A grant from the Tees Better Future Fund has helped East Anglia Youth Rowing continue its mission to make rowing accessible to young people who might otherwise never have the opportunity to experience the sport.
The funding has enabled a year-long rowing programme for students at North Cambridge Academy, benefiting young people from one of Cambridge’s most disadvantaged communities.
Rowing can be viewed as a sport reserved for the privileged, but East Anglia Youth Rowing is working to change that perception. By bringing coached rowing sessions directly to young people at North Cambridge Academy, the programme has opened up opportunities that many students previously believed were out of reach.
North Cambridge Academy serves an area where 39% of students are eligible for free school meals and, for 25% of students, English is not their first language. For many families, access to sporting opportunities can be limited by financial pressures, language barriers, or a lack of confidence in navigating extracurricular activities.
Through this project, students have discovered that rowing is a sport for everyone.
The funding from Tees Better Future Fund supported a wide range of activities designed to develop skills, confidence and leadership.
East Anglia Youth Rowing delivered 20 weekly training sessions, a summer rowing camp for around 20 students, a summer regatta involving 40 young people from North Cambridge Academy and other local schools, and water confidence assessments.
Students have improved their fitness, teamwork and communication skills while learning to overcome fears and develop resilience. Some who initially felt anxious about being on the river have progressed to confidently rowing over distances of 5 to 10 kilometres.
Beyond the physical benefits, students gain valuable mental wellbeing support through spending time outdoors, working together as a team, and experiencing an environment beyond the classroom.
A key success of the programme has been helping students continue their rowing journey beyond school. To date, 15 North Cambridge Academy students have gone on to join local rowing clubs.
“East Anglia Youth RowingYoung people who were genuinely scared of being close to the river are now able to take out one person rowing boats and row competently over distances of 5km – 10km
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One student whose life has been transformed by the programme is Olena (name changed to protect privacy), who arrived in Cambridge with her mother as a refugee from Ukraine.
Olena was initially very shy and had limited English. Through rowing, she has built confidence, developed strong friendships and become a skilled rower capable of independently handling a single sculling boat.
Today, Olena is thriving both socially and athletically, with the potential to progress to a high level within the sport.
Without the financial support available through East Anglia Youth Rowing and its funders, opportunities like this would simply not have been possible.
East Anglia Youth Rowing currently works with 17 schools across the region and aims to expand to more than 30 schools in the coming years. With a cost of around £5,000 to deliver a year-long programme in a school, continued funding is helping ensure that more young people can access opportunities that build confidence, develop skills and broaden horizons.
The North Cambridge Academy programme demonstrates how targeted community investment can do far more than introduce young people to a new sport. It can inspire ambition, support wellbeing, and open doors to opportunities that may once have seemed impossible.
“Janine CollierIt is really about building confidence, resilience and aspiration by opening opportunities for young people who might never otherwise try rowing. Those are life skills that last well beyond the water.
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Partner and Co-Head of ESG at Tees
For just £5,000, a school can access a year-long rowing programme that builds confidence, improves wellbeing and opens doors to new opportunities. With demand growing, we’re looking for business partners who want to invest in brighter futures for young people across Cambridgeshire.
