The Rose Bowl Youth Club was first opened in 1978 in the Marquess Estate and named after Ron Rose, a popular community worker. However, with inadequate funding, over the years the building became vandalised and then burnt down.
As part of the redevelopment of the estate in 1999, Islington Council created a handsome new Rose Bowl Youth Club on the original site with a ground floor cafe area and a versatile basement space with a sound-proof room doubling as a recording studio. There was also an enclosed outdoor knockabout area. This opened in January 2000 and was a huge success with the children (and their parents), even helping habitual absconders return to school. It also fostered better relations with the children from neighbouring estates, who attended the club too. According to the police, there were fewer crimes committed during the hours when the Rose Bowl was open.
However in the spring of 2010, due to various problems, the club had to be closed for a year. It had an extensive refurbishment and reopened in 2011, with new management; a new arts-based offer run by Hoxton Hall.
The building was been renovated and refurbished with a new kitchen and main area. The Rose Bowl is now open for 48 weeks of the year. It is open for more sessions from this Autumn and is now open on Saturdays for four sessions.
There are new sessions for older teenagers on Fridays. This is a particular need, given recent events and the youth workers will focus on working with gang members and challenging young people.
The Rose Bowl is now achieving its demanding target of working with 400 young people of which some 250 attend regularly.