Teenagers who completed the National Citizen Service (NCS) by doing more than 30 hours of volunteering celebrated their achievement.

Thirteen people, aged 16 or 17, were presented with their certificates by the High Sheriff of Wiltshire, William Wyldebore-Smith, at West Lavington village hall on Sunday.

The group worked together on volunteering, team building and skills development.

They did a residential course at Calshot Activities Centre; and, as part of their social action project, renovated a room on the Porte Marsh Industrial Estate, Calne – donated to Youth Action Wiltshire by Hills Waste Solutions for young people’s training.

As part of the project they had to fundraise and chose to pack bags for shoppers at Morrisons in Devizes. They also had a cake sale and have a Just Giving page. They raised over £450.

Ksenia Solovieva, 17, from Westbury, said: “The leadership skills I gained from the day sports leader course have given me confidence to lead people and gives us something else for our CV which is helpful when looking for jobs or going to college.”

Kaisha Tyler, 16, who lives in Chippenham and is studying health and social care, said: “ The NCS has boosted my confidence and helped me to communicate with others. The Calshot residential was challenging, both emotionally and physically. The social action part of the project should show that teenagers do want to help and that’s why we did it.”