A Holy Family School teacher has won a trip to Africa to broaden pupils' minds. Head of RE Caroline O'Neill is one of just 16 teachers in the UK to win a CAFOD (Catholic Fund for Overseas Development) Millennium Award.

They will travel in groups of four to Third World countries and use their experiences in teaching on their return.

Entrants had to write how they felt they would benefit from the trip as a teacher and how it would aid parishioners and local groups.

This is the third year of the scheme funded by the Millennium Commission. Different countries have been visited each year.

Mrs O'Neill and her group will spend three weeks in Zambia and Zimbabwe, flying out on Monday. The other groups go to Kenya, Bangladesh and Peru.

She joined other recipients at the award launch at South London's Notre Dame School, last month, where guest speaker was Under Secretary of State for Lifelong Learning Malcolm Wicks.

Mrs O'Neill, who has been a department head for 13 years and lives in Silsden has held assemblies on the trip and encouraged others to help prepare for it.

Pupils at St Anne's catholic primary and Holy Family have collected pencil crayons for the children of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

But there will be a great deal for Mrs O'Neill to learn from the trip herself, she feels.

"It is very much part of what I do now," She says, "I teach justice and peace issues.

"To have some of it first hand is better than other teaching aids."