KNUTSFORD Academy students spent the summer holidays contributing to conservation and community projects in Borneo.

A team of 19 students and teachers from the school camped out in the jungle and remote villages where they met and worked with local people.

The projects included tree-planting to help re-establish the depleting habitat of the endangered Orang-utan population, as well as building walls for an outside classroom, clearing undergrowth for a community centre, building pathways for medicinal gardens, digging ponds and improving a market square.

Oscar Edmondson, one of the students on the trip, said: “I was struck by how well we were integrated into the community, as, despite the fact that our stays at each of the five camps were short, we would always leave having met brilliant characters and had a completely new experience.

“The most poignant part of the trip was teaching a group of five to seven year olds in the nursery in the village of Tinangol.

“This was the first time that many of us had taught a lesson, however each team member got stuck in and it was the fascination that the kids had with us that made the experience infinitely easier.”

Since their return the students have been sharing their experiences with students, teachers and their families, with each student writing a personal journal.

David Foster, a teacher at the school who organised the expedition added: “The whole group made me incredibly proud.

“They got stuck into every task and were praised for their attitude and work ethic everywhere we went. I feel we really made a difference, albeit a small one, to the communities we visited.”