Pupils change lives on trip to build classroom

Instead it was a life changing experience for the youngsters from Highfields School in Wolverhampton - and their counterparts growing up elsewhere in the world.

The city schoolchildren spent two years raising £26,000 so they could travel to Ghana and help the Maranatha Prepatory Academy in Egyeikrom, Ghana.

Once they arrived they helped to build a new classroom at the school which takes youngsters from the age of one all the way through to 18.

And they even left a bit of the Black Country behind - with a Wolverhampton Wanderers flag which now flies outside the academy.

Laura Green, a teacher at Highfields, took it upon herself to get the ball rolling on this project after travelling through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

She said: "I thought the students at Highfields would really benefit from going to see a third world country.

"With Highfields having undergone a huge rebuilding project recently it seemed nice to give something back to a less fortunate community than ours.

"After meeting between myself and the head teacher, we decided Ghana would be a great place to target."

Mrs Green needed a strong, committed group of pupils to get her dream off the ground.

She said: "We held an initial assembly in the school, explained a bit more about the project and asked students who were interested to put their name down.

"We decided to spread our fundraising over two years to ensure that all pupils who would like to go on the trip would be able to afford it.

"14 students signed up and we all worked together as a team finding ways to make money.

"Some students also got jobs to be able to pay for it."

Fundraising was a long process but helped create a team spirit that would serve the group in good stead when it was time to leave.

Mrs Green said: "We had lots of letters rejecting the opportunity to sponsor us and help out.

"The day we finally reached our target was really amazing.

"There had been sleepless nights on my behalf worrying we wouldn't make it."

After two years the day had finally come to leave.

Mrs Green's said their first impressions of Ghana will stay with them for a long time.

"The first shock was the humidity and heat. The majority of us had never experienced anything like it before.

"We were all amazed as we drove through the streets.

"We stayed in a hostel the first night and then got a minibus down to Cape Coast.

"Our first visit to a Ghanian market was surreal, dodging chickens and goats while we brought food and gifts for the village elders.

"I think I was proposed to by locals every day, which the students obviously found hilarious."

Once the team arrived at their final location, it was time for the hard work to begin.

They had travelled all this way to build and decorate a classroom from scratch so others could learn.

After one particularly long day of work, some of Laura's pupils challenged a group of locals to a game of football and the whole village watched.

Mrs Green made sure the children who would enjoy the fruit of their labours were ready to learn as soon as they left.

She said:"We donated pens, pencils and exercise books to the school and at the end of the trip we gave them the all important Wolves flag.

"I am a season ticket holder and wanted to give them a true reflection of where we are from.

"The flag represents the heart and soul of the city.

"The Ghanain children were all Liverpool fans before we arrived, now the Wolves flag has pride of place outside the school."

As a result of the trip, 30 extra children in the village are able to receive an education.

The trip brought the pupils closer together and opened their eyes to a different way of life.

Mrs Green added: "We are keeping in touch with the school's headteacher via Facebook.

"He has left us some lovely messages saying how grateful he is and what a difference we have made to the school and the community."