Amelia McNeilly is one of the many thousands of teenagers that sign up to NCS every year to have a summer packed full of fun. NCS is the national citizen service which provides the chance to embark on exhilarating challenges and learn valuable life skills for ages 15-17. Over 400,000 people have already signed up and had the summer of their life.

Amelia talked me through how she found out about NCS and her experiences. “I found out about it at a college open day and it interested me because it [was] out of my comfort zone. And then I found out about the price and that confirmed my feelings for wanting to sign up. It was good and I met so many amazing people and had the opportunity to do some awesome things. It was challenging but so worth it. NCS gave me the feeling of being unstoppable. That’s how I felt.”

We then went on to discuss how Amelia was one of the lucky few to be selected to be a star of one of their adverts. “I got a phone call and they asked if I had anything that I wanted to showcase and then I thought about baking because I’ve never really told anyone before that I really like to bake. And then I had an interview, but i never realised how big it would get."

The advert in which Amelia stars in currently has over 1.9 million views on YouTube and is rising by the day. “I feel so privileged to have taken part in this and [it] was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I never ever thought it would get as many views as it did.”

If you want to have a summer full of fun and to push yourself out of your comfort zone then sign up to NCS, it’s worth it.

By Lucy Robinson - Steyning Grammar School