Sixth formers on a Malawi mission

A group of students at a Penrith school are preparing for the trip of a lifetime when they visit Malawi next year.

The 14 sixth-form students from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) in Penrith are raising money for their trip to the African state, as part of which they will visit a children’s orthopaedic hospital.

They will also spend five days climbing Mount Mulanje, one of Malawi’s highest peaks, and see some of the country’s variety of wildlife.

Rosalyn Rayment is among the students taking part in the trip. She said: “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. There’s a degree of nervousness about Mount Mulanje though. It’s going to be tough for all of us.”

The trip, which is due to go ahead in July or August of next year, will also see the students raise money for the hospital they will be visiting, with fundraising events including a sponsored row the length of Ullswater next month.

Students only secured their place on the plane after applying, making a written appeal to be part of the group, and going through an interview, before the final 14 were selected at random from those who got through the first stages of the selection process.

They had their first taste of what to expect when Jim Harrison, director of the Malawian hospital, came to Penrith with two of the hospital’s nurses to talk about the work done there.

Rosalyn added: “We are probably going to spend one or two days at the hospital, it’s an observational visit, although we could get involved with helping children to recover from operations and talk to them.

“We hope we can get involved.”