Who we are…

Established in 1917, Brighton Youth Centre (BYC) is one of Brighton & Hove’s longest running and best-used youth services. It’s a thriving hub of activity, providing a central space for the city’s youth work and attracting over 1 ,500 young people every year. As a team, we’re proud of the young people we work with and support, and we’re continually impressed by the contributions they make to their local community through the activities at BYC every day. Projects such as B.fest, Brighton’s biggest youth-led arts festival, facilities like Brighton’s only indoor skateboard park, and the connections we offer to other services, including mental health, LGBTQI+ and refugee support, make BYC a very special and unique space in the heart of the city.

What we do…

BYC is a safe space where all young people have the freedom to be themselves, come together, learn from each other and challenge themselves to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of their community. We place their voices, aspirations and concerns at the heart of everything we do because we believe all children and young people deserve to be taken seriously. We work with over 20 partner organisations and projects who currently use the centre as their base, including specialist services for young people who are care experienced, on the autistic spectrum, LGBTQI+, asylum seekers, experience mental ill health or homelessness, such as Brighton & Hove Pupil Referral Unit, Allsorts Youth Project, YMCA DownsLink and Mascot; and youth arts and creative industries organisations like Southeast Dance, BlockBuilders, Miss Represented and Art In Mind.

Our History

Established in 1917 by a Mr Prior, BYC started its life as Brighton Boy’s Club, in a tiny house in St John’s Street, Brighton. Seeing that boys and young men in the area had very little support and nowhere to congregate, Mr Prior opened up his house and offered them somewhere warm to sit, soup to eat and the opportunity join in organised football practice. Due to the growing need for this service, in 1927 the Prince of Wales opened the first official building in St John’s Street dedicated to supporting young men in the local area.

Increasing demand meant that in 1963 new plans and funds were approved by the minister for Education to construct a purpose-built youth club in Edward Street which would “promote the spiritual, intellectual and physical wellbeing of boys and young men”. The club was strictly inter-denominational and non-political, striving to make boys and young men welcome from many different backgrounds.

In 1977 changing social and financial conditions saw the club open its doors to girls and young people of all ages. At this time it also changed its name to Brighton Youth Centre. To ensure sustainability the club started hiring out spaces to other groups and individuals and looked to build up its membership by offering a wider range of activities and trips. In this way, BYC has evolved into the multi-service charity that it is today. We continue to offer low cost spaces to hire for individuals, charities and young people looking to establish their own activities (for more information see hiring our facilities) and at our core, we are a youth centre and service, offering support and activities to over 400 children and young people every week.

We look forward to welcoming you here!