Birstall gym fights ‘violent perception’ of boxing by becoming trusted alternative provision for youngsters
A Birstall gym has been making waves by fighting the perception that “boxing is about violence” and becoming a trusted alternative provision for local youngsters.
Training Cave, the not-for-profit boxing gym on Bradford Road, secured its position as a Quality Assured Alternative Provision (AP) with Kirklees Council earlier this year before taking on its first pupils.
Just five years ago, Training Cave’s approach of using boxing to engage young people faced real scepticism due to misconceptions around the sport with the gym embarking on a mission to showcase that structure, respect and the standards of their facility could support the young people that other mainstream education settings struggled to reach.
Since then, Training Cave has gained the trust of over 20 schools across West Yorkshire, and become a registered site for three awarding bodies in AQA, NOCN and Leadership Skills Foundation.
The gym now delivers its own nationally recognised accredited awards - delivering 24 Sports Leadership Awards, 27 AQA Wellbeing Awards and 13 NOCN Further Education and Employment Ready programmes over the course of the 2025-2026 academic year.
Founder and CEO Jack Sunderland said: “When we started, we had to fight the perception that boxing was about violence. We had schools and councils who weren’t sure about us, and that was fair, we had to earn it.
“What they’ve seen since is young people turning up on time, respecting their coaches, gaining qualifications and going on to jobs and college.
“Being quality assured by Kirklees, and approved by AQA, NOCN and the Leadership Skills Foundation, shows how far that perception has shifted.”
Training Cave’s Alternative Provision serves to work alongside schools, bridging the gap for parents and teachers to maintain a young person’s support network, whilst providing a clear pathway back into mainstream education.
The gym is now able to take its support one step further as they have recently been approved to deliver Maths and English skills awards, using boxing, to enable students to build functional skills.
The young people Training Cave support often go on to volunteer, gain qualifications, or find paid work within the organisation or with Training Cave sponsors.
Crediting Training Cave’s old-school values and high standards to be part of the key to success, Jack said:
“Boxing teaches discipline, resilience and respect, and that’s exactly what a lot of young people need.
“We’re not here to replace schools, we’re here to work alongside them and give every young person a route back on track.”
Over the 2025-2026 academic year, Training Cave saw a total of 3,780 student sign-ins, the majority of which were from children and young people who were disengaged from mainstream education, at-risk of permanent exclusion or with SEND.
Schools, SENCOS and local authorities can book an experience day to see the provision first-hand, or find out more information by visiting www.trainingcave.co.uk
or emailing [email protected]