Life-changing opportunities for young people through sport

Sport is not all about “the wins or the glory,” says judo champion Tom Davis, “it’s about the grit and the gains,” adds boxing champion Rachael Mackenzie. In fact, Set for Success – the flagship youth programme from the Wimbledon Foundation – has shown that sport can be a brilliant way to upskill young people in education or work. Delivered by Youth Sport Trust, the programme will now be in partnership with the Official Banking Partner of Wimbledon, Barclays.

“Set for Success was launched with the aim of improving the wellbeing and future opportunities of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds across the UK,” explains Paige Murphy, Head of the Wimbledon Foundation.

The programme does not just focus on tennis. Davis and Mackenzie are two of seven inspirational athletes – from sports as varied as swimming and inline skating – who currently deliver as athlete mentors through Set for Success. The programme has already supported 320 young people across the UK through a successful pilot delivered in Cardiff, Liverpool, Nottingham and Portsmouth.

As a result of the pilot, 72% of these young people said they had developed skills that would help them succeed in the future, 82% felt more positive about future employment – and three-quarters (75%) reported more self-belief. Closer to the classroom and sports hall, two-thirds of participants (67%) felt they were doing better at school, 70% of participants increased their physical activity and more than three-quarters (77%) were more confident taking part in sports.

“Set for Success is making a huge difference,” says Bridie Conaghan, a teacher at Admiral Lord Nelson School in Portsmouth, UK. “The students are gaining so much confidence and learning skills to take out into the wider world. We can see them stepping up, not just in PE but in other lessons, and stepping out of their comfort zones in all aspects of school life.”

"Giving each young person the support to achieve their ambitions"

Set for Success is expanding to 30 locations across the UK – including the London Boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth, where the All England Lawn Tennis Club is located – thanks in part to additional investment from Barclays.

The programme will reach 150 schools and engage up to 3,900 young people over the next four years. Pupils will have access to the Set for Success Employability Toolkit, and the programme will leverage Barclays LifeSkills – the bank’s initiative dedicated to giving people the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to succeed in work. Students will also get opportunities to attend annual empowerment events to connect with local employers and visit the home of The Championships, Wimbledon.

“Following the huge success of the pilot, we’re delighted to extend the programme with Barclays’ support,” says Murphy. “We’re looking forward to engaging even more young people and helping inspire them to achieve their goals.”

The enthusiasm within the bank is mutual. The topic has long been close to the heart of Kirstie Mackey OBE, Managing Director for Citizenship across the UK and Europe, who created and launched Barclays LifeSkills in 2013 – a programme that has since helped millions of young people prepare for the world of work.

Mackey says she is proud to see Barclays partner with the Wimbledon Foundation and Youth Sport Trust on Set for Success: “I’m excited to see how, together, we can continue to build on the success of the pilot and support even more young people with skills training, personal development and building self-confidence, particularly in more deprived areas – ultimately giving each young person the support to achieve their ambitions.” 

To add to the excitement of Set for Success, a number of students and supporting teachers currently taking part in the programme will be invited by Barclays to The Championships 2023, Wimbledon – where they’ll celebrate their own achievements and watch the tennis action unfold on Centre Court.

Bringing a new tennis programme to New York City

Across the Atlantic, Barclays and Wimbledon are also launching a tennis-themed employability programme later this summer for young people in the Bronx, New York, US, to expand sports equity where economic and social disparities exist. Supported by Wimbledon, Barclays Net Work will be delivered as part of the Barclays LifeSkills partnership with Good Shepherd Services (GSS), a leading multi-service organisation that works to expand opportunities for children, youth and families in New York City.

GSS has previously operated two sport-focused programmes in Brooklyn in partnership with Barclays – Rebound for basketball and Goal-E for football. Each of those programmes has translated aspects of sport into teachable moments for life in the workforce. To date, Barclays’ partnerships with GSS have helped to upskill more than 1,000 young people and placed more than 750 into work.

Net Work hopes to have the same success with tennis, focusing on young people aged 15 to 24 who are either involved in the justice system, disengaged from school or the workforce, or under-employed. Over the next three years, Barclays and Wimbledon – with GSS’s expertise – hope to target some of the hardest-to-reach young people in New York City and have a deep impact on their lives.

“Through this partnership, we can deliver lasting impact”

The multi-year Wimbledon partnership, which begins in the summer of 2023, builds on the bank’s track record of supporting communities through sport – from its league sponsorships in men’s and women’s football to the Barclays Community Football Fund and Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships. In fact, its annual contribution to the Wimbledon Foundation will be the largest donation ever made to the charity by an official partner.

Barclays has appointed its own tennis Ambassador, Grand Slam semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe, who says: “I’m thrilled to be working with Barclays to help change the lives of young people who typically wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience the game of tennis. Growing up, playing at Wimbledon was my dream, so to be an Ambassador for Barclays, the new banking partner for Wimbledon, is very special.”

Tom Corbett, Group Head of Sponsorship and Media at Barclays, adds that the opportunity to play such a significant role in supporting The Championships is an honour: “Our joint commitment to create a legacy, through the Barclays’ community programmes and the Wimbledon Foundation, means that, through this partnership, we can deliver lasting impact and continue to create opportunities through sport.”

It is this collaboration that will bolster Barclays’ ongoing commitment to making a positive difference to people living in the communities in which it operates. 

Barclays is supporting communities by enabling people to develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed – and helping businesses to grow and create jobs. Through its community programmes, the bank is:

• helping millions of people around the world to develop the skills, confidence, and connections to get into work and manage their money through Barclays LifeSkills 
• enabling people across the UK to be more confident with technology, to get the most out of digital banking and to stay safe online through Barclays’ network of more than 9,500 Digital Eagles
• supporting more than 8,000 entrepreneurs across the UK to connect, innovate and grow through Barclays’ 34 Eagle Labs 
• helping more than 250 high-growth businesses around the world addressing social and environmental challenges to scale and create jobs through the Unreasonable Impact programme.