Experiencing National Citizens Service  

In stark contrast to the youths running amok in our towns and cities, including my own town centre in Ealing, I spent a very inspiring morning just down the road from the trouble with sixty or so sixteen year olds who have been participating in the National Citizens Service pilot scheme through the summer. They had been up in the Lake District for a week of Outward Bound activity. Having started out as strangers from all different backgrounds, they built themselves into close knit teams. Now back in west London, they are working on projects to raise funds for local charities and social action projects for their communities. I sat on a panel, Dragons’ Den style, to put them through their paces, before agreeing how much seed corn funding we were going to give them for their projects (up to £100). Every team was, quite frankly, a pleasure to meet and listen to. They were fully engaged...