Train operators Thameslink and Great Northern have given their support to a scheme that could transform the lives of disengaged teenagers who are at risk of exclusion.

The scheme is being run by the Stevenage FC Foundation, the official charity of English Football League One team Stevenage Football Club, which is running a 12-week trial for the scheme with secondary schools in Stevenage in Hertfordshire.

Govia Thameslink Railway, the parent company of Thameslink and Great Northern, provided a £30,000 grant towards the ‘Positive Pathways scheme’.

The first two-hour session was delivered to a small class of 14- and 15-year-olds at The Nobel School in Mobbsbury Way, Stevenage, by Positive Pathways Manager Lewis Sykes.

Lewis is leading a programme called ‘Step Up’ designed to show young people who need additional support how to refocus their energy and enthusiasm and make positive life choices, instead of being disengaged from mainstream education.

The programme will have expert guest speakers from the council, police, and industry partners who will introduce students to real-world skills and career pathways.

Focussing on personal development, the programme will set goals, build confidence, and show students how to look after their money.

Students will also be shown how to be successful in searching for a job, with mock interviews, and advised about being aware of the real world by addressing key social issues such as gangs, drugs, and knife crime.

Danny Camp, Director of Alternative Provision at The Nobel School, commented that while some students attend full-time, others who attend only a couple of hours a week are on the cusp of falling into bad behaviour, low mood, or becoming disengaged with learning. He and Lewis are working with these on the Step Up programme, funded by Govia Thameslink Railway, to give them a different experience of learning. With so many distractions outside school, it is easy for students to get lost, so we want them to make positive life choices, and make school a safety net for them.

Thameslink has a long record of working with Stevenage FC, and since 2014, it has provided the club’s apprentices with free train travel on Thameslink and Great Northern services.

The operator also teamed up with Stevenage FC after the Covid-19 pandemic to promote a ‘Don’t Tackle it Alone’ positive mental health campaign.

“It was brilliant! I was blown away by how engaged the youngsters were. Teachers are snowed under, so having an outside agency like us coming in makes a huge difference. And me simply wearing a tracksuit with the Stevenage FC logo on it and working at the Lamex means the young people really want to listen! Step Up is the idea of taking initiative and saying to young people, Step up and be a part of your community. I say your grades are second to me. Producing good people is the biggest thing and the tools we are able to give you will go a long way to helping you better yourselves.”

Lewis Sykes, Positive Pathways Manager