NCS/The Challenge

I'm doing it on the 4th too! I think mine's in Manchester tho

I did it last year! Its so fun, still talk to a few of the people I met

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Good Luck! Have a great time! x

Awesome

To everyone else, does anyone know people who have done it before? What have they said they'd liked/disliked because I don't know anyone who has done it before :s

I was a Team Leader for NCS last year, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask

I'm doing the 4th of August one :') did you guys get your hoodies? They're so comfy omg I'm in love.

How do you get the hoodie? Do you have to ask for them, or are they given to you? As I didnt apply through a school - I did online x

Im going in August, and just wondering if you know what stuff I would need to bring x

I was a Team Leader for NCS last year, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask

How do you get the hoodie? Do you have to ask for them, or are they given to you? As I didnt apply through a school - I did online x

I applied online too. But they texted the day before and came into school and gave us hoodies. They ran out of my size so they gave me xl though. So they might have ran out.

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You should be receiving a kit-list soon, if you don't up to 2 weeks before your first trip do get in contact with your Team Leader as they should by then have one themselves.

-Sunscreen
-Hat
-pjs
-plenty of underwear changes
-2 towels
-Trousers/ Long shorts suitable for outdoor activities. If you only have shorter shorts, consider buying leggings to wear underneath as you can't have bare legs whilst wearing a harness, which (depending on your activities) you will probably have to wear at some point.
-Plenty of socks
-2 pairs of shoes that you don't mind getting wet/ mucky
-tops/ t-shirts that you can easily move around in/ be active in
-They say not to bring snacks sometimes but my team did and it wasn't a problem, although your team leader probably has to make sure you're eating at meal times because you're their responsibility and they can't let you take part in a physical activity if they don't think you have enough energy, so don't fill yourself up so much that you can't eat at meal times!
-Deodorant
-Toiletries
-An extra blanket/ pillow (although even when camping you should be provided with a sleeping bag, this may be different across the country so do double check)
-A bottle that you can refill for water, cannot tell you how many times I had to go on water runs for my very disorganised team
-Any medication you need/ might need, although be sure to let your Team Leader know what these are as they will need to hang onto them if they are prescription, it's just the policy.

DON'T bring anything valuable. Seriously, your Team Leader can't be responsible for it. It is completely at your own risk that you bring something like that.
DON'T bring drugs or alcohol, you will be kicked off the site, there's a zero tolerance policy.
DON'T have sex on camp. I know it sounds silly but boys and girls can't even be in each other's rooms/ tents. If you really want to have sex, do it when you get home please! Again another zero tolerance issue. If you get caught having sex or with drugs/ alcohol your parents/ guardians have to be notified and we have to tell them why you're being kicked off, which can get very embarrassing for members of the team.

Despite those last "don'ts", the NCS programme is SO good, I had an amazing time and I was doing all the organising/ work that goes on behind the scenes so to speak, so it shouldn't have been fun for me but it really really was!

Hope this helps, let me know if you need to know anything else!

Yeah, they texted me too you'll defo know when they're at your school tho x

What type of luggage should I bring all of my kit in? Like a suitcase or a large sports bag? And, also, what types of activities do you do whilst your away?

I brought my own in a camping rucksack, but there's no guideline. People on the trip brought everything from huge suitcases, to little carry on size bags. I would say if you're camping, it's just good etiquette to bring something a little smaller so you're not crowding the entire tent, but it's really not a huge problem. As for activities, I really couldn't say, the activities my team did were very specific to the camp we went to, every site will offer something different. Your Team Leader probably won't be able to say anything either till the week that you're doing it. Usually we have an idea what's going to happen, but just in case something goes wrong and we can't do one of the really fun activities then we don't want to get your hopes up and have it fall through. The things we did were to do with heights, some water sport stuff, and orienteering. There will be plenty of team-building exercises in all forms so be prepared to take part!

Thats great! Thank you very much xx

I brought my own in a camping rucksack, but there's no guideline. People on the trip brought everything from huge suitcases, to little carry on size bags. I would say if you're camping, it's just good etiquette to bring something a little smaller so you're not crowding the entire tent, but it's really not a huge problem. As for activities, I really couldn't say, the activities my team did were very specific to the camp we went to, every site will offer something different. Your Team Leader probably won't be able to say anything either till the week that you're doing it. Usually we have an idea what's going to happen, but just in case something goes wrong and we can't do one of the really fun activities then we don't want to get your hopes up and have it fall through. The things we did were to do with heights, some water sport stuff, and orienteering. There will be plenty of team-building exercises in all forms so be prepared to take part!

Oh okay what activity did you do? Hopefully I get to do media or photography... do you know anyone (or yourself) who did it? Did they enjoy it? And what kind of stuff do you do? Cheers! x

How long did you stay away from home at the most in one time?

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