School of Hard Knocks teach valuable lessons

In January 2015, the charity launched a new programme, ‘SOHK for Schools’ in East London, which is now being delivered further across the capital and most recently in Cardiff, South Wales.  Most of the children we work with are struggling for motivation and a sense of engagement with school; others are in need of increased personal confidence and a sense of wellbeing. Others still are on the cusp of permanent exclusion from mainstream education. Many are a combination of all three.

The courses for adults are necessarily short (just eight weeks) as our aim is to get participants into full time employment as quickly as possible, although ongoing mentoring is offered as post-course support. Our approach to working with children is very different in respect to the length of time we work with them which is one session per week, every week of the school year from year 9 through to year 11.  The essential thinking however, is the same; that is, to use sport – specifically rugby and boxing – as the means of personal transformation.

The results of an independent study at the Glasgow Caledonian University Department of Forensic Psychology suggested that the success of School of Hard Knocks delivery is founded upon three well-established psychological principles: self control, social bonds and self efficacy.

Continue reading SoHK: The Social Value of Sport.

Visit the School of Hard Knocks website for more information.

[This article has been edited by the Operating Team]