TEENAGERS are set to swap the mean streets of Burnley for the corridors of power as part of an unique exchange programme.

Currently Grace Taylor and Shannon Atkinson are part of a pioneering educational programme, Cool UK, based in Manchester Road, having dropped out of school.

But early next month the pair will be swapping East Lancashire for the hallowed halls of Wellington College, Berkshire, as a fascinating social experiment gets underway.

Education Minister Jim Knight, who has meet with the organisation’s officials, has asked to be kept informed of the scheme’s progress.

The alumni at Wellington, formed in 1853 at the behest of Queen Victoria as a tribute to legendary soldier Arthur Wellsley, the first duke, include Peter Snow, Rory Bremner, Will Young and Sebastian Faulks.

Steph Booth, Cool UK’s development director, is convinced that privileged boarders at Wellington, established in 1853 and with fees of up to £18,000 per year, have more in common with disadvantaged young people in Burnley than people might think.

She said: "The idea is that we will bring these children together, who lives at opposite ends of the social and economic spectrum.

"But once you peel away the labels, of posh kids and poor kids, and look at what you have got.

"For example a lot of the children at Wellington are boarders, and our youngsters are cared-for children. They live in the same sort of way, away from their parents.

"This is about trying to close the gap so each can understand the other’s position."

Cool UK deals with 14-16 year-olds who have been dropped out of mainstream education, including pupil referral units, and offers a more vocational-based route into college or employment.

The Burnley operation has been running for just over four years and has centres for child care in St James Street, construction skills at Cow Lane, motor vehicle studies in Farrington Street and hair and beauty therapy on Yorke Street.

Steph hopes that, if the visit proves successful, the Wellington students can be invited back to Lancashire, to stay at the Caldwell activity centre.

She added: "We are absolutely committed to making this work so we are proceeding cautiously, in order to make it sustainable."