THERE was a fabulous night of celebration for a group of Southampton teenagers this week.

The night at Central Hall, St Mary’s Street, was to congratulate young people who had just completed their National Citizenship Service (NCS).

At the event were 263, 16-17-year-olds from schools across Southampton, plus parents, dignitaries and youth workers.

The National Citizen Service is a government-funded programme introduced in 2010 by the then Prime Minister David Cameron.

It takes place all over the country and is exclusively for 15-17 year olds. The programme aims to increase young people’s confidence, independence and life skills by encouraging them to get out of their comfort zones, learn new skills and meet new people.

They also took part in a number of charity events and raised more than£4000 for various Southampton charities including; Wessex Cancer Trust, Autism Hampshire, Rose Road Association and Healthwatch Southampton.

Groups of youngsters also took children from Rose Road Association on a day out to Marwell, create a sensory garden for blind people living in Southampton with Southampton Sight and hold an arts and crafts day for children staying at Ronald McDonald House.

Next summer the Southampton provider of NCS, Youth Options, aim to work with over 400 young people from the city and will be going into schools all over the city to promote the programme.

Young people interested in NCS should contact Youth Options at www.youthoptions.co.uk or Tel: 02380 770713 or contact NCS on www.ncsyes.co.uk.