Festival at War Memorial Park (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Event organised by students

3:30pm Monday 27th August 2012 in News By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter

STUDENTS taking part in a national Government programme organised a festival at War Memorial Park .

The youngsters involved with the National Citizen Service (NCS) spent a week away at Marwell Activity Centre and followed this with a week planning a social action project.

The flagship Government programme offers young people the chance to take on new challenges, experience new activities, make new friends and develop new skills to help support them in later life.

The programme culminated in the Summer Smash festival at the Basingstoke park, which was free to attend and included a barbecue, live music, an open microphone session and a prize draw.

Money raised from the event will go towards the volunteer facilities in the Basingstoke and Deane area that support people with learning and physical needs.

The students, aged 16 and 17, had to develop and deliver the social action project to help make a difference to where they live.

Martin Littleboy, community investment co-ordinator at Sovereign Kingfisher Hous-ing Association, said: “The NCS programme is a fantastic idea and Sovereign are really pleased to have been given the opportunity to get involved. “Schemes like this are a great way for the next generation of employees to start thinking about what they want to do when they leave school and get access to first-hand business advice from employers.”

This year’s programme was run by Basingstoke Consortium, in association with the Partnership Network – one of the new delivery partners for the Government scheme. Leah Robson-Strange, an NCS participant from Basingstoke, said: “It is something that will look great on my CV and will hopefully help me when applying for jobs.”

Sue Riley, chief executive of Basingstoke Consortium, said: “We’re delighted that so many businesses are interested in getting involved with NCS and it’s a great opportunity for young people to learn more about the companies that shape their community.”