City councillor Matt Sellwood, second left, with New College students Dan Jones, left, Nicholas Midgley and Madeleine Sumption A tax on students at an Oxford college has raised £1,800 for young people in deprived areas of the city.

Members of the Junior Common Room (JCR) at New College voted to introduce a voluntary levy of £5 on each undergraduate towards Oxfordshire Youth Service's work on estates such as Wood Farm.

Only a minority of students have opted out of paying the fee and £1,800 has been raised out of a possible £2,000.

The move has been welcomed by teenagers in Wood Farm and the cash-strapped youth service.

Young people on the estate are calling for a new youth club after the previous building, known as the Chilla, closed in January last year.

They want better provision for social activities which they say will help stop boredom and prevent antisocial behaviour in the area.

Green city councillor Matt Sellwood, a member of the college JCR, who proposed the levy scheme, said: "This is a wonderful example of the way in which the student body can work with the rest of Oxford to provide opportunities for those less fortunate than ourselves.

"Too often Oxford students are stereotyped as uncaring. "This measure, among many others, shows that we want to be a constructive part of the whole Oxford community. As city councillor for an almost entirely student ward, I am delighted to see the student community doing its bit in Oxford.

"Hopefully this will only be the start of increased co-operation between the gown and the town in this city."

Madeleine Sumption, 21, a fourth year Russian and French student at the college, backed the scheme.

She said: "A lot of Oxford students live in quite privileged environments and don't come across some of the problems in the city.

"This might help raise awareness of the issues and encourage other JCRs to do something similar."

Chelsea Spencer, 15, who as reported in Monday's Oxford Mail, took part in a recent project to create a DVD film portraying a positive side to life in Wood Farm, is among the young people calling for better facilities on the estate.

She said: "I'm really pleased and quite shocked. I don't know any university students in Wood Farm so it's good that they are raising money for us. There's definitely a lot of need for it."

Monica Hanaway, head of the youth service, said: "This is brilliant news and I would like to thank the students.

"There are lots of difficulties in this area with hard-to-reach young people.

"It's very good for them to recognise that other young people have different experiences and that they're prepared to do something to help."