KGV STUDENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THAILAND

by
16th September 2015

This summer, staff and students at King George V College experienced the trip of a lifetime to Thailand to help renovate a school playground and learn about Thai culture.

On July 3, 22 students and four staff members embarked on a two-week expedition of discovery across the globe to South East Asia.  The trip challenged students to fully immerse themselves in the captivating culture of Thailand and involved three phases: a community project in a School, a trek through Khao Yai National Park and some quality rest and relaxation on one of the many beautiful islands Thailand has to offer.

Ellis Grogan, staff leader on the trip, said: “The trip was an amazing opportunity for our students to develop skills in leadership and teamwork whilst experiencing a completely new culture.”

“We had the opportunity to explore off the beaten track, get to know local people and make a real difference to the lives of a group of young children during our community project.”

The trip was the culmination of two years fundraising and preparation by students and was organised in partnership with World Challenge, an organisation with 25 years’ experience of sending students on worldwide expeditions to challenging and exotic destinations.

The group was split into two teams and each team was assigned a World Challenge Expedition Leader, who was an expert in worldwide outdoor pursuits. Students were responsible for leading the expedition: organising everything from accommodation to transport and managing a hefty team budget.

Each team was assigned the task of renovating a playground in a School in Surin, a small town located in the North East of Thailand near the Cambodia border.

While exploring Khao Yai National Park the students went back to basics, camping for two nights among wandering deer and monkeys surrounded by breath-taking views of mountains and lakes.

Both teams completed a 4.5km trek through dense jungle, the highlight of which was viewing the magnificent Haew Suwat waterfall.

Finally, students enjoyed some well-deserved chill out time on the island of Koh Samet – indulging in white sand beaches, fresh coconuts and picturesque sunsets. Both teams also had the chance to explore Thai Culture in the vibrant city of Bangkok where they visited Wat Pho Temples and the famous reclining Buddha before flying home to Manchester.

Next year, students will travel on a three-week World Challenge expedition to Costa Rica. Highights of the trip will include climbing the impressive volcano of Cerro Ena, assisting with Turtle Conservation and racing through the Monteverde cloud forest on a zip wire.

You can view photographs from the trip to Thailand on our Facebook page

 

Submit News Contact us with your community, business or sport news. Phone 07581350321

Email ots@otsnews.co.uk

Facebook www.facebook.com/otsnews.co.uk

Twitter  www.twitter.com/onthespot_news

Breaking local news as it happens, searchable archives with photographs, the ability to instantly comment on news articles – there are so many advantages to OTS (Onthespot) News.

If you want your news read locally online then send it to ots@otsnews.co.uk – relying only on the newspaper is to restrict yourself to an ever reducing audience.