A NEW hub for Highworth’s youths has been set up underneath Puddleducks in High Street, with a new café, music live lounge and mentoring on offer.

The Nexus Project has been established by Highworth sisters Rosie Grant-Willson and Charlotte Murdoch after they grew fed up with the lack of opportunities for the town’s teens.

Rosie, 40, who has previously worked with young people for BIOS, a subsidiary of Swindon Youth for Christ, said the pair and a team of fundraisers had pulled in nearly £30,000 to run a two-year project.

It was launched with John Mitchell, the proprietor of Puddleducks, on Monday along with community police, Highworth Warneford School and other agencies.

“We can see the need for this in Highworth. It’s huge. A lot of young people out there, who get expelled from school, will use this, but that’s not all we want to do,” she said.

“We are offering something to different groups of people, even those who do well at school, who might struggle with social media for example.”

The café will be open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4pm until 6pm, with a monthly live music event for the children to put their own stamp on, along with mentoring and detached youth work around the town itself.

When Rosie mentioned her ambitions for Highworth’s youth sector to John, he said Swindon Borough Council had already floated the idea of a youth café at Puddleducks, which sparked the partnership.

Rosie thanked Highworth Town Council, the town’s churches and the Hussey-Freke Trust at Hannington among others for the funding support their had received.

For more information on The Nexus Project, e-mail: projectteamnexus@gmail.com