Around 70 people attended the launch of Aspire, a centre for young people offering courses and training, based at Eskdale Road, Winnersh Triangle.

Local schools including The Emmbrook School in Wokingham, and The Forest School, in Winnersh, attended.

Students mingled with representatives from Wokingham businesses including Martin and Pole, an estate agents in Broad Street, TradeMark Windows in Oaklands Park; and Banking Automation, in Eskdale Road, among others.

Aspire trustee Debbie Owen said: “It’s about getting the young people to think about opportunities; some don’t know what all the options are and we give them the help to do different things and to ascertain if they have a flair for a certain thing – we work on their skills.” Centre manager, Sarah Concannon, and headteacher of The Forest school, Keith Quine, gave a speech, alongside mayor of Wokingham, Cllr Ullakarin Clark, at the launch on Wednesday, November 20.

The centre works in partnership with local schools, businesses and the council to deliver its services for young people.