Horsham Youth Group Takes on Longridge

This July, a group of nine boys aged 10-12 were selected by 4 The Youth charity to visit Longridge Activity Centre in Marlow for three days.

Longridge is set in a unique riverside location on the River Thames and provides a range of exciting water sports and land based activities for young people of all abilities. The boys took part in action packed days with activities including laser tag, kayaking, orienteering and stand up paddle boarding.

When a team from the Berkeley Foundation visited the 4 The Youth group at Longridge, it was clear how much fun the boys were having, clearly not affected by the pouring rain or very little sleep!!

The boys were selected by 4 The Youth for a range of reasons. A few days away in a rural location with friends is a great way for the kids to enjoy themselves whilst building their confidence and team-working skills.

4 The Youth is a charity based in Horsham, West Sussex set up to run Youth Projects in the Horsham District and surrounding areas. Since 2011, 4 The Youth have taken on provision for many of the Youth Clubs in the Horsham District that have faced funding cuts as a result of the budget deficit and changing priorities of youth services provided by the County Council.

The Berkeley Foundation has a strong partnership with The Adventure Learning Charity, who runs the Longridge Activity Centre. In 2018, seven charities and two boroughs sent a total of 81 young people on a Longridge trip, which ranged from a day visit to four days of fun. There were a wide variety of reasons why the young people were chosen; some are young carers to their parents or other family members, some of the young people had recently lost a sibling due to life-limiting illnesses, others were from youth groups for 'hard to reach' young people and some are part of the social care system.

We look forward to seeing many more young groups enjoying their time at Longridge!