Have your kids done the NCS program please?

Posted by CheeryBottom@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 9 comments

How did you find it? Our sons school had NCS do an assembly about their program and our son wants to sign up. Apparently it’s similar to the Duke of Edinburgh. It’s costs £95 to sign your child up and there’s a five day residential. Our son has come home wanting us to sign him up and we’re trying to find out what it is before we pay the fee. Thank you

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9 Comments

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Benjaminook@reddit

I did it a few years back. It's not really like DofE and it might have changed recently but I couldn't recommend it enough if it's the sort of thing he thinks he'd enjoy. We had a 5 day residential at a PGL-type thing then another one based at a local uni with some more life skills stuff, which could be a bit dull but most people found at least some of the sessions useful, and there was a basic first aid session which is always good to know. I think the specifics of the scheme vary by where you are in the country and which organisation runs it but feel free to DM if you've got any more specific questions

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Educational_Worth906@reddit

Not done it myself (old fogey), but have worked with quite a few kids that have done it and they all thoroughly enjoyed it.

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stolethemorning@reddit

I went on it! It was great fun and I know the government subsidises it heavily so it’s super cheap. We did a camping thing for a week, like those PGL camps everyone went on in Yr6 but with better activities. We went to a university residence for a week and had to all plan and cook meals ourselves within a given budget. Then the third week was charity work stuff. Also if all his friends go and he doesn’t, he will be missing out. I only went in the first place because I had FOMO and a bunch of people I knew were doing it and I ended up becoming better friends with them and also making new ones from all the people I met.

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RoyalyMcBooty@reddit

Not as a student on it, but as a teacher I've ran it multiple times for the Schools I work in. I'm a big fan of it for the residential alone, 5 days away from home, pretty cool activities but most importantly pushing comfort zones. The activities normally include abseiling, rock climbing, kayaking etc - all really good to experience, but I honestly think the best part of it is the social side. Kids today (Jesus I sound old) don't get the "outside" social life as much as previous generations, so I say go for it. Good for him for wanting to go for it. Also here is a top tip...NCS is a 100% government funded programme, they ask for £95 to show what a good deal it is (the food, accommodation, activities etc would usually be about £500 minimum), but you don't actually need to pay the fee to get on the programme.

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CheeryBottom@reddit (OP)

Thank you. I googled the government page on it but I really wanted an independent opinion like yours.

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KaleidoscopicColours@reddit

£95 for a five day residential? Absolute bargain

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Maximum_Discount_486@reddit

They have a website and you can google "National Citizen Service reviews" to get other people's opinion on it too.

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CliffyGiro@reddit

“Mentions Edinburgh” well not exactly. NCS isn’t actually a thing outside of England so I’ve no idea if it’s good or not. When I was a youth worker there were similar schemes for teenagers in Scotland and it definitely done them good, we didn’t make their parents pay for it though.

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