Calderdale College launches partnership with Halifax youth organisation to improve access to life-changing opportunities

The College will now become the new home for the Hub, providing state-of-the-art sporting and social facilities for weekly activity camps, events and healthy holiday clubs aimed at children and young adults.

Unique Community Hub was formed in 2018 by founders Yasar Mohammed and Mohammed Ozair, to reduce antisocial behaviour and get young people from the Park Ward out of gangs, and into sports and exercise.

Yasar said: “As qualified teachers and sports coaches, we could just see kids weren’t getting the opportunities they deserved, and they were getting into trouble as a result. We set up Unique Community Hub to empower and enrich the lives of young people in our area by running sports activities for them. It took off, and we’ve now got a team of 12 volunteers, running up to six activity sessions for 250 young people a week - everything from football and boxing, to rounders and running clubs.

“We’d been looking for a new home for a while, and we’re thrilled we can now form a solid partnership with Calderdale College. It’s hands-down the best facility in the area and will give our kids a real chance to shine.”

Craig Waterworth, who manages the Inspire Centre at Calderdale College, added: “We’ve admired the work of Unique Community Hub for a long time – their passion for changing the lives of young people in our ward is inspiring.

“As a college, we naturally support any development and growth opportunities for children in Calderdale, and hope that this partnership goes some way to helping more young people secure a brighter future. We hope that by visiting the college to take part in Unique Community Hub’s events, we can develop clearer pathways to further education and into our esteemed sports academies, where our mission is to inspire a new generation of stars to achieve their sporting goals, in an inclusive sporting community.”

Calderdale College Sport Academies are ideal for talented athletes with the passion to achieve academic and sporting excellence. They include men and women’s football, Rugby League, and basketball, offering students a golden opportunity to study full-time while representing professional sport teams at a post-16 level. The Academies have produced professional players including Carl Rushworth – Brighton & Hove Albion, Jay Benn – FC Halifax Town First Team, Nick Clarke – FC Halifax Town First Team, Will Calcott – Halifax Panthers First Team and Jabari Edwards – Bradford Dragons D1 Team

The £8m Inspire Centre at Calderdale College offers state-of-the-art sports and fitness facilities to students, staff and the local community. Facilities include an FA County-standard outdoor floodlit 3G pitch, a professionally maintained and fully perimeter-fenced grass pitch, a sprung floor dance studio, multi-use sports hall, climbing wall and fully equipped fitness suite and gym.

To find out more about Unique Community Hub’s weekly sporting activity classes and Healthy Holiday Programmes at Calderdale College, visit Sports Camps | Calderdale College or email [email protected].