Young people in the Cotswolds are set to benefit from a range of new opportunities and activities over the next three years, thanks to the National Lottery.

An application for funding was led by youth and community organisation, World Jungle, supported by key partners Community Mentoring & Support Service (CMASS), inclusion charity Active Impact, Tetbury Area Youth & Community Trust and Black Cat Community Café. The £290,000 investment will give young people new opportunities for development, support and recreation.

The project called Cotswold Youth will include mentoring support for young people at risk of exclusion in schools, support to youth clubs, summer activities aimed at those making the transition from primary to secondary, leadership and work experiences, as well as training and support for organisations and individuals who support young people.

Ben Ward, director of World Jungle, said: "We are absolutely delighted by the news. Young people in the Cotswolds miss out on a whole range of experiences and opportunities, due to the rural nature of the district, that other young people in the county take for granted. With the impact of lockdown, school closures and loss of other key services, young people are finding life harder than ever and we must mobilise youth services as soon as we can safely do so.

"We really hope that we can work alongside young people to identify activities and support they feel they need; be it training, more things to do, work experience and much more. We'd love to get young people involved in deciding how we design the programme and in promoting opportunities to those around the district and would love to hear from young people keen to be involved from the start."

The project, also supported by Cotswold District Council and the Cotswold Youth Network, has been over 10 months in development.

Cllr Tony Dale, cabinet member for skills and young people at Cotswold District Council, said: "This is the most exciting development we have seen for young people in the Cotswolds since the new leadership was elected to council in 2019. It successfully brings together youth organisations, local activity partnerships, council providers, businesses and schools to benefit the young people who most need to develop these skills.

"World Jungle has taken a huge leap in winning this bid to provide our communities across the Cotswolds with mentoring, teaching, experience, learning and activity practice to promote a whole generation of new leaders from amongst our young people.Thank you to all our local volunteers and council officers who have helped to make this happen."