A ONCE-in-a-lifetime visit to Kenya is to become a reality for Avon Valley School (AVS) students after three years of tireless fundraising.
Students and staff celebrated as they reached the £46,500 required to fund the visit, described by staff as the work experience placement of a lifetime.
On March 22, a group of Year 10 students will travel to Kenya for two weeks to work alongside the charity Camps International and contribute to community projects such as school building and conservation in Tsavo National Park.
In September 2011, Learning Manager Amy Patterson set the ball rolling on the fundraising marathon.
Since then, students and staff have put on fundraising events ranging from bag packing and raffles to climbing Mt Snowdon and a Christmas fair.
The AVS Project Africa team will also work with local people on craft projects, and the students will have opportunity to teach English to local children.
Charlotte Taylor from Year 10 said: “It’s amazing that we’ve managed to raise this large amount of money for a once in a lifetime opportunity. We are all feeling very excited and we’re counting down the days until we go.”
Fellow Year 10 student Allisha Adams said: “I am really proud of what we have achieved as a group. I am looking forward to working on the community projects because I want to help give the local people a better standard of living. I am also looking forward to working with the local children.”
Amy Patterson, who has been shortlisted for a Pride of Coventry and Warwickshire award for Educator of the Year, said: “I am shocked but absolutely delighted that we have reached our fundraising goal. I feel privileged to be able to take these committed and hardworking students to experience life in Kenya.
“The fundraising has taken a lot of effort and we are all really grateful to the businesses and individuals who have supported us with our events, along with the students, staff, parents at AVS and the wider community.”
