Our Mission
To create life changing opportunities for young people from diverse communities through the power of sailing.
- Supporting GCA’s exceptional sailing programme
- Amplifying GCA’s story to inform and inspire others
- Collaborating with others to scale impact
Supporting GCA’s exceptional sailing programme
Greig City Academy is a coeducational state secondary school and sixth form in Haringey. The approximately 1100 students come from a rich mix of socio-economic backgrounds. Haringey is one of the most ethnically diverse boroughs with higher-than-average poverty rates, and a significant number of residents living in temporary or poor-quality housing.
The sailing programme offers all students a broad range of opportunities to experience sailing, racing and brighter futures that would otherwise be out of reach.
Max
Attendance improves: there is a well established link between school attendance and results in school. 71% of students that take up sailing have excellent attendance.
“Sailing gives me a sense of purpose and direction in my life. It’s changed how I perform in school – I work harder. Before sailing, my attendance was 48%, and this year I’ve only had one day off.”
Felipe
Behaviour improves: sailing positively impacts mental, physical and social well-being. It builds confidence, communication skills and encourages team work.
“When I started secondary school, I wasn’t the best behaved, I was a bit naughty. Sailing has made me mature really quickly. If I wasn’t doing sailing I don’t know what I would be doing.”
Samiya
Career opportunities: sailing develops practical skills in a different learning environment. Skills can be validated by qualifications, leading to opportunities.
“My aim is to complete my Day Skipper course as well as Dinghy Instructor so I can continue racing and teaching. I want to study Paramedic Science at university, so I can become a marine paramedic.”
Amplifying GCA’s story to inform and inspire others
We share GCA’s story to show what’s possible for any state school, particularly those in areas of high deprivation, where motivation matters more than background.
Our youth-led stories inspire other young people as well as schools, donors, sailing organisations, partners and policy makers, to make change happen.
Collaborate to scale impact
We work with national sailing partners together to develop initiatives that help young people progress from first sailing experiences to qualifications, leadership and careers.
We bring our experience of GCA’s successful programme to help co-design and deliver practical programmes and continue learning together.
“I’ve had two job offers in sailing, that I never could have dreamed of. It’s a million miles from my situation in Haringey. Sailing has taught me so many life skills- including organisation, resilience and the importance of working hard at all times to maximise performance.”
Jaydon Owusu
GCA/UKSA cadetship alumni
Publications
For more information about the programme, the lessons learned along the way and our future strategy please visit our Publications page.