Family Centre's summer schoolchildren and staff outlined their experiences yesterday as part of the charity's youth leadership academy.

The charity helped 24 high school pupils aged 14 to 16 through its “Building My Future” programme, which provided mentoring and life skills, as well as work for the summer.

Denaca Zuill, a Family Centre community support worker, said the team showcased their learning at the Washington Mall. The academy is a five-year programme overall, including a summer work internship over the first two years of high school.

Ms Zuill said: “For the month of July, they have to be involved in something positive, whether summer school, another job, participating in a summer camp, or doing community service.

“We're looking at them to show timeliness, effort and respect. That qualifies them for their August work placement.

“We go out and look for jobs for them, based on what their career interest is.

“Then, for the month of August, the young people go and they work, and each week they're evaluated on their timeliness, effort and respect, and their pay is based on how they show up at work.”

Ms Zuill said the showcase marked the end of the programme and the students outlined “what they learnt during the summer, what they enjoyed and didn't enjoy”.