The YG NCS Team talks about the exciting year ahead.

1 February 2016

So NCS recruitment is in full swing again after the Christmas break. We’re busy accessing schools and other events across Gloucestershire so we can spread the NCS word to as many young people as possible.

The National Citizen Service (NCS) is an amazing 4 week programme, where 16/17 year olds get the chance to go on 2 residentials, learn about their community and complete a Social Action Project.

The first residential sees young people taking part in outdoor adventure activities, from rock climbing to canoeing, caving to raft building, and gives them the chance to get to know their team. The 2nd residential is set within Gloucestershire and is all about getting to know the community and learning life skills. We give the team a budget for the week and get them to plan every meal and cook for each other, a total of 17 people.

The Social Action part of the programme allows the teams to give something back to the community. Whether it be helping to renovate a community space, putting on activities for a community group or holding fundraising events to raise money for a particular charity, whatever the team want to do, we facilitate for them and sometimes reel them in when they propose to build a community centre in 30 hours!

Last summer, we raised over £20,000 for a variety of different charities across Gloucestershire and that was all down to the 221 young people we worked with throughout the 6 week holidays.

It’s a really exciting time for us all because we are looking at getting in to festivals, like Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Wychwood Music Festival and the Dragon Boat Regatta, to talk to parents and young people about the programme. We’ve already managed to fill the diary with assemblies and lunchtime events during spring term.

We also have an amazing opportunity for young people to be part of the crew that are sailing The Pelican Tall Ship to the Channel Islands over the Easter Holidays; this really could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for young people and staff alike.

I can’t wait to get out and about to talk to young people about how they can have the Summer of a Lifetime.