STUDENTS from a Preston college are preparing to fly out to Nepal in the Himalayas to teach scores of Tibetan refugees the art of having fun.

The 14 students, who study nursery nursing at Preston College, will start their adventure in the summer armed with all manner of goods, including paint, paper and toys.

During their three-week stay in the country the students - who have each had to raise £1,000 to go on the trip - will visit local schools and show children that education can be fun.

It is the seventh year students from Preston have gone out to the refugee camps, which have been in existence for 40 years after the Nepal government gave the refugees land outside Pokra. Lecturer Pauline Cowburn says it is an amazing experience.

She said: "Basically, we go into the classrooms and help the children learn that education can be fun by introducing them to the sort of things we all did when we were at primary school such as hand painting and puppet-making.

"We also supply them with enough materials to last them for a year until we can next go out and visit them."

During the year the students spend much of their time working in Preston's schools and nurseries.

Pauline says the children at the schools and nurseries have helped to ensure that the students get to Nepal with plenty of donated books and toys.

She said: "Normally, we carry about four times too much luggage with us and a lot of it is made up of goods donated by the schools such as out-of-date books and old toys.

"It is the ultimate recycling exercise and the people there are so grateful it is very heart-warming."

Above, Laura Margerison, seven, a pupil at Fulwood and Cadley Primary School. helps Annette Townsend, 18, raise the money she needs to fly to Nepal - by buying cakes from a cake stall.

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