A GROUP of high school pupils will trek through the Himalayas, doing voluntary work at a village school in the process.

Seven pupils from Darwen Vale High School will take on the trek as part of the World Challenge in July.

World Challenge is a schools expedition company, offering programmes focused on taking children out of the classroom to educate them in an environment outside their comfort zone.

And, led by Darwen Vale’s director of sport Steve Broderick, the children have had to fund and plan the trip themselves.

Year 10 pupils Jennifer Allman, Liam Parkinson, Luke McKenna and Adina Browne will be joined by Year 11 pupils Dylan Jackson-Cooney, Drew Lever and Sophie Aspin on the expedition.

Each pupil has to raise £3,000 to go on the trip, and a number of fundraising events have taken place or are being organised.

Mr Broderick said: “I am just there as an overseer. It is all up to the kids.

“We fly from Heathrow to Delhi, then it is up to them to get us to the Himalayas.

“We will be trekking for a week and they have chosen all the treks.”

He said the pupils had shown real maturity in organising it all.

Mr Broderick said: “I know them all really well. We have had our struggles and some tears but they are all mature enough for it.

“You have to have something about you to do all the fundraising and organisation.”

After landing in Delhi, the group will take a 15-hour coach trip to the Manali region of India, where they will spend four days acclimatising.

They will then spend seven days trekking to the base camp of Deo Tibba, before heading to the Kullu Valley, India, to undertake renovation tasks and sports coaching.

They will then have a week to recover, and plan to visit the Taj Mahal and the city of Shimla.