A GROUP of enthusiastic schoolchildren are juggling education and fundraising activities to amass thousands of pounds for a life-changing expedition to Malaysia.

Year 11 pupils from Dowdales School in Dalton have been tasked with raising more than £3,000 each as they prepare to fly to Kuala Lumpur in July as part of the World Challenge expedition which will see them spend three weeks in the Asian country.

The team, which is made up of 13 pupils, two members of staff and World Challenge expedition leader Jacqui Young, will do voluntary work in a local orphanage or primary school.

They will also go on a five-day trek through the Taman Negara National Park which is approximately 130 million years old and spans over 4,343 square kilometres.

To help with the pupils' efforts, Furness Lions generously donated £500 to the cause which will pay for coach transfers to and from Manchester Airport.

Headteacher Julie O’Connor welcomed the cash injection from the charity as the "once in a lifetime opportunity" draws closer.

She said: "This is a very generous donation and we are extremely grateful to the Furness Lions for their kind donation.

"The World Challenge expedition to Malaysia is a fantastic opportunity for our students who will be involved in conservation and community projects, working with disabled children and young adults.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our students and will help to develop confidence, self-esteem, teamwork and leadership skills as well as enhancing employment prospects, becoming more globally aware."

Expedition leader and Dowdales science teacher, David Bowns, added: "It only seems like yesterday since our World Challenge expedition to Malaysia was launched and now there’s less than 200 days left before the group of Year 11 students’ set off to Kuala Lumpur.

"The Challengers are becoming more excited and nervous as each day passes.

"They’ve done a brilliant job of fundraising the individual £3,425 despite having to cope with the demands of being in Year 11.

"Many have taken on part-time jobs to help fund their expedition and most are well over the £2,000 mark.”

As part of their fundraising schemes, the youngsters have packed bags for shoppers in Booths in Ulverston and run stalls at the school's European Christmas Market last month.

They also participated in a training expedition in Ennerdale, during which they were given the challenge of catering for 16 people on a budget of just £3 per head.

Pupils completed this by providing spaghetti and meatballs, bacon pittas and mountains of chocolate, with organisers impressed by their ability to work together as a team.

Fundraising efforts are set to continue in 2017 alongside revision for their GCSEs.

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FUN FACTS ABOUT MALAYSIA

1) The country has 40,934 miles of roads - which is more than the circumference of the Earth which comes in at 24,901 miles.

2) One of the indigenous fruits found in Malaysia is the pomelo, which can reach the size of a small football and is the largest citrus fruit in the world.

3) The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were the world’s tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 and are still regarded as the world’s tallest “twin” buildings in the world today.

4) A survey conducted in 2010 found that Malaysians had the highest number of Facebook friends, with an average of 233.

5) Malaysia’s Taman Negara national park is one of the oldest rainforests on Earth. At 130,000 million years, it is older than the tropical rainforests of the Amazon and the Congo Basins.

6) It is estimated that Malaysia contains 20% of the world's animal species.

7) Nasi Lemak, a ,meal which consists of coconut rice, served with egg, spicy sambal chilli paste, dried salty anchovies, fried peanuts and fresh cucumber, is considered the national dish of Malaysia.