'Rite of passage' for teenagers
The first 10,000 places for 16-year-olds will be available on pilot schemes next year with a further 30,000 places in 2012, Mr Maude told the Conservative Party Conference.
The National Citizen Service is key part of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Big Society agenda.
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Hide AdMr Maude told the conference: “We are often bound together as a nation by experiences that we share. The agony of the World Cup every four years, cheering our athletes to victory at the Olympics, supporting our troops to name just a few.
“The National Citizen Service will be a rite of passage to adulthood for young people – ultimately, we hope, for all of them.
“It will be a common experience for 16-year-olds, mixing people from all backgrounds in a robust programme of outdoor challenge and constructive social action.”
He added: “No one expects this to be an overnight transformation. But you have to start somewhere. Over the years and the decades ahead this programme will gradually help to build a bigger, stronger society, more cohesive, citizens with a stronger engagement with their communities, with a deep sense of social responsibility.”