NCS

[Mumofjoeb]

Hi, has anyone's teenager done NCS this year? My daughter is booked to go in October but various friends have just done a summer one and told her it's awful and not to go, some didn't go back for their second week. Just wondering if they were just on a particularly poor one or if this is the general feeling? Thanks

My sister is doing NCS at the moment and is having a great time. She's just finishing the second week today. They went to the Lake District last week and she said it was amazing - bushcraft. teambuilding, outward bound type stuff. The leaders sound good too, they asked the teenagers to come up with their own rules on their first day - things like bedtime, washing up etc.

Think it's a really good idea, helps them to mix with teenagers from different backgrounds and do a little bit of good too.

My DS is doing NCS at the moment - he went to the Isle of Wight, then spent a week staying in halls of residence in a nearby city and has just finished his first week of the community project. I've been so impressed with the organisation and the goup's plans their for supporting what is quite a "difficult" charity that they have chosen. One thing to remember is that there are quite few different agencies running NCS around the country so everyone's experiences will be different. Of course it may also depend on the young person's attitude. Some love being away from home and being set a challenge - others don't thrive on it quite so much. My son chose to do it instead of Explorer camp this year (which he usually loves) and he says it a hundred times better. I do hope you can persuade your daughter to give it a go.

My ds has just finished week 2 and has had a great time. A few people have been kicked off for mucking about but otherwise everyone has stuck it out and seemed to enjoy doing so.

The October one will be different though as it is 4 weeks of stuff squashed down.

Thank you all, I feel more positive about it now and will try to persuade her it's worth doing.

My dd has just finished a 4 week ncs. Culminating in Tinie Tempah visiting their project and the being on the news on bbc1 Thursday
there's been some boring bits and it's a massive commitment for them.but boy! She's grown up so.much and done so much!