National Citizenship Service

Great Marlow School received a visit from representatives of the National Citizenship Service last Friday (11th May) who came to encourage students to join the NCS Class of 2018.

The National Citizenship Service (otherwise known as NCS) is a summer programme -also offering activity days throughout the year- for teenagers aged 16 to 17. The programme gives young people the chance to learn new skills and is also a great way to make new friends from differentschools and areas of the county. The programme’s length ranges from 3 to 4 weeks, with the first week including a residential stay in PGL style accommodation. This week pushes you to try new challenges and face fears-whether that may be of swinging from precarious ropes to eating the catered food…You can use this stage to bond with the rest your team during the day sessions and members of other teams with whom you will share a dormitory with throughout the week.

The next stage is also residential; in which you will stay in university accommodation. In this week you will develop skills in an area of their choice and start volunteering in their local community. Participants will end the week by merging both their chosen skill and volunteering experience in a final presentation which will be performed to the rest of the programme and parents.

The final weeks entirely revolve around aiding the community. The groups will form an idea to raise money for a charity or care home and then carry out that idea in their local area. This will show the teams how powerful volunteering can be while improving their event planning, teambuilding and public speaking skills.

As an NCS graduate myself, I cannot give enough praise to this programme. Throughout my time in NCS I learned new skills in drama and leadership (as I found myself in the role of Team Leader) while also seeing how much good can come from taking the time to help others in my own community. At the beginning of the programme I hardly expected to find myself singing The Proclaimers’ “500 Miles” (a classic if I may say so) to an entire nursing home, playing a game of (what I can only describe as) football/water polo in the middle of a lake, and walking around the
Eden Centre in a Winnie the Pooh onesie with a tray of cupcake in my arms and copious amounts of glitter on my face, hair and hands.

To those wanting a summer filled with adventure, challenge and friendship, all I can say is: say yes to NCS!

Written by Louisa Glen-Bramley, Sixth Form Reporter