A TEENAGER who suffered with depression has gained a place with a top football school after being helped by ACT Training.

Luke Whitchurch, who suffered with depression and anxiety, plans to study a BTEC with Cardiff City Foundation.

Despite being an A* pupil, Luke left school this year, due to suffering health problems which prevented him from completing exams.

The 16-year-old then spotted an advert to join ACT Training at its centre in Barry, on an eight-week skills course designed to help 16 to 18-year-olds gain important skills to succeed in working life.

The teenager, who has set his sights on a career in sport, thanked the centre last week for providing him with "vital skills to succeed".

He said: “I missed the first two days of the ACT course because of my anxiety, but when I eventually found the confidence to go in everyone was so welcoming, and over the next few weeks we went back to basics and I learned how to cope with different situations I was likely to deal with in the world of work.

“I was learning so much but because it didn’t feel like a classroom environment I was so much more relaxed, and by the time I came to have my post-GCSE interview with the careers service a few weeks later I had the confidence to have a proper conversation about where I wanted to go, and what I wanted to do.”

Andrew Cooksley, managing director at ACT Training, said: “Luke’s experience of his time with ACT is exactly why we are working to reach out to as many areas of Wales as we can. Barry is a vibrant town with many ongoing developments and we want to ensure the opportunities that come about as a result go to local young people wherever possible.”