Big Sister
What's in this section
Helping girls stay in sport and exercise
1.3 million teenage girls who once saw themselves as ‘sporty’ drop out of exercise and acivity after primary school.
This isn’t inevitable. It is a myth that teenage girls are naturally averse to exercise; with the right support and opportunities they do want to be active.
And, at a time when girls’ mental health is in crisis, being active can be a powerful remedy.
That’s why we created the Big Sister project, a programme created by girls, for girls, to support teenage girls to enjoy sport, exercise and physical activity through puberty.
“I like that I have made new friends that I didn’t know before. I’m not worried now to try something new because I know now that if I try it, I might enjoy it.”
What is Big Sister?
Big Sister provides teenage girls with free or discounted access to gyms, swimming and girls-only activities in supportive leisure environments.
Alongside this, all leisure centre staff, from centre managers to reception teams, are specially trained to better understand girls’ needs, enabling them to create welcoming spaces where girls feel comfortable and able to belong.
6 in 10
girls say they enjoy sport more after taking part
63% of girls
said Big Sister gave them more resilience
The story so far
Big Sister started as a pilot in 2022 for girls at Places Leisure centres in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Norfolk.
Since then, it has been rolled out nationally at more than 80 Places Leisure centres
Between January and December 2025:
- Big Sister has supported more than 5,200 girls nationally
- Girls have attended more than 93,000 sessions
- Participants reported feeling happier, more resilient and more confident to try new things
To learn more about the impact Big Sister is having on girls across the country, download our Impact Report below:
Growing across Manchester
Building on its success, Big Sister is now expanding across Manchester through Manchester City Council’s Junior Gyms programme.
The rollout will give thousands more girls access to free gym sessions, swimming and girls-only activities, while ensuring leisure centre staff are trained to better understand and support teenage girls during puberty.
This marks an important step in bringing Big Sister to more communities and helping even more girls develop positive, lifelong relationships with sport and physical activity.
Our Ambition
We believe every girl should have access to supportive, welcoming spaces where she can enjoy being active.
Our ambition is for Big Sister to be available in leisure centres across the UK, ensuring that girls everywhere can access the support, opportunities and environments they need to stay active throughout their teenage years.
If you’re a leisure provider, local authority, funder or organisation interested in bringing Big Sister to your community, we’d love to hear from you.
Learn more
Big Sister partners
We were joined by Places for People, its leisure provider Places Leisure and Hey Girls, a social enterprise dedicated to tackling period poverty, to enable girls to find out about the physical and emotional changes that happen during puberty whilst offering practical ways to get and stay active in supportive environments.
To combat period poverty more than 19,000 girls were supported with free disposable and reusable period products and educational resources from Hey Girls, after Women in Sport research found 7 in 10 girls avoid sport while on their period.
We’re so grateful for our ambassadors (‘Big Sisters’) who helped shape this campaign to be supportive and understanding of what teenage girls experience during puberty.
