West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin praised local teenagers who joined forces to raise thousands of pounds for local charities. The teenagers were participating in the National Citizen Service (NCS) initiative which sees students from local schools attend a residential outdoor activity trip and spend time volunteering in their local community. And the children from schools including the Chase, Hanley Castle High School and Pershore High School together raised nearly £2,000 during their two-week activity programme. Harriett visited the group and talked to the children about their experiences taking part in the NCS. Over 275,000 children have already taken part in the annual activity and more and more schools are getting involved to promote it to their students. Harriett said: "I am a huge fan of the National Citizen Service as it helps to give young people lots of new skills and helps them to make friends outside of their own school group. "I have visited groups for a couple of years and I was really impressed at how the activities get better and better. Many of the teenagers said it was the best experience they had ever had and that is the best feedback you can pass on to future participants. "I am pleased that local charities will be benefiting from the fund-raising and I will continue to encourage local pupils and local schools to consider getting more involved in NCS." Photo: Harriett Baldwin MP meets Malvern NCS volunteers at Malvern's Library.