Youngsters from six Oxford estates will be able to spend their summer holiday playing sports or taking part in arts and crafts thanks to funding from Oxford City Council.

Oxford City Council has funded activities for young people living in Barton, Wood Farm, Blackbird Leys, Cowley, East Oxford and Rose Hill from the ages of 5 to 19 years. This summer the scheme is also including young people living in Littlemore.

The aim of the four-week summer holiday activities is to channel young peoples’ energies into activities that they want.

Oxford City Council has funded over 15 programmes to provide activities for young people from the ages of 5 to 19. Activities include football, cricket, dance, canoeing, kayaking, angling, swimming, cooking, and drama and lot more arts and crafts sessions.

Councillor Mark Lygo, Board Member for Sport, Play & School Liaison, says: “These activities are a great opportunity for youngsters to take part in something they may not have tried before. But they can also get involved in activities that they enjoy at school.

“The funding that we have put into this project has made a huge impact in the community and our aim is to engage young people in these activities.

“Without these activities, many children and young people would have very little to do during the summer holidays.

Last year saw over 1000 individuals take part in these programmes. It is hoped that the number will increase this year.

The sessions, which are in their fifth year, are either free or with a minimal charge.

For more information about where these activities will take place, see the table below:

Provider	Place	Ages	Contact	Cost
Dovecote Nursery	Dovecote Centre	4 to 12	Carol (01865) 712299	free
Youth Service	Youth Centre, Blackbird Leys Road	13+	Gillian Elliott (01865) 772886	free
Leys CDI	Leys Community Centre, Blackbird Leys Road	9 to 15	Theleys Cdi on facebook (01865) 395927	£2 per day
Youth Service	Barton Youth Centre, Underhill Circus, Oxford.	13+	Melanie Jewell (01865) 744202	free
Art - Balance - Culture	Bayards Hill School, Waynflete Road	8 to 13	Jason (01865) 315450	£1 per day
Camp Energy	Wood Farm Nursery School	5 to 7	(01865) 339339	£1 per day
Youth Service	Youth Centre, Tituphall Drive	13+	Simon (01865) 744202	free
Oxford Active	Wood Farm School and at Windmill School, Headington	8 to 13	(01865) 59432	free
Youth Service	Youth Centre, The Oval	11 to 18	(01865) 777937	free
Rose Hill Partnership	Rose Hill Primary School	5 to 11	07775007902	£5 per day or £20 per week
Oxford United	Oxford Community School ( 8 to 14) and Cowley Marsh (15 to 19)	8 to 19	Oxford Community School 11.30 to 2.30 Cowley Marsh 6 to 8pm	free
Littlemore Playscheme	John Henry Newman School, Grange Road	5 to 11	(01865) 778459	£4 per day
OAYP	Oxford Academy, Sandy Lane West	8 to 15	(01865) 368027	£1 per session or £2 per day
Cricket For All	Cowley Marsh	9 to 16	Shazad 07747072241	free
Asylum Welcome	East Oxford, 276a Cowley Road, Oxford	13 to 21	(01865) 722082	free
Urban Dancin	Blackbird Leys and Barton	12 to 25	Miranda (01865) 252820	£2.50 per session or £10 for 5 sessions

Oxford Safer Communities Partnership also supports the initiative.The partners are Oxford City Council, Thames Valley Police, Oxfordshire County Council, Oxfordshire PCT, Thames Valley Probation Service, Youth Offending Team, Oxfordshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team, Crown Prosecution Service and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Released on Thursday 22 July 2010