Impact Report 2024/25: Backing Children, Igniting Potential

About

School of Hard Knocks works with pupils who are at risk of exclusion or persistently absent, through a two-year programme in partner secondary schools across England, Scotland and Wales. Weekly rugby sessions are used to build social and emotional skills, and every pupil receives personalised one-to-one mentoring. Group personal development sessions, match days and trips help young people build confidence, better relationships and a more positive attitude to school.

Key Metrics

Key Outcomes

• 90% of pupils reported feeling more engaged at school and 92% were able to build more positive relationships.
• SOHK Year 9 pupils bucked the national decline in attendance, improving by 0.2 percentage points on average and attending 1.4 percentage points more than non-SOHK peers at the same schools, roughly three extra school days a year.
• Malia, who faced bullying, anger and frequent exclusions in Year 7, learned to manage her anger and build healthier relationships; her exclusions stopped and she now has ambitious goals for her GCSEs, college and university.

Geography

UK-Wide