While most pupils are lounging around at home in the summer, a group of Bingley youngsters will be coming face-to-face with crocodiles, climbing mountains and sleeping under the stars.

Eight pupils from Beckfoot School have each raised £2,800 to take part in an African adventure to help poverty-stricken orphans have a better life.

The youngsters, aged 14 to 16, have spent two years raising the funds for the trip to Malawi. While in the country they will renovate an orphanage and have the chance to explore jungles and plateaus and scale a 3,000 metre high mountain.

The pupils taking part in the four-week challenge are Kate Figgess, Justine Holmes, Deborah Mycock, Oksana Balmforth, Vicky Wantner-Smith, all 16, Abigail Garland and Vicky Murgatroyd, both 15, and Emma Jackson, 14.

Kate said the group had to give a talk and display to the school's staff, governors and parents to explain why they wanted to go on the trip and how they were going to raise the cash.

"We want to go and see how the community lives in Malawi," she said. "The main thing for me is to help youngsters who find it so difficult. I think when we return we will find how privileged we are in this country to live as we do."

The youngsters held various ventures, including a charity concert at the school and packed shopping into customers' bags at Asda for money.

Last weekend some of the team took part in a nine-mile sponsored run in Birmingham. They also spent three days on a training camp in Buxton to prepare for the trip because they will need to acclimatise to conditions in Malawi and walk for many miles,

The trip is being run through the World Challenge programme, which organises trips across the globe for people wanting to make a difference.

PE teacher Julia Carroll, who is managing the trip and is going on the adventure, said: "The effort has been magnificent but I don't feel they will fully reap the rewards of their efforts until they come back and reflect on the whole experience.

"Emma is the youngest team member ever to take part in one of these challenges and to raise that amount of money and to be so disciplined and mature about it is tremendous.

She added the girls had developed team leadership skills and business awareness during the fundraising process and the result would be a once in a lifetime experience.

The school's head teacher, David Horn, said he was proud of the pupils' efforts. "I think they're inspirational," he said. "They've wanted to do this and have looked forward to doing it for two years now.

"It says an enormous lot about them as young people that they have put so much time and effort into raising money through organising events and are willing to go away for four weeks of their summer to help others."

The pupils will depart on their adventure at the start of the summer holiday in July.

The school also ran a trip to Malawi in 2001.