Five mentors, at a famous boxing gym, helping youngsters escape crime and get training, have been shortlised for a £10,000 award.
The mentoring team at the Peacock Gym, in Caxton Street North, Canning Town, has been nominated in the ‘Support Stars’ category in a national award scheme run by TES magazine.
The gym’s academy, set up four years ago, offers a range of subjects including some that seem a far cry from boxing, from hair and beauty to cycle mechanics, along with a variety of sports including boxing.
Many of its 150 students combine secondary school with more vocational courses at the gym, while others leave mainstream school to study GCSE maths and English at the gym’s academy.
The mentors, who have taken part in the scheme themselves, help supports their peers in their training and education.
The winners of the award receive £10,000 worth of multimedia equipment for their venue.
The mentors nominated are Danny Steadman, Patrick Jones, Chloe Reader, Jodie Robson and Emmily Energi
Former boxers Frank Bruno and George and Billy Walker trained at the gym.
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