Based at the heart of South Leeds, The Hunslet Club has been helping young people achieve their full potential for over 80 years. With a membership of over 2500 young people and around 67,000 individual visits, we are one of the largest youth organisations in the country.
Our work delivers a wide range of adult fitness classes and a 16+ fitness suite. However, we specialise in activities for young people aged 18 months to 25 years. We deliver over 90 sessions each week, with an average attendance of 170 people each day. Our activities include football, boxing, gymnastics, rugby, pom dance, hip-hop, ballet, tap and more. To view all of our activities and session times, Click here to view our latest timetable.The Club is open 7 days a week. Our evening and weekend activities operate from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM on weekdays, and 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM on weekends. The aim in all of our programmes is to allow young people to gain confidence and new skills. We provide these opportunities to ensure our future generations can thrive, and have access to the resources they need to do so.
Membership and Senior Youth Club is free, with most of our activities being only £1.50 or free. Our pricing policy has remained the same for over 10 years. This ensures accessibility for all, regardless of social or economic circumstances. We are a local organisation so our team’s main focus is to provide support to our local community, in one of the most economically deprived areas in West Yorkshire. Moreover, the club also has an alternative education provision. We deliver multiple vocational courses. Qualifications in sports, engineering, hair, beauty and catering are undoubtedly attainable with the help we provide. These courses are targeted at young people from a range of challenging backgrounds. As a result,120 students access our provision each week from many different high schools across Leeds and the surrounding area.
Early 1940s
The Hunslet Club has a long and fascinating history, as well as a touching story that will be told for generations. Beginning in 1940 the club was founded by a local GP named Dr John Wyllie. He decided that the community needed a hub during World War II, while many families were missing their fathers, there needed to be a hub which provided opportunities for young people to develop against the backdrop of the blitz. Most importantly, Leeds youth needed a place to band together and partake in personal development. Like many young people today in South Leeds, teens, young adults and even children spent lots of time walking the streets. This, along with the poverty that the country was facing in the early 1940s, was not progressive for the future generations. This is when Wyllie decided that ‘The Hunslet Boys Club’ could be a perfect solution.
At this time, the club was more specifically a ‘boys club’. However, a few years later it evolved into a place where everyone was welcome and we are proud to say that it remains that way today. In 1970, our site was promoted to a bigger building. The building we still know love dearly today on Hillidge Road. At this time the provision of activities only continued to expand. Young people were encouraged to take part in a range of activities including football, rugby, youth club and boxing. With The Hunslet Boys Brigade, they could also go on camping trips and get qualifications such as Duke of Edinburgh awards. Flamborough was always a popular camping destinations which became a great memory for many people who are still club members today.
Now the club still very much remains the same, in terms of its sense of community and strong motives to create an opportunistic safe haven for young people in South Leeds. The differences lie in only the most positive aspects. For example, we now have over 96 sessions per week in our provision for people of all ages and abilities. Not only that but more recently we have been able to put on some fantastic community events. The range of people and backgrounds is diverse and there is a space here for everyone. Our community can only get bigger and stronger with every member who comes through our doors.
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