Students have raised more than �22,000 to help build a new school in Madagascar.

The 34 sixth formers at Coopers Company and Coborn School, in St Mary’s Lane, Upminster, will be travelling to a village in Andranosa on July 8 for four weeks.

The school has been built, and the group will be painting it and kitting it out with furniture. They hope the money raised will also go towards paying for teachers at the school for the next 10 years.

Geography teacher Paul Cornish, who has organised the trip, chose Madagascar as he lived and worked in the country for a few years.

Esther McCall, who is one of the teachers going on the trip, has previously been to Zambia and Namibia. She said: “We have a history of fundraising for overseas projects.

Expedition

“Every couple of years a group of students go on an expedition. We set a target of �15,000, but they have raised about �22,000 now. They have worked really well.

“We are building it because the children in the village have a long way to walk to school.

“At the moment it is a grey building, but we hope it will be like a make-over programme when we have painted it.”

The students have been fundraising for the past 18 months to be able to go on the trip, which costs �3,500 each – separate from the money for the new school.

Esther added: “They are extremely excited. Eighteen months ago it seemed such a long way off. Now we are counting down the number of days to go.

“They are very keen to go out there and meet the villagers and get involved, playing football with them.

“It will also be an experience for the students to live away from home.”