
28,692 people took part in activities; 307,544 visits to sessions; 17,793 sessions delivered
Key Metric 3
More than 16,000 young people engaged across early years and primary programmes; 34 Premier League Primary Stars partner schools; over 7,000 healthy meals provided...
Blackpool FC Sports College A Team won the CEFA league title 2024/25; BFC School received 'Good' Ofsted rating in November 2024; Norbreck Primary Academy reached EFL Utilita Kids Cup National Final at Wembley, winning Regional Finals unbeaten
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
Total income £659,217 and total expenditure £674,216 (year ended 30 June 2025, charity no. 1137275); 10,252 individuals engaged across the 2024/25 season, with 9,713...
Key Metric 2
82% of participants reported positive impact on mental wellbeing; 84% on physical wellbeing; 82% on sense of community; 86% made new friends since joining
Key Metric 3
70% agreed they made positive changes to their life as a result of CUF activity; 63% of adult participants felt a strong sense of...
56.7% of young people hardly ever or never feel lonely vs national average; 94% of participants feel welcome, safe and included; CUF participants ranked higher than Cambridge and UK averages for happiness, life satisfaction and worthwhile life
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
6,744 participants engaged across education, social inclusion, employability, heritage and health programmes in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
37,357 hours of positive activity delivered; £3.9 million in social value generated
Key Metric 3
4,805 pupils supported across 58 education settings; 300+ young people referred across six Engage hubs in Northampton, Kettering, Corby and Milton Keynes
89% of young people attending Engage programme made positive steps; 92% of employability learners moved to positive progression