Last updated at 20:39, Thursday, 20 August 2009

A GROUP of Cockermouth School pupils have completed a trip to Tanzania in which they climbed the highest peak in Africa.

Life-changing: Cockermouth School pupils on the top of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, part of a month-long Africa expedition

The group of 30 pupils travelled to Africa for a month in July as part of the World Challenge Expedition.

They climbed Mount Kilamanjaro, spent time with the Masai tribe and built desks for a primary school.

Pupil Richard Dumbill, of Bridekirk, said: “It was a life-changing experience.

“As well as visiting a third world developing country you had to deal with all the issues that went with that.

“The highlight was definitely climbing Mount Kilamanjaro.”

The group’s trip was split into four phases with the first phase spent getting used to the culture, trekking with the Masai tribe.

Their second week was spent climbing Mount Kilamanjaro and their third week saw them building desks in a school, which involved buying the wood and finding a carpenter to teach them how to do it.

Their fourth phase was spent on safari and relaxing on a beach.

The group received £600 sponsorship from Cockermouth Travel and Kuoni, which was used to help with medical supplies for the guides who led them up Mount Kilamanjaro and to help an African primary school buy equipment.

First published at 19:30, Thursday, 20 August 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk