DISILLUSIONED young people in Bolton are falling by the wayside part way through the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. The town which once came near top of the nationwide league for award holders, now has a "worrying" number of young people dropping out before they have got their bronze award or gone on to silver or gold. Now, concerned youth leaders have announced a major shake-up in the way the scheme is run in Bolton in an effort to stop teenagers ducking out.

The youth service is to open a drop-in centre at Moor Lane bus station aimed at encouraging youths hanging around or passing through the bus station to start the character-building scheme.

A report to councillors showed the award scheme in Bolton was growing more slowly than the national trend.

It stated: "There is also a worrying discrepancy between the numbers of young people who enter the scheme and the number who complete at any level." Doug Alders, head of Bolton's youth service which is responsible for running the scheme, said the reasons for the fall off rate included rapidly changing personnel, no clear pathway for people to carry on after they have left school and the difficulty of providing challenging expeditions.

He suggested a shake-up of the management structure including the appointment of a part-time schools liaison officer, four development workers and four fieldwork co-ordinators.

Mr Alders said: "The Duke of Edinburgh scheme is a significant element of our work with young people and it is amazing how some employers believe it says a lot a more about a young person than qualifications."

Cllr Campbell Benjamin suggested young people were snubbing the scheme because getting a job was their top priority. But Cllr Prentice Howarth said: "Most people leave school with a silver and can do their gold through vocational work. This can help people get a job.

"But it is not just the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. There are scouts' and guides' groups closing down because of the lack of children getting involved."

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