LEARNERS taking part in The Learning Curve Trowbridge Prince’s Trust Team programme are celebrating the completion of their project to create an assault course for children at Jubilee Woods.

The community project, which was finished on Thursday (March 5) at the site near West Ashton, is a key part of the 12-week course, which aims to build confidence and improve communication skills for 16-25 year olds not in work or education.

Before building the assault course, the learners visited a selection of potential community projects, carried out research about each one and then selected the Jubilee Woods project.

They then raised the money required for materials by hosting a cake sale at Trowbridge Town Hall, bag packing and a 100-mile cycle challenge. They also sourced donations from local firms, including ISS Landscaping, which provided hands-on support throughout the project.

Craig Enderby, Learning Curve Team Leader, said: “The course runs for 12 weeks and the community project aspect runs for four of those weeks, with the learners deciding what they want to do.

“They spend one week finding the project, before fundraising by holding a coffee morning and bag packing. They managed to raise £478 through that, before obtaining donations from Mole Valley Farmers and Tesco.

“We then had two weeks to complete the project and we had great support from ISS Landscaping, which provided some of the materials and gave us two members of staff to help make it happen.

“The idea was from John Cox, Wiltshire West Districts Scouts chairman, who wanted to build something that the scouts and guides groups could use for the Jubilee Wood campsite.”

As well as the community project, the programme includes a residential activity week, work experience, CV preparation and additional qualifications, providing young people with the skills and confidence to progress into work or further education.

Next week the 12 learners will be starting two-week work placements, with the course concluding with a presentation ceremony at Trowbridge Town Hall in April.

Mr Enderby added: “The objective of the course is to get the young people into employment and lots of them come to us with low self-esteem and confidence.

“It can be quite daunting to speak to members of the public, but projects like this, where they are tasked with bag packing and talking to businesses, give them a huge confidence boost.”