The Rose Bowl runs exciting and innovative programmes to reach out to disengaged children and young people. These programmes offer a real alternative to hanging around on the streets with all the issues that can then follow. The local Police Safer Neighbourhood Team work closely with the Rose Bowl and they are quite clear that when the Rose Bowl is open that local crime and anti-social behaviour fall.

To see our latest financial results go to the Charities Commission website.

The Rose Bowl Youth Club was first opened in 1978 in the Marquess Estate and named after Ron Rose, a popular community worker. However, with inadequate funding, over the years the building became vandalised and then burnt down.

As part of the redevelopment of the estate in 1999, Islington Council created a handsome new Rose Bowl Youth Club on the original site with a ground floor cafe area and a versatile basement space with a sound-proof room doubling as a recording studio. There was also an enclosed outdoor knockabout area. This opened in January 2000 and was a huge success with the children (and their parents), even helping habitual absconders return to school. It also fostered better relations with the children from neighbouring estates, who attended the club too. According to the police, there were fewer crimes committed during the hours when the Rose Bowl was open.

However in the spring of 2010, the Club underwent an extensive refurbishment and was further rejuvenated in 2015 when Isledon took over the running of the club along with  Hoxton Hall.

The Rose Bowl is now open for 48 weeks of the year and increasing numbers of young people are choosing to join in with the varied sessions on offer. Sessions include music, art and drama based activities as well as sports such as football and circus skills. The club is open for three sessions on Saturdays and there are drop-in sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, the later being for older teenagers aged 14-19 years old. This is a particular need, given recent events and the youth workers will focus on working with gang members and challenging young people. With one of the highest retention rates for any of Islington’s youth clubs, the Rose Bowl is now achieving its demanding target of working with 400 young people of which some 250 attend regularly.