MORE than 500 teenagers in Southampton, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are set to take part in exciting new activities after a vital project received a £1.1m cash boost.

South Central Activities for Young People, a project run by Hampshire County Council, received the massive sum from the New Opportunities Lotteries Fund at a special presentation ceremony at the Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium.

The money will go towards funding 31 projects over the next three years aimed at the personal development of 16-year-olds as they look to make the transition from school to adult life.

Tim Symington of South Central Activities for Young People said: "We started as a pilot scheme two years ago and the interest from young people has been phenomenal.

"We already run many schemes in the Southampton area such as Discovery Young Men and Discovery Young Women.

"One 16-year-old who did not know what he wanted from life went on a white-water rafting course and loved it so much he has since become a trained instructor.

"I recently received a letter from him thanking us for our help. It's stories like this that make the project so worthwhile.

"Thanks to the New Opportunities money, now we hope to have more than 700 young people in the region taking part in our schemes during this year alone."

A variety of projects from Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire also received a share of the new £4.6m New Opportunities pot for developing opportunities for teenagers in the south-east.

A further £325,000 of New Opportunities Fund money was announced for summer learning projects across the south east.

Geoff Thompson, a fund board member of the scheme, said: "The Activities for Young People programme is clearly an excellent opportunity to inspire, motivate, develop and support young people who may otherwise be excluded from such possibilities."

A number of projects which have benefited from New Opportunities Fund cash in the past were also represented at the presentation to illustrate how money had been put to good use. One such, The Millennium Third Age Centre in Bevois Valley, Southampton due to be completed by Spring 2003, will provide locals aged 50-plus with easy access to computers.