SOCIAL media company Altrincham HQ has spent the summer months training more than 1000 school students on the National Citizen Service programme.

The National Citizen Service (NCS) is a UK Government voluntary personal and social development programme for 15–17 year olds in England and Northern Ireland.

Students in the NCS have been working on social action projects across Trafford and Salford.

Tackling issues such as cancer, homelessness, mental health domestic abuse and disabilities, their projects involved raising awareness and fundraising for charities.

Altrincham HQ was asked by the Salford Foundation Trust to advise and train participants on how to promote their projects by using social media to show the impact of the work they were doing in local communities.

Alex McCann of Altrincham HQ added: "We've a long history of working with charities, but the work the Salford Foundation do with the NCS program is on another level. If you think of the impact that 1000 volunteers make on the communities in Trafford and Salford it really is astounding.

“What really struck me is how idealistic the young people are and how they really want to tackle national issues at a local level. If you could have bottled the positivity in each of the NCS groups, the world would be an infinitely better place.”

Joe Quigley, of Salford Foundation, said: "Alex has recently become involved with Salford Foundation, specifically the NCS programme, and has been brilliant. His knowledge of social platforms, both for personal and professional use, have given our young people the knowledge there were lacking on the Internet."

More than 275,000 16 and 17 year-olds in England and Northern Ireland have taken part in the National Citizen Service programme since it was launched in 2011.