"Friday has become my favourite day at school because it is an SOHK day." Ayesha was on the brink of exclusion from school before SOHK stepped in. She used to hate sport but SOHK have helped her to realise she can feel confident exercising and even enjoy it. Read her story in her own words here. Read more
“Can you stay until I leave school in S6?”. Thomas' relationship with his SOHK mentors was not always so good. Before SOHK, he was struggling at school and was often disruptive, but learning rugby helped Thomas flourish and improve his behaviour and wellbeing. Read more
“When this 6”5 man broke down in floods of tears in a park on an SOHK course, it was clear that the tipping-point had finally been reached.” Read about Joaquim's transformation from hardship and homelessness to employment and security. Read more
Read about Josie's experience volunteering with SOHK Wales at Maesteg School and how it has helped her navigate the next few steps on her career path. Read more
School of Hard Knocks has seen many incredible success stories among our many participants. If you would like to help us create more stories like these, please support us.
Shaun was doubtful of his own abilities and uncertain about what SOHK would bring. He felt helpless and was uncomfortable sharing his problems. The adults programme has since been transformative in his life. Through rugby, he has overcome his previous injuries and lack of confidence to gain friendships and a fresh perspective. Read on to hear his inspirational story. Read more
Lisa is one of the many people who has felt the effects of Covid-19 and the jobs crisis. Every opportunity she thought would be a new start seemed to lead to disappointment. Take a look at how SOHK's Back in the Game course helped her move forward. Read more
Joe signed up to School of Hard Knocks’ Adult Course through a volunteering programme; he was both excited and anxious on his first day. Having become accustomed to a fairly isolated lifestyle, he found being in groups uncomfortable. Despite these initial concerns he felt welcome, valued and understood by the people around him. He found that he shared experiences with many other participants and could be himself without judgement. For the first time he felt like he was part of a team. Read more
Jamie started on School of Hard Knocks’ Schools Programme just over a year ago. His behaviour had become unmanageable at school and he constantly found himself in trouble. Since starting the programme Jamie’s behaviour and way of thinking has changed dramatically. Jamie’s teachers not only find him much easier to handle, but have noticed that he contributes positively in lessons, asks insightful questions and has more respect for others. Read more
When School of Hard Knocks started working with Macy on the Schools Programme, she was getting involved in fights on a regular basis. Not knowing how to handle her behaviour, Macy's school recommended she get involved with SOHK. Each week the team found a new way to engage Macy more and more with the rugby sessions so as to help her improve her confidence both on and off the pitch. Macy now mentors other students, trains with Quins Girls Rugby and dreams of playing internationally for Wales. Read more
When we met Jo just under eleven months ago, her attendance at school was well below average. She had started to find it increasingly difficult to control her emotions, which in turn caused her relationships with peers and teachers to suffer. Eleven months since starting on SOHK's Schools Programme and Jo now feels much happier, more confident and secure in herself. Read more
When Lisa started on School of Hard Knocks’ Adult Course, she felt as though she wasn’t doing anything with her life. She spent her days alone inside her house and had few people to talk to which impacted negatively on her mental health and caused her to develop poor self-esteem. Just under a year later and Lisa has completely transformed. She has gone back to playing rugby and has continued to meet up with her SOHK course-mate. Read more
When we met Karen in January, she had a lung condition called COPD which was gradually getting worse. She was a heavy smoker and was rarely active. Upon completing SOHK's Adult Course, Karen not only found a job that she now loves but also found an incredible passion for rugby. She decided to further explore her newfound love for the sport and took part in a homeless rugby initiative where she played at Murrayfield stadium during half-time between Edinburgh and Ulster in front of 5,000 fans. Read more
The physical element of our Adult Courses was why Aggie started at School of Hard Knocks, but the people were why she stayed. She found that though her course-mates had different stories, their experience of life was very similar to her own. Aggie felt understood by the people around her which subsequently engendered a supportive environment for her to thrive and fulfil her maximum potential. Read more
Have a read of one of our latest heartwarming success stories showing what can happen when we work together! Read more
When we first met Ali, he was very hyperactive and badly behaved in lessons, often shouting out and being verbally aggressive towards other pupils. One day he told us his story... Read more
The changes in Connor have been astounding and show the very best that SOHK can do. Connor himself has seen how he has grown and changed... Read more
Seeing things differently - Malcolm Johnson tells us how a learning he had a degenerative eye condition led him to find SOHK and feel part of a team again. Read more
Meet one of our recent graduates from our Adult Employability course, Tom. He tells us why getting back into work has helped him restore his sense of self-worth. Read more
Pedro suffered dreadful abuse from his stepfather. He captained School of Hard Knocks Haringey, retrained and now works in IT. Read more
Mike was kicked out of school, lost his dad and wanted to provide for his family. Since attending SOHK, he has been working full-time. Read more
Liam came on our televised Cardiff course in 2015 - now he works for SOHK, changing lives every day through rugby. Read more
"This has been so fun. We all provide inspiration and support for each other." Read more
Sarah (not her real name) presented as unkempt, shy and unable to make eye contact. Now she has her self-confidence back and a host of new friends. Read more
Elliot used to make trouble for his classmates; now he makes trouble for the opposition on the rugby pitch. Read more