After the Bell: Creating Space for Young People to Learn, Grow and Prepare for What Comes Next

For many children, the school day ends when the final bell rings.

Books go back into school bags. Classrooms empty. Teachers head home. And learning, for the day, appears to be over.

But for some young people, the end of the school day is not the end of their learning needs.

Some are struggling to keep up academically. Others have limited access to learning resources, creative opportunities, practical skills, or mentorship outside school.

This is where ASH – After School Hours comes in.

ASH is CedarRise Initiative for Human Development’s academic support and holistic development programme for underserved young people. It creates space for learners to strengthen their academic foundations while also developing their creativity, practical skills, confidence, and capacity to navigate what comes next.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

ASH was built around a simple idea: young people need more than academic instruction to thrive.

The programme brings together academic support, performance arts, employability skills, and mentorship and life skills, creating a learning experience that extends beyond textbooks and examinations.

Over the 2025–2026 programme year, ASH delivered 34 academic sessions in English and Mathematics, supported by an updated literacy and numeracy curriculum.

The programme also continued to make room for creative and practical learning. Performance arts were introduced into the learning experience, with learners working on a stage production, while vocational sessions gave girls opportunities to explore skills such as crochet and food preparation.

These activities created opportunities for learners to learn differently, work together, and discover abilities beyond the traditional classroom.

Growing in Confidence

Academic progress is an important part of the ASH experience.

Among the learners assessed during the reporting period, 72.2% recorded academic improvement, with several learners making substantial gains.

But progress is not always measured in marks alone.

It can be seen when a learner becomes more willing to participate, when a difficult concept begins to make sense, or when a child who once hesitated begins to trust their own ability to learn.

ASH seeks to create more of those moments.

Skills for What Comes Next

Learning also happens through doing.

Through practical activities, learners have explored skills that encourage creativity, patience, and independence. In crochet sessions, for example, several girls went on to begin small projects of their own and returned for guidance as they developed their skills.

The programme also creates opportunities for learners to learn from one another. During practical sessions, participants who already had experience with a skill were able to support their peers, turning the classroom into a space for shared learning.

These experiences help young people begin to see learning not only as something that happens in school, but as something they can carry with them.

The Work Continues After the Bell

ASH continues to grow as a space where young people can receive support, explore their abilities, and develop beyond the classroom.

From academic tutoring to creative expression and practical skills, the programme is creating opportunities for young people to build stronger foundations for the future.

Because sometimes, what a young person needs is simply another space to learn, another opportunity to try, and someone to remind them that they are capable of more.

That is ASH.

Learn, grow… after the bell.