Members of Centrepoint walk to Helvellyn's summit with Prince William and Lake District mountain rescuers at last year's event

Disadvantaged youngsters will get a taste of adventure with mountain experts in a project backed by two senior royal family members.

Six young people from the Centrepoint charity will learn rockclimbing and mountaineering skills while seriously ill children will spend the day at an adventure centre in the company of mountain rescue team members as part of a scheme run by Mountain Rescue England & Wales, the umbrella body for rescuers south of the border.

Prince William is patron of both MRE&W and Centrepoint, which helps homeless young people; Prince Harry is patron of WellChild, which supports seriously ill children and their families.

The princes encourage the charities to work together and the Day of Adventure next Friday will echo the successful day last July when Prince William walked up Helvellyn with Centrepoint members and rescuers from the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association.

This year, the North Wales Mountain Rescue Association will host the event, which will be based in the Ogwen Valley.

Chris Lloyd of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation said: “For this day in Snowdonia, the six young people from Centrepoint can look forward to a day on the mountains with climbing instructors from OVMRO.

“They will be learning about rope skills on the rock face and mountaineering skills such as navigation and team work.”

And six ill young children will spend the morning at The Towers outdoor pursuits centre near Capel Curig before joining rescuers on a search exercise with North East Wales Search and Rescue and members of the Search and Rescue Dogs Association.

The two groups will later meet up at Bryn Poeth, home of Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation, to meet VIP guests and for the presentation of awards.

Centrepoint chief executive, Seyi Obakin said: “ At Centrepoint, we work to enable the 800 homeless young people we support each day to grow in confidence, to deal with the issues that led them to become homeless and to develop skills for a bright and independent future.

This day with a mountain rescue team will be a fantastic experience for Centrepoint young people, with a chance to take on new challenges, increasing their confidence and team-working skills in an exciting outdoor environment.”

Mr Obakin’s counterpart at WellChild, Colin Dyer, said: “The WellChild children and their families will be thrilled to take part in this visit to the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue and I am sure they will all have a great day.

“Many of the children we support have complex care needs and it is fantastic for them, and their families, to be able to take part in this kind of activity.”

Prince William is currently undergoing training in flying search and rescue Sea King helicopters at RAF Valley, on Anglesey.