Report Suggests Youth Club Closures Linked to Higher Offending and Lower GCSE Scores

A report has indicated that the closure of youth clubs in London during the 2010s contributed to a decline in GCSE results and a rise in criminal activity. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), approximately 30% of London’s youth clubs ceased operations between 2010 and 2019, a consequence of reductions in local authority funding. The research found that the impact of these closures on educational outcomes was even more severe for students who were eligible for free school meals. Sadiq Khan’s office recently stated that the mayor is investing in youth workers and mentors, aiming to create up to “500,000 positive opportunities for young people.” City Hall also noted that “the previous government’s austerity measures” led to the closure of 130 youth clubs in London and a reduction of 700 youth workers. The IFS research compared offending rates and exam results among teenagers living in areas where all local youth clubs within a 40-minute walk had closed, with those among teenagers whose nearest youth club remained open. The study concluded that teenagers whose closest youth club had shut down subsequently performed worse in school. Young people in London who lost access to a nearby youth club showed poorer performance in their GCSE exams, experiencing an approximate half-grade drop in one subject. Test scores declined even further for pupils from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, who performed roughly more than a grade worse in one subject. The IFS paper also determined that individuals who lost access to a youth club were 14% more likely to engage in criminal activity in the six years following its closure. The offending rate, defined as the proportion of residents aged 10 to 17 who commit a crime each year, increased from 14 per 1,000 to 16 per 1,000. Report author Carmen Villa, a PhD student at the University of Warwick and an enrichment student at the IFS, said: “Youth clubs provide support to teenagers that goes beyond recreation, offering mentorship, structured activities such as sports and music, and a safe space for socialising – resources many teens cannot find elsewhere.” The paper found that in 2009, about 40% of Londoners aged between 11 and 16 attended a youth club at least once a week. Ms Vila added: “Overall, the societal costs of increased crime and lost education far outweigh the initial savings from youth club closures.” Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, commented that the closure of youth clubs in the past decade had been “hugely damaging for children and young people.” Arooj Shah, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Youth services provide essential support to young people, providing them with a safe place, trusted relationships, attracting them away from being drawn into negative situations and reducing demand for acute services as a consequence.” She explained that despite a statutory duty to provide educational and recreational activities, these services experienced cuts due to reduced government funding and increasing demands in other areas.