A former Holy Family School student is embarking on the trip of a lifetime to help provide a sound educational foundation for African children.

Sian Pedder, from Keighley, is travelling to Africa next month to help build a school classroom in a village.

And once she has tackled the project the 20-year-old will be scaling new heights when she embarks on a trek up the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro.

Sian, from Beechcliffe, is the only Keighley representative with Bradford Youth Organisation and Outward Bound, which is organising the expedition.

She said: "There will be a group of 16 young people and four workers from the organisation, and we will be flying out to Nairobi on February 8 and then travelling to the small village of Loitokitok where the school is.

"The foundations will be laid for us and we will be there for three to four days building the classroom and stocking up the library.

"The group is taking some sports equipment and we will be teaching the children some sports and games.

"I would like to go into youth work when I finish the course in the summer, and this has been a good way of opening lots of doors."

The school's library currently has just a handful of books to share between 300 pupils.

Sian will take with her more than 100 books which have been donated by staff and pupils at Greenhead school.

She used to do administration work in the kitchens at the Utley school where her mum Sandra Wilkinson is a support assistant.

Sian added: "After we have completed the work at the school we will start a seven-day trek across Kilimanjaro from the Kenyan side.

"We climbed Ben Nevis in October and that felt like a real achievement, but we've never done anything like this before. We will be camping in a series of huts along the way and have been told that it will reach minus 8C at night.

"When we come down on the Tanzanian side we will set off on a four-day safari, and at the end we get four days to chill out on the beach in Zanzibar."

The members of the group, who are aged 18 to 20, have all had to raise £1,000 towards the expedition, which has been match-funded by the group's workers.

They are also asking for sponsors to help boost funds for Bradford Cancer Research, which the organisation has supported.

Anyone who would like to help should contact Nazaket Ali on 01274 753530.