BLACKBIRD Leys students stepped outside of the classroom to help the community by redecorating the estate’s youth centre.

Painting and decorating students from City of Oxford College’s Cuddesdon Way campus are spending two weeks redecorating the Leys Community Development Initiative (CDI) centre on Blackbird Leys Road.

Fifteen students, a mix of apprentices and level 2 full-time students, are giving the centre a fresh coat of paint and repairing any damage.

The project forms part of the students’ studies and means apprentices can learn and practice how to use airless spray guns, which spray a thick coat of paint using electric pumps.

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Painting and decorating apprentice Antoine Flett, 21, said: “I am enjoying the opportunity to represent the college and to help make a difference.

“It feels great to use the skills I’ve learnt during my apprenticeship to improve such a great community project.”

The centre, based in the Glow Hall at the Blackbird Leys Community Centre, is used for youth clubs, community meetings and parties.

Leys CDI youth project development manager Marsha Jackson said: “Our centre was last decorated four years ago. It gets a lot of use, and was starting to look that way, but our funds are limited.

“As a youth organisation we are delighted to be working with the college to provide students with experience which will develop their skills, while also supporting our youth projects.

“The college staff and students have been fantastic in bringing this project to fruition and we look forward to operating from our freshly decorated centre.”

In return for the work, the college will be the first organisation to use the refurbished facility when it holds its student achievement awards next month.

Learning manager James Posselwhite said: “We are keen to work with the local community and this project is mutually beneficial for our students, the college and the team at Leys CDI.

“We were looking for a space to hold our annual awards ceremony when this opportunity arose and we are delighted to be working closely with an organisation that is doing so much for young people in the area.”

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