Ashdon Jazz Academy

Ashdon Jazz is a charity which aims to provide vulnerable young women aged 11-21 years with the insight, confidence and resilience to overcome the negative impact of isolation, peer pressure, bullying, family breakdown, stress and anxiety, the risk of or involvement in criminality and gangs and those who may be at risk of school exclusion. Through our Empowering & Inspiring Young Women work, we provide the opportunity to build a trusted and mutual relationship with a trained mentor for up to 12 months.

We also run weekly drop-in sessions and other female only events. We deliver our services from our Lambeth location. By working in partnership with youth clubs, schools, children’s social care and other statutory and voluntary organisations, the charity is able to target young females who may benefit from our offer. 95% of our current service users are from BAME, many of whom and their families have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19.

Our charity is a female led organisation with majority BAME leaders/trustees and has over 6 year's experience. Patricia Muirhead started the charity in 2015 a year after the tragic death of her daughter Ashdon who ended her life aged 14 years in 2014. As a teenager Ashdon Jazz struggled with peer pressure, peer aggression at school and lacking confidence about being herself in a society that pressurises young women to be and act a certain way.