WHY WE EXIST
We exist to bring education to the places it rarely reaches, using boxing to engage and connect with some of the most disadvantaged young people.
From their passion for the sport, we help them reimagine what’s possible for their futures in education and careers, while spotlighting boxing’s power to drive social change.
We ask:
"Boxing can take people off the streets, but where to?"
40%
of boxing clubs and members are based in the 20 most deprived areas of the UK
UK Parliament, 2023
1 IN 4
young people in the lowest-income households feel people like them don’t have much of a chance in life.
Office for National Statistics, 2023
251M
children and youth worldwide are still out of school, a reduction of only 1 % since 2015.
UNESCO, 2024
We exist to bring education to the places it rarely reaches, using boxing to engage and connect with some of the most disadvantaged young people.
From their passion for the sport, we help them reimagine what’s possible for their futures in education and careers, while spotlighting boxing’s power to drive social change. We ask:
"Boxing can take people off the streets, but where to?"
WHY WE EXIST
251M
children and youth worldwide are still out of school, a reduction of only 1 % since 2015.
UNESCO, 2024
1 IN 4
young people in the lowest-income households feel people like them don’t have much of a chance in life.
Office for National Statistics, 2023
40%
of boxing clubs and members are based in the 20 most deprived areas of the UK
UK Parliament, 2023
REACHING DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES MATTERS
Structural inequalities have led to certain groups of children being disproportionately affected by exclusion from education and physical inactivity, a reality made worse by the lasting effects of COVID-19.
Globally, 40% of the poorest countries were unable to provide targeted support to disadvantaged learners during COVID-19 school closures. In the US, wealthier school districts were nearly four times more likely to recover academic progress than the poorest, with steeper declines in reading and maths achievement in districts serving higher proportions of Black and Hispanic students. In the UK, disadvantaged GCSE pupils were almost twice as likely to report falling behind and were less likely to receive live online teaching. At the same time, children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds experienced greater declines in physical activity, as unequal access to safe spaces, organised sport, and school provision compounded pandemic restrictions and deepened health inequalities.
Refer to Sources Section A
YOUTHS FACE OVERLAPPING SYSTEMS OF INEQUALITY
It’s hard to imagine how a young person sees themselves when compounded inequalities tied to education, physical activity, identity and opportunity shape their everyday life.
When poor educational outcomes, physical inactivity, and precarious living environments overlap, they shape how young people understand their own worth and potential. Children in deprived and racially marginalised communities are less likely to participate in sport, more likely to report low confidence and enjoyment in physical activity, and more exposed to overcrowded and insecure environments, all of which are linked to poorer academic engagement and wellbeing. Embedded racism compounds these effects by concentrating poverty, exclusion, and negative stereotyping among Black and minority ethnic youth, reinforcing alienation and reduced self-belief. Inequality is therefore not a single barrier, but an embodied reality, shaping identity, confidence, and aspiration over time.
Refer to Sources Section B
BOXING CHANGES LIVES. MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY.
Boxing improves mood, self-esteem, confidence, concentration, metabolic health, strength, and coordination, tackling underlying barriers to wellbeing.
Research shows that structured boxing training can support improvements in mood, self-esteem, confidence, concentration and emotional regulation, all of which are important for young people facing compounded disadvantage. A scoping review of boxing interventions found evidence of enhanced self-esteem, confidence and cognitive functioning alongside physical benefits such as strength and coordination, suggesting that boxing can help young people engage more fully with challenges in life and learning. Physical exercise more broadly has been linked to higher self-efficacy and psychological resilience in adolescents, illustrating how movement can strengthen both body and mind.
Refer to Sources Section C
BOXING ALSO RESONATES WITH THOSE WHO ARE DISAFFECTED
The sport’s grit gives it credibility with disaffected young people, offering a trusted alternative to antisocial paths where other approaches fail, while demanding discipline, focus, control, and personal responsibility.
In sport-based youth programmes, activities perceived as demanding, disciplined and legitimate are more likely to engage young people facing exclusion, especially when they reflect lived realities rather than institutional norms. Boxing requires self-control, accountability and respect for rules, while offering a constructive outlet for aggression and frustration. These qualities help redirect behaviour, build trust with coaches, and reduce engagement in antisocial pathways where other approaches often struggle to connect.
Refer to Sources Section D
Moreover....
SHARED STRUGGLES
Many coaches bring lived experience of similar struggles, providing a rare kind of empathy and leadership grounded in real understanding that young people can share a common language with. (Ryan et. al., 2024)
FEELING INCLUDED
The sport allows young people to feel included and have a place within society. (Centre for Social Justice, 2023)
IMPROVED LEARNING
Sports ‘improve learning outcomes by fostering academic performance and achievement’, ‘motivate children and youth to attend school and engage with formal and informal education’ and ‘support the full learning process and deliver holistic education’. (United Nations, 2018)
"
Differences take a back seat when the gloves go on; only respect, commitment, and discipline really matter.
In the boxing ring, you’ll find a fierce critic but also your best teacher.
— Chris Lodge,
Head Coach of London Community Boxing
"
THIS IS WHY BOXING SITS AT THE CORE OF OUR WORK
Not just as a sport, but as a credible, demanding space where young people feel capable, respected, and seen.
We use boxing to reach those most often excluded, and then bring education with us, teaching humanities and social sciences through boxing’s stories, figures, and history; this equips young people with the tools to analyse the world around them.
Because when education meets a language young people already trust, futures become imaginable again.
SOURCES
Section A
Physical inactivity and health inequality during coronavirus: a novel opportunity or total lockdown?, Shur et. al, 2020
New research reveals striking variations in pandemic recovery among U.S. school districts, Stanford Graduate School of Education, 2025
Structurally Unsound, Exploring Inequalities: Igniting research to better inform UK policy, University College London, 2019
UNESCO report on inclusion in education shows 40% of poorest countries did not provide specific support to disadvantaged learners during COVID-19 crisis, UNESCO, 2020
Deprivation inequalities in the experiences of GCSE students during coronavirus (COVID-19), England: September 2021 to March 2022, Office for National Statistics, 2023
Section B
Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, Academic Year 2021-2022, Sport England, 2022
Structural Racism, Ethnicity and Health Inequalities in London, Institute of Health Equity, 2024
Ethnicity and Physical Activity: Headline Insights from Sport England’s Active Lives Survey (2023–24), Sporting Equals, 2025
Toward a Field of Intersectionality Studies: Theory, Applications, and Praxis, Cho et. al, 2013
Section C
Boxing as an Intervention in Mental Health: A Scoping Review, Bozdarov et. al, 2023
How does physical exercise influence self-efficacy in adolescents? A study based on the mediating role of psychological resilience. Peng et. al, 2025
Section D
New research suggests why boxing helps re-engage disaffected young people, London Metropolitan University, 2017
Systematic Review: The effects of sports and physical activity interventions for at-risk and offending children and young people on behavioural, psychosocial, and offending outcomes: A mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis, Malhotra et. al, 2022
Moves Different: Harnessing Boxing to Prevent Youth Crime, England Boxing, 2025