Our History
Learn about our Royal connection, and how we were inspired by both the London Olympics of 2012 and riots of 2011.
Coach Core was originally started as a programme at The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales. Capturing the spirit of the 2012 Olympic Games, Their Royal Highnesses wanted to harness the power of sport, and its ability to change lives and empower young people. It was also shaped by seeing the devastation of the London riots in 2011 and the Centre for Social Justice’s report on how best to harness the power of sport to transform the lives of young people. What began as a single pilot programme run with London’s Greenhouse charity became 10 programmes running across the country within 5 years. In 2020, having proven sustainability and growth potential, Coach Core was spun out of The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales to become our own independent charity.
“We are looking to develop these young people, not just as high quality sports coaches but also through the mentoring and peer work, as confident and engaging members of society”
Timeline
2011
Centre for Social Justice’s ‘More Than A Game’ paper shows many young people will always face barriers in their lives unless given targeted opportunities. Shortly after, The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales is formed looking for a programme that can create this lifelong change whilst also harnessing the power of the 2012 Olympic Games.
2012
Coach Core London is born! Curated and shaped with the Greenhouse Charity, it provides a strong post-16 exit route for 20 young people whilst also enhancing the workforce for the charity too.
2012-15
Coach Core London completes. This inspires Coach Core Glasgow as Glasgow Sport prepared for the Commonwealth Games and Coach Core Wales with the Welsh Rugby Union seeking to change the landscape of community coaching across South Wales. This formed the 3 year pilot study.
2015
The pilot study proved conclusively that the model was successful across 3 different home nation education systems, with 3 very different employers. Decision made to scale Coach Core nationally.
2016-18
Coach Core Nottingham becomes the first consortium. Coach Core Essex, Manchester, Birmingham, Devon, Middlesbrough, Bristol launch over the next 18 months, each with a varied depth of employers, targets and community needs. Royal Foundation attracts £1m Sport England funding and after consultation with the key sector bodies, The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales trustee board and Their Royal Highnesses, Coach Core is primed to become a charity in its own right.
2020
Coach Core Foundation establishes itself as an independent charity, working across 17 different sites in the UK.
2022
Coach Core Foundation marks its 10th anniversary with an event at the Olympic and Paralympic park in London, attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales.