Youngsters who found themselves unemployed and claiming benefits on leaving school say their lives have been transformed by a scheme which gives them both an adrenalin rush and the skills to get a job.

Family and friends gathered at the National Trust property Killerton House, near Broadclyst for a ceremony celebrating those who have completed the Prince’s Trust course.The course is designed to give participants a second chance and the event was the culmination of three months of hard work for those who had been chosen to take part.

As well as attending outdoor adventure courses on Dartmoor and work experience, the young people enrolled on the course spent a week transforming an overgrown piece of land at Killerton as part of a community project.

They had to fundraise to get the money to pay for the equipment needed to do the work. The six young people also learned CV writing and interview skills and most have now decided to do college courses which will lead to work. Most were referred onto the course, the brainchild of the Prince of Wales and run by Exeter College, through the Connexions careers service. Nathan Henry, 17, said he was jobless, broke and bored after leaving St James School and jumped at the chance to get on the scheme. “I was just sat at home doing nothing with my life, wasting all my money and getting into trouble. I was just trouble all round,” said Nathan, who lives in Whipton. “I was so close to being up in court but now I feel I’ve sorted my life out and I’m starting a bricklaying apprenticeship at Exeter College in September.”

Jethro Thomas, 20, from Whipton, also found himself without a decent job after leaving St Luke’s High School. Through the Prince’s Trust, he has discovered his passion for the outdoors and is signed up to do a course in adventurous activities leadership at Bicton College. “I drifted from job to job and felt that I needed direction,” he said.

Dan Spicer, 17, also found himself at a loose end after leaving the then Priory High School. “I was going from day to day doing nothing and I didn’t have much confidence,” he said. “I was really quiet before I started doing this course but now I’ve started to open up and I feel myself changing.” Dan, of Cowley Bridge, is due to start a plumbing apprenticeship.

At the awards evening, all those on the course gave a presentation about what they had learned from the experience. Older people are also chosen to take part in the course with the younger ones, so they can develop personally and progress in their career. Team leader Dave Adams is now looking for potential candidates for the next course. “We take people from a diverse range of backgrounds who are seeking a different direction in their life,” he said. “All those on this team have come a long way, they would not have been able to stand up in front of a room of people and speak three months ago.”