The nine students will be joined by three other groups from the school, all heading to Central and South America where they'll get to explore volcanoes and help out at an orphanage. The Mexico trip has taken over a year to plan and prepare for, with many students doing sponsored events and working at the weekends to raise money to be able to go. It's been organised through an organisation called World Challenge Expeditions which helped the students put together their itinerary.ÌýThe month long trip combines project work, trekking and cultural activities while at the same time encouraging the students to take responsibility and work together as a team. Things didn't get off to the best of starts when the group's flight was delayed by industrial action, but fortunately time has been built into the itinerary. The first few days are being spent in Mexico City followed by a period of acclimatisation and trekking to get used to the temperatures and the altitude. The first big trek is up a volcano called La Malinche. It's Mexico's fourth highest peak and rises to 4462m.ÌýFrom there the students travel to an orphanage on the edge of Oaxaca City where they will get their hands dirty building a football pitch and working on a new accommodation block. The main trek, which is probably the highlight of the trip, is through a reserve at the base of El Triunfo Peak. It's surrounded by a dense area of cloudforest and is renowned for being the best bird spotting area in Mexico. After leaving the reserve the team travel down to Tapachula – Mexico's southern most city which is near the border with Guatemala. At this point it's time to have some fun with a bit of sightseeing around the Mayan ruins at Palenque before flying home. | 
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