Pool Academy students raise thousands for Kenya expedition

It has taken raffles, cake sales, car washes and even a morning milking cows. Five Pool Academy students are weeks away from swapping Cornwall for four weeks in Kenya, and the effort that got them there has been something to see.

The students, from Pool Academy, part of Athena Learning Trust, will join a team taking part in community, conservation and environmental projects this summer. They will work alongside local people while experiencing Kenyan culture and daily life, travelling with Camps International.

📷Stella Barber from Rotary Club of Redruth presents Megan Smith with £250 towards the cost of her travel

Months of fundraising

Year 10 student Josh has thrown himself at the challenge. He has organised raffles, completed a 97-mile sponsored bike ride, baked and sold cakes, sold unwanted clothes and shoes, carried out odd jobs for neighbours and milked cows on a friend’s farm in return for donations.

Logan has run chocolate hamper raffles and picked up a £500 donation from local women’s rugby team The Hoots Toots.

Iris Biddle, also in Year 10, has washed cars, sold items on Vinted, run stalls at fetes and set up regular “Ice Cream Fridays”, selling lollies and ice creams after school. She has also secured local sponsorship for logos on a Camps International T-shirt she will wear while fundraising and during the expedition, along with money she has earned or been given as gifts.

“I’m really excited to be able to travel to Kenya where not only will I have the opportunity to experience a different country and its culture, but also the chance to make a difference with the people who live there,” Iris said.

Sam, also in Year 10, has baked and sold cakes and brownies, washed cars and supported school fundraising events.

“I am very excited about the Kenya trip, especially looking forward to learning about how people in Kenya live and experiencing their food and culture, and hoping to make lots of new friends,” he said.

Year 11 student Olive has completed sponsored cycle rides across Cornwall and Devon, sold handmade decorations and held a yard sale, raising more than £2,000 towards her target.

“I’m excited to get involved in community and environmental projects in a different and unfamiliar country, to see if young people in Kenya have similar dreams for their lives. I’m also really excited to see African wildlife and learn to scuba dive,” Olive said.

📷Sam Kay

What the trip involves

The four-week expedition will mix hands-on work with travel. The students will help build schools, improve water access and make paper from elephant dung. There will be a safari, time on the Kenyan coast and marine conservation activities, plus the chance to gain a scuba diving qualification in the Indian Ocean.

📷Sam selling gingerbread biscuits with mum Natalie to raise funds for his Kenya trip

Still raising

The fundraising is not finished. A school quiz night runs on Thursday 18 June from 5pm to 7pm, with the money going towards expedition costs, including those for accompanying teacher Megan Smith. Some students and staff will also run stalls at the Festival on the Field on 9 July.

Megan said she felt privileged to be going. “I feel very privileged to be accompanying the students on this once-in-a-lifetime expedition, which I believe will be life-changing for the communities we support, the students involved, and myself as their teacher.”

Nick Ward, Principal at Pool Academy, said the students had impressed him. “I’ve been hugely impressed by the determination of our students in raising funds for this expedition. They have shown real commitment to making this opportunity happen and will be excellent ambassadors for the school on this incredible trip to Kenya.”

📷Iris Biddle in her Camps International fundraising T-shirt

📷Olive Smyth cycled the length of Cornwall to raise funds