This paper examines the possibilities and problematics of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) within two elite independent schools located in the USA. The data presented were gathered from broader research that sought to identify new educative approaches to supporting social justice in schools. The paper provides an account of two YPAR projects that focused on the contentious topics of (1) micro-aggressions and (2) boy--girl relationships. It draws attention to the difficulties these schools encountered with the 'action' component of YPAR. These difficulties were associated with key contextual factors in each school and led to inaction and a schoolification of youth research. In light of such factors, the paper draws attention to the necessity, but tensions, of schoolifying YPAR in order to maximize the generative possibilities of this form of research.