A YOUTH project group from Swindon will meet the government minister for children today in a bid gain funding for their work.

The organisers of the Tranquillity Zone at Hreod Parkway School are also hoping Margaret Hodge MP can be persuaded to set up the scheme all over the country.

The Tranquillity Zone is part of the Swindon Youth Empowerment Project and has been running for a year.

The aims is to offer children a way to escape stress at school.

Heather O'Neill, SYEP co-ordinator said: "Teenagers have more energy and enthusiasm than anyone else, but even young people are getting burned out by the stress."

Fidelma Meehan, project manager of the Tranquillity Zone, said: "Since starting this partnership with Hreod Parkway School, the project has gone from strength to strength.

"The idea today is to try and get it into other schools around the country and we want to talk about funding what we are doing as a national pilot project.

"I feel if we can capture the imagination of Margaret Hodge we could be on the way to putting the project on the map.

"Young people enjoy these programmes so much that they ask to continue working with us and we are now devising branch activities to meet this demand."