AN education scheme that has helped nearly 6,000 Swindon children since it started three years ago, is facing the prospect of closure due to council cuts.

The Children's University is one of a host of community projects facing the axe as the Borough Council seeks to slash £800,000 from next year's budget to balance the books.

Other services under threat include 10 libraries, Swindon Dance and the Sixth Sense theatre group.

The council is currently carrying out a public consultation before it decides which parts of the budget to cut.

The Children's University provides week-long courses during the school holidays for nine to 16 year-olds. Last year it received £45,000 from the council and this year its grant was cut to £25,000.

If the grant is scrapped altogether the education scheme could be mothballed as soon as March. This would mean it losing out on £40,000 which has already been promised from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund but which is reliant on match funding.

Neil Harding, who started the project, said: "If we were to lose the funding it would be a great shame. The Children's University has been a very considerable success."

The CU is based at New College and has run courses on sailing, orienteering, German, Spanish, martial arts and dance.

Mr Harding said: "The manager Rob Crow has done a fabulous job.

"The CU gives children very different alternative educational opportunities.

"The teaching style is completely different from school and very flexible. Children often say that it is nothing like school the atmosphere is much less formal.

"It gives children positive opportunities during holiday periods when parents are out often working and it's difficult to know what to do with the children."

The council's cabinet voted to increase next year's council tax by 9.5 per cent at a meeting last Thursday.

The decision means it will have to find cuts of £800,000 by slashing services which the council is not legally obliged to offer.

The Conservative-led council has blamed the Labour government for not giving the borough enough money.