Romance Academy is a British charity that operates a Social Franchising model: equipping and licensing Youth Workers from across the UK with a resource that allows them to deliver a holistic and comprehensive 14-week relationships and sex education programme for teenagers in their area. Topics covered include: challenging unhealthy attitudes to sex and relationships, sexual violence, love languages, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and contraception, resolving conflict, drugs and alcohol abuse, family matters and conflict resolution.
As well as training youth practitioners to deliver Romance Academy in their local area, Romance Academy also looks at the social, emotional, economic and practical impact early sexual activity can have on young people, and campaigns for better SRE nationwide. Romance Academy's goal is to reach and improve the lives of every young person in the UK and sees advocacy as a large part of its role.
History
Romance Academy began life back in September 2005 when the BBC developed a three-part documentary called No Sex Please We’re Teenagers which followed the lives and loves of the very first, "Romance Academy" - Twelve teenagers from north London were challenged to give up sex for 5 months, so that they may explore the true value of relationships and the positive and negatives of delaying sexual activity.
Romance Academy is now a national resource, affecting the lives of hundreds of teenagers every year. To do this they train Youth Workers all over the country to replicate the RA model in their hometown. By creating a positive community where young people can appreciate themselves and others, the Romance Academy model seeks to instantly remove them from external sexual pressures to allow them to simply ask: 'who am I?'
Romance Academy is small in size but national in reach, with academies running in most regions the UK. It is governed by a Board of Trustees and run by a small team based in its head office in Harrow, North-west London.
Romance Academy works in partnership with other national and local, youth organisations and is a core member of the Sex Education Forum.