It is increasingly recognised that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its sustainable development goals (SDGs) will not be realised without critical interventions to support today’s generation of adolescents. Adolescence has powerful impacts on young people’s capabilities – in part because of the physical transformations wrought by puberty, which are considered second only to those experienced in infancy and early childhood in terms of their scope and speed, and in part because of how children’s place in the family and broader community shifts as they approach maturity. While there is recognition that these transitions are profoundly gendered, globally there are still significant evidence gaps in our understanding of the diverse ways in which adolescents experience these changes − at both the individual and collective level(Patton et al, 2016). This in turn limits our ability to invest in tailored change strategies. The DFID-funded Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme’s timeframe (2015- 2024) presents an excellent opportunity to strengthen the evidence base on adolescents and promote evidence-informed policy and programming to fast-track progress for adolescents within the SDG framework. This research synthesis summarises findings from qualitative work undertaken in 2016 with Rwandan adolescent girls and boys in three diverse locations: urban, peri-urban and rural. Rwanda has been selected as a focal country for GAGE because of its strong governmental commitments to advancing the wellbeing of its population − including though a specific focus on adolescents and promoting greater gender equality. Rwanda has integrated international instruments in policies and laws protecting children and promoting gender equality and is reviewing strategic documents such as Vision 2030 with multisectoral guidance on SDG alignment. Rwanda has seen rapid progress in girls’ education over the last decade and gender parity for primary education has been achieved.