A Sheffield-based boxing club has been fighting to stay open after the Sheffield Inclusion Centre school failed to renew its lease.
Aspire Boxing Club, based in Arbourthorne, is run by volunteers and has trained thousands of people since it opened 30 years ago.
The Head Coach, Ronny Tucker, said: “It’s an area where a few years ago a young person was shot. There’s not much for kids to do in this area. Given that we’re a free resource in a deprived area why would you want to lose that?”
The club, which is located on Spring Lane, has helped train boxers and tackled issues such as poverty, knife crime, and violence against women and girls.
Mr Tucker said: “We’re turning people around. We’ve got people back into school. One of our parents has said that her son was involved in carrying knives but he’s not doing that anymore because he’s in a positive place.“
The bid to keep the gym open has increased in support, with the petition having over 1,000 signatures and the We Love Arbourthorne Facebook page gaining traffic.
High profile names have also supported Mr Tucker and his team including former boxing world champion Johnny Nelson MBE and Councilor Ben Miskell.
Mr Miskell said on Facebook: “Aspire Boxing Club Provides a lifeline for many kids in Arbourthorne. My view is that it must stay open. I will be working to bring the club and the school together to find a solution.”
The Sheffield Inclusion Centre said: “This is not a decision made without much thought and consideration but with the rising number of children being permanently excluded they’ve made the decision to prioritise those children.”
Despite this, Mr Tucker claimed that the head teacher, Tuesday Rhodes, has not spoken to them directly about the closure and has not communicated with them throughout their time at the gym.
He added: “The daft thing is the school are saying they want the building back because there’s more people in Sheffield being excluded which is stupid. People are being excluded because they’ve got no positive mentors and they’ve got nothing to do. We stop people from being excluded.”
ShefNews has contacted the school for further comment.
To find out more about the petition, click here.