My Day with NCS in Bournemouth (in pictures)

This content is sponsored by NCS.

Last week I went to Bournemouth (for the first time ever!) with Grace Victory to participate in NCS. Now if you haven’t heard of NCS you’re either a) living under a rock or b) old.

NCS stands for National Citizens Service and it’s a programme for 15-17 year olds where they do all kinds of activities, challenges, workshops and projects. I heard about NCS when I was at university because some of my friends were mentors. So I was really excited when they invited me to see what goes on and share my experience.

I got a bunch of pictures from the day and I thought I’d share them all in one blog post! Also, there’s details of a competition NCS are running at the end of the blog where if you share your own NCS experience in blog form (like this!) or video you could win the chance to meet me & Grace and £250 worth of camera equipment!

First of all, we got up really early to catch a train down to Bournemouth. Unfortunately, as is life, there were cancellations and delays but we finally got there 2 hours late! This meant we missed the first session (which was a politics and debating workshop – sounded amazing!) but I was really excited to attend the NCS consent workshop in the afternoon!

The consent workshop was run by two women who work for Bournemouth Police. It was such an honour to be welcomed into that space and considering the sex ed work that I do online I couldn’t wait to get stuck into an IRL workshop.

They used clips from a BBC Three documentary Sex On Trial as resources to spark discussion and debate. Half of the room looked at the situation from one person’s perspective and the other half looked at the other person’s view. The group then came together to share their opinions and thought processes. And the workshop leaders were so great at answering any questions. They were a fountain of knowledge! It was educational and engaging.

I was really impressed with the maturity and sensitivity with which the topic was handled. I never got to experience workshops like this when I was a teenager and I’m so grateful that NCS are working hard to deliver these vital workshops.

I really enjoyed my NCS experience and I learned a few new things myself too. Always a bonus!

My favourite thing though was talking about consent with young people. I communicate with you all the time through videos and tweets but face-to-face is something different. To hear the way young people talk about consent, sex and relationships with each other is always going to be more eye-opening than a couple tweets.

I definitely came away from the day feeling really positive about the types of things young people were learning about consent from NCS and their knowledge and attitude towards these topics. They will be leading the world someday and I couldn’t be happier about it.

After the workshop and before getting the train home I got a chance to go to the beach to soak in the sun for a few minutes. And do an impromptu photoshoot, because why not!?

The Bournemouth Beach area is gorgeous and I hope I get a chance to go back! Maybe when the trains are running on time…

Now, competition time!

The Creator Challenge

You are eligible to enter if you have done NCS.

You have to make a video or write a blog about your NCS experience. It’s that simple!

The prize is £250 worth of camera equipment and an afternoon with me & Grace to chat about your creative projects!

For more information on how to submit your entries go here.

Good luck!

Thanks so much to NCS for this opportunity! I seriously think the programme is so cool and wish it had been around when I was that age.

Photography by Sam Saffold-Geri.