Blog

Introduction

For many years, young people in Buckingham have expressed a need for safe, accessible, appealing places to go to after school.
In addition, recent knife crime incidents involving young people have further highlighted how important it is to increase opportunities, activities and resources for young people in Buckingham.

Fortunately, lots of people and organisations are committed to improving things for young people in Buckingham. It is well-recognised among them that new youth spaces, opportunities, activities and resources should always be created with local young people, to make sure they work well for them.

Youth Voice Bucks is working with the Buckingham and Villages Community Board and its partners to ensure young people’s voices are heard in the development of a new space for young people in Buckingham.

About Buckingham

Buckingham is a historic market town in the North of Buckinghamshire. At its centre is a high street with lots of cafés, shops, and restaurants. It also has supermarkets, a library, a leisure centre, and historic buildings such as the Gaol. For young people, there are two secondary schools: The Buckingham School and Royal Latin School. It also has parks, including a skate park, and a Youth Centre. Buckingham is served and supported by Buckingham Town Council as well as Buckinghamshire Council.

The story so far

Where did the idea come from?

Ever since Buckingham and Villages Community Board was set up several years ago, the people and organisations involved have been interested in supporting local young people.
In particular, a young adult called Hannah, who grew up in Buckingham, joined the Community Board, and advocated for spaces and places for young people to go to after school to be set up.

What is a youth café?

A youth café is a dedicated space for young people to hang out. The space is relaxed, with casual activities such as board games on offer. Refreshments are usually available at low or no cost. Youth cafes can run in youth centres, halls such as church or community halls, or real cafés while they are closed to the general public.

Exploring the idea of a youth café

In January and February 2023, Youth Voice Bucks and the Buckingham & Villages Community Board visited students in Buckingham’s two secondary schools to discuss the idea of a youth café and hear young people’s thoughts and feedback. The key messages received were:

• Young people confirmed that there are very few places for them to go to after school at the moment. Most young people just go home. Some go to cafes and McDonald’s, but then feel under pressure to buy things and struggle with prices.
• The young people liked the youth café idea.
• Students were keen on the idea of having a youth session in a proper café, rather than a hall or an academic space.
• The young people valued the idea of not having the pressure to buy anything, and having low cost refreshments / deals on offer.
• Themes for further discussion arose, such as safety, transport home, and managing behaviour.
• Young people are interested in being further involved in the youth cafe’s development – such as the playlist, advertising, rules, what’s available.

These conversations also showed that it will be really important to work closely with the youth club, so that a youth café offer and the youth club are complementary to each other and both are appealing and well-promoted.

You can read the full notes from these meetings by clicking the buttons below.

Notes from session at The Buckingham School

Notes from session at Royal Latin School

Looking for a venue

People working with and for the Buckingham and Villages Community Board then set about to try and find somewhere to host the youth café.
This was very challenging and took a long time! One local café were interested, but then had to make the difficult decision to close down.

Fortunately, the National Trust got in touch. The National Trust look after a building in the middle of Buckingham town called Chantry Chapel. It is the oldest building in Buckingham and used to be a religious building, and now it is a building of community value. The National Trust are currently making it into a real café.

The people at The National Trust said they were interested in inviting more members of Buckingham’s community to come and visit Chantry Chapel, and that they would be delighted to host the youth café there. They also understand how important it is to keep young people involved in the development of the youth café, and are happy to work in creative and interesting ways to make sure the youth café project is successful.

Securing funding

Early in 2024, the Community Board and Community Youth Teams successfully secured £15,000 to set up the youth café.
On top of this, the National Trust and Community Youth teams have donated resources (venue hire and a regular youth worker) worth about £4000.

What’s happening now?

• A working group has been set up at The Buckingham School with students in school years 7 -9. They have been planning:
  • what the youth café will look and feel like
  • what it will be called – The name will be “The Buckingham Hangout”
  • a food and drinks menu with prices
  • 3 x structured termly timetables of activities and organisations – for example Brook Sexual Health will visit
• Students in the working group are also creating art canvases to hang on the walls.
• The students have visited the venue, Chantry Chapel, and have met Richard at the National Trust.
• The students have met Zubair from Coffee Snobs, who is helping to ensure the cafe will serve professional coffees, and getting the young people upskilled as barista.

What’s next?

• A “soft launch” with professionals is planned in for the Summer holidays 2024.
• The big launch for young people will be in the second week in September – some of the young people at The Buckingham School will help to plan and host this too!
• Alongside the planning for the launch events, the Community Board and Community Youth team are setting up facilities and logistics like a coffee machine and interior design.

Any questions?

If you are interested in this project and have any questions, please email YouthVoiceBucks@Buckinghamshire.gov.uk.