2026 Free

Beyond the Horizon: Tall Ships Youth Trust Impact Report 2025/2026

Beyond the Horizon: Changing Young Lives at Sea, the Tall Ships Youth Trust 2025/2026 Impact Report, showcases a transformative year of youth development and outdoor learning on the water, released 19 August 2026.

Report snapshot
21 Views

About

Tall Ships Youth Trust is a youth development charity helping young people aged 12-25 redefine their horizons through transformational sailing adventures, with bursary support so cost is no barrier.

Key Metrics

Young people sailing 1,224 young people sailed in 2025/26 out of 1,889 individuals reached, an 11% increase, delivering 4,716 nights at sea.
Bursary support 85% of the young people who sailed received financial bursary support; 77% had never sailed before and 21% identify as belonging to the Global Majority.
Qualifications earned 776 nationally recognised qualifications earned, including 630 RYA Start Yachting and 126 RYA Competent Crew awards.
Confidence gained 91% of Exploration voyagers felt confident to try new things, 89% reported greater willingness to problem-solve and 87% felt more confident building relationships.

Key Outcomes

  • Young people unlocked their potential through ocean voyages, with 204 recommended to return as volunteers, a direct pathway into blue economy careers, and 12 competing in the 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race.

Geography

UK-Wide

Impact Snapshot
568,000
babies reached by Bookstart Baby in 2025/26 (93% of all babies born)
Over 1.1 million
children and families engaged with Bookstart programmes in 2025/26
80%
of parents and carers receiving Bookstart Baby say they now read or share books and stories more with their child
445,600 children aged 1-4 reached through Bookstart Toddler and Pre-schooler, including 37% of all 1-4-year-olds living in low-income households
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
440,000+ young people aged 4-18 active members across 7,000 Groups
Key Metric 2
140,000 volunteers supporting the movement across the UK
Key Metric 3
373 Sections opened or re-energised in England between April 2024 and March 2025
0.3% overall growth in young people (ages 4-18), driven by 31% increase in Squirrel Scouts (5,200 young people)
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
55,000 foster carers and 370 fostering service providers as members across the UK
Key Metric 2
45 new Fostering Friendly Employers recruited, bringing the scheme to over 680,000 employees across the UK
Key Metric 3
95 Fostering Wellbeing Pioneers in Wales offering peer support and mentoring to fellow foster carers
191 children and young people engaged in outdoor adventure weeks through the Fostering Attainment and Achievement programme in Northern Ireland