Using cycling as a pathway into learning for young people who feel locked out of education
For many young people, disengagement from formal education is not about ability.
It is about confidence, trust, and access to learning that feels practical and achievable.
Across London, schools, alternative provision settings, and youth services are working with young people who have had disrupted education, are neurodivergent, are managing anxiety or behavioural challenges, or have simply found that traditional classroom learning does not work for them. What is often missing is a practical route back into learning that feels purposeful and achievable.
At Bikeworks, our work with young people is grounded in a simple belief. No child should be left behind when it comes to accessing the benefits of cycling, including its role as a tool for engagement, skills development, and education, particularly where traditional pathways have not worked.
At Bikeworks, we work with education and youth partners to co-design cycling pathways that do exactly that.
Starting with engagement, not accreditation
As a City & Guilds delivery centre, Bikeworks delivers accredited qualifications. But accreditation is rarely where we start.
Our programmes are deliberately designed to begin with non-accredited activity. This creates space for young people to engage without pressure, rebuild confidence, and experience success early on. Sessions are practical, hands-on, and structured around real skills rather than abstract outcomes.
For some young people, that first step might be learning basic bike maintenance. For others, it might be riding skills, teamwork, or simply turning up consistently to something that feels different from school.
Only once that foundation is in place do we introduce progression routes.
From hands-on activity to recognised qualifications
Progression is built into every programme we design. Young people can move from informal sessions into structured pathways that include:
- Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications
- Build a Bike programmes combining maintenance and cycle skills
- Blended delivery that supports different learning styles
- Clear progression milestones that young people can see and work towards
This approach allows learning to feel earned rather than imposed. It also gives education and youth partners a flexible framework that can be adapted around attendance patterns, behavioural needs, and pastoral support.
A case study from alternative education
One recent programme was delivered in partnership with an alternative education provider supporting young people who had been excluded or were at risk of exclusion from mainstream schooling.
The setting needed an approach that could re-engage learners who were struggling with focus, confidence, and trust in formal education environments. Together, we co-designed a programme that began with practical bike maintenance and riding sessions, delivered in small groups and paced to the needs of the cohort.
Early sessions focused on routine, responsibility, and tangible achievement. Young people learned how bikes work, how to fix them, and how to ride with purpose. As confidence grew, so did engagement. Attendance stabilised. Behaviour improved. Several learners progressed into accredited learning, with some completing formal qualifications for the first time in years.
For staff, cycling became a shared language. For young people, it became proof that learning could feel different.
Why this approach works
Cycling offers something that many traditional interventions do not.
It is physical, practical, and real.
It rewards patience and problem-solving.
It builds independence and self-belief.
When delivered well, it also creates pathways. Not just into qualifications, but into further learning, employment, volunteering, and positive routines.
Our role is to design those pathways carefully, alongside the people who know the young people best.
Working with schools and youth services
Bikeworks works with schools, colleges, alternative provision, and youth service providers across London to design cycling programmes that support engagement, progression, and long-term outcomes.
Each programme is co-designed. Each pathway is shaped around the setting and the young people involved. And each one treats cycling not as an add-on, but as a serious tool for learning and development.
If you are exploring new ways to engage young people who are struggling with formal education, we would welcome a conversation.
Using cycles as a tool for good.