The Duke of Cambridge visited one of London’s largest youth centres Caius House on Wednesday 14 September.
Caius (“Keys”) House takes its name from Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge, after a group of its graduates founded a boys club on the site in 1887. Since then, the charity has grown to become one of the largest of its kind in the capital, welcoming on average 500 young people between the ages of eight and 21 each week. Caius House aspires to go beyond providing conventional youth centre activities, and instead brings the local community together by helping young people bridge the educational and life skills gap between childhood and adulthood.
In September 2014, Caius House opened its new state-of-the-art youth centre on the organisation’s original site in Battersea, which now offers young people from the surrounding community a multitude of activities to get involved with, as well as offering facilities including a music studio, fitness and dance suites, sports hall and ‘youth zone’. The organisation also provides a wide range of services and targeted programmes to nurture and progress each young person’s individual skills and talents, and offers support for their social and educational needs, and emotional and mental wellbeing.
During his visit The Duke saw Caius’ new first-rate facilities, and learn more about the programmes the centre offers to local young people. His Royal Highness will met a number of the children and teenagers who regularly use and benefit from Caius’ services, and will unveil a commemorative plaque.