Schools' Hub : Being a Boy

Being a Boy

At AUB, we believe that opportunities to engage with creative subjects and explore new art forms should be available to everyone. We also recognise the power of creativity as a tool to engage in conversations about important issues that affect our lives.

The Being a Boy project, launched in 2022, as a brand-new initiative which provides space for young men to creatively engage with the role of masculinity in their day-to-day lives. The Being a Boy project is proud to celebrate the creative successes and champion the voices of young men, learning from them what it means to be a boy.

In March 2026, AUB proudly displayed a Being a Boy Exhibition, sponsored by local MP Jessica Toale, in partnership with Boys' Impact, at the House of Commons. The exhibition reception was attended by previous Being a Boy participants, supporters of the project, and many politicians, and included a speech from Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.

The project has received recognition in the sector as an example of best practice. It won the HELOA (Higher Education Liaison Officers Association) Best Practice Outreach and Recruitment Award, and HELOA Best Practice Collaboration Award in January 2023. Being a Boy was also a Silver Award Winner for Best Widening Participation Initiative at the 2023 HEIST Awards.

Read more about the House of Commons Exhibition

The Being a Boy project

The Being a Boy project provides a number of fully funded places on selected workshops that explore the themes of masculinity and identity. They provide a creative channel for participants to reflect on what being a young man means and their own lived experiences. The workshops are an innovative mechanism to conduct an exploration of the possible implications for boys’ future health, happiness and educational success.

Please see our participant eligibility criteria on the next tab.

Being a Boy Impact Reports

The Being a Boy workshop places are available to young people living permanently in England. To be eligible for participation in one or more of the workshops, attendees must be studying in either KS3 or KS4 (aged 12-16) and identify as boys.

Booking information: Spaces on the workshops are limited to three students per education provider at each workshop to help share the opportunity across education providers in the area.

Participants must also meet at least one of the following eligibility criteria:

Received Free School Meals at any point during your school studies
Been in local authority care or looked after for three months or more OR are estranged from your family
Are a Young Carer
From a Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Showman, or Boater community
Have a parent who has served, or is currently serving, in the UK armed forces
Are currently studying at an Alternative Provision
Current home postcode shows that you live in an area with low levels of progression to Higher Education falling within TUDRA LSOA quintiles 1 and 2.
Current home postcode shows that you live in an area that falls within the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) deciles 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Eligibility for the TUNDRA LSOA quintiles measure can be checked on this site and eligibility for the IMD deciles measure can be checked on this site.