A CHARITY ball organised to get Heckmondwike Grammar pupils to Sri Lanka raised nearly £7,000.
Eighteen youngsters hope to go there for a World Challenge expedition in July next year.
Improving access to clean water, teaching English and building schools will be some of the problems they’ll tackle.
The cost is £3,000 each – so they got together six months ago to raise funds collectively.
Pupils, who range in age from Year 10 to sixth-formers, have created their own charity to help get them there.
The Sri Lanka Community Expedition Project was formed with pupils Joe Kelly, Ben Ward and Sadie Greaves as trustees.
On March 5 a bash was held for about 200 guests, including family, friends and sponsors at the Holiday Inn in Brighouse.
Ticket sales plus raffles and an auction took the total raised on the night to £6,752.51.
It took the overall tally to more than £10,500 – about a fifth of the £54,000 needed.
Joe, 17, of Roberttown, said: “The months of stress were worth it because we pulled it off.
“It was very rewarding to see a room full of supporters dancing and having so much fun together for a great cause.”
Skills learned, such as managing tight budgets and teamwork, will be useful in Sri Lanka.
Joe, studying for three AS Levels and three A-Levels having joined from Spen Valley High School, said: "As students we learned so much from this experience.
“That’ll help in Sri Lanka because we want to improve the lives of others and also improve ourselves.”
