Your questions answered: NCS summer experiences 2024

Great question! A spot on our five day away from home experiences costs £95. This covers the cost of all your activities, food, and accommodation. We have bursary options available too, so you could go for free, just apply during your sign up! If you’re looking for an experience that’s closer to home, check out our local community and online experiences!
 

Once you're fully signed up for your experience,  you’ll get an email asking you to log in to your MyNCS account. There you’ll find loads of helpful info, like your welcome pack, kit list and other important details. You can only access your MyNCS account once your place has been confirmed by your local provider.
 

It depends where you live! Our experiences happen all over the country, so it’s likely that while you’ll be away from home…you won’t be hundreds of miles away from your own doorstep! The exact location of your experience will be in your welcome pack, but, if you have any questions you can always jump on our live chat or give our contact centre a ring on 0800 197 8010 to talk about locations of experiences you’re interested in. 

Your welcome pack will include a timetable so you’ll know exactly what you’ll be getting up to - and when - before you go. Gives you enough time to make sure you’re properly packed! Why not check out what Rihanna got up to during her Boss It away from home experience. 

Depending on which programme you’re going on, the evening activities will vary. But you could be doing things like karaoke, silent discos, quizzes, or watching movies. And don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of time to just chill out too.

It depends what experience you’re doing! So you could find yourself camping out in a tent under the stars, or bunking in a dorm room. But every experience will definitely have somewhere for you to sleep, don’t worry! Plus, your roommates will be made up of people from your team, so you’ll all get to know each other throughout the first day.  

You sure can! If you’ve got a mate who’s signed up for the same experience, we’ll try our very best to place you both in the same activity group. Just drop us an email, give us a call on 0800 197 8010, hit up the live chat, or send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook. 
 

Of course! And while the food will be different depending on your location, we make sure that everyone is well catered for. So whether you’re veggie, vegan, halal, gluten free, or a meat-eater, your belly will be full. And hey, if you’re worried about what’ll be on the menu, why not bring some snacks!

You can bring whatever makes you comfortable! Power banks, sleeping bags, extra socks, extension leads, you name it. And if you forget anything, just ask your team leader for help and they’ll do what they can to find extras for you. In the meantime, check out this great blog by young people who have been away from home on what they wished they’d packed for NCS!

Of course! We can’t guarantee perfect signal in every location, but most venues will have access to WiFi so you won’t be offline for too long. And there’ll always be downtime on your experience too, to catch up on important scroll time.  

Our experiences have changed a little bit compared to the last few years, so not every experience will involve charity work. Boss It is all about learning how to smash future career goals. Live It is all about learning survival skills and testing your limits. But Change It focuses on making a positive impact and exploring important societal issues, and this often involves doing some sort of charity work. Whichever you choose, you’ll be having fun, learning about yourself, and growing your strengths. And you can always check out our local community experiences too for making a positive impact right where you live.

Exact activities depend on where you’ll be, but in general you’ll do two days worth of outdoor activities like water sports, hiking, archery or high ropes, and then two days of more learning based activities like cooking challenges or money management sessions. Everything you do is designed to help you discover life hacks, learn survival skills, grow your confidence, and test your limits! Why not check out this great blog by Abi, who kept a diary during her Live It experience!

We really hope you’ll be having too much fun during the week to want to go home, but we totally understand that sometimes, it’s just better to be where you’re comfortable. So, if you really want to leave, just speak to a team leader and they can arrange for you to go home.

Absolutely! The magic of an NCS experience is that everyone is in the same boat. You’re all taking part in activities together, learning about yourselves together, and smashing goals, together. So just be yourself, and before you know it you’ll have new mates for life. 

Taz went on her NCS trip alone and said, “It’s amazing how close everyone became in the space of one week.” Read her blog on how a friendship blossomed over a drenched pair of shoes.

We’re so happy you had such a great time, but unfortunately, you can only do away from home once. But don’t worry, there are still loads of other ways to do NCS, just check out local community experiences near you, and our online experiences. 

Absolutely. And chances are you might even know them already! Local community experiences happen right where you live, so you’ll likely mix with people you know and meet new friends too. All whilst doing good. What more could you want!
 

Local community experiences all fit under three different themes. There’s Work Ready, which has a focus on employability, selling yourself to your future employer and understanding the workplace. World Ready, which has a focus on personal development, budgeting, and life skills. And Social Action, which has a focus on teamwork, understanding and being part of your community, and how you can make an impact.

Within the experiences themselves, there are literally hundreds of different activities you could take part in, which totally depends on your local provider. Read Jemimah’s blog on feeling inspired for the future after her employability day at a law firm. 

Whatever you do will be fun and have some really positive outcomes, helping you in the next steps of life. Pretty good deal, right? And, if you need more details, you can always ask your local providers what they have planned.
 

This is a bit tricky to answer as there are so many different sessions all over the country, running at different times! So, it’s best to get in touch with your local delivery organisation and chat to them to see what they’re running and how long for. 
 

100%! The more NCS experiences you get under your belt the better. Check out our online experiences too, they’re a great way to boost your confidence and grow your strengths, from the comfort of your sofa.
 

Simple! Just head to the online experiences section of our website and get stuck in. We’ve got a number of different resources on there already to help you grow your skills and confidence, and are always uploading new ones.

If you’re looking for practical interview tips, join our free online workshops with In2Action — available weekly until the end of August 2024.

Loads of new skills…from the comfort of your own home! Want to get sussed on success and figure out how to turn your dreams into money-making machines? Watch the video and learn more. Want to master your finances? You can watch the video on that too. There’s a whole load of content ready and waiting for you, so go grab some popcorn and get learning!
 

Of course! Our online experiences are designed for you to absorb as and when you want. So, watch them all in one go, or one every week, however you want to grow your strengths is totally up to you. 

We love hearing your thoughts and opinions on what you want to learn! Why not send us a DM on Insta at @NCS, and we’ll see what we can do for you.

Of course you can! Going on an NCS experience will give you loads of skills - and talking points - when you go for job interviews or are choosing what to do next in your education. Check out our blog on the transferable skills you’ll get from your NCS experience. That’s things like critical thinking, organisation, adaptability and confidence. And don’t just take our word for it, see how Ellie added these to her CV — read her blog. 
 

Absolutely! Some local community experiences, and Change It away from home experiences will give you first hand experience in making a positive impact in your community, whether that’s volunteering itself or speaking up for a cause you’re passionate about. These are things that will impress anyone hiring volunteers, and hopefully help you land a role!