Despite the weather over 1500 young people, their families and VIPs attended the NCS Celebration Event on Saturday (13th of October) to celebration the achievements of NCS participants from Cumbria and North Lancashire over the summer.
The event was held at Rheged in Penrith.
“It is always a wonderful occasion,” said Mark Bowman, Chief Executive of Inspira, the Penrith based organisation responsible for managing National Citizen Service in Cumbria and Lancashire.
“NCS has been an amazing journey for Inspira as well as the young people who take part in it. We first started delivering NCS in 2011 when 300 young people took part. This year Inspira will have helped nearly 5000 young people take part.”
With videos showcasing the activities and social actions the young people took part in, the event also saw awards made to those who had had the most ‘Inspiring Journey’, for the best social actions and local schools in the counties who have supported and embedded NCS into the school’s ethos.
Ben Duddy from Brampton and one of the award winners said,“It felt like a once in a lifetime moment. I’ve met people I’ll never forget – we’ll stay friends forever. Everyone should do NCS!”
Members of Team Cupid, who were awarded the ‘Most Creative Social Action’ in the South Lakes area said: “We didn’t think we could really make a difference when we started, but we proved that you really can. Everyone gelled, and everyone stepped up. We didn’t know each other to begin with but we’re going to stay friends.”
NCS is a part-residential four-week programme involving adrenaline fuelled activities in an outdoor setting, experiencing living independently in a university setting, learning about their local community and developing and delivering a social action project.
“It’s great to see the young people’s development, enjoyment and commitment to their communities,” continued Mr Bowman. “As well as developing local social action projects, they also raised over £10,000 for local charities.”
Individual Awards for the Most Inspiring Journey
- Michael Read – Grange over Sands
- Ben Duddy – Brampton
- Peter Mullins – Carlisle
- James Power – Morecambe
- Bailey Harding – Barrow – In – Furness
- Kevin Moore – Workington
- Jack Horricks – Whitehaven
Most Creative Social Action projects
- Team Cupid from Lancaster and Morecambe – supporting young people’s mental health and charity Papyrus.
- Wave 2, Team 4 & 5 from Penrith – raising money and doing renovations to the Edington Centre in Penrith who provide day services to people with learning disabilities including work placements, training and care.
- Wave 3, Team 12 from North Cumbria – raising awareness and collecting donations for Cumbria Refugee Action Group.
- All Wave 2 teams from Kendal – Talk Together, raising awareness of suicide and mental health.
- Wave 1, Team 3 from Barrow-in-Furness – raising awareness and money for Cancer Research.
- Wave 2, Team 3 from West Cumbria – raising awareness about the amount of plastic in the ocean.
Champion Schools:
- Keswick – Silver
- West Lakes Academy – Gold
- Nelson Thomlinson School – Bronze
- Morecambe Community High School – Bronze
- Lancaster and Morecambe College – Gold
- Millom School – Bronze
- Walney School – Bronze
- Furness Academy – Gol