Castlethorpe Youth Club

Castlethorpe has managed to largely avoid the problems of anti-social behaviour experienced in other local communities in and around Milton Keynes. This has not happened by accident and relies on volunteer efforts to run community groups such as Castlethorpe Youth Club (CYC) to ensure a strong community spirit continues to thrive in the village. Now the longest running Youth Club in the MK area, CYC has seen hundreds of young people develop with a sound grounding in social responsibility and community spirit, developing self-confidence and interpersonal skills. CYC is open to all young people aged between 11 (School Year 6) and 16 (Year 11) who live, or have strong ties with, Castlethorpe. It runs weekly in the Village Hall on Tuesdays from 7.30pm to 9.30pm and is overseen by fully CRB accredited volunteers from the village. In the winter months a range of activities such as dodgeball, uni-hockey, music quizzes and cooking are organised in the village hall. In the summer months CYC take advantage of the fantastic facilities offered at Castlethorpe sports ground where we play tennis, softball, tag rugby and 5 a-side footie. In addition to numerous weekly activities CYC has an Xbox, table football, pool/snooker tables and table tennis. We also run numerous trips; laser shooting, ten-pin bowling, swimming and have an annual cycle trip to the chippie in New Bradwell. Every few years CYC runs an adventure weekend away, in the past travelling to Wales and the Cotswolds. One important aspect of CYC is the work the young people have undertaken over the years supporting the village, such as helping with the duck race, the senior citizens Christmas lunch and the “Carols on the Green”. The Club received the highest OFSTED rating at its last inspection. Registered with Milton Keynes Council, we work closely with their Rural Youth development teams putting into practice both council and national youth initiatives. Over the years, villagers have looked back and appreciated this grounding and felt good about putting something back into their community. For more information contact Tony Rice on 01908 510206.