School of Hard Knocks

About School of Hard Knocks
School of Hard Knocks (SOHK) is a charity that exists to empower and support individuals who are living in complex and challenging circumstances. By fostering an environment of genuine acceptance and through the use of physical activity and group and group and one-to-one support sessions, SOHK enables people to find meaning and purpose in life. All of SOHK's activities are underpinned by an evidence-based sport for development framework called the 5Cs. The framework focuses on changing behaviours associated with: confidence, commitment, communication, control and cohesion.

School of Hard Knocks works with both adults and young people aged 11 - 16; the scope of our work spans across the whole of the UK.The lived experiences of our beneficiaries are varied, some of our participants may be homeless or living in extreme poverty, othersmay be victims of exploitation or abuse - there is no defining characteristic of an SOHK participant, but all of them are living in complex and challenging circumstances. Our aim is to enable our participants find purpose and meaning in their lives and to give them the tools they need to cope with their experiences.

SOHK Programmes & Courses
Schools Programmes
SOHK supports over 1700 pupils every week of the academic year for up to three years to ensure our programmes have a genuine and long-term impact. We deliver in 33 schools across Scotland, Wales andEngland and work with multiple cohorts within these schools. Each cohort typically consists of about 20 young people.

Adult Courses
SOHK supports over 200 adults every year and are delivered acrossScotland and Wales. Our Adult Course delivery differs to that of theSchools Programme in that it is a shorter, sharper and more intensive 8-12 week intervention as this proves to be more effective with this demographic.