The cafe hoping to serve up a bright future

A cafe supporting young people back into education and employment has opened in Doncaster.

Scran Cafe has been set up by Future Pathways, which works with students with additional needs or who have left mainstream education.

It will serve the public as a regular cafe, but will also help students gain work experience and obtain qualifications in fields such as catering.

Future Pathways founder Lauren Meston said: "When going for the job interviews in workplaces, the customer service is a real important element, so we thought this is perfect - it covers all areas."

The charity also runs a salon in Doncaster, Pathways Beauty Academy, which it opened in September 2023.

As well as undertaking work placements and specialist qualifications, students continue to study traditional subjects such as English and maths.

Some only attend the programme a few days a week as they continue with their schooling.

"I've worked with young people for over 20 years now, and I saw a real gap with young people that didn't get the advantage that other young people did," said Ms Meston.

"The amount of young people that we're helping has increased every year, and it just fills me with joy."

Tommy, 15, said he had struggled to conform to his high school, and he was permanently excluded in Year 10.

"I think it was just the overcrowded environment, being in such a big classroom with 30 people, it's just overwhelming maybe, overstimulating for some people.

"It just didn't work with my brain."

He had previously been expected to attain 1s in his GCSE exams (equivalent to an F or G under the old grading system).

Since joining Future Pathways, he was now predicted 4s - the grade needed to pass.

"It's shorter lessons, more focused, smaller groups, and less people - so you get more one-to-one support and help," he said.

Freya, 17, was a student with Future Pathways when she was in school, and returned to work with the charity after graduating from college.

She called it a "stepping stone" towards her goal of working with children.

She said that she "hated" going to school, and when she was in Year 7, a teacher told her she "probably wouldn't make it to the end of Year 11 or sit her GCSEs".

However, she changed schools and started attending St Wilfrid's Academy in Doncaster, which suggested she should go to Future Pathways three days a week.

She went on to pass all her exams except for maths, which she said she had failed by a single mark.

She said she hoped she could make a difference to the lives of other young people like her.

"I just want children to want to learn, even if that means they can't sit down in a classroom with a textbook in front of them and write things down all day long.

"I want them to feel like they've got someone they can rely on to help set them up for the future - which is what school should be about."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.