EIGHTEEN PUPILS have set out on a trip of a lifetime to give a helping hand to a school in Africa.

The 16-year old pupils from King Alfred School, in Manor Wood, North End Road have raised £1,700 each towards renovating a school in Namibia, while at the same time completing their GCSEs.

Eighteen teenagers jetted out to Namibia on July 5, as part of a charity called Elephant-Humans Relations Aid which campaigns to protect desert elephants and improve the relationship between humans and elephants.

King Alfred pupils are currently renovating Frans Frederick School, in Fransfontein, which is affected by desert elephants and is intended to secure the school against intrusions from the animals.

The renovation also includes, the dormitory blocks, painting internal and external walls and replacing broken windows and painting murals on classroom and dormitory walls.

This is part of a charity called Elephant-Humans Relations Aid, which campaigns to raise money towards protecting desert elephants and developing a relationship between humans and elephants.

Pupils found numerous ways of collecting the money together including, a cycle, sponsored walk, charity breakfast and selling a gutair and a piano before setting out on their trip on July 5.

Some of the money has gone towards renovating Frans Frederick School in Fransfontein including the dormitory blocks, painting internal and external walls and replacing broken windows and painting murals on classroom and dormitory walls.

Sam Leeney, 16, of Park Drive, Golders Green cycled 499 kilometres from the lowest to the highest point in England in five days ending by climbing up Sca Fell Pike in the Lake district.

His mother Ruth Leeney, who is also a governor at the school, said: "All the children were upbeat and positive about the trip and had completed various different impressive things to raise money.

"To the credit of the school, they took it all in their stride even though they were doing their GCSEs at the same time and left for the trip a week after finishing them."

Science teacher, Matt Andrews and languages teacher, Sandrine Rodrigues joined the teenagers on their trip and they are expected to arrive home on July 22.

The school has been working with the Elephants-Humans Relations Aid charity for over ten years and are one of the first schools to establish a link with the charity.