An important aspect of the work we do at Polkerris is regular weekly sailing sessions with primary and secondary schools from around Cornwall, inspiring the younger generation to sail. Since 2018, we have been working in collaboration with the Roseland Youth Sailing Trust (RYST) who strive to create opportunities, change lives and transform Cornish communities through funded sailing opportunities sessions with schools. 

There’s growing evidence of the positive impact that outdoor learning can have on children’s long-term health and well-being. Parents of young people who have sailed through our funded programme have reported that they have noticed a growth in confidence, self-belief, and resilience in their children since taking part in the programme, as well as general enjoyment of being outdoors and in the water. 

Giving young people the opportunity to experience being in the water and learning to sail in a safe, encouraging environment is proven to improve children’s self-confidence, understanding of themselves, and the extent to which they believe they have influence over their lives - all valuable skills to learn at a young age. Research suggests that skills gained through learning to sail will also help children cope with future stress and uncertainties better than before they learned to sail. Notably, children who struggle the most with school work have benefited the most from learning to sail. This shows that teaching children to sail isn’t just about having fun but equipping them with lifelong, valuable skills that really make a difference.

Here at Polkerris, we have the perfect setting to enable this. We believe that offering the right structure and environment for young people to learn, optimises the benefits of learning to sail. Working with RYST allows us to facilitate sailing sessions for young people from across Cornwall who may not otherwise get the opportunity to do so.