A TROUBLED teenager has been awarded a scholarship totalling almost £1000 after turning his life around on the Princes Trust Programme.

Anthony Fairhurst, 19, was unemployed for three years after leaving school.

His local job centre in Weymouth told him about the Princes Trust Programme which helps people in their teens and early twenties who may not have had the best start, turn their luck around.

The programme has a close relationship with the T.S. Pelican, a ship operated by the charity Under Sail, and sends many young people for work experience there.

Antony and Will Makepeace, 17, were both sent to the sailing ship, and both took to life on the seas to an unprecedented degree.

Anthony said: “I’ve never felt so passionate about anything in my life.”

At an awards ceremony in the Hix Academy of Weymouth College, who host the programme, Anthony was surprised with a life changing piece of news.

Not only will he stay aboard the vessel in the summer, but the Princes Trust and Weymouth College have teamed up to give him the £995 he needs to attend a week of Maritine training in Southampton to see him embark for a life at sea.

Rikk Butler, the Pelican’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Ant and Will have proved themselves to be both reliable and consistent with our values.

“They should be proud of the fine characters they have shown themselves to be.”

The Prince’s Trust is this year celebrating its 40th birthday and estimates it has helped around 825,000 young people across the county in that time.

Much of the work focuses on people who come from deprived backgrounds or suffer from mental health problems.

Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, presented Anthony with his certificate for completing the 12 week programme.

He said: “It just shows what a widely skilled dedicated team, though small in number, can do for young people.

“The message is simple: I think that if you really put your mind to it, you can do anything you want.

“You can become sailors, actors, or musicians.

“All the young people go away from this course more confident.

“They are able to work together as a team.”

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