Actor Kwame Kwei-Armah has lent his support to a mentoring programme for gifted young people from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds.

Speaking at the launch of African and Caribbean Diversity’s Mentoring and Enrichment programme, Kwame – who plays paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC’s Casualty – told young students that with determination and application they could achieve anything.

He also praised the efforts of the programme’s mentor companies, JP Morgan and Clifford Chance. “They can show the kids opportunities in jobs that they might not have previously considered,” he said.

The two-year programme offers a mix of academic, interpersonal and leadership development activities to 20 girls and boys, and aims to help the pupils achieve the government’s benchmark of at least five GCSEs at A* to C grade.

Also speaking at the launch were Paul Boateng MP, legal director of Dell Trevor Faure, and Bob McGuire, head of investment banking UK at JP Morgan.