Young people need National Citizen Service more than ever—Cutting it now is a mistake
14 November 2024, 11:22
Now is not the time for the government to scrap the National Citizen Service, as young people need these schemes more than ever.
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The Government has decided to end the National Citizen Service (NCS) and I am bitterly disappointed. David Cameron’s scheme launched in 2011 and it has benefitted over 1 million young people across Britain, myself being one of them.
In an age where children spend more time on TikTok than outside with their friends, I believe the NCS scheme to be more vital than ever.
I took part in NCS when I was 16 years old, in the summer of 2017, and it is one of the fondest memories of my teenage years. NCS opened a door to meeting other young people from many different backgrounds, vastly different from my secondary school cohort.
The experience helped me to develop my social skills and empowered me to make new friends, many of whom I consider to be life-long.
I believe that many children across the UK would significantly benefit from NCS, especially given the long-lasting effects on children’s confidence and social inclusion as a consequence of COVID lockdowns and increased social media use.
Alongside encouraging young people to socialise, it taught us the value of voluntary work. I spent one week volunteering in a care home specialising in dementia care, speaking to its residents and helping the carers in any way we could.
A memory that will stay with me for a long time is of my final day in the care home, as we learnt the words to songs from the war, including Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll meet again’. It was a beautiful moment as we saw residents, including those with dementia, remember the words to the songs and sing along with us, many getting quite emotional.
Giving back to the community grounded me and made me appreciate the incredible work that carers and volunteers do. I have since gone on to volunteer in my own time, which may not have been the case without NCS.
I strongly believe that NCS helped to shape many young people to become kinder and better citizens for the country. Surely, in these times of social disconnect, NCS is worth protecting?
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