Youth club closures during the 2010s led to increased offending and worse GCSE results, a report has suggested.

The impact on educational outcomes as a result of the closures was even more severe for pupils entitled to free school meals, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) research.

Around 30% of youth clubs in London closed between 2010 and 2019 as a result of cuts to local authority funding, the working paper from the IFS said.

Overall, the societal costs of increased crime and lost education far outweigh the initial savings from youth club closures

The research compares offending rates and exam results among teenagers who live in an area where all local youth clubs within a 40-minute walk closed with those among teenagers whose nearest youth club stayed open.

Teenagers whose nearest youth club was closed went on to do worse in school, the study concluded.

Young people in London who lost access to a nearby youth club performed worse in their GCSE exams – a decline of roughly half a grade in one subject.

Test scores fell even more for pupils from lower socioeconomic backgrounds – who performed roughly more than a grade worse in one subject.

The IFS paper also found that those who lost access to a youth club were 14% more likely to engage in criminal activity in the six years following closure.

The offending rate – the proportion of residents aged 10 to 17 who commit a crime each year – went from 14 per 1,000 to 16 per 1,000.

Report author Carmen Villa, PhD student at the University of Warwick and enrichment student at the IFS, said: “Youth clubs provide support to teenagers that goes beyond recreation, offering mentorship, structured activities such as sports and music, and a safe space for socialising – resources many teens cannot find elsewhere.

“Teens like and use these clubs: in 2009, 40% of Londoners aged between 11 and 16 attended at least once a week.

Funding cuts have led to the closure of community centres and Sure Start Children’s Centres, as well as youth clubs, and reduced the capacity of local services to support attendance, mental health and children with special educational needs

“But public spending cuts in the 2010s led to the closure of 30% of youth clubs in London, and this research shows that this directly led to increased offending and worse GCSE outcomes, especially among those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

“Overall, the societal costs of increased crime and lost education far outweigh the initial savings from youth club closures.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Youth clubs can play an important role in supporting development and providing a safe space outside of school, and the major cuts to local authority funding over the last decade have been hugely damaging for children and young people.

“Funding cuts have led to the closure of community centres and Sure Start Children’s Centres, as well as youth clubs, and reduced the capacity of local services to support attendance, mental health and children with special educational needs.”

Arooj Shah, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “Youth services provide essential support to young people, providing them with a safe place, trusted relationships, attracting them away from being drawn into negative situations and reducing demand for acute services as a consequence.

“Councils have a statutory duty to provide educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people, yet these services are facing significant challenges for a number of years due to reductions in funding from central government and an increase in demand for child protection services.

“The LGA has been engaging with Government on the Young Futures programme. Sufficient investment into youth services and youth work will enable councils to support the delivery of the Government’s priorities.”