Community Partners are local organisations working in targeted areas of socio-economic deprivation. They include state-funded 11-16 years schools seeking good opportunities for their most disadvantaged school leavers; charitable organisations such as Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy (East London); and national charity IntoUniversity. Community Partners are all committed to raising social mobility in deprived communities. With their help, Royal SpringBoard can find the right children to thrive at their partner schools, while the Community Partners will also provide ongoing support for the children during their time boarding.

Almost 300 young adults have now completed Royal SpringBoard placements and gone on to university, apprenticeships, or the workplace.

Royal SpringBoard launched an alumni network in 2020, to nurture the community, build leavers’ confidence in developing their careers, and to encourage them to be positive role models for the next generation.

The Leys is proud to be a RoyalSpringBoard accredited school. Royal SpringBoard have a rigorous process of accreditation, to ensure schools which join the network provide exemplary levels of pastoral care and have a real dedication to widening access.

Royal SpringBoard was created from the 2017 merger of two charities: Royal National Children’s Foundation (RNCF) and The SpringBoard Bursary Foundation (SpringBoard). NCF started out as the Royal Wanstead Children’s Foundation, in 1827, and later had Queen Victoria as their Royal Patron. Its work later developed to support vulnerable children at a range of boarding and day schools across the UK.

The SpringBoard Bursary Foundation began in 2012, with the aim of helping children from some of the UK’s most deprived communities to attend boarding schools on full bursaries. At the time of the merger, HRH The Princess Royal, who was previously patron of RNCF, became patron of Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation (Royal SpringBoard).