A PAIR of Stourbridge students are getting a helping hand from their college to support children living in poverty.

King Edward VI College in Stourbridge is sharing a bursary between Anna Bailey, and Hanna Colder who are heading abroad for charity gap year trips.

The girls, both aged 18, are benefiting from a share of a £1,600 fund to help students make a difference to the lives of less fortunate people.

Anna, who scooped £600, will be travelling to remote Gambian villages in West Africa where she will be distributing mosquito nets and teaching in village primary schools.

The A-level student has already seen Gambian life for herself during a previous visit where she witnessed the fight against Malaria.

Anna said: “The extreme poverty and devastation was heart breaking but motivates me to provide more of the desperately needed mosquito nets”.

After her first visit Anna began fundraising in the UK to raise cash to buy mosquito nets for people living in the region she is about to re-visit.

Former Edgecliff School pupil Hannah Colder collected £1,000 from the college which she will use to pay for extra tuition in teaching English as a foreign language.

She will be using her skills on a journey to Spain and Peru where she will be working with impoverished young children in regions located off the regular tourist trails.

Hannah, who is studying a-levels and hopes to qualify as a teacher, has financed her trip with activities including car washing, car boot sales, cake sales and bag packing.

She said: “This trip will deepen my understanding of individuals and their cultures, I hope this will make me a better teacher”