A group of teenage boys in Sydney’s south-west has found its voice in a project aimed at developing much needed community recreational facilities.

The John Edmondson High School Year 9 students have worked over two years to identify and promote the needs of youth in the area.

School counsellor Lynley McNab said the school, which opened in 2005, was in a new housing area that had grown rapidly ahead of infrastructure and facilities.

She began working with the boys when they were in Year 7 and at risk of exclusion from the school. The boys believed they were “naughty” because they were bored.

“And when these kids said they were bored, they really were. There truly isn’t anything for them to do (in the local area),” Ms McNab said.

“The question for me was, how can we make something of this?” A Liverpool City Council youth development officer explained to the boys how to identify the community’s needs and communicate that information to council decision-makers.

The group met with the high school’s principal, Gary Joannides, and executive staff, seeking permission for the project and identified what they needed to do to conduct a survey of their peers and students from John Edmondson High’s partner primary schools.

A skate park was the most popularly requested facility, followed by a swimming pool and sports grounds.

The findings were presented to Liverpool City Council last year and council representatives have made further visits to the school as part of ongoing consultation.

Student Josh Hogan said: “Personally, I’d probably never use a skate park, and I might be 18 by the time it’s built, but if we get involved now it will benefit kids in the future.”

Ms McNab said the project had empowered the boys. “These boys now have a sense of belonging in the school and a right to be there,” she said.