The University of Leeds in South Africa: A year of significant impact and recognition
In August 2026 a team of 4 students & 3 staff spent 3 weeks in the Nkandla area delivering a structured programme of cycling, sport & leadership to young people alongside key stakeholders. The student team worked incredibly hard and delivered cycling clinics and engagements building on the efforts of previous years. The students came from a range of disciplines and levels of study and included a first year, a recent graduate and a PhD student. 50% of the students were from an underrepresented background. Through skills auditing throughout the process it was identified that our students developed 10 graduate level skills by an average of 29% and 100% of students agreed that their participation gave them a sense of belonging at the University of Leeds and contributed to them setting their personal ambitions higher.
The delivery of cycling clinics for beginners and improvers remains the primary focus of the visit and in liaison with KZN Cycling, this year’s team concentrated effort on engaging more female pupils. With KZN Cycling officers delivering year-round, engagement of female pupils had been identified as a challenge in the region with less than 5% of participants from January-May 2026 being female. As a collective, stakeholders agreed that we needed to develop an understanding of the causes and barriers before piloting targeted interventions. As a first step, KZN Cycling appointed a new female development officer (Noxolo) to work in the region as a role model for female participants. A Bambisanani volunteer and researcher from the University of Western Cape, Dr Poppy Bhengu also joined the team for a period of 3 days to observe and initiate some discussions with local teachers, pupils and communities. Dr Bhengu was well positioned to explore the challenges as a native researcher speaking fluent Zulu and her initial report will support the determination of next steps. The team were highly successful in not only gathering information and building trust but in translating this into initial female engagement – 57% of pupils we engaged in August were female (467 females vs 352 males across 20 clinics in 6 schools; 4 primary and 2 secondary). The challenge now will be to sustain this interest and retain girls in cycling over time, and KZN Cycling have since identified a plan to utilise ‘girls focus schools’ and the female officer to further explore the challenges and opportunities.
Vision
To use sport & education to inspire, engage and develop young people and communities in both Leeds & South Africa.
Similarly to previous years, the team also delivered a sports & leadership festival for grade 7 pupils in 3 primary schools in the town of Eshowe. This engaged learners in a programme of 3 sports (including rounders – a completely new sport to the South Africans!), classroom sessions and leadership sessions culminating in pupils leading their own games and activities for their peers.
The team were also able to enjoy a celebration alongside KZN Cycling as we recognised recent high profile awards. The University of Leeds recently won a Workforce Development award from BUCS, and the Bambisanani Partnership once again won ‘International Sport & Physical Education Charity of the year’ – an award which was shared with KZN Cycling and the University in recognition of the cycling collaboration.
Summary of feedback from students, schools, pupils & stakeholders:
“Without wanting to overstate the impact of South Africa & Gryphons Abroad on me – it has truly been a worthwhile and important three weeks. It has been an experience that has pushed me out of my comfort zone and I feel I have positively developed as a coach and a person. It has reemphasised to me the importance of art and sport as a common goal.”
“Gryphons Abroad gave me an opportunity to apply and develop academic skills in non-academic settings.”
“My main reflections and takeaways come from the cultural experiences. Rural SA is very different from city SA and you’ll see incredible beauty in the landscapes and behaviours of the children. Seeing them produce happiness from so little made me appreciate my own experiences.”
“We are very proud of this programme. One day I would like to see one of our learners ride in a competition or become a professional. Thank you Bambisanani.”
“The festival has been fantastic and eye opening. I have learnt a lot myself for my own coaching and it’s great for our kids to get a chance to do something active, do something outside, learn about themselves and each other. Within the activities some of the quieter ones have been quite open and it is nice to see that.”
“I want to thank everyone because we are learning to ride a bike. It was very easy and I like to race and show my talent. ”
“The cycling is fun – it teaches you teamwork and no one judges you.”
“We learnt so much this week and we are very thankful for this opportunity. Some of the sports we didn’t even know existed (rounders). I would give it a 10 out of 10, no discussion.”
“We really appreciate Leeds University for taking time and obviously being part of this particular initiative in trying to give a platform for our young people in this province in a code that is historically not for them because of the entry barriers.”
“The aim of the KZN Cycling development programme is to try and change people’s lives for the better. So being able to get the programme going with the Bambisanani Partnership & University of Leeds in Nkandla fits exactly with what we are trying to do.”
Key Objectives and Principles
Plans for 2027 and Next Steps
Student recruitment for 2027 has already started and we have also secured support for next year’s project from both the Footsteps Fund & the Turing scheme. This funding is primarily to support students with the cost of accessing the project and our goal, as always is to recruit 50% of students from underrepresented backgrounds. Financial sustainability remains a priority and discussions with the wider University are ongoing alongside efforts to fundraise at a service level.
With a further 3-year agreement reached between KZN Cycling, ourselves and the Bambisanani Partnership in early 2026, work will now continue to further the engagement and retention of girls in the cycling programme. Next steps are currently in discussion and Dr Bhengu has provided an initial report for consideration. We will proceed with a Theory of Change model of research and development.
Key Facts
We thank our partners for their ongoing support in delivering this project:
The Bambisanani Partnership
