Hailsham teens celebrate success at Dreamland graduation night

A night of celebration was held at Dreamland, Margate, to mark the successful graduation of 60 Wealden young people.

On Friday, September 14, a group of 60 teens travelled to Dreamland in Margate where they enjoyed an evening to acknowledge their success.

The National Citizen Service (NCS) aims to help increase social responsibility, employability and skills.

During the programme the youngsters designed social action projects that raised donations and awareness for local charities.

Together they volunteered more than 3,600 hours to developing their community projects, and raised hundreds of pounds.

NCS is a flagship government initiative that provides young people aged 15-17 with the chance to take on new challenges, experience exciting activities and make long-lasting friendships.

As part of the project, one team chose to support disability charity Kangaroos by hosting a coffee morning, quiz night, tombola and community fun day, raising more than £400 for the charity.

A different team chose to support homeless young people in the local area by raising donations for Uckfield Food Bank. They raised donations through supermarket collections and street busking, and finally painted a mural for the charity.

At the event, the graduates had the opportunity to go on the rides and attractions.

A the end of the evening everyone received a certificate signed by the Prime Minister in recognition of their service.

Pauline Smith, chief executive officer for the company that delivers the NCS program said: “The National Citizen Service is the fastest growing youth movement in over a century, with more than 400,000 young people nationwide already having completed the programme.

“Five million hours of voluntary action having been donated through the programme to date.

“UCAS recommends students include NCS in their personal statement, and almost three quarters of NCS graduates feel more confident about getting a job after NCS.”