A new £1.25m network of community learning centres in Newport is set to give thousands of Newport residents a RISE.

The modern and well-equipped RISE learning centres, which are dotted around the city centre, are intended to attract an additional 8,000 Newportonians into learning by 2010.

To encourage people to come through the doors of the newly built or upgraded centres, Newport City Council, part of the RISE Partnership, teamed up with Newport Bus for a novel campaign entitled 'Ticket to RISE.'

Special tickets were available on all 85 city buses, which carry more than 33,000 passengers a day. Those who took the tickets to their neighbour-hood RISE centre were entered into a draw to win a hot air balloon flight from Tredegar Park.

The month-long initiative to launch the city's RISE network was being backed by top Newport celebrities, athlete Darren Campbell and rap collective Goldie Lookin' Chain who urged people to check out the opportunities at their local centres.

The Newport RISE project is part of a wider drive to revitalise communities affected by the Llanwern steel job losses.

For more information visit www.learnwithrise.com.