NCS Reviews 943

I’d like to thank all the staff for making this experience one I will never forget, but a special shout out to Libby and Megan who were my team leaders, always knew where they were when I needed them and always so passionate about their job which i appreciated a lot. I met many new friends on the trip too we stayed at Canberra farm and the overall experience was just fantastic! Definitely recommend
going it pushed me out my comfort zone but I loved every minute of it! I really hope to see Megan and Libby again in September for the rewards night!!

My daughter absolutely loved her experience at NCS this year. She loved the various activities that were planned throughout the day and there was no point that she was bored. Amazing experience.

Very poor communication, lack of any responsible staff present at pick up or at venue in Wales.
Don't be fooled by their website and promotion.

Ayla and Jayden were the best leaders ever and made me have a great experience during the week despite all the hiccups, the staff inspired me to become a leader as well once I’m 18.

My teen said that the team are great and most activities are fun, but some of the classroom based activities are boring.
They said their team leaders Lucy and Dee were fantastic and really made the experience enjoyable, as well as their team.

My daughter Bonnie, has just returned from her NCS adventures, on 8th July 2024 at Grosvenor Hall. She found it therapeutic due to the fitness aspect and holistic setting. Whilst testing her abilities with high adrenaline activities giving a real sense of independence. She made many friends. She returned expressing how inspiring the staff was during activities, teaching survival and science all in one, she was fascinated. The understanding of teamwork and communication, and how important it is in everything we do. I can't believe as a parent how brilliant this experience was. She wants to do the next one.
I'm also so grateful that this is affordable, we are a large family, and this has helped massively.
Thank you to all those that welcomed my daughter and turn her into a confident wilderness survivor, team spirited, and inspired, young lady.
Your work is important to the youth today, it should be compulsory.
Well done!
10 stars!

I’m in year 11 went to Eastbourne and I enjoyed it so much I made a lot of memories and friends and it made me feel happy and just loved everything about it and even the staff was absolutely fantastic

Worst experience I have ever had

You have zero freedom and are forced to eat and yelled at by staff for not eating the prison food that is presented

I am 16 years of age and have my rights, so the way I have been pulled out of my accommodation by staff to eat frankly, "prison food" and yelled at when I refused to eat because I have the personal food I brought with me. Staff then proceeded to pressure me and not let me leave before I eat the worst food I have ever tasted.

The toilets were disgusting with mold and a broken lock on one of the toilets, the showers are sensitive and do not give complete privacy.

This is all in one day and I am so disappointed that I am writing this and considering leaving early.

Edit: we have been provided with blow up beds that deflate every 4-10 hours. It is impossible to sleep and the "night guards" shine bright lights through each tent every 1 hour, waking me up as soon as I think I could get some sleep.

My son (16 years old) attended the Boss It programme last week (July) and came back really glad to have joined and enjoyed it a lot.

He met a lot of new people (went alone, no friends with him), and had the opportunity to make new friends, learn about team building activities, some outdoor physical activities, etc.

Overall I think it is a great programme and opportunity for the kids to learn to live away from home, socialise with other people, and learn to just be themselves on their own (move out of their comfort zone).

Every kid should go through something similar at some point before they are 18.

Great organization and group of people!

My week away was amazing, I was surrounded by amazing people and staff. Everyone was so kind and nice, enjoyed the activities and had fun. If given the chance I'd go again! We were taught skills and it helped me get out of my comfort zone and boost my confidence. Favourite staff were Michael and Lola best team leaders!!

It was definitely a trip to remember! The team facilitators and staff were extremely kind and helpful, the food was great and very filling, and all our activities super fun. Moreover, you meet so many people along the way, whether you go in alone or with friends. I would not trade this experience for anything and I absolutely recommend going if you ever get the chance.

I attended the Green Park (Boss it) programme and it was very enjoyable and a one-of-a-kind. I shared a tent with friends from my school, and the food was great, along with facilities. One of the best things about the experience was our team leaders, Owen and Ella, who were supportive throughout the experience, who were there to make sure we had fun and were safe, and great to spend time with. The activities were always something you could look forward to and was very unique. It was also a great opportunity to build and strengthen bond with friends and other people. Most activities aided with team building, and gave us opportunities to develop our soft skills, including teamwork, leadership and creativity, along with building confidence. I would 100% take part again.

My daughter attended kingswood Centre Wales. No NCS staff actually on the trip which was extremely disappointing. Food was not great and portions to small. Rooms outdated unclean and in need of decorating.

The activities were nothing as described in initial NCS package. No zip lines, fencing or anything other than climbing .Many children left
early.

I have made an official complaint to Kingswood due to staff actually swearing at the children calling them C**ts. Staff didn't care and were not prepared.

Do not send your children here. Actually a waste of money and not a great experience for them.

I attended the Eastbourne Live It experience and it was honestly so much better than I anticipated. The food was healthy and yummy and although I was unsure about living in a tent, it was actually quite nice since I was sharing it with girls from my school. We did some exciting activities and I met many different kinds of people that I would not normally have met. There weren't many showers but they were clean and the queue was generally really short. The experience gives you opportunities to make new friends and live more independently. The team leaders were really nice and my team leader Amos was very supportive and kind.

I attended NCS at Eastbourne for the first week of the summer. Everything was fun - from our team facilitator to the activities. I enjoyed every activity, including the smoothie challenge which initially I didn't think I would. I think NCS was one of the best weeks I've ever had and the group I was in was amazing. Our team facilitator (Joel!!!) made every second fun. Yippee!!

The staff were amazing according to my 16 year old daughter, in her own words they were 'wonderful'. It was her first time away and she was so well cared for, having new experiences and making new friends.

I had a brilliant time with the activities and the staff were lovely and the facilities were great for camping! My only some complaint is that most of the volunteers (leaders of the teams) were vial and rude and unorganised with time when telling the plan for the day and in general they should question why the are volunteering if they act that way.

I just don’t even know where to begin. From the get go, the communication was poor. Very lacking in information. A week before I got an email saying “sorry you missed our presentation evening” which I was never notified about in the first place. So had to watch the video. On the day they arrived, the initial meeting was a shambles. No one really knew where they should be going or what they should be doing. They got to the site at around 2pm, but didn’t get given their rooms until around 7pm, which again was a shambles. The food overall was just not good. The fruit that was supposed to be fresh, had a thin layer of grease, or some sort of film covering it, which made it awful. The rest of the food left a lot to be desired. Portion sizes not great, and just generally bland and not appealing. The people running it were not much older than the kids themselves, and again didn’t really know what was happening. The activities that were promoted and promised on the website didn’t happen. They were very few and far between and not well organised. My daughter was in a room with 1 other person she had never met, hilly everyone she knew was sharing. Her bed was filthy, and full of someone else’s hair! By the end of day 2, she had had enough and we arranged for her to be collected. I called the emergency contact number and told them she wanted to leave, and there was never even a question as to why. He also wasn’t even on site! Which was a red flag, as surely an emergency contact should be onsite incase of an emergency! Not having to relay messages back and forth. My daughter is so disappointed as she’s been looking forward to this for months and was excited to celebrate after her exams. She was collected on the Wednesday (should have been there until Friday) I would not recommend this “experience” to anyone.

I attended the NCS program with pilot at Aston Clinton, Kingswood and had the best week I could have ever had. The activities were all really fun and I loved getting to do the activities and meeting new people. I was worried about going but now I wish I could go back. I have made many friends which i am looking forward to meeting up with soon. This is an experience of a lifetime. I experienced some highs and lows whilst I was there but the leaders were there and very supportive and were there if you needed anything. The energy the leaders had made the experience even more enjoyable and it is a shame you can only do this once. I hope many others can go and have an amazing time like I did.