Bath Rugby Foundation is a charity that helps young people who need all kinds of emotional, practical, and physical support - but don’t get it. Our 18^th Birthday Dinners held in late spring went a long way to making up for the funding lost during the pandemic and we couldn’t be more grateful to our supporters – Bath people helping Bath people.  

We put our hearts and souls into helping any challenged young person stop feeling judged, crushed, or underestimated and start feeling self-assured, hopeful, and happy. We re-ignite confidence and self-worth in young people and give them the life skills and opportunities to not only survive but to thrive in the world.

Why do we do what we do?....

Every year we change the lives of thousands of young people by being active in their communities, schools or at our home at the Rec.

Bath is one of the richest cities in the UK, with more millionaires than any other city outside London. However, against the backdrop of Georgian splendour something ugly lurks.

1. Bath was named one of the most unequal cities at the end of 2019.
2. Our Local Education Authority (LEA) is ranked 146 out of 150 for their ‘attainment gap’ which stands at 31% compared to a national figure of 20%. The attainment gap being the distance between the success of those who have and those who have not.
3. Whiteway, Bath is in the bottom 1% in the country in its provision of education and training for children and young people leading to disaffection, lower attendance rates at school and poorer life choices.
4. Someone born on a less affluent side of Bath lives on average 10 years less than one born on the other.
5. The centre of Bath has been ranked in the worst 1% nationally for anti-social behaviour incidents.

Bath Rugby Foundation has been challenging this reality since 2003 and have worked with tens of thousands of children and young people during that time.

1. We are in the most underprivileged primary and secondary schools, supporting the social and learning needs of vulnerable children. By doing this we raise their attendance and attitudes so they can stay in school and pass their exams.
2. At our Alternative Learning Academy at the Rec we help marginalised 16-19 years olds (and up to age 24 with Special Educational Needs) to gain vital qualifications, work experience and life skills ensuring they can get back into school, college, employment, or apprenticeships.
3. We run community hubs and school holiday camps across Bath and North East Somerset supporting struggling families.
4. We work with children with disabilities giving them opportunities to access sport, social events, and fun in a safe environment with specialist coaches. This gives them a healthier lifestyle with better independence and life skills to get them into work and have a better quality of life. Traditionally children with special needs and disabilities are overweight and inactive. Around 50.2% or children with special needs in B&NES are obese yet provision for them to improve their quality of life, fitness and independence skills is poor. We offer fitness sessions, social, mixed ability rugby teams, sports leaders’ qualifications, challenges and more ensuring both the individual and the family benefit from our work.
5. We have formed Mixed Ability rugby teams which is at the heart of the Rugby For All movement. What is Mixed Ability Rugby – it’s just another rugby team! It is not a disability team, players are not classified by physical, intellectual or mental disabilities or barriers. It is a team open to anyone who wants to play regular full contact rugby… for rugby’s sake.

We couldn’t do any of this incredible work without people’s generosity. Bath Rugby Foundation doesn’t receive Government funding, we rely on large and small donations and grant funding alongside the support of many businesses in our community.   

BRF 18th Birthday Fundraising Dinners