Adult Courses

Click here to see our current Adult Courses. All of our courses are free to attend.

SOHK supports over 200 adults every year with Adult Courses being delivered across Scotland and Wales. Our Adult Course delivery differs to that of the Schools Programme in that it is a shorter, sharper and more intensive 8-12 week intervention as we find this to be more effective with our older participants. The Adult Course programme is open to anyone who feels they need support and would like to improve their mental and physical wellbeing.

Our delivery approach for Adult Courses is centred around three key phases: “The Mind, The Body and The Future”.

“The Mind” involves confidence building work which is done both indoors and outdoors. We run a number of sessions that teach participants about various cognitive strategies and techniques empowering them to effectively cope with different challenges they might face.

“The Body” involves all things to do with physical exercise (including long-term sustainment of this), food & nutrition, sleep and self-image.

“The Future” involves looking at the participant’s positive destination. What the positive destination is varies from person to person which is why we offer frequent one-to-one support with an SOHK Facilitator.

Adult Course playing rugby

"The help and support I have had from SOHK has and always will be immeasurable. I have met the most amazing people who have become friends for life. It has been one of the best and most rewarding experiences of my life. It has given back a huge chunk of 'me' and pushed me full force into building a better, stronger version of myself."

CURRENT ADULT COURSES

Newbridge Course (Wales, Mixed Gender)

Clydebank Course (Scotland, Women only)

Latest

Unlocking the Transformative Power of Sport

In this month's Think Tank article, Dr Ian Pickup encourages those working in and through sport to critically reflect, move practice beyond the ‘just do it’ assumptions, and to focus on bringing about meaningful transformation through deeply reflective practice.
Freelance Schools Facilitator

SOHK is looking to appoint a Schools Facilitator who will share responsibility for frontline Schools Programme delivery in Hertfordshire. This is a role that will provide excitement, challenge and a huge sense of purpose for the right candidate. Working as part of our Herts team, you will focus on delivering the schools curriculum of the charity, mentoring young people and coordinating projects. You will market the programme to new schools and build strong relationships with existing schools.
The Mental Health Crisis

Doesn’t it make sense that so many young people are suffering? Of course it does - they are living in a traumatising and uncertain world. They live in a high-pressure, highly exposing digital world, where everything is instant. This month SOHK's Behaviour Specialist Cesca Keynton explores the mental health crisis and why we're still talking about broken brains instead of broken circumstances.
Loveday & Co

"Loveday is delighted to be partnering with School of Hard Knocks through their None of My Business campaign. Our support will directly help the charity’s long-lasting and impactful work with children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This powerful work helps to level out the playing field of opportunities, empower young people and nurture our future leaders."

About Us

School of Hard Knocks' mission is to empower individuals to fully realise their potential. We exist to empower and support individuals facing inequality.
SOHK Schools Programme

The SOHK Schools Programme consists of 2-3 hours of a unique combination of rugby-based sessions, specialist mentoring and indoor group discussion. Combined with the stability and consistency of the relationships that our staff build with the young people, SOHK enables participants to make positive changes to their behaviours, attitudes and mindset and gives them the ability to recognise their personal growth. We focus change on The 5Cs: Confidence, Control, Commitment, Communication & Cohesion
Adult Courses

School of Hard Knocks began with delivery to unemployed adults, and it remains the core of our work today. We are passionate about achieving our mission of empowering people to fully realise their potential and we deliver life-changing eight-week programmes to adults in challenging circumstances.
Ken Cowen - CEO
Become a regular giver

Become a Friend of SOHK and help change lives for the better. We empower vulnerable adults and children so they can create a positive future, but we need your support. Please donate just £3 per month and help us change the game.
Damian James - Programmes Director, Cymru
Rosa Innes - Programmes Director, Scotland
Impact and statistics
Nathan Persaud - Programmes Director, England
Policies and reports

Policies and reports