Funding has been secured for a new careers hub which will serve schools and colleges in North Herts, Stevenage and Welwyn Hatfield.

The new hub - which will be led by Thomas Alleyne Academy in Stevenage - aims to bring schools and colleges in the three districts closer to employers, universities and training providers.

The Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has secured a portion of a £2.5 million pot of funding which will see 20 new career hubs set up across England - providing young people with access to support, funding, training and networking.

Damian Hinds, Secretary of State for Education, announced the new fund.

He said: "This investment will give thousands more young people access to expert careers guidance as they take those first, exciting steps into their future."

So far 20 out of 26 schools across Stevenage, North Herts and Welwyn Hatfield districts have backed the careers hub initiative, which is set to launch in September.

As the lead school for the hub, Thomas Alleyne Academy will be advocating for the initiative among other schools.

Thomas Alleyne headteacher Mark Lewis said: "Our school has brought forth a fantastic range of opportunities for our students.

"We look forward to working closely with other schools in improve careers education across the whole of Hertfordshire."

Gareth Dace, careers hub manager at Herts LEP, said the school "provides a fantastic example of good practice".

He added: "The school is consistently the highest achieving school across Stevenage and North Herts in terms of the Gatsby Benchmarks."

According to Herts LEP, schools and colleges that are part of the careers hub network are already outperforming their peers when it comes to careers education.

Norman Jennings, operations director at Herts LEP, said: "The Hertfordshire careers hub will provide schools with intensive support to ensure our young people are given the best possible start to their working lives."

Herts LEP is one of 38 local enterprise partnerships tasked by the government to encourage economic growth.

The organisation, under its Strategic Economic Plan, has secured more than £300 million in government and EU funding since 2014.