Southside Young Leaders Academy.

 

Southside Young Leaders Academy is a registered charity based in Camberwell. It works with boys of African and Afro-Caribbean origin who have the ability and aptitude to be leaders, but who are currently at risk of exclusion from school. In many cases, children who have the power and energy to disrupt classes and pose a danger to themselves and others possess leadership potential. If channelled in the right way, this can work to their benefit rather than against it. As a society, we can ill afford to lose these skills and talents.

The objectives of SYLA are as follows:
• To nurture each boy to achieve his own leadership potential;
• To broaden each boy’s horizons, so he understands the opportunities available to him;
• To support each boy in achieving, and exceeding, his projected attainment at school;
• To build each boy’s life skills, particularly his communication and teamworking skills; and
• To enable each boy to make a positive contribution to society.

The Saturday Academy combines games and drill with activities to foster leadership skills and will soon be open three evenings a week offering tuition to students in basic academic skills, tailored to suit their individual needs. The programme is not a short term measure. Children are enrolled at the age of 8 and will remain with the Academy until they are 18. Students have to attend regularly, do everything possible to avoid being excluded from school, work to improve their academic skills and follow the Leadership principles of the Academy. Southside YLA is closely based of the first such Academy established in the UK, Eastside in the borough of Newham.

Tom’s Trust is helping to pay for the tutors and mentors needed to run the Academy. - www.syla.org.uk