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On Monday 12th September we kicked off our celebrations which showcase the achievements of our Wave One Summer National Citizen Service (NCS) participants at a glittering graduation ceremony in Chesterfield. Held at the historic Winding Wheel theatre this event marked the end of a Summer of adventure, team work and inspiring social action for 47 young people aged 16-17 that had taken part. Participants were welcomed back for a chance to share with friends and family the remarkable journey they had been on.

All participants had put an incredible amount of work into NCS, giving up part of their Summer holidays to take part in the scheme. Despite not knowing their team mates before the first day they overcame challenging activities together, learnt new skills and created some amazing projects to help their communities. It was unbelievable to think that just months beforehand most of the young people at Friday’s event had never met one another. The buzzing atmosphere of excitement, friendship and support stands testament to the tight bonds they formed thanks to NCS.

Each team was welcomed in turn to the stage, as their leader recounted the highlights of their wave.  Every young person received a certificate as an official document to mark their hard work and the challenges they have overcome. This certificate and the hard work they have invested in NCS is recognised by universities, colleges and employers and will help them in the future by making them stand out above the rest.

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The graduation ceremony enabled us to give special recognition those participants that had gone the extra mile and social action projects which had made the biggest impact on the local community.  Within each of the four teams from Wave One, a ‘Social Action Hero’ was chosen by their FF Team Leader.

We were delighted to recognise the achievements and awarded the ‘Social Action Hero Award’ to:

  • Sarah Lane
  • Melissa Vernon
  • Max Widdowson
  • Jordon Bramhill Barrett
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Every team fearlessly took to the stage to present their social action project which they designed, planned and carried out over the Summer. We were honoured to welcome leaders from the local community who judged the presentations, and would like to say a big thank you to them for giving up their time to join us and celebrate the impact of our young people.

  • Alan Ward, Community Organisers
  • David Brown, Community Organisers
  • Scott Timbrell
  • Bekah Anstey,Young Enterprise
  • Simon Paterson, Ingeus
Our panel of judges assessed the teams on their report and presentation according to the following judging criteria.

  • The teams learning and knowledge gained
  • The teams impact on their community
  • The team skills that participants have learnt and developed throughout the programme including creativity, self-confidence, risk-taking, energy and leadership.
  • Any additional special recognition, including having other people involved in the project, creating multiple projects or creating a sustainable project

The Social Action projects were diverse and reflected the interest and passions of the young people; from creating football sessions for other, getting people to donate blood, creating a stimulating environment for the elderly through entertainment and educating about Autism.

The winning team, ‘Bernice’s Squad’ presented with confidence, with flare and passion their project which focused on Autism Awareness.  They ran coffee mornings, including a quiz around Autism to increase understanding.  They also created a video to support their project in hope to educating others about Autism and its effects.

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All graduates should be really proud of what they have achieved and we’re delighted to have publicly acknowledged the dedication, leadership and commitment they have shown by taking part in NCS. We would like to thank them, and every single member of staff that led, mentored and supported the participants on Wave One to compete the programme!

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Michelle

Project manager Future Foundations

‘It was amazing to see the wide variety of projects undertaken. What really impressed me about these young people was their grit and determination. Many of the teams faced difficulties, which they overcame and learnt a lot from. For them to stand in front of all those people and present their project just goes to demonstrate how far they have come in building their confidence through this amazing programme.’

NCS is a life changing four week Government funded programme getting young people connected and active in their local community. Over 200,000 young people aged 16-17 in the UK will have been taken on a journey to increase their leadership skills, teamwork and communication skills as well as developing trust, responsibility, understanding and empathy through the NCS programme.You can find out more about NCS at www.ncsyes.co.uk and www.facebook.com/NCS.