Before February half term, the National Citizen Service (NCS) came in to speak to year 11s about an annual scheme they run for year 11s every summer. They will be in to visit Year 12s within the next few weeks. It is a great 3 or 4 week scheme which sees pupils:

• Spend 4 nights in Swanage taking part in adventurous and outdoor activities such as Coastering, kayaking, inflatable water park and much more.
• Spend 4 nights at Fort Purbrook learning life skills and independent living such as cooking, first aid, photography etc
• Develop and put in place a community project within their local area.

At the end of the summer, students graduate from the programme and receive a certificate signed by the prime minister.

This is a great opportunity for our year 11 and year 12s to take part in things they might not otherwise – not only do they get to meet friends from other schools that might potentially go to the same college/apprenticeship as them next year but it will also look brilliant on future applications as it is a national initiative. The cost for the whole 3 or 4 week scheme is £50 – it would normally be £1500 but the scheme is government funded to reduce the costs for all young people. If any students are on free school meals, pupil premium, young carers or bursaries, then the total cost of the programme is only £20.

Information packs came home with pupils on the date of the assembly, but if you would like more information you can get in touch with the Portsmouth NCS team via the details below.

The programme this year runs over 6 different dates which students can pick from and none of the dates run over any weekends. In some cases, they can work around holidays, proms, college interviews etc, so just get in touch with the team.

Wave 1: Monday 24^th June – Friday 19^th July 9 (LIMITED PLACES)

Wave 2: Monday 1^st July – Friday 26^th July (SOLD OUT)

Wave 3: Monday 8^th July – Friday 2^nd August (SOLD OUT)

Wave 4: Monday 15^th July – Friday 9^th August

Wave 5: Monday 22^nd July – Friday 16^th August

Wave 6: Monday 29^th July – Friday 16^th August (3 week model)

Places are running out extremely quickly and there is a deadline for applications which is Friday 22^nd March. To book your place or to ask any questions, get in touch with the Portsmouth NCS team below on:

Email: ncs@pompeyitc.org.uk

Telephone: 02392 728 899 (option 2)