TEN science students from Farnham Sixth-Form College took part in an "amazing" expedition to South Africa this summer.

The young scholars spent two weeks learning about African conservation and wildlife management, as well as taking part in real-world research programmes alongside academic researchers.

Organised through conservation research organisation Operation Wallacea, the group is funded by, and relies on, teams of student volunteers to join their expeditions and take part in the long-term scientific monitoring of the local ecology.

Students spent the first week of the expedition at the Balule Reserve, which borders the Kruger National Park and is home to Africa’s notorious Big Five - the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo.

While there, the students completed two days of bush skills training and four days helping with biodiversity research in the reserve, while also completing an African wildlife management course in the camp.

One of the students, Tamzin Harris, 17, from Aldershot, said: “We took part in activities such as bird counts, game surveys, elephant surveys and vegetation surveys. It was great to know that all of the data we collected is being used by the conservationists to manage wildlife in the reserve.”

The second week of the expedition was spent camping by the beach in Sodwana Bay, on the Indian Ocean. Here, students either gained their PADI open-water scuba diving qualification or snorkelled on the reefs and undertook an Indian Ocean reef ecology course.

The course covered an introduction to coral reef ecosystems, megafauna (whales, sharks, manta rays), the identification of coral reef fish, learning reef survey techniques and the threats to and conservation of reefs, particularly in the protected marine areas in South Africa and Mozambique.

Students were also lucky enough to spot whales and turtles, beautiful reef fish and a few sharks during their time at Sodwana Bay.

Sara Toone, biology teacher at Farnham Sixth-Form College, who accompanied the students on the expedition, said: “The trip was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our science students, enabling them to discover new cultures, learn about science in a completely different environment, and develop their skills for the future.”

* To find out more about science courses at Farnham Sixth-Form College, on Morley Road, and the dates of upcoming open events, visit the website farnham.ac.uk.