BOARDING school pupils are busy fundraising for a summer trip to Uganda.

Fifteen students aged between 15 and 18 from Sherfield-on-Loddon School in Hook will be heading to the district of Mityana in central Uganda in July.

It will be the third time the school has organised a trip to the African country. The schedule combines volunteer work with sightseeing and a two-day safari.

The money raised by the teenagers will help pay for a new classroom at a primary school in Jjungwe. They will also take with them badly–needed resources such as books, pencils, art equipment and sports gear for the schoolchildren in Africa.

So far the group has raised £2,020. They are aiming for a target of £3,000 by July.

And they have organised all kinds of enterprises to earn the money – a ghost walk, a school disco, numerous bake sales and World Book Day fancy dress.

Last month a car wash raised £420. One student – Louise Curry – raised £375 through a sponsored swim.

In Uganda the pupils will run activities for primary school children, telling them about life in England, as well as improving their learning environment by painting their classroom.

The logistics for the trip are organised by Sandfield Travel, an eco-tourism company. The director of the firm is Wycliffe Sande, who started life as an orphan in Mityana.

He was sponsored by a British doctor and came to England to train as a lawyer before deciding to give something back to the community he came from. Wycliffe has had a hand in all three of the trips from Sherfield. The school has expressed its gratitude for his help.

Bethany Leyland, one of the pupils, said: “We’ve all worked really hard to raise as much money as possible for this great cause, and when you look at how this is going to help the Ugandan children, it makes it all worthwhile.”

A teacher added: “The students have done a great job with their fundraising. The trip gives them an excellent opportunity to experience a completely different culture.

“It’s a real eye–opener for them, as well as being a lot of fun. Wycliffe ensures all the money we raise is used as productively as possible to help the schools development and encourage more pupils into lessons.”

The first expedition was in 2012. That year, the Sherfield teenagers paid for a new toilet block at the Naama Land of Desire Orphanage,

Two years later they visited Ebenezer Secondary School, where they sat in on lessons. This year’s group is revisiting the same school for a day.

Mityana is around 50 miles west of the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in an area of gently sloping valleys.