A programme has launched to bring together first in the family university students and teenagers in neighbouring communities.

The project hopes to get students ane 14 to 17-year-olds to work together on volunteer-led community projects.

It aims to give students the experience of how to grow and sustain a volunteering project, while also raising the aspirations of the teenagers they are working alongside.

Sushmita Bhandari, a first-year dance student at the University of Roehampton, is one of the students taking part in the scheme.

She said: "I wish something like this had been available to me when I was considering what I would do after school.

"I think this is going to help me, and the people that I’ll be working with, develop some really useful skills, which will hopefully give us an advantage in the future."

The programme is supported by J.P.Morgan, a global financial services firm, and is being co-ordinated by the National Children’s Bureau, University of Roehampton and Queen Mary, University of London.

Sophie Wood, manager of participation and involvement at the National Children’s Bureau, said many young people involved in the project face difficulties in education and do not aspire to attend further education or training.

She said: "This innovative project brings these young people in contact with ‘first generation’ students - those who are the first in their families to attend higher education.

"By working together on collaborative projects in the local community, we hope these young people will be inspired to make positive choices."