North Swindon MP, Justin Tomlinson, arranged for local fifteen year old Ollie Webb and his volunteer mentor to go on an exclusive tour of a video games studio in Cirencester.
Ollie has long dreamed of a career in the industry but has never had the chance to see a studio for real. Justin arranged for him to visit Neon Play and get some top tips from CEO Oli Christie having met Ollie at a SMASH open evening.
Along with providing mentoring to young people who have not had the best start in life, Swindon Mentoring And Self Help - SMASH - organises activities and visits to motivate, challenge and inspire young people.
Whist touring the studio they were shown how a computer game is created, and watched as detailed 3D models were brought to life. The Neon Play developers also gave Ollie top tips and advice on breaking into the industry.
Ollie said “Everyone was really friendly and showed me everything; it’s the kind of place I’d like to work. I’ve learnt that if you work hard for something and keep practising you’ll achieve it.
“It was a great experience and it opened my eyes to what I can do. I just wanted to go and have a look around but now I definitely want to and go for it, it’s really motivated me.”
Justin said: “SMASH does an incredible job making a real difference to so many young people’s lives. People like myself can help by opening doors to areas that may spark the interest of young people. It is so important that we provide a tangible end goal so that young people have something to work towards and aim for.”
The charity is always looking for companies in the Swindon area who could allow a small group of young people to visit them to discover possibilities for their futures. Anyone who is interested is asked to contact SMASH on 01793 729748 or email: admin@smashyouthproject.co.uk
