Chaired by former Prime Minister David Cameron, our NCS Patrons to work with us to ensure as many Year 11 teenagers as possible get to experience NCS; helping to create a more engaged, more cohesive and more socially mobile society.
NCS Patrons span the political and social spectrum and are highly accomplished individuals who have excelled in their respective fields. With expertise in education, the cultural industries, media, charity and business the Patrons will bring their knowledge, passion and energy to NCS.
CHAIR
David Cameron served as Prime Minister from 2010-2016, leading Britain's first coalition government in nearly 70 years and, at the 2015 General Election, forming the first majority Conservative government in over two decades. Today, he continues to focus on issues he advanced while in office. He is Chairman of Patrons at National Citizen Service; President of Alzheimer's Research UK; and he is chairing the LSE-Oxford Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development, under the auspices of the International Growth Centre.
As CEO and co-founder of RockCorps, Stephen delivered social engagement platforms in ten countries around the world, across six continents. He is also a trustee of The Fowler Center, GoodGym and The Young Camden Foundation. Following his adviser role to the UK Office for Civil Society from 2010, Stephen was appointed Chairman of NCS Trust's CIC Board of Directors from 2012 - 2018.
Andrew Adonis is a Labour peer. He was Tony Blair’s domestic policy architect, heading the No. 10 Policy Unit before being appointed Minister for Schools (2005-2008), and Transport Secretary (2009-2010). Teach First, academy schools, HS2 and Crossrail are his proudest achievements.
Tim founded Portland in 2001 after a career spanning business and political communications. He spent 6 years working for Tony Blair in Opposition and then in 10 Downing Street. He was a key media adviser during the 1997 election campaign and then served as Deputy Press Secretary in Number 10 during the early period of the Blair government.
Waheed Alli is a British media entrepreneur and Labour life peer. He was the founding chairman of ASOS until 2012, as well as being the the co-founder and Managing Director of Planet 24, a TV production company, and Managing Director at Carlton Television Productions. He is currently the Chief Executive of Silvergate Media, and the Chairman of Koovs Plc.
General Carter joined the Army as an 18 year-old and joined the Royal Green Jackets. He has seen active service in Germany, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is now the Chief of Defense Staff, the professional head of the armed forces.
Dame Sally Coates is an acclaimed secondary school ‘super-head’, author, and currently the Director of Secondary Academies at United Learning. Dame Sally was headteacher at Burlington Danes Academy, leading it from special measures to outstanding in all areas, and carried out a teaching review on Teachers Skills for the Department for Education and an independent review into Prison Education for the Ministry of Justice. Dame Sally also sits on the NCS Board of Directors.
Adventure TV host Bear Grylls is an ex 21 SAS soldier and best selling author who became one of the youngest-ever climbers of Mount Everest. He has hosted extreme adventure TV shows, including the award-winning The Island with Bear Grylls, Man vs. Wild, Running Wild for NBC and Absolute Wild for Chinese TV. He is an honorary Colonel to the Royal Marine Commandos and the youngest-ever Chief Scout, an inspiration to forty million Scouts worldwide.
James is co-founder and Editor of Tortoise, a new form of newsroom which delivers high quality 'slow news' to members. Before that he was Director of BBC News from 2013-2018 and Editor of The Times newspaper for five years. In 1994 James joined the Financial Times and his roles included Shanghai Correspondent, Media Editor and Washington Bureau Chief.
Tom is Chief Executive Officer at the England and Wales Cricket Board. During his time there he has taken the game of cricket through a period of unprecedented growth, doubling the game’s revenues and negotiating the return of cricket to free to air television from 2020. A former professional cricketer, Tom is passionate about the power and influence that sport can play in empowering people’s lives, particularly young people.
Robert Peston is ITV’s political editor, presenter of the politics show Peston on Sunday and founder of the education charity, Speakers for Schools. He has written three books,“How Do We Fix This Mess”, “Who Runs Britain?”, and “Brown’s Britain”. For a decade until the end of 2015, he was at the BBC, as economics editor and business editor.
Sarah is currently the Editor of the Today Programme. Previously, she was Deputy Editor at the Daily Telegraph and the first female Editor to be appointed at the Sunday Telegraph. Sarah has also worked as Consultant Editor on the Daily Mail, Editor-in-Chief of Reader's Digest UK and Editor of the London Evening Standard.
David is the founding Chairman of St George's Park National Football Centre. He was formerly Chairman of Ipswich Town FC and The Football League. He is also Chairman of philanthropic advice organisation UK Community Foundations (UKCF) and Vistage, a company that helps business people become better leaders.
