Children

Over the past three years we have expanded our sports programme. In partnership with Squash Squared and a number of local schools, we now offer access to f sports on site here at The Club; tennis, squash, padel, cricket and swimming. Many children participating in sports activities have also enjoyed a hot meal on site in our staff canteen before going home.

During 2023 we saw 71 children per week coming on site to play sports and over the course of the last three years have provided 1581 meals for people from our community. 

In Fulham specifically schools and community groups are challenged by access to green space, playgrounds and sports facilities and by providing access to the Club, schools and groups are not forced to travel out of borough and use vital funds on buses and booking fees which relieves the financial pressures on them.

Even before the Foundation was formerly established, The Club has worked with Sands End Associated Projects in Action (SEAPIA), a local young people’s centre, to support the most deprived children to stay safe, fed and happy. Over the past three years, we have donated hundreds of Easter eggs and Christmas presents to children who may not receive one. We also worked with SEAPIA contribute towards the cost of providing hot meals at their after-school programmes which would have helped approximately 45-50 children per day.

Over 20,000 children and older people are living in poverty in this borough alone and many are choosing between heating and eating this winter, making programmes like this vitally important.

In 2022 and 2023 we delivered a number of tennis coaching clinics designed to not only get children active, but to inspire them to achieve more. We have had children from two local schools (Langford Primary and Sulivan Primary) on site to play tennis and have surprised them with tennis legends including, Mark Philippoussis, Nicolas Almagro, Tim Henman and others – all of whom have been World top ten players on the WTA circuit. This has proved to be highly inspirational to all children involved. This project also saw local children trained to be ball boys and girls at the prestigious Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, supporting them to learn about professionalism, practise time management and discipline and in turn, raising their self-esteem.

In 2023, we began working with Solidarity Sports to provide swimming lessons for four children a week, who have been referred by social services as having complex trauma and additional needs. These families are really enjoying their visits to the Hurlingham Club and we are looking to continue and build upon this programme in the future to help more children in this position.

We have heard from many community organisations that child food poverty is an increasing issue within the borough and as a result we established two programmes to support this. In 2023, we provided supermarket vouchers for the most in need families who were really feeling the financial pressure at Christmas time to ensure that children did not miss out on food during the school holidays. We did this by working with charities on the ground who could identify the most vulnerable families who needed support the most. Adding to this, we also worked with DanceWest to contribute towards the cost of their ‘Fid and Fed’ holiday Club to hep alleviates the pressure on families to provide childcare and healthy meals at home during school holiday periods.

In 2023 the Hurlingham Club also announced a new partnership with Doorstep Library. Doorstep Library is a community focused literacy charity dedicated to bringing the magic of books and the joy of reading into children’s homes. The Foundation is now looking to promote opportunities for members to read to children and incorporate this into the Foundation’s volunteering programme. This is a direct response to members asking for this to be an opportunity that they could support. In 2023 the Foundation provided Doorstep Library with a small grant to help them promote their volunteering opportunities online, deliver an event for volunteers and also provide rewards and recognition for existing volunteers.

  • Squash Squared Partnership

    We have partnered with local charity, Squash Squared, to offer disadvantaged children an opportunity to play squash using Hurlingham facilities. Squash Squared is the UK’s first registered squash and education charity supporting disadvantaged students for academic and sporting success. The charity hope to drive student achievement both in the classroom and on the squash court.

    THCF reserves 2 squash courts every Tuesday afternoon for Squash Squared, who bring in around 15 students from Sulivan school each week. They offer 45minutes of squash & 45 minutes of taught education. THCF then provides each child with a meal once their session has been completed.

    THCF is proud to partner Squash Squared whose vision is driven by the increasing evidence that active children have higher school achievement and improved social outcomes.

  • Girls' Racquets Programme

    In 2024, we launched an exciting new racquets programme, offering free padel and squash lessons to Year 10 and 11 girls at Lady Margaret School in Parson’s Green, delivered by professional coaches. This project, funded primarily by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and supported by Empower Padel, is designed to encourage and empower teenage girls in the world of sports.

    Talitha Holt, Head of PE at Lady Margaret captures it in a nutshell ‘Having the opportunity to take part in the racquets programme has been such a fantastic addition to our curriculum. We have been able to introduce our students to two new sports, and sports that we hope our students will continue to pursue outside of school and later in life. It is so important that students have the chance to try a range of activities and learn new skills. We feel incredibly lucky to have such lovely coaches supporting, educating and inspiring our students. They have helped our students to feel empowered and confident allowing them to make excellent progress and seen real improvement in their game play"

    Padel and squash have quickly become popular activities among the students at Lady Margaret School, with many expressing how much they’ve enjoyed the experience. One student shared, "We have loved going to padel at The Hurlingham Club, it's been so fun to try something new and play a new sport. I think I've got much better at it and can now play with my friends outside of school." Squash has also captured the students' interest, with another student saying, "Squash has been really fun, I had never played before but have enjoyed the sessions. It's fun how you can hit the ball as hard as you like and make the person you are playing run hard to hit it back." These enthusiastic responses highlight how both sports are helping the students build new skills while having fun and staying active.

    THCF is delighted to collaborate with Laureus Sport for Good Foundation who’s mission to improve the lives of children from underprivileged communities aligns perfectly with the Hurlingham Club Foundation’s objectives, creating a meaningful partnership to help these young women build confidence, skill, and opportunity through sport.

  • Thomas’ Academy Attendance All-Stars

    The HCF is proud to collaborate with Thomas' Academy, a state-funded academy in the heart of Hammersmith & Fulham, in rewarding better school attendance. At the end of each term, we invite the Attendance All-Stars — the 30 students with the best attendance — to enjoy a special time at the Club. These students are given the opportunity to enjoy re the Club's facilities, including the amazing adventure playground, as a small thank you for their consistent efforts.

  • Tennis Initiative

    In September 2021 THCF launched its tennis initiative, offering free weekly tennis sessions to one of our local primary schools, Sulivan. This initiative, part of The Hurlingham Club Foundation’s mission to enrich the lives of neighbours in Hammersmith and Fulham, welcomes the year 6 pupils to the Club every Monday for an hour’s session with two of our top-class coaches. This initiative gives Sulivan School the ability to add tennis to their PE curriculum, encourages sport amongst children and gives them opportunity to get into tennis. THCF funds all equipment, coaching and sportswear for this initiative.