AT 15 years old Leroy Williamson's life was going nowhere fast.

He was hanging out with the wrong crowd, was in danger of getting into trouble with the law and was even contemplating dropping out of school.

On top of this, his father had chronic mental health problems. By the age of eight, Leroy, from Southey Green, was a young carer looking after his younger sister while his father was in and out of hospital.

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"I had missed loads of school, had to change homes and even contend with a family break up," said Leroy.

"I was a typical young person of my generation, with no prospect of a really positive future at all.

"I didn't want to go to college, I didn't even want to find a job. I grew up on a council estate and that was the general feeling of young people on the estate."

But one day a new teacher at school took time out to talk to Leroy and encourage and support him. She encouraged him to volunteer at his local youth club and he has never looked back since.

"Sometimes that was the only thing that got me to go to school," said Leroy. "By encouraging and listening to my issues both inside and outside the classroom, she had a massive impact on me."

Now aged 23, Leroy is city-wide coordinator of Chilypep – the Children and Young People's Empowerment Project.

This has developed him over the last few years and is even supporting him to study for a degree in Youth and Community Work.

"I now mentor other people and that is just such a great feeling of achievement," said Leroy.

"Now I want other people to have that same feeling as me. To have the chance to change their lives like I had. That's why I have pledged to help other young people achieve like I have. Even if it is only in a small way, I know from personal experience it will have a massive impact on their lives.

"People took a chance on me and I feel so grateful for that. I just want others to also have that chance."

Chilypep is a registered charity which works alongside children and young people aged up to 25 to find fun and creative ways of involving them in the decisions that affect their lives.

Now Leroy is backing the Pledge for Success campaign, which aims to raise the aspirations and attainment in the city's young people, by giving them something to work for.

Already the campaign has attracted support from businesses and voluntary and community groups, which have given their support, time and even money to help people like Leroy in the hope of making a genuine difference to their lives.

"Chilypep has had the biggest impact on my life," added Leroy.

"I hope I can give young people the belief that no matter what problems they have or where they come from, they can achieve and aim higher.

"Supporting the 'Pledge for Success' campaign doesn't have to cost money – just by giving time and support you can make a real difference to a young person's life."

Back our kids to reach for the stars – and both they and our city as a whole will benefit from the results

THE Star is today backing an ambitious campaign to help every child across the city achieve their dreams by raising their aspirations in order to help raise attainment levels.

Pledge for Success is a city-wide campaign which urges Sheffield people and every organisation to think about what they can do personally to help children and young people succeed in life.

Although many do achieve well and have high ambitions, the number of children who have poor educational outcomes is still unacceptably high.

Only two out of three of the city's 11-year-olds achieve nationally expected standards in both English and Maths. And only six out of 10 of the city's young people leave school with five good GCSEs and with Maths and English.

But even more worrying is the fact that many five-year-olds start school without being able to speak properly, with poor levels of behaviour and discipline and having little familiarity with books.

Changing this is vital for the future of not only the young people themselves, but also for the benefit of the city as a whole, including the benefit of the local economy and for the quality of life in the city.

In the past only attainment levels have been looked at, but now Sheffield Council with Sheffield First Partnership is hoping to change things by looking at raising aspirations levels in young people – with the aim of raising attainment levels by doing so.

Now The Star is urging Sheffield folk to sign their own pledge to raise aspirations in young people, with the aim of getting 1,250 pledges by next year. This could be as simple as pledging to read to your child every night at bedtime, cooking healthy meals or even walking to and from school with them as well as helping with their homework and encouraging after school activities.

The Star has signed up to the pledge. Editor Alan Powell said: "This is a great city full of kids achieving well and doing well. But we need to see all the children in Sheffield having the same opportunities which is why we have signed such an important pledge.

"Our pledge is to publicise the pledges that our readers make to support the young people of our city. We have set an ambitious target - now we need everyone's support to reach it."

The campaign has already attracted more than 400 pledges from both businesses and individuals on the authority's websites.

Already more than 250 volunteers have been recruited to help Sheffield pupils improve their reading in the city's schools. Meanwhile more than 240 new school governors have also been recruited as part of the pledge campaign.

And public bodies like the police and health service and the voluntary sector have also pledged to do their bit.

Pledge for Success is primarily aimed at helping to tackle under-achievement in Sheffield schools and to narrow the gap with national pass rates.

Council Leader Coun Paul Scriven, who is also chair of Sheffield First, said: "This issue matters deeply because low attainment leads to unfulfilled potential for individuals which in turn reduces the quality of the city's cultural life and hampers Sheffield's economic performance. In the past raising attainment levels was the only focus, but we want to change that by shifting the focus to raising aspirations.

"If we encourage young people to have dreams, and to try to achieve them, they will achieve far more than they think, and will in turn make us reach our dream as a city of raising attainment levels.

"We need to take every opportunity to encourage the hopes and dreams of our young people and to help them make their dreams happen."