WHEN school is no longer an option for disadvantaged young people who may have spent time in care there is an organisation there to offer help.

And the Life Skills Academy is celebrating after officially unveiling its new Museum Street centre on Tuesday.

The service was set up by the people behind The Relationship Centre to offer young people a way to learn the essential life skills they need when moving on from care or school.

It also offers youngsters who may not have been engaing in school an alternative environment to continue with their studies.

The project was launched by Alison McCausland when she was asked to step in after her previous work with the police saw her work in areas surrounding domestic violence.

Alison, who is director of services at Life Skills Academy, said: "I started to look at why people run away from home and set up Talk, Don't Walk which was around 2008 when I finished working with the police."

She then went off to work in India for charity where she learnt how to create something for people in need with little funding.

And on her return she continued to work with The Relationship Centre.

"We had a group of young care leavers who had been in a project which didn't meet their needs and they dropped out and the local authority asked would we take over it," she added.

"On the first day someone said which idiot created this programme, he said you start at 9.30am and take an hour for lunch - they won't come in at that time and they won't come after lunch.

"We got to the point where we had to chuck them out at 4.30pm.

"The Dragon's Den star Peter Jones set up his own academy and they said why can't we have one, I said you should have an academy of your own and now we are here."

The new base has a cinema room, pool room and space for meetings with schools and key workers.

And from there they run sessions where young people can also learn about the basics of living alone such as how to cook, clean and iron.

"A lot of the time the breakdown in a tenancy agreement for them is because they don't understand what they have to do. The idea someone can take that property away from them doesn't occur to them."

And with plans for redeveloping the rear garden by its young people and creating projects like music studios the team are also looking to open its doors to the wider public.

"We want it to be open as much as we can. If anyone is interested in using the building they can talk to us," said Alison.

To find out more call 576757.