TEENAGERS are using youth centres as “revision banks” for summer exams due to a lack of internet access and space at home, a charity warned today.

Many sites used as so-called warm banks, for young people whose families were hit with soaring energy bills over the winter, are now in demand as places to study ahead of GCSE and A-Level exams, OnSide said.

The organisation, which runs many youth centres in England’s most disadvantaged areas, stressed that sky-rocketing broadband bills, rising tech costs and crowded homes could see teenagers from low-income families become the “hidden casualty of the cost-of-living crisis.”

Chief executive Jamie Masraff said: “We are incredibly concerned that not having a reliable internet connection, access to a laptop or a quiet place to study will have a significant impact on young people.”

He said the charity’s Warrington centre has had its boardroom turned into a revision room, while youth workers at its site in Oldham have set up a dedicated room for revision and computer access.

But the efforts are “just scratching the surface of the need,” Mr Masraff warned, adding: “All parts of society need to give support to young people through this cost-of-living crisis or we risk leaving a whole generation forever marked by its impact.”

Tom Hughes, an Onsite youth worker in Bolton, said: “I see young people coming to the club every evening to use the Wi-Fi here as they don’t have access to a computer at home.

“Many of our young people come from households where money is very tight, it might be noisy or there are younger siblings who need attention.”

Nearly a third of households are struggling to afford basic communications services as inflation stays at a 40-year double-digit high, telecoms watchdog Ofcom warned last month.