The Sweaty Betty Foundation: Change Starts in The Changing Room

What if the solution to keeping girls active wasn't found in a boardroom, but designed by the girls themselves? That's exactly what's happening through The Sweaty Betty Foundation's groundbreaking new campaign, "Change Starts in the Changing Room."

For anyone discovering The Sweaty Betty Foundation for the first time, this independent charity shares our mission of empowering women and girls to get active and stay active for life. Through their PACK strategy – tackling Puberty, Attitudes, Changing Rooms, and Kit – they're breaking down the real barriers that stop girls from moving.

The need for change is clear. New research reveals that one in three secondary school girls have missed PE lessons simply because of concerns about using school changing rooms, with a quarter having skipped lessons multiple times. The top worries? Privacy concerns, feeling judged on appearance, and not having enough time to change. Most troubling of all, these anxieties typically begin at just 11 years old.

But here's the opportunity for change. Rather than adults deciding what girls need, The Sweaty Betty Foundation is putting girls in the driver's seat. Five schools across the UK – from Essex to Glasgow, Bermondsey to Birmingham – are participating in a co-creation initiative where students are literally becoming "the architects of change," by redesigning their own changing facilities.

The winning school will receive £10,000, with the other four schools each getting £2,500 to implement their improvements. Every design has been youth-proofed by the Foundation's dedicated girls panel, ensuring authentic solutions from those who understand the challenges best.